I bent my knee today to Thee,
And You listened very carefully.
My heart split open,
And You could see
One still worthy of her destiny.
I marvelled how quick
You wiped my slate so clean
And so gently said to me:
I understand your mortal suffering,
I met you in Gethsemane.
- Cathryne Allen
“We need mercy.
Whether it is because of our “weakness and liability to sin” or for the trials
we are called to pass through, we need the tempering mercy of God to sustain
us. Both our weaknesses and our trials bring suffering, which are ameliorated
by the compassion of God himself.
“A 1986 Guideposts magazine contains the story of a
woman who discovered what she called “the nevertheless principle”. She had been
facing a difficult experience with her husband’s having a malignant brain
tumor. She said that in the midst of the experience, at a moment of her
greatest pleading, God granted her a word in a moment of inspiration. This
single word was nevertheless:
“I knew it had to be a special word, though I didn’t
yet know it would become a life-style. I was sure only that it was a kind of
promise. It was even a powerful little phrase: never the less.
“Never the less with God, no matter what. Always the
most….Though doctors pronounced Jerry incurable, nevertheless, he would be
gloriously healed. Perhaps not here on earth as we had all prayed. If Jerry’s
physical body should die, nevertheless, he would go on living in another,
greater dimension. (Marion Bond West, “One Simple Word from God”, p 12).
“The woman began researching this word in her Bible,
finding it 90 times. Her story, simple but intriguing, has potential to lead
any of us to the scriptures to find the “nevertheless” verses…..”nevertheless”
verses in the scriptures quite often direct our attention to God’s mercy, such
as:
“For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least
degree of allowance: Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of
the Lord shall be forgiven (D&C 1:31-32)
“If the Lord could not look upon sin with the least
degree of allowance, ‘period’ or ‘exclamation point’, then all of us would be
lost. But since that scripture uses a semicolon, along with that merciful word nevertheless,
you and I have hope, born of God’s mercy.” (Jerry A. Wilson, The Great Plan of
Happiness-Insights from the lectures on Faith, p 39-40)
I had a memory from my pre-earth life some years ago.
I was sitting with the Saviour and He was saying to me: “I will save you and I
will make up for everything.”
I think what He meant by the ‘making-up process’ is
this: You will go through some tough spots and you will have to endure them but
when you are alone, I will send you people who care; when you need
understanding to help you cope, I will send you the Holy Ghost to teach you;
when you need somewhere to lay down your head, I will provide a shelter for
you. You will be hurting, you will be impoverished, you will be sick, nevertheless
I will always be there…..this is mercy.
I can testify that this has come true for me. Over the
years of my difficult life, I have lacked for nothing: I have been provided
with friends that became my family, a network of help from the Church, anything
I have lacked has come to me from different sources…..furniture, car,
utilities, homes….never the less, always the most…..
There is none like Thee,
My Saviour and my King,
Showing mercy and kindness
To someone insignificant like me.
Who can compare and who can equal Thee
In Thy merciful care of me?
Let me worship Thee
With my lips and my heart
And help me be steadfast
From Thy favour never to part.
- Cathryne Allen
