Before I left the realms of heaven
You tried to tell me
Of the tears I would spill,
But when I see a flying feather
I should surrender and be very still.
Now when a tear falls, I remember You,
My God and my King,
And I find Your loving comfort
In the shadow of Your wings.
-
Cathryne
Allen
Besides
His repeated declaration to Israel that He is God and that there is ‘none else’,
the Saviour spoke a lot about himself and what He is like. The scriptures are
replete with statements like: “I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things
that are right” (Isaiah 45:19). He also often speaks, throughout the
scriptures, of His power, and the wonderful works He has done such as: “I have
made the earth, and crated man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out
the heavens, and all their host have I commanded” (Isaiah 45:12).
When
He came to earth, He proclaimed Himself as the ‘seven I AM’s, as in the Gospel
of John: I am the bread of life (6:31,51); I am the light of the world (8:12); I
am the door of the sheep (10:7,9); I am the good shepherd (10:11,14); I am the
resurrection and life (11:25); I am the way, the truth and the life (14:6); I
am the true vine (15:1-5).
And
there is more. He is: THE CREATOR (Helaman 14:12; Moses 1:33; 2:1); THE
MEDIATOR (2 Nephi 2:9; D&C 76:69; JST 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Timothy 2:5); THE
ADVOCATE (1 John 2:1; D&C 45:3; 110:4); THE REDEEMER (2 Nephi 2:26); THE
GATEKEEPER (2 Nephi 9:41; Mormon 6:17); THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH
(Moroni 6:4); MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT (3 Nephi 15:23); THE SAVIOUR (Isaiah
45:15, 20); THE JUDGE (John 5:22, 30).
Sometimes
I think we get rather indifferent by repeatedly reading the scriptures without giving
a thought to their deeper meaning and we miss the almost frantic way He is
trying to teach us who He is and why we should have no other gods beside Him. Do
we really understand His character by these definitions and the bigger question
is, do we trust Him?
I
once had an experience where, despite all my diligent study of the scriptures
for many years, I was finding it
difficult to trust the Saviour concerning a particular matter. I revised all
the particulars I had collected over the years about His character as cited
above but what stood out to me was one very basic truth….I remembered that He
being a God, could not lie. Being a God of truth, it is not in Him to ever
utter a lie. I went searching for scriptures that said this directly and had
some results: Titus 1:2 says, “God that cannot lie”; Hebrews 6:18 says, “it was
impossible for God to lie”; Ether 3:12 says, “Thou art a God of truth, and
canst not lie”; and Enos 1:6 says, “God could not lie”.
Why
is His integrity important for us to know? Because God cannot lie, He can make
promises that challenge our trust in Him: “who am I saith the Lord, that have promised
and have not fulfilled (D&C 58:31). This means, if a promise was made and
not fulfilled, we should be very careful when we assess the reason why.
I
often hear members of the Church who pay tithing casually say: “there is never
enough money, we can’t afford it, we are just scraping by.” When we say things
like this, we are affirming that tithing is just another bill. Our negative
talk negates the faith and trust that we should be expressing first and
foremost in the principle which brings returns.
Another
common saying I have noticed among faithful saints is this: ’I’ll never make it. I am just not good
enough.” This is, in my opinion, a sin.
It denies the power of the Atonement and the Saviour’ s ability to redeem us
and forgive us of our humanity. If we are faithful and devoted to Him and His
laws, doing our best and striving for repentance, we are good enough to qualify
for His saving grace. The Lord looks at the total and complete person including
the desires and goodness of our hearts as well as our deeds. There is no sin
bigger than the Atonement except the denial of the Holy Ghost (Matthew
12:31,32)
One
last thing. The biggest proof we have that Christ the Saviour, our God, is a
man of infallible integrity and can be trusted beyond reason, is His Atonement.
The Atonement performed in mortality was in actuality just a formality. We
could draw upon its blessings and power in pre-existence as if it had already
happened. Hence, we could be born innocent as it covered our pre-mortal sins:
“Over
long eons of time in the premortal realm he proved faithful and dependable and honourable
in every commitment, every responsibility, and every charge. The scriptures
tell us that “from eternity to eternity he is the same (D&C 76:4). He never
deviated from the mark, never slacked in his performance, never shrank from his
word. He kept every command with exactness; he discharged every duty with
precision; he was “not slack concerning his promise” (2 Peter 3:9).
“His
promises were “immutable and unchangeable” (D&C 104:2). As a result, his
spiritual credit was rapidly escalating until it was pure gold, even infinite
in value. That is why the laws of justice could recognize the benefits of the
Atonement before the purchase price was ever paid, because his promise,
his pledge, his credit was “good for it”, and everyone who honoured their first
estate knew it.
“It was not only when he appeared that he voluntarily laid down his life, but he voluntarily laid down his life from the very day the world came into being. Then he came forth in order to take it, since it had been given as a pledge. Based on that pledge or covenant we had faith in him. Based on that covenant the Father could promise remission of sins prior to the atoning sacrifice because he ‘knew’ his Son would not fail. The issue was not that he could not break his covenant, but rather, that he would not.”
(Tad. R. Callister, The Infinite
Atonement, p 80)
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
Like the dying sun that melts into the sea,
Like the night that kisses early dawn,
Like the river that meets the shore;
You bid me come to Thee
In sweet communion forever more.
-
Cathryne Allen
There
would have to be no greater sorrow for Jehovah, the God of Israel, than to see
His people whom He had chosen turn to idolatry and this after He had delivered
them from bondage, cared for them, watched over them, blessed them with a land
of their own and given them the grandeur of Jerusalem. To replace the one and
only true God who could do all that with gods of metal and wood was unconscionable.
“With
great irony, Isaiah brought out the inconsistency of those who work wood and
metal, use it for firewood and other mundane things, but fashion idols from the
same material and then expect those idols to show forth great power and answer
their prayers. Such idolatry precipitates in man “a deceived heart” that has
turned him aside” (Isaiah 44:20), or in other words, that has such a negative
effect as to cause him to lose his soul.” (Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings
– Malachi, 185)
Yet
despite such ludicrous practice and departure from worship of the one true God,
Jehovah showed utmost mercy to the undeserving people He called ‘his
witnesses’:
“Fear
not, O Jacob, my servant whom I have chosen….I will pour my spirit upon thy
seed and my blessing upon thine offspring….Thus saith the Lord the King of
Israel: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God….Fear
ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have
declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is
no God; I know not any” (Isaiah 44:2-8)
It
makes you want to weep, does it not???? And then, even forgiveness:
“Remember
O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my
servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a
thick cloud, thy transgressions; and, as a cloud, thy sins; return unto me; for
I have redeemed thee.” (Isaiah 44: 21, 22)
And
then redemption and spiritual re-alignment….in the name of Cyrus, the Great….
Who Isaiah prophesied of 140 years before his birth, and whose coming to
release the Jews from Babylon after 70 years of bondage that was prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11,12;
29:10,14).
Cyrus, the
King of Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., and inherited the exiled Jews. He
was raised for such a purpose by Jehovah himself, who called him ‘my shepherd’
and ‘my anointed’ (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1-4).
The
military conquests of Cyrus were nothing short of remarkable. Empires virtually
fell into his hands and by the time he reached Babylon, he was considered a
liberator and not a conqueror. The citizens of Babylon welcomed him with open
arms because of his intended reforms that would make life better and easier for
the common man. Babylon that was a fortress to be reckoned with was overthrown
in one night as the city opened its gates to him without a battle and this is
why:
“Cyrus was
a born ruler of men. He inaugurated a new policy in the treatment of conquered
peoples. Instead of tyrannizing over them and holding them in subjection by
brute force, he treated his subjects with consideration and won them as his
friends. He was particularly considerate of the religions of conquered peoples.
The effect of this policy was to weld his subjects to him in a loyalty which
made his reign an era of peace.” (Elmer W.K. Mould, Essentials of Bible
History, pp 348-49)
Numerous
commentators have denied that Isaiah named Cyrus as the liberator of the Jews
so many years before he appeared. They have argued that his name was added to
Isaiah’s prophecy after his conquest of Babylon and the help he gave to the
Jewish nation. Josephus, the Jewish historian, recognized Isaiah’s prophecy to
be valid by quoting letters from Cyrus confirming the prophet’s predictions
(see Josephus, Antiquities, XI, 1,2).
Cyrus not
only had respect for the people he governed but he had respect for God whom he
acknowledged as the fountain of his success declaring, HE IS THE GOD (Ezra 1:2,3).
Rather sobering isn’t it, for a non-Israelite to acknowledge the God of Israel
as the God of heaven and earth.
The God of
Israel worked with this man to ensure he fulfilled his purpose and this was it….not
to free the captive Israel for the sake of freedom but to send them back to
Jerusalem to build His temple (Isaiah 44:28). Jehovah was calling His people to return to
Him….it is in the temple that they would once again raise their right hand to
the covenant they had forsaken (Isaiah 44:20). It is in the temple they would
find their God again and forsake their idolatry. It is in the temple they would
be re-aligned spiritually with the God they had forsaken. It is in the temple
they would receive a second chance.
Today
latter-day temples dot the earth. There are 214 dedicated operational temples
and a total of 383 including announced temples, temples in planning and under
construction. We, the House of Israel, are a favoured people and blessed above
all the nations of the earth. It is in the temple we are re-aligned with our
covenants, convictions and our God to give us strength to forsake modern day
idolatry of materialism, technology, prestige, power, entertainment, career,
status, or “whatever thing a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his
god…” (President Spencer W. Kimball, “The False Gods We Worship”, Ensign June
1976).
O
Israel, I saw your sins
that
you tried in vain to hide,
And
the years you lived in futile pride.
I
bore your life with crimson drops
And
sought forgiveness on your behalf;
To
pay the price of justice
And
mend your broken heart.
I
wait for you to come
Into
the shadow of my wings;
I
have paid the price: come unto Me,
Your
God and Your King.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
Each
day I seek Thee
Through
the prayer of my heart;
I
kneel at Thy feet and speak of my love.
You
are so far and so high,
Yet
I see Thee Father
Forever
in my heart.
-
Cathryne Allen
Some years ago when I studied Isaiah 43 for the first time, I was very touched with the Saviour’s impassioned testimony of himself. Over and over He impressed upon the House of Israel the role He played in their salvation:
“O
Israel…I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (v
1)
“For
I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour” (v 3)
“….before
me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me” (v 10)
“I,
even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour” (v 11)
“I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King” (v 15)
Two chapters later I came across the same theme: “I am the Lord and there is none else” (Isaiah 45: 5,6,14,18,22: 46:9). This basically is Isaiah’s message. His testimony is that Jesus Christ is the only true source of hope for salvation: “Out of 425 separate verses of Isaiah which are quoted in the BOM, 391 say something about the attributes or mission of Jesus Christ (Monte S. Nyman, Great Are The Words of Isaiah, p 7)
Isaiah impressed me so much by his testimony of Christ that I made it my mission to search the same in other scriptures and this is what I found:
There is none else beside Him, not in heaven above, or earth beneath or waters beneath the earth, nothing, nobody, nowhere: Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; 5:8; 1 Kings 8:60.
There is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits and mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah: 2 Nephi 2:8.
There is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ whereby man can be saved: 2 Nephi 25:20; 31:21; Moses 6:52.
Beside Him there is no saviour: D&C 76:1.
There is something else that caught my attention in chapter 43 of Isaiah besides this testimony of the Saviour’s salvation. Twice in this chapter we are told: “Ye are my witnesses” (vs 10,12). This is the crux of the matter, the reason for the testimony is to bear witness. The witness of His divinity can only be borne by those who possess such a testimony. This is the responsibility of the House of Israel first and foremost but it extends to all who have felt the burning witness of His love and salvation. There are many Christians throughout the world today who have spread the influence needed to help someone believe.
I offer here an inspiration from the life of one man, composer George Frideric Handel, who became such a witness. Recovering from a stroke and tired from a largely flagging career as a composer at age 52, he returned from a long and tiring walk one late August in 1741 and found that a poet and previous collaborator, Charles Jennens, had left him a manuscript littered with words of Isaiah foretelling the birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. From this, Handel’s most famous work Messiah was composed in just three weeks. At the completion of the composition he simply said: “God has visited me….I am cured and have been set free”. He became a power witness of the Saviour to the physically and spiritually captive as he donated all profits from performances of Messiah to prisoners, orphans and the sick. (see (Elder Spencer J. Condie , “Handel and the Gift of Messiah”, Ensign 2010)
Every
Christmas I listen to Handel’s Messiah. Each note ‘mounts me up with
wings as eagles’ and reminds me of Isaiah. I want to write like him……..
You flowed like a river through my heart
Revealing the wonder of You;
And lifted my eyes higher to see the majestic view.
You ploughed the sacred ground of my heart
And tenderly sowed your seeds of love;
In gratitude, I scatter them in the hearts of others.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
28.
Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord,
the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is
no searching of his understanding.
29.He
giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth
strength.
30.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall;
31.But
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk,
and not faint.”
The
first time I heard these verses of Isaiah 40 was whilst watching a highly
moving movie called “Chariots of Fire” back in 1981. I was enthralled. Nothing
speaks better to a soulful person like me than beautiful words. They embolden,
inspire, elevate, enlighten…you name it, words do it for me.
The
above-mentioned verses were Isaiah’s attempt to accentuate God’s ability to
empower His people Israel, and in turn, all of us. Preceding these scriptures
is his almost frantic attempt to help Israel understand who God is in verses
22-27. It is obvious Isaiah knew God and had not failed to see His obvious
power and is amazed that others fail to, by asking: “Have ye not known? Have ye
not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood
from the foundations of the earth? “ (v21).
There
is an interesting word in verse 28 that tells us it is virtually impossible for
us to grasp the grandeur of God. Isaiah says: “there is no searching of
his understanding.” That word ‘searching’ is clarified in Romans 11:33 which
says: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.” In other words, you
cannot fathom God.
I
had an experience some months ago where I came to understand just how much we
do not understand and know God. I was reflecting upon my life one day wondering
how I would feel on judgment day when I found myself in my mind standing in
front of God himself and hearing Him ask me three questions: How did you enjoy
your mortal probation? What do you think you learnt from it? How do you think
you did overall?
And
this is what amazed me. I could not answer. Whenever I opened my mouth nothing
would come out. I realised in that moment that I could not say anything that He
did not already know. I could not lie, I could not tell half lies, I could not
even tell the truth. I understood that He already knew everything about me: my
deeds, my thoughts, my desires, my attitudes, my good moments, my resentments,
my rebellious moments, my likes, my dislikes. As I stood there I felt like I
was transparent before Him and He was looking right through me as if He was
almost inside me, so well aware was He of all that made up what is me. I
could see that we do not understand how inter-connected He is with His children
and mostly, how incredibly powerful He is, which is beyond our understanding.
He truly is ‘unsearchable’ to mere mortals.
If
the concept of God and His existence is this difficult to understand, how do we
come to the ability to have faith that He gives power to the faint, that he
increases our strength and mounts us up with wings as eagles?
When
I used to post on Facebook, I had one lady accuse me of encouraging people to put
their trust in someone whom they cannot even see. She claimed she doesn’t rely
on anyone to help her achieve anything but herself. She saw trust in invisible
power as something dangerous that would surely bring about failure. It is
difficult to explain God to someone. How do you explain the feelings of the
spirit, or the breath that you breathe or revelations you have, or anything of
spiritual nature? Even Isaiah asked on Lord’s behalf: “To whom then will ye
liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.” (Isaiah 40:21)
We
can look at all of God’s creations and come to the conclusion that the big bang
theory is ridiculous, that a greater power must have created everything. Some
people explain God in those terms. I look at myself and ask, how did all that
God saw in me come to be? The body perishes and returns to mother earth but the
earth cannot contain this soulful spirit that is in my mortal heart. It came from someone great who had the power to
create it. It flies on wings like eagles ‘trailing clouds of glory’ to the one
who created it. This to me is who God is.
The
winds of tribulation
Bend
down and lift me to the sky
To
see the tapestry of my life.
I
understand the hows and whys, Father,
But
the pains of mortality drag me to the ground
To
forget your perfect design.
In
my moments of darkness
Lift
me to higher ground
That I might bow
in
praise of Thy wisdom divine.
“Speak
ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the
Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1,2)
Imagine
having in your family a history of suffering and humanity’s hatred. The Jewish
nation has been hated and persecuted from the time of their dispersion into the
world. Isaiah prophesied all the calamities that would befall them from the
time of their scattering to the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah who would
come at the end of time.
Judah
was to be sent through the ‘furnace of affliction’ (Isaiah 48:10) for rejecting
her King when He came among them. A look at Jewish history and present-day
circumstances tells us that this nation is still going through that furnace but
one day soon her sentence will be served and her penalty will be paid. Think
for a minute of the furnace of the Holocaust. Imagine having that in your
family history. However, the most extreme heat of the furnace is yet to be felt
when the nations of the earth join against the nation of Israel:
“The
bankrupt nations, envying the wealth of the sons of Judah, will seek a pretext
to make war upon the, and will invade the ‘holy land’ to ‘take a prey and a
spoil’……At the crisis of their fate, when the hostile troops of several nations
are ravaging the city and all the horrors of war are overwhelming the people of
Jerusalem, He [the Christ] will set his feet upon the Mount of Olives, which
will cleave and part asunder at his touch.
“Attended
by a host from heaven, he will overthrow and destroy the combined armies of the
Gentiles, and appear to the worshipping Jews as the mighty Deliverer and Conqueror
so long expected by their race; and while love, gratitude, awe, and admiration
swell their bosoms, the Deliverer will show them the tokens of his crucifixion
and disclose himself as Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had reviled and whom their
fathers put to death. Then will unbelief depart from their souls, and ‘the
blindness in part which has happened unto Israel’ be removed”. (Elder Charles
W. Penrose, “The Second Advent”, Millenial Star, 10 Sept 1859, pp
582-83).
Then
will the warfare be over and her iniquity pardoned but the immediately
preceding devastation of Judah will be colossal. One-tenth of Jerusalem will be
destroyed, and 7000 men will be slain (Revelation 11:13). We are talking here
about fathers and brothers and husbands…..and families left destitute without
male protection.
“So
great will be the devastation that for seven years Israel will be able to live
off the spoils of war left behind (see Ezekiel 39:8-10). It will take seven
months to bury the dead, and thereafter burial teams will search out the
remaining bodies in an attempt to cleanse the land. Isaiah said that the Lord
“hath delivered them to the slaughter…and the mountains shall be melted with
their blood (Isaiah 34:2-3).” (Old
Testament Student Manual Book 2, Enrichment I, p 295)
Of
equal interest to the scripture of comfort and promise of deliverance is the
third verse in Isaiah 40 which speaks of “the voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness”. This is a dual prophecy which speaks of John the Baptist who
prepared the way for the Saviour’s first advent and who has had a role in such
like preparation for the second advent.
Luke
quoted Isaiah 40:3-5 which are clearly millennial in application. When Joseph
Smith revised Luke’s passage, he added five verses that also apply to the
Second Coming which clearly identify the Saviour for whom the forerunner would
again prepare the way (see JST Luke 3:5-9).
This
forerunner of the last days was to make possible the preaching of the gospel to
the Gentiles and to gather together those who are lost, who are of the
sheepfold of Israel. John the Baptist came to this forerunner, Joseph Smith, on
May 15, 1829, to restore the Aaronic Priesthood in preparation for the
preaching of the gospel and the gathering of Israel:
“The
Lord declared, through one of his prophets, that before his second coming a
messenger should be sent to prepare the way and make it straight…..John, the
messenger who came to prepare the way before the Lord in the former
dispensation, also came in this dispensation as a messenger to Joseph Smith….I
maintain that Joseph Smith was the messenger whom the Lord sent to prepare the
way before him. He came, and under direction of holy messengers laid the
foundation for the kingdom of God and of this marvelous work and a wonder that
the world might be prepared for the coming of the Lord.” (President Joseph
Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:193-95)
When in the clouds of glory You appear
To save Judah distressed and all alone
Your mercy will flow from the dreaded
hill
Where in times past they crucified
their own.
When on the Mount of Olives suddenly
you meet
They will know You
And accept salvation at Your feet.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
“How can we know the way? Asked Thomas,
as he sat with his fellow apostles and their Lord at the table after the supper
on the memorable night of the betrayal; and Christ’s divine answer was:
“I am the way, the truth and the
life….(John 14:5-6). And so He is! He is the source of our comfort, the
inspiration of our life, the author of our salvation. If we want to know our
relationship to God, we go to Jesus Christ. If we would know the truth of the
immortality of the soul, we have it exemplified in the Saviour’s resurrection.
“If we desire to learn the ideal
life to lead among our fellowmen, we can find a perfect example in the life of
Jesus. Whatsoever our noble desires, our lofty aspirations, our ideals in any
phase of life, we can look to Christ and find perfection. So, in seeking a
standard for moral manhood, we need only to go to the Man of Nazareth and in
Him find embodied all virtues that go to make the perfect man.”
-
David O. MacKay, General Conference Report,
April 1968, pp 6-7
You
are my soul’s desire that I breathe in the morning light
That
lays me to peaceful rest in day’s twilight of my mortal life.
You
lift me on wings of faith above all my sorrow
And
make clear the path I cannot alone follow.
I
rejoice in Your goodness, in Your infinite sacrifice,
and
Your everlasting love,
I
struggle to contain You in the hollow of my heart.
The
purpose of my existence I offer to You,
You
are all I am,
my
love, my devotion and my soul too.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
When love beckons you, follow
him, though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to
him, though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe
in him, though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste
the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth so
is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your
tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your roots
and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers
you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you
from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are
pliant; and then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred
bread for God’s sacred feast.
All these things shall love do
unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge
become a fragment of Life’s heart.
But if in your fear you would
seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, then it is better for you that you
cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, into the
seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep,
but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and
takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; for
love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say,
“God is in my heart”, but rather, “I am in the heart of God”. And think not you
can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your
course.
Love has no other desire but to
fulfil itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running
brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much
tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; and to bleed
willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged
heart and give thanks for another day of loving; to rest at the noon hour and
meditate love’s ecstasy; to return home at eventide with gratitude; and then to
sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon
your lips.
I
stood at the veil
As
You were about to leave
Sorrowing
that not all would believe.
I
prayed for Father’s power
To
protect Your gentle heart
From
the blow that might tear You apart.
I
knew my soul You would save
And
all Your promises You would fulfil.
I
stood at the veil, unable to leave,
Holding
Your crown for You to receive.
I
stood and waited that fateful day
In
awe of what You did to pave the way.
I
could scarcely comprehend
Your
godly enduring might
I
stood at the veil and gave You my heart.
-
CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Artist Unknown)
It
should be exhilarating for every member of the Church to read of Isaiah’s prophecy
of the gathering of the House of Israel in the last days. Chapter 29 of Isaiah
in particular, because it authenticates the greatest treasure in our possession
which is the key component of this gathering, the Book of Mormon.
Modern
day historians are yet to discover the meaning of the ‘sealed’ book that Isaiah
spoke of in verses 11-12 which was to begin a ‘marvellous work and a wonder’ (v 14) being the restoration of the
priesthood, Christ’s Church, the ordinances and the gospel truths (see also The
Old Testament Student Manual Book 2 p 165).
It
is a wonder why the Lord used an uneducated man such as Joseph Smith to
translate the Book of Mormon rather than an educated one who would no doubt
have had more clout amongst the academia of the world and would successfully validate
the translation of the plates as an authentic record of an American civilisation
that once was.
I
strongly suspect if this was the case, the world would not recognise the Lord
as the one to who was responsible for this “marvellous work and a wonder” but
would lay the credit to the intellect of man instead. Joseph’s education was
very ordinary attained in the country schools in the vicinity in which he had
lived. He could read and write a little yet he did not, like Professor Anthon
of New York City, refuse to read a ‘sealed book’. When the book was delivered
to him and he was requested to read it, he replied: “ I am not learned” yet
that did not stop him from being a willing instrument in God’s hands to
translate the record.
I
am astounded that anyone could read the Book of Mormon that was translated by
an uneducated man and not believe in its authenticity and the power of God that
made it so.
Isaiah
spoke of the spiritual blindness being lifted from the people who will come to ‘hear’
the words of ‘a sacred book’ before Lebanon shall be turned into a ‘fruitful
field’ (vs 17-19):
“Where
is that book? It is one of the signs of the times. Not only did the prophets
predict its appearance, but Isaiah set a limit on the time of its publication.
That time limit was related to the period when fertility would return to
Palestine. Isaiah said that the book would come forth first, and then added
that in ‘a very little while….Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and
the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest’ (v 17).
“The
time has expired. This new volume of scripture must have come forth before now
or Isaiah was not a true prophet, for Palestine is fruitful again.” (Elder Mark
E. Petersen, in Conference Report, Oct. 1965, p 61)
And
here is the proof that the Book of Mormon is indeed the book Isaiah spoke of.
Isaiah did not only see the destruction of Jerusalem (vs 1-3), he also saw the
destruction of a people on the American continent whose speech ‘shall be low
out of the dust’ through the words of
the book that was brought forth ‘out of the ground’ (v 4).
American
prophet Nephi spoke of the destruction of his people when he said that they
shall write the things which shall be done among them, ‘and they shall be written
and sealed up in a book’ and yet they shall be brought down low in the dust and
they shall speak out of the ground (2 Nephi 26:15-17).
“How
could Joseph Smith have known these things when the Book of Mormon was
published even before this Church was organized, except for the fact that the
Book of Mormon is the promised record that God said he would bring forth and
join to the record of Judah. How could anyone understand this prophecy of
Isaiah without the explanation contained in the Book of Mormon?” (Elder LeGrand
Richards, in Conference Report April 1963, p 118)
The
book Isaiah spoke of was taken from the ground, just as Isaiah prophesied, by
the hand of the angel Moroni and delivered to Joseph Smith on 22 September 1827.
The book stands as a second witness of Jesus Christ, that He lived, was
crucified and that He was resurrected. It contains the fulness of the gospel of
Jesus Christ (D&C 20:8-12; 42:12), is the keystone of our religion and is
central to the Gathering of Israel.
“The
coming forth of the Book of Mormon is a sign to the entire world that the Lord
has commenced to gather Israel and fulfill covenants He made to Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob….the Book of Mormon is central to this work. It declares the doctrine
of the gathering. It causes people to learn about Jesus Christ, to believe His
gospel, and to join His Church. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the
promised gathering of Israel would not occur.”
(President Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon, the Gathering of
Israel, and the Second Coming”, Ensign, November 2006, 80).
The
publication of the Book of Mormon has topped 200 million copies worldwide
according to the official Church news release in April 2024.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
Angels are you near me
To catch me if I fall?
Do you stand guard at the entrance
Of my heart
On God’s errand and sentinel’s call?
Do you pave the way
And steady my feet,
And ensure my enemy’s defeat?
You are unsung heroes
Of every journey’s flight
You are phantoms of love
Concealed from mortal sight.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
“The
tried and precious cornerstone is Jesus Christ Himself. Elder Bruce R. McConkie
wrote: One of Isaiah’s great Messianic prophecies was that the promised Messiah
would be “for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the
houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and
be taken.” (Isaiah 8:14-15). Both Paul (Romans 9:33) and Peter (1 Peter 2:7-8)
record the fulfillment of this prophecy.” (Mormon Doctrine, p 657)
“Jacob
referred to this figure when he said that “by the stumbling of the Jews they
will reject the stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation”
(Jacob 4:15). Paul also used the same imagery when he said the foundation of
the Church of Jesus Christ was Apostles and prophets, with Christ Himself being
the chief cornerstone (see Ephesians 2:19-20)”
-
(Old
Testament Student Manual 1 Kings – Malachi p 163)
Just
as Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Church, He is also supposed to be the
cornerstone of our ‘spiritual house’. Sometimes we might think that being
members of His Church is sufficient. The sufficiency happens, however, when we make
active His Atonement in our lives. Then our foundation will be sure and we will
not be exposed to the risk of falling. Using the familiar and common parts of
daily life as object lessons for his teachings, Isaiah teaches us how the
Atonement can spiritually cover us:
“For
the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower
than that he can wrap himself in it.” (Isaiah 28:20)
“…..if we are not covered by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, we will find ourselves like a man in a bed too short for him with a blanket that is too small to cover him. No matter how appealing sin may look at first, it can never satisfy our inner needs. The sinful person will be ever like the man in a short bed with inadequate covers. He will twist and turn and constantly seek comfort, but he cannot find it. The Atonement of Christ for sin covers, or is efficacious for, only those who trust in God with all their hearts and keep His holy commandments.” (Old Testament Student Manul 1 Kings-Malachi p 163)
I have seen your sins
And the years you have lived with futile pride.
I bore your life with crimson drops
And sought forgiveness on your behalf
To pay the price of justice
And mend your broken heart.
I wait for you to come
Into the shadow of my wings,
I have paid the price,
Come unto Me,
Your God and your King.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
