IN HIS CARE

 

“Joseph Smith “saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb…in foreign lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold Him. The Saviour looked upon them and wept. (Joseph Smith, “History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” 2:381)

“In this same panoramic vision, the Prophet Joseph saw Elder Brigham Young standing in a strange land….in a desert place, upon a rock in the midst of about a dozen men…who appeared hostile. He was preaching in their own tongue, and the angel of God standing above his head, with a drawn sword in his hand, protecting him, but he did not see it. (“History of the Church 2:381)

“For an unforgettable picture of the unseen angelic armies that protect God’s faithful children, think of Elisha’s frightened young servant who cried when he was surrounded by an ominous army, “Alas, my master! How shall we do?”  Answered Elisha, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” ….And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”  (2 Kings 6:15-17)

“….when we, like the young servant, feel overwhelmed and surrounded by enemies and troubles, there comes the comforting assurance: The Lord will not leave me alone.”

-          Bruce C. Hafen, “The Believing Heart”, p 102-3

“….I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me”  (D&C 38:7)

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 

(Art: In the Arms of an Angel by Danny Hahlbohm)

FORERUNNERS

 

 

In the ancient world there were men who held an important job. They were required to go ahead of a travelling party to clear the path of fallen trees, rocks, undesirable persons or any obstacles that would prevent the travelling party from finishing their journey. They prepared the way. They were called 'forerunners'.

 

The most famous 'forerunner' to whom this title was applied symbolically was John the Baptist. Not much is known of John's personal life besides the role he played in the accomplishment of Christ's mission, but this much we do know. He was born to two elderly people according to God's promise to be 'the voice crying in the wilderness' to herald the arrival of one greater than he, as prophesied by Isaiah (40:3) and Malachi (3:1). Like Mary and Joseph, he was another noble son of God entrusted with an important earthly mission long before the world began.

 

When John the Baptist was two and a half years old a decree went out from Herod the king that all boy children two years and younger should be slain. John escaped this deadly fate because of the selfless courage of his father Zacharias who caused his wife Elizabeth to take him to the desert where he was raised to manhood. This move cost Zacharias his life.  (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p 261; Matthew 23:35).

 

So apart from his miraculous birth and a rough upbringing what we know most from the scriptures is that John's life was solely focused on being the 'forerunner' of the long-awaited Messiah. One might ask why the Son of God would need anyone to prepare the way before Him?

 

We know that first and foremost there needed to be a person with proper priesthood authority that could baptise Jesus, even though He needed no baptism. John had this priesthood power and authority from his righteous father who was a priest.

 

John's ministry also provided a nucleus of faithful baptised believers from whom Jesus could call His apostles. These were men already converted and ready to serve, hence their ability to walk away from their professions and families the instant the Saviour called them. Such was the power of John the Baptist, a martyr, who valiantly testified, taught and prepared the way and whom Jesus characterized as "a burning and a shining light" (John 5:35).

 

In my patriarchal blessing there is an interesting sentence that goes like this: "As you remain faithful to your trust, your guardian angels will never forsake you. They will go before you to 'prepare the way' and will be close to you and give you strength to resist evil."

 

As I studied about John the Baptist one year my thoughts were cast upon this sentence and I realised I had 'forerunners' in my life. I wondered how much harder I would have struggled in my life had not an obstacle been removed from my path here and there, a temptation repressed, a disaster averted, a hurtful incident prevented. I realised that I could very well have come this far more on the merits of my forerunners than on my own strength.

 

I believe we all have forerunners; those who have gone on before us who are invested in our success, our ancestors, who cry when we cry and rejoice when we rejoice, who are whispering to us when the jaws of hell try to destroy us, what Elisha of old said to his servant who trembled at the sight of the approaching Syrians:

 

"Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they 

that be with them"

 

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee,

open his eyes, that he may see.

And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man;

and he saw:

and behold, the mountain was full of horses and

chariots of fire....."

 

2 Kings 6:16,17

 

Next time life overwhelms you, open your eyes and see your chariots of fire…..

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Ministering Angels by Wendy Keller)

ANGELS IN OUR MIDST

 

 

“I am convinced that one of the profound themes of the Book of Mormon is the role and prevalence and central participation of angels in the gospel story….One of the things that will become more important in our lives the longer we live is the reality of angels, their work and their ministry.

"I refer here not alone to the angel Moroni but also to those more personal ministering angels who are with us and around us, empowered to help us and who do exactly that (see 3 Nephi 7:18; Moroni 7:29-32,37; D&C 107:20).

"I believe we need to speak of and believe in and bear testimony of the ministry of angels more than we sometimes do. They constitute one of God’s great methods of witnessing through the veil, and no document in all this world teaches that principle so clearly and so powerfully as does the Book of Mormon.”

-        - Jeffrey R. Holland, For A Wise Purpose, Ensign January 1996, 16-17

“In the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike – and they will – you remember and never forget that if our yes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham’s seed.”

-        - Jeffrey R. Holland, For Times of Trouble, BYU Speeches

 

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 

(Art: Lightworkers by Greg Olsen)