MAN OF HAPPINESS

 

Joy of the Lord by Greg Olsen

"I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheeful, pleasant, lively and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit. That is one reason why I know; and another is - the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, "I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance." That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person, and a beautiful man."  (President Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 4:222)

"The plan of happiness, which is spoken about so often in the Church today, comes from a "Man of Happiness" as well as a "Man of Holiness". Our developing faith comes as we understand better the purpose of the scriptures, and that is to teach us the nature of a saved being, he who beckons us to become like him."

- Jerry A. Wilson, "The Great Plan of Happiness - Insights from the Lectures on Faith" p 37

How can I tell you

What my mortal lips cannot say?

How can I show you

What my mortal heart cannot hold?

All that I feel

And all that I am

I owe to you,

My God,

My Exemplar,

My all.  

 - Cathryne Allen 

THREE PILLARS OF ETERNITY: THE CREATION

 

“The most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity…are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement……..the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement are inseparably woven together to form one plan of salvation….No one of them stands alone, each of them ties into the other two; and without a knowledge of all of them, it is not possible to know the truth about any of them….(Bruce R. McConkie, “Christ and the Creation”, Ensign, June 1982, p 9)

Elder McConkie called these three eternal verities, “Three Pillars of Eternity”. Without them we cannot progress to godhood. Here is the purpose of the Creation of this planet which is the basis and foundation of the other two:

1.      To obtain a temporal body which will one day become immortal.

2.      To obtain a fulness of joy through resurrection and immortality.

3.      The power of procreation, which is the primary blessing of godhood.

4.      For the second stage of testing. During the first stage, in our first estate when we were spirits (Abraham 3:25,26), one third of us chose to forsake the struggle and the tutoring. This alone proves that godhood is not for the faint hearted.

One crucial purpose of this particular planet was for the enactment of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This planet is home to the worst and the best of us. No other planet created and peopled by God would crucify their God (2 Nephi 10:3; Moses 7:36). Without the Atonement, the Plan of Salvation would have been arrested.

“In the theology of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, the purpose of mortal life is to prepare us to realise our destiny as sons and daughters of God – to become like Him….. The Bible describes mortals as ‘the children of God’ and as ‘heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17)”. (President Dallin H. Oaks, “Apostasy and Restoration”, Ensign May 1995, 86-87)

 

I long to be where I once was,

A child in my eternal home.

I long to see the God of love

And with Him walk the heaven’s floor.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: He Lifts Me by Danny Hahlbohm)

TRUST

 

“A grand part of our experience in mortality is to ultimately trust in the Lord, in the fact that He knows what is best for us and is working for our eternal life. He it is who allows overwhelming or underwhelming experiences to happen in a perfect tutorial. We are here to become as he is, and that will happen in a multitude of ways, it being sometimes in a way we least expect.” (Jerry A. Wilson, “The Great Plan of Happiness-Insights From the Lectures On Faith” p 79)

I have a close friend who once told me I have a ‘rear-view mirror syndrome’. There was a time I used to look back on my life a lot judging my decisions and choices to discover why my life had turned out the way it did and consequently I was always the bad guy, taking the accountability a bit too far for comfort.

When I was young I had a totally different view of how my life would turn out. I think many of us have a vision that does not match our reality. Now I look back and I realise if I had a chance to do it al over again, I would make exactly the same decisions and choices because that’s who I am. I listen to my heart more than logic. It might sound like a bad thing but I have learnt that my heart led me to become who I now am because my heart was listening to God.

My point is this. God knows us better than we know ourselves so He knows how to lead us for our highest good. There is a plan for each of us and it is important we surrender to it fully trusting that a higher power than our inadequate mortal compass can get us to our destination. To some trust is a frightening concept but once you see its fruits, it’s nothing short of freedom.

The Saviour was born within the veil, much like us. He grew from grace to grace (D&C 93:12-3). He had to learn who He was and what was to become of Him. And He trusted the Plan. He trusted in the higher power to get Him to His destination. And He walked a hard road to get there…..still trusting.

I viewed my life as hopeless pieces

And shame consumed my fragile heart.

I questioned every move and every choice;

I berated, I gave no value to any part.

Not until my trust consumed me

And my will to heavens flew

Did solace nestle in my soul

And such freedom as I never knew.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Prince of Peace by Greg Collins)

THE SOUL'S SINCERE DESIRE

 

Hymn 145 in our Hymnal tells us that prayer is the soul’s sincere desire.

Our prayers reveal so much about us: our humility or our pride, our submissiveness or our possessiveness, our progression or our regression, but most especially they reveal where we are in life in regards to our overall desire. Consider the following scripture:

“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you.” (D&C 88:63,64)

There is a word in this scripture that is of vital importance for us to understand and that word is ‘expedient’. The dictionary defines this word as ‘tending to promote a desired objective or a means of attaining an end’. In considering the importance of prayer as a communication with the Divine, this  means that God is giving us help through prayer with immediate situations in this life that will be advantageous for our ultimate desired objective and that is to become as God is. Therefore, it reveals His will for us and it affirms our purpose for being here.

Prayer itself is a process of progression. On one end of the spectrum is a prayer of a child through which the child is taught about faith: you pray to Heavenly Father and you have faith that He will hear you and answer your prayer. On the other end of that spectrum is a prayer of a spiritually evolved adult who prays with the ‘true order of prayer’:

“We pray to our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost. This is the true order of prayer.”  (Russell M. Nelson, CR April 2003, Ensign May 2003, p 7)

“When we pray unto the Father in the name of Jesus for specific personal things, we should feel in the very depths of our souls that we are willing to subject our petitions to the will of our Father in heaven….The time will come when we shall know the will of God before we ask. Then everything for which we pray will be ‘expedient’. Everything for which we ask will be ‘right’. That will be when as a result of righteous living, we shall so enjoy the companionship of the spirit that he will dictate what we ask.” (President Marion G. Romney, in CR Oct 1944, 55-56)

So often I am reminded of President Nelson’s advice that we will not be able to survive these last days without the guidance of the Holy Ghost. He is crucial in all the guidance we get as a result of our petitions to God. The prayer circle in the Temple teaches us the role the Holy Ghost plays in our communication with the Divine. The officiator represents the Holy Ghost in telling those gathered what to say, they in turn repeat the words of the prayer directing them to Heavenly Father in the name of His Son.

If you pray this way, you are well and truly on your way to achieving the purpose of your mortal probation. If the purpose of your journey is to become like God, prayer is the path to know how to travel it. May you receive your heart’s sincere desire and may we in the end meet at Jesus’ feet. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: My Prayer by Danny Hahlbohm)