LIVING WATER

 

Thou art the source of all my blessings,

Thou art the source of all my joy,

Thou art the living water

I drink with haste

And savour each and every drop

So careful of tragic waste.

Feed me Saviour ever more

The love that flows with every cup

Grant me my fill each day

That keeps me living and bears me up. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by AI)

TO PROSPER

 

“Consider President George Q. Cannon’s approach to tithing when he was an impoverished young man. When his bishop commented on the large amount of tithing poor young George was paying, George said something like: ‘Oh Bishop, I’m not paying tithing on what I MAKE. I’m paying tithing on what I WANT to make!’ And the very next year George earned exactly the amount he had paid tithing on the year before!” (Wendy Watson Nelson, “Becoming the Person You Were Born to Be” BYU-Hawaii Devotional for Young Adults Jan 10, 2016)

President Cannon’s example is not a get rich quick scheme but it is the way of taking faith to the next level when an increase in livelihood is needed.

When I was 17 I read about the Church in a library book. I loved everything I read and didn’t find fault with any principles the members were asked to live by. I accepted everything and yearned to be baptized. One Sunday I made my way to the closest chapel during meeting time. I walked past it several times looking at it longingly thinking I was not allowed in because I was not a member. 

For some reason what came into my mind was the law of tithing. I was working in an office full time by then and earning $100 per week. It was a lot 50 years ago. I felt rich. My response to the thought was: “I would gladly give my entire pay to the Church for the privilege of sitting in that building.”  And so began my Church membership and my testimony of the principle of tithing.

I had no problem paying tithing until I was a struggling single mother following my divorce. I learnt that falling behind in paying it made me feel terribly unworthy and inferior in God’s kingdom. I learnt it was not worth being half-hearted in my obedience. Since then, as part of my penance, I have paid my tithing first and foremost before I paid any bills. I made it my biggest priority.

I cannot tell you that I ended up financially well off but I can tell you that something much greater happened. Even though I had wished at certain times of my life that I was more financially secure, the pursuit of something far greater than temporal blessings became my main focus, and this is what became my focus: “true prosperity is the growth in the knowledge of God, and in a testimony, and in the power to live the gospel…” (“Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant [2002], 124)

The Book of Mormon prophets talked at great length about ‘prospering in the land’, Alma in particular (1 Nephi 2:20; 2 Nephi 1:9,20,31; Jarom 1:9; Mosiah 1:7; Alma 36:1,30; 37:13; 38:1; 49:30; 50:20). To understand what true prosperity is, it’s imperative to know what it isn’t. In the scriptural sense prosperity means to have the blessing of being close to God, to be in His presence in this life…because to NOT prosper means to be cut off from His presence: 2 Nephi 1:20; 4:4; Mosiah 7:29; Alma 9:13; Mosiah 1:7; 2:22; Omni 1:6; see also The Book of Mormon Student Manual p 234).

I have never forgotten that moment in time when I was 17 when I regarded the Church far greater than the money I was earning. As a result I have never paid tithing throughout my Church membership in expectation of financial blessings in return.

I have paid it because I wanted to be a worthy member of His Church: worthy of having the truth He had blessed me with; worthy of the commandments He had given me so that I would never become lost; worthy of the trust He had in me to live by the covenants I had made with Him; worthy of the spiritual knowledge He was bestowing upon me; worthy of His Spirit which encircled me in the arms of His love many, many times.

I am not negating temporal blessings here as a result of tithe paying. My patriarchal blessing says if I pay my tithing and offerings I will be blessed beyond my fondest dreams. At first glance, anyone would think that would mean I would be rich in this life……but the scriptures are more right than anyone…… I testify true prosperity has exceeded my fondest dreams….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: His Love Fills My Heart by Greg Collins)

WILLINGNESS TO OBEY

 

There is a rather sad story in Doctrine and Covenants involving a man called James Covill who was a minister for forty years.

In short, James Covill came to Joseph Smith, like many others, wanting a revelation from God as to what God wanted him to do. By this action alone, he affirmed he believed Joseph to be a servant of God. In fact, he believed so strongly that he made a covenant with God that he would obey whatever he was told to do.

Unfortunately, James Covill had done this before ‘many times’ but because of pride and cares of the world he never followed through but kept pursuing a path that would give him acceptance of the world (v 9).

Herein enters the Saviour’s mercy. He gives James Covill another chance. In fact, he calls it ‘his deliverance’ from his lack of weakness to obey (v 10). He tells him to be baptized and move to Ohio to build up the Church there. In return, the Lord promised him ‘a blessing such as is not known among the children of men’, twice (vs 10,15).

James Covill rejected the revelation given and returned to his former principles and people. One wonders what kind of a blessing he missed out on. Whatever it was, it was conditional. President Harold B. Lee related this to us in his conference talk of October 1972:

“I sat in a class in Sunday School in my own ward one day, and the teacher was the son of a patriarch. He said he used to take down the blessings of his father, and he noticed that his father gave what he called ‘iffy’ blessings. He would give a blessing, but it was predicated on…..’if you will cease doing that’. And he said, ‘I watched these men to whom my father gave the ‘iffy’ blessings, and I saw that many of them did not heed the warning that my father as a patriarch had given them, and the blessings were never received because they did not comply’.”

President Lee continued saying that he took notice of warnings that Joseph had given through revelations to men like “Thomas B. Marsh, Martin Harris, some of the Whitmer brothers, William E. McLellin, warnings which, had they heeded, some would not have fallen by the wayside…and some had to be dropped from the membership of the Church.”  (Ensign Jan 1973, p 107-8)

The Saviour explained that James Covill “received the word with gladness, but straightway Satan tempted him; and the fear of persecution and the cares of the world caused him to reject the word” (D&C 40:2).

If only James Covill had remembered this and had pondered its warning and its promise: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).

Rejecting blessings is bad enough but rejecting deliverance at the Lord’s hand is worse. One shudders to think what his outcome was when you read this: “Wherefore he broke my covenant, and it remaineth with me to do with him as seemeth me good” ( D&C 40:3).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Time to Ponder by Greg Collins)

WHO COME UNTO ME

 

In my last post I wrote about unity with Christ through baptism. The Saviour sought to impress this upon the people of ancient Americas and upon us today who have the privilege of holding the Book of Mormon in our hands. I am once again grateful for the clarification of scriptures that this book offers us. The account of the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Mormon testifies of this.

In the Book of Mormon, the Saviour began His sermon making it clear that the teachings that were to follow only applied to those who are willing to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost for remission of their sins (3 Nephi 12:1,2). In other words, the Sermon on the Mount was ever only directed to the members of His Church, those who are willing to accept Christ and keep his commandments. (See also Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to the Book of Mormon, p 263-4)

This significant point is reiterated through the Beatitudes. The very first one promises that the poor in spirit will be blessed but with a significant addition in the Book of Mormon that does not exist in the New Testament. That addition reads: who come unto me. The following Beatitudes all begin with the word ‘and’ connecting them to the previous Beatitude and all the way to this first one which is the reference to the introductory verses to the Sermon which deal with baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 12:1,2)….in other words, who come unto me.

Following the Beatitudes come two other confirmations that the Sermon is for baptized members. The first is the admonition to be the salt of the earth (3 Nephi 12:13). In the Mosaic sacrificial ritual, salt was a reminder that we should remember and preserve our covenants with God (Old Testament Institute Manual, p 165)

The second is to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14). As members of the House of Israel and of the household of faith under the Abrahamic covenant, we are to take the gospel to the world and to bring the light of Christ’s gospel to the world of darkness.

It can be argued that the blessings promised throughout the Beatitudes are biased since they are only for baptized members of Christ’s church but I believe the suggestion is that these blessings are   more readily assured for those who are willing to accept Christ and that invitation is extended to all.  They are promises and assurance of what Christ can do for us.

The thought that only those who come unto Him are more blessed might seem like elitism but in my opinion, He has the right to bless those who believe in Him and accept Him and He has the right to ask anything of us, most especially to believe and accept. He has suffered for the just and the unjust, for the grateful and the ungrateful. He is the only way to salvation, the way that was decreed in the realms of heaven long ago. Let us be that light on a hill that we might bring others under the umbrella of His blessings. That is our responsibility, that is our privilege.

If I had the might to plant Thee in each heart

Of all that breathes,

In pursuit of such a quest I would walk the earth

With apparent ease.

As I can do so little this desire to meet,

I lay my loyal love at Thy holy feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Send Forth Labourers by Greg Collins)

PRESS ON

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,

 having a perfect brightness of hope, 

and a love of God and of all men. 

Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, 

feasting upon the word of Christ, 

and endure to the end, 

behold, thus saith the Father: 

Ye shall have eternal life."

- 2 Nephi 31:20

I had a disheartening conversation with a friend the other day who advised me she no longer attends Church. During the course of the conversation she revealed that her life has become such a burden to her that her only hope lies in sudden death. As my tears flowed and as I urged her to put herself in God's hands and to trust that He will make something better of her life, her reply was that God doesn't really care and when she was doing the right things it didn't make any difference. She said she had lost hope for a better life here and in eternity. Unfortunately this friend has zig zagged between obedience and disobedience all her life. Her lack of consistency has undermined her power of endurance and enhanced her expectation of lasting happiness and perfection in this life, which in reality is a futile pursuit. In expecting fulfillment here and now she has totally overlooked the fact that this life is not only 'a growing season' but also our testing ground.

The design of mortality is such that it should motivate us to look forward to perfection in the next, not to wile away our days in frustration blaming God that we are not lying on a bed of roses or cursing Him because we cannot 'take happiness in our sins' (Mormon 2:13). This friend and some others who have crossed my path have expressed to me that they wonder if they had ever really chosen godhood as their eternal destination. They feel that they were somehow forced to choose it because the alternative would not have been such an attractive outcome. They whine about the unfairness of having to choose between godhood and damnation and ask why they were not allowed to stay where they were, sitting on a fence, not choosing either. All of a sudden godhood has become a price too high to pay and they rationalize that they never really wanted it anyway. But the funny part is that they did, as all of us did, way back in our "beginning". We were never ever forced into anything.

To better understand the exercise of our agency in relation to this life we need to know the true meaning of 'the beginning': "After revealing to Abraham that there are infinite, uncreated intelligences, God showed him that some of the intelligences 'were organized before the world was' (Abraham 3:22). If our individual intelligences have agency it must have been our choice to be organized into our first estate.....Our 'beginning' was the moment we chose to have our intelligences 'added upon' by being born into the spirit world......our spirit bodies were conceived by our Heavenly Parents to house our uncreated intelligences. We are gods in embryo, with the full potential to mature and to become like our Celestial Parents.....The gospel is the 'everlasting gospel', not only because its effects are everlasting, but because it has always been in place, from eternity....It is the 'hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began' (Titus 1:2)" (B. Grant Bishop, M.D., The LDS Gospel of Light, pp108-111). I venture to say that there might have been some intelligences who did not choose to be 'added upon' and chose to remain as they were.

This is not taught as gospel doctrine but it makes sense to me that we chose godhood "in the beginning", when we were yet only intelligences, and with it the process of being born first spiritually and then physically. The alternative would have been lack of free agency. The plan for godhood had to be in place prior to the spirit world so the innate agency of our intelligences would be respected. It could not have been a random act for Heavenly Father to have created numerous amounts of spirit children and then had to decide what to do with them! Godhood was not a drummed up plan that gave us 'something to do' but rather a plan that has always existed, based on free agency. If Heavenly Father was once a mortal like we are now, then His purpose was always to gain exaltation, have eternal increase and provide the way for His children to gain the same. That is certainly the plan for us also as has been revealed through modern-day revelation and scripture. As Lorenzo Snow once put it: "As man now is, God once was; as God now is, man may become" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow, 2011, Chapter 5: The Grand Destiny of the Faithful). The understanding that we decided in the very beginning that we wanted godhood should be enough for us to press on, however, 'the greatest gift of God' does not seem to mean much to some of us who focus too intently on happiness here and now. The seeming ease of telestial life is simply too hard for some of us to resist so we keep looking down instead of up for pursuit of lasting joy and fulfillment.

Joseph Smith taught that "the fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it" [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 49]. So basically, the Saviour's death and resurrection should be the main focus of our religion. Why would that be? Because the Saviour's resurrection brings about immortality and immortality brings about a 'fulness of joy'. According to the following scripture we cannot have this fulness in this life: "For man is spirit, the elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy. And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy" (D&C 93:33,34). Right now we are not inseparably connected, we are very much in that fragile state of being where death is imminent. Thus the principle of resurrection "gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love, such things as the physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we bring with us at birth or acquire during mortal life" (Dallin H. Oaks, Resurrection - The Beginning of Immortality, Ensign March 2016, p 80)

When we are not staying on the 'strait and narrow path' with a goal to endure by 'passing the points of breaking without breaking' (Neal A. Maxwell), we are not valuing eternal life. Some of us are of the opinion that the price to pay for such a life is far too high but is the telestial life, without the sustaining power of Christ, easier to live than the life of obedience that the gospel demands of us? In short, the former exacts hardship while the latter asks for endurance, endurance that is made possible with Christ's sustaining power: "Enduring to the end means that we have planted our lives firmly on gospel soil, staying in the mainstream of the Church, humbly serving our fellowmen, living Christlike lives, and keeping our covenants. Those who endure are balanced, consistent, humble, constantly improving, and without guile. Their testimonies are not based on worldly reasons - they are based on truth, knowledge, experience, and the Spirit" (Joseph B. Wirthlin, in CR Oct 2004, p 107; or Ensign Nov 2004, p 101)

It is not enough for us to experiment living the gospel from time to time to see if we will be blessed for it. Pressing forward and enduring to the end requires consistent coming unto Christ through a life of obedience. It is only this consistent effort that brings us to the point of conviction that will see us to the end. This point of strength makes endurance possible and thins the veil to the point where we can develop a desire for what is on the other side of it. It is something one cannot obtain overnight. It is a reward for nourishing faith, foregoing self-gratification and standing firm on the testing ground. When my friend pointed out to me that I have basically nothing much to show for my years of endurance and adherence to the gospel, I reflected on what I do have and concluded that the way I have come to feel about the Saviour after 40 years of cultivating my seed of faith is the greatest treasure I could possibly own and one that I would not trade for all the riches of this life. I felt saddened that my friend was only looking at my temporal blessings as a measure of my personal success. Sometimes I fear that we are like spoilt children wanting to be rewarded for every little thing we do right when in reality God has already done more for us than we can ever repay. He owes us nothing. This earth was created for our sake and the Saviour atoned for our sake, all out of the goodness of His heart and His mercy. We cannot possibly expect more. The path to eternal life has been paved. It is up to us to tread it. But we are not alone. He is there, ever waiting, ever wanting, ever hoping that we will come to Him. His arm of mercy is extended. He is ever ready to encircle us in the arms of His love. In them there is safety, in them there is joy, in them there is life eternal. Press on.

Yes, my fretting, frowning child,

I could cross the room to you more easily,

But I've already learnt to walk so I make you come to me.

Let go now, there, you see!

Oh, remember this simple lesson child,

And when in later years you cry out with tight fists and tears,

Oh help me God please!

Just listen and you'll hear a silent voice,

I would child, I would, but it's you, not I, who needs to try

Godhood.

-  Carol Lynn Pearson

MANNA ON THE HIGHWAY

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.

"Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years." (Deut. 8:2-4)

God knows our every need, what we need and when we need it.  For forty years He provided the Israelites with the necessities of life, from food and water to clothing which was preserved during all their time in the wilderness.  None of us could imagine wearing the same clothes for forty years but the Israelites did.  As they entered the promised land which 'flowed with milk and honey', the dynamics of God's miraculous care immediately changed; manna ceased to grace the earth and as other options became available the Israelites were no longer totally dependent on God.  Able to now take care of themselves, all that was asked of them was to remember what He had done for them when they could not do for themselves. A good lesson for anyone's books; the Lord will not abandon us in our time of need and He will not disable us in our time of plenty by unnecessary indulgence.  The following is a story of a 'modern day manna' that illustrates this point related by Hyrum M. Smith:

"I was raised in San Bernardino....during the Depression.  I was taught a marvelous lesson in faith when I was about nine years old.  We were living in what could best be described as a converted chicken coop. We owned a piece of ground that bordered a very busy highway.  On one occasion our father called us together and said: 'I have been impressed that we should spend a day fasting and praying to see if the Lord can't direct us in a path that will help us have enough money to build a home' (as told by Gerald Quinn).

His father had a job and all that job paid during the Depression was enough for food and clothing for a family and that was all.  At the end of this day of fasting, Bro. Quinn approached his children again.  Remember Gerald Quinn at this point was about nine.  And he said, 'I have been impressed that if we will go out in front of our house on this busy street, that we'll be able to find enough change dropped from passing motorists to feed our family.  Then I can take the money I get at work, buy the materials for the house and we can build the house ourselves'. Sister Quinn was very supportive and she said, 'If that's what you think is right, we'll do it'.

Gerald and his young sister were assigned the task of going out and searching the highway.  The next morning they went out and spent about 45 minutes walking up and down this highway about 600 yards on either side of the house.  They came back with 75c that they had found.  Those of you that remember the Depression, 75c was a lot of money. It bought food for the day.The next day they went out and did the same thing and brought back about $1.23. This was nickles, dimes and pennies. Brother and sisters, this went on for four years. Every day they would come back with anywhere from 25c to $1.50 in change.

Brother Quinn did exactly what he committed to the Lord he would do; took his money from work, bought the materials and they built a home. It was not a palatial place, but it was home. Gerald Quinn said, 'I'll never forget the day we finished the home. We had a ceremonial burning of the chicken coop out back. Mom fixed a really neat meal and we all had just kind of a special day'.

He said, 'the next day, because it had become our habit, my sister and I went out to the street to collect our 'daily manna'. We spent an hour and didn't find one penny. We came back to the house frantic, approached our mother and said, 'Mother, there is no money out there today'.

Mom sat them down and taught them a powerful lesson and said, 'you didn't expect there to be any money today, did you?' And Gerry not really understanding this whole process said, 'well, it's been there for four years, why not today?'  And then his gracious mother said, 'because we don't need it anymore. And there won't be any money anymore. The Lord provided that while we were building our home. Our home is completed. There won't be any money anymore'.

Gerry Quinn had to prove that. For the next three weeks he went out every day and never found another dime.

(From an audio recording by Hyrum M. Smith, "A Testimony of the Principles of Faith")

LOOKING UP

From the very creation of the world to this last dispensation, God has provided his children with many effective ways to admonish them to 'look to God and live'. We might look to the children of Israel and the miracles they witnessed and think that it should have been easy for them to do so with such tangible proofs and evidences that He was in their midst.  Our signs to direct us towards Him seem subtle in comparison.  After all there is no manna in our backyard and there is no smell of animal sacrifices in our temples to provide such visually searing remembrance of shedding of His blood for the souls of men.  So how can we effectively remember to stop looking down under the crushing weight of this world that oppresses us with demands of daily necessities and hardship?  When we are looking down, we cannot look up, it is impossible to do both,  but look up we must if we want to rise above this oppression.  The Israelites of old make an interesting study in this regard.

The Israelites' entire journey to the promised land was an exercise in 'looking up' to see the Saviour of the world, their personal and collective saviour who would not only lead them to their promised land but also to life eternal.  Everything the Saviour did for them was symbolic of Him to keep them in remembrance of His power to save and deliver.  Even the rod with which Moses challenged Pharoah's authority, which parted the Red Sea and provided drinking water to the needy Israelites became the symbol of Christ's ability to heal the believing, as it held up the serpent symbolic of Him who has all power.  According to the mythic epics of the ancient Near East, this rod was cut from the tree of life itself and passed down through the patriarchs to Abraham and ending up with Moses.  In the Book of Mormon we learn from Nephi that the tree of life represents the Saviour (1 Nephi 11) . Even though the Saviour sought to establish himself as the God of Israel to ultimately lead the Israelites to exaltation, he used the needs of this temporal life to point them in that direction.

I think why the Israelites found it difficult to cope with the challenges of their journey is because they expected the deliverance to give them immediate ease from any burdens and difficulties. They expected the milk and honey straight away.  Surely that's what deliverance means?  What happened instead was that they went from slavery to the harsh challenges of the wilderness.  Each of those challenges though were needful for them to get to know the God of Israel. The water that issued from the rock of Horeb became a symbol of Living Water as the rock yielded under the Christ within the rod in the hands of Moses. How else could Israelites learn that they were in the hands of the Living Water? And as manna descended upon the dew straight from heaven and filled the hungry hosts of Israel, how could they not know that they were fed by the Bread of Life?  How tough would it have been in the wilderness that afflicted them with so many personal discomforts and fears, yet the wilderness was exactly what was needful to serve as the training ground to make the Israelites God's people.

I love this painting by the LDS artist, Rose Datoc Dall.  It is titled "Hope of Israel".  A babe, yet a god. I love to see the Saviour depicted as a child because it reminds me that He experienced mortality like the rest of us, that He had to become acquainted with humanity to save the humanity.  He truly was the hope of Israel for no other power could have delivered them from their misery and He remains the hope of Israel today. Now more than ever, the house of Israel needs to be invested in that hope. Our needs today are really not that different from ancient times, they are just packaged differently.  Our only hope is the Saviour of the world who had 'descended below all things' that he might comprehend all things, 'that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth' and who 'ascended up on high' (D&C 88:6).  Where once he dwelt in the tabernacle of the congreation, He now sits upon His throne.  A god of majesty and power filled with grace, mercy and truth.  A god worth knowing and looking up to for we cannot afford not to.

"For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys" (Exodus 40:38).  Imagine having physical evidence that God is in your midst.  Ancient Israel was constantly subjected to signs and wonders, yet they found it difficult to trust that the Lord would supply the necessities of life for them.  No wonder they rejected the higher law, the commitment was not there, but murmuring was.  For this reason the Lord in his mercy gave them the lower law to live by.  We however, are required to live by the higher law and are required to have an exorbitant amount of faith to follow Him in all things, and to trust that He will care for us as he cared for ancient Israel. No cloud of the Lord resting on our temples by day and fire by night for us.  So how do we remember to look up and believe the Saviour can do for us what he says He can do?  By living in constant 'state of grace'.  Grace being  God's power to fill the gap between what we can give and what is required of us.  In all things, both temporal and spiritual.  When you are looking up in constant supplication to the God of Israel depending on Him to provide what is lacking that you cannot supply, you are in the state of grace. This applies to temporal needs as well as spiritual striving to become better.

There is a component of the state of grace that the ancient Israel was somewhat short on and that is gratitude.  When you are constantly murmuring, you cannot cultivate the attitude of gratitude and Israelites were proficient at murmuring, constantly afraid that they would die from their afflictions.  Why would God take them out of Egypt to allow them to die in the wilderness? There was no logic to their fears.  When you are murmuring you are denying God's power to come to your aid, his goodness and his watchful eye. Murmuring destroys your faith and breeds distrust and doubt.  By it you are denying what God has already done for you and given you and what you have learnt about your total dependence on Him.  When you pray for something and then go about complaining that you don't have it, you have stepped out of the state of grace.  God cannot give you what you need if you are creating the feeling of lack for your reality will always match the vibrational energy that you are creating.  This vibration can be likened to a magnetic field that you create by believing that you will receive.  If the magnetic field is not there, the blessing can be repelled.  If however, you ask for something and reflect consistently on all that you have already received from the fountain of all blessings, you are acknowledging God's power and your gratitude will create the vibrational energy that will draw that blessing to you.  This is the power of faith because faith is energy. Whatever you invest yourself in will create the energy to match that investment.  If you invest yourself in sorrow, you will create more sorrow, if you invest yourself in joy, you will have more joy.  If you are looking up, believing that you will receive, you will (1 Nephi 7:12).  The Saviour himself said this many times in the scriptures:

"Behold, I say unto you that whosoever believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." (Mormon 9:21)

To know God is to trust in His might and power and in His promises.  How much more blessed are you than the Israelites of old if you believe without the signs, if the bended knee is all you need to find the God of Israel.  How beloved you are of God if you honour Him with your faith and faithfulness.  Abraham's belief in God's promises to him were accounted to him for righteousness (Galatians 3:6). You are of the seed of Abraham, a true Israelite in the household of God. You have the power to believe.  No matter how heavy your load, lift your head and look up.  Look up and believe.

THE WAITING ROOM

It would seem there is no end to lessons we can learn from Abraham's life.  He who sought to worship the one, true, living God all the days of his life has inadvertently become a blessing to all his posterity after him. The admonition to 'look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah that bare you...." (Isaiah 51:2) should be heeded by all true followers of Christ who love and desire to honour Him through the life that they live.

One of the greatest examples of Abraham is his enduring faithfulness in expectation of his promised blessings. Abraham waited on the Lord until it seemed there was little chance that the Lord would keep his promise but Abraham knew that God cannot lie and that somehow the desire of his heart would one day be fulfilled. Abraham desired the blessings of the 'fathers',  meaning the priesthood which was passed down from father Adam to the rightful heirs or first born male children who were righteous enough to receive it.  These blessings of the priesthood he did not only desire for himself but for his posterity also which meant he would have to have an heir to pass the rights of the priesthood to.

The Lord entered into a covenant with Abraham sealed with a binding oath that his heir would 'come out of his own bowels' (Genesis 15:4).  In reference to this event, Paul states to the Hebrews, "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself" (Hebrews 6:13). To better understand Abraham's ability to never give up on the Lord's promise it is important for us to have a basic understanding of ancient and extremely serious process of oath swearing:

"According to the ancient pattern, the subject bound himself to the master by passing between the separated parts of a dead animal.  As he passed between the parts, he swore an oath, while pointing at the dead animal, that he would fulfill the terms of the contract.  Failure to do so would invoke the same consequence that befell the animal.  This type of simile cursing was common among the Hebrews in both the Old World and the New World."  (Dave Hadlock, Lesson 2 God Will Provide Himself a Lamb, Meridian Magazine)

Genesis 15 describes the same process of oath swearing between Jehovah and Abraham. Abraham was instructed to divide into pieces 'an heifer of three years old, and a she goat...and a ram...and a turtledove' (Genesis 15:9-10).  When the sun went down that night, Jehovah, symbolised by the burning lamp, passed between the pieces of the carcass of the dead animals promising Abraham that he would fulfill his part of the covenant or incur the curse of the dead animals.  From this Abraham knew that the Lord would not go back on his promise.

So the Lord had promised Abraham a rightful heir to the blessings of the 'fathers' and then promptly placed him in the waiting room, for 37 years.  Why such a long wait?  Why not give Sarah a son when she could have conceived normally, without divine intervention?  Church Father Ambrose offered a plausible explanation:  "An aged woman who was sterile brought (Isaac) to birth according to God's promise, so that we may believe that God has power to bring it about that even a virgin may give birth". (Didymus the Blind, On Genesis 2:41, in Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary, 2:45).

"Sarah's miraculous conception, intentionally arranged by the Almighty as a miracle that had never been seen since the Creation, is surely one of the clearest similitudes of the birth of Him who would fulfill the promise to Abraham and Isaac that in their seed all nations of the earth would be blessed". (E. Douglas Clark, The Blessings of Abraham, Becoming a Zion People, p. 192)

So Abraham had to wait in order for the power of God to be made manifest.  A painful sacrifice for the sake of a higher purpose.  And so it is with us, his descendants. Sometime in our lives we will be placed in the waiting room so we can come to believe in a God of miracles. In the meantime, we have to trust that the timing of his miracles is always right.  Often we hear that we receive blessings in the 'Lord's time' and not ours.  It is important to understand that the 'Lord's time' is really our time.  The Lord will not give us anything that we are not ready to receive because then it would be to our detriment.  What good would it have been to give the young Joseph the plates of gold immediately following the first vision, when he was just 14 years old? How unprepared would Joseph have been for such a stewardship and responsibility.  Preparation and growth is crucial in mortality where our wisdom and foresight is so finite.  The receipt of our promised blessings is therefore largely determined by us.

There are two recurring themes throughout the Book of Mormon.  One is that the Saviour is merciful and the other is that He always fulfills his promises. If you are in the waiting room at this moment for whatever reason, be comforted and  "cast not away therefore your confidence, which had great recompense of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise". (Hebrews 10:35,36)  He who has promised, will deliver. The promise is this:

"Verily, I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;
Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Saboath, and are recorded with this seal and testament - the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.
Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord".  (D&C 98:1-3)

The children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years before they came into the promised land.  Lehi was commanded to flee Jerusalem with his family in 600 BC but they did not see their promised land until nearly 11 years later. Joseph Smith had the first vision in 1820 and did not obtain the plates until 1827. There are many others who had to experience the waiting room, like Abraham of old, because of significant events in their lives.  A significant event very often necessitates spending time in the waiting room.  The tricky part is not to get discouraged, fearful, doubtful or impatient to the point of retreat.  When we receive a promise through personal revelation that something is right for us, we need to develop tenacity beyond our ordinary capacity until the promise is fulfilled.  Following every worth while and life changing revelation comes the adversary's attempt to discredit the promise you have received.  Do not be dismayed.  If something is true for you, hold fast onto the witness you have received and dispel the powers of darkness by your willingness to believe. Remember how you felt when the spirit of revelation was upon you and do not distrust the experience you had.

"...once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing.  If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now.  Don't give up when the pressure mounts.  Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness.  Face your doubts.  Master your fears.

.....mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land' (D&C 103:20)

What goodly land? Well, your goodly land. Your promised land.  Your new Jerusalem.  Your own little acre flowing with milk and honey.  Your future.  Your dreams.  Your destiny.  I believe that in our own individual ways, God takes us to the grove or the mountain or the temple and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us."  (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Ensign March 2000, p. 9)

It is easy to fall prey to fear and doubt whilst waiting for fulfillment of your promises.  Fear is destructive and paralyzing to your faith.  You stand to lose your heart's desire if you allow fear to abort the process of deliverance.  "After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel His love and hear the word of the Lord, go forward.  Don't fear, don't vacillate, don't quibble, don't whine.  You may, like Alma going to Ammoniahah, have to find a route that leads an unusual way, but that is exactly what the Lord (did) for the children of Israel.  Nobody had ever crossed the Red Sea this way, but so what?  There's always a first time.  With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet.  In the words of Joseph Smith, "Brethren (and sisters), shall we not go on in so great a cause?  Go forward and not backward.  Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!"  (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Ensign March 2000, p.10)

Who are you that the Lord would pay such attention to and honour his promises to you?

 "For ye are children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm.
"Therefore let not your hearts faint, for I say not unto you as I said unto your fathers: Mine angels shall go before you, but not my presence.
"But I say unto you: Mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land." (D&C 103:17,19-20)

You have not been forgotten.  In the words of the famous hymn:

"Unanswered yet?  The prayer your lips have pleaded
In agony of heart these many years.
Does faith begin to fail, is hope departing
And think you all in vain those falling tears?
Say not the Father hath not heard your prayer;
You shall have your desire, sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Though when you first presented
This one petition at the Father's throne,
It seemed you could not wait the time of asking,
So urgent was your heart to make it known.
Though years have passed since then, do not despair;
The Lord will answer you, sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet?  But you are not unheeded;
The promises of God forever stand;
To Him our days and years alike are equal;
"Have faith in God"; it is your Lord's command.
Hold onto Jacob's angel and your prayer
Shall bring a blessing down sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Nay, do not say ungranted;
Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done;
The work began when first your prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet?  Faith cannot be unanswered;
Her feet were firmly planted on the Rock;
Amid the wildest storm prayer stands undaunted,
Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.
She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer,
And cries,  "It shall be done" sometime, somewhere.
(Charles D. Tillman, pub. 1883)