A UNION OF POWER

 

I’ve written quite a bit about idolatry this year but felt this was worth mentioning. Judges Chapter 3 gives us a clear answer as to why ancient Israel fell into serving other gods once they moved into the promised land:

“And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites and Hivites, and Jebusites….And they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods…..And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.”  (Judges 3:5-7)

Both Moses and Joshua warned the Israelites against inter-marriage with the heathen nations (Deut 7:3-4; Joshua 23:12-13). Moses accentuated the influence of women in a marriage in his warning and Joshua warned that inter-marriages would become “snares and traps” and lead to spiritual and national downfall.

Despite the warnings, the children of Israel did this very thing which led them to break their covenant with Jehovah. And this is why…..marriage is a powerful union and the stronger influence of the one puts both parties on the same path.

There are some strong examples of this in the scriptures. Solomon married outside the covenant, and “his wives turned away his heart after other gods” (1 Kings 11:1-4). Solomon married seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines….did he really stand a chance????

Another notable example is King Ahab who married the infamous and evil Jezebel from the land of Phoenicia. This marriage caused the downfall of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jezebel introduced into Israel the worst forms of idol worship from her land in place of the worship of Jehovah (1 Kings 18:13,19). Not only did Jezebel influence Ahab to worship Baal but to kill many of God’s prophets (v 4). Her nemesis? Elijah. One of my most favourite stories in the Old Testament…..

These examples show the downfall of a whole nation and of generations to come. We can also see in the scriptures this power of marital union when used for good.

One of the most positive examples would have to be Ruth, who converted to the God of Israel when she married Naomi’s son. Her conversion and union with this Israelite produced such covenant loyalty that Ruth entered into a levirate marriage upon his death. Ruth married the next of kin according to Israel’s law whose name was Boaz. Ruth and Boaz had a son called Obed who became part of the Lord’s covenant line. Obed was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David (see Ruth 1 and Ruth 4). That’s a ‘marriage influence’ story in the best possible way. This woman is one of my favourite Old Testament figures.

The power of marriage never ends with just two people. It is passed on to the children and the generations to come. This can be seen in the Book of Mormon with the ‘stripling warriors’. I doubt very much that those boys could have been taught to believe and not doubt God’s power if their mothers did not follow and worship the God of Israel (Alma 56:47-48). I am convinced that the fathers were there in that influence too but somehow I think this is the reason why Moses accentuated the influence of women within the marital union and the home. Women bear and rear children and their influence with them is perhaps the strongest.

Who you marry would have to be the most important choice in anyone’s life because through this union you create the future. From two people united comes a family, comes a community, comes a country, comes a nation, comes the future that extends into eternity. Think of Abraham and Sarah......there is no greater example.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Abraham and Sarah by AI)

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TO SERVE GOD

 

When Joshua stood with the strength of a prophet before the children of Israel and delivered his farewell, he recounted not his power but the Lord’s in deliverance of His people from bondage and His gifting of ‘the land for which the Israelites did not labour and the cities which they did not build’ (Joshua 24:1-14).

The children of Israel became fearless in the strength of God under Joshua’s leadership. Nations trembled at the mention of their name as they flooded Canaan and claimed the land. None could stop their conquering spirit. They earned the name Jeshurun (righteous Israel) because they chose to serve God under Joshua’s leadership to do so (see The Old Testament Student Manual Book 1 p 242). The people are only as good as the example they follow….Joshua was that leader and that example.

As they entered the promised land, the children of Israel were given three warnings, in the event that some heathen nations were allowed to remain and live alongside them: 1. Beware of social intercourse with them (Joshua 23:7; 2. Refrain from worshipping their false gods (vv 7-11); and 3. Avoid intermarriage with hem (v 12). If these rules were ignored, Israel would fall into the snare of idolatry and their covenant with Jehovah, along with His protection and prosperity would be null and void.

As a result of Joshua’s devotion to Jehovah, we have one of the most instructive and famous scriptures of all time: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

“The Saints today also face a world intent on their spiritual destruction. Canaan has long passed from the earth, but Satan, who incited Canaan’s wickedness and opposition to Israel, is still determined to destroy those who follow the Lamb of God (see 1 Nephi 14:12-14)…..

“Now during this critical period, and it is a critical period that we are passing through, I hope that we will keep ever burning in our hearts the spirit of this great work which we represent. If we do so, we’ll have no anxiety; we’ll have no fear; we’ll not worry about the future because the Lord has given us the assurance that if we live righteously, if we keep his commandments, if we humble ourselves before him, all will be well.” (Elder Ezra Taft Benson, In Conference Report, Oct 1950, pp 145-46)

We still have Joshuas at the head of our Israel today to inspire us to serve the one and true living God. Today, we have President Oaks. Even though times become perilous and even though there will be times of insecurity to propel us into anxiety, the prophets at the head of Israel today, like Joshua will lead us to “be strong and of good courage; to not be afraid, neither dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9)

We, the children of Israel,

Ever follow the Shepherd

Who would not see us lost,

Who rescued our souls

Never counting the cost.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Good Shepherd by Del Parson)

THE LAW OF OBEDIENCE

 

I have heard it said that the most important of the Ten Commandments is the one you are struggling with the most. There is a lot of wisdom in that. In reality though, there are only two real commandments because they underlie all others.

The Saviour was asked during His earthly ministry which is the greatest of all the commandments. The Saviour replied: to love God and to love your neighbour….on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). If we obeyed these two commandments, there would be no need for any other and here is why:

“Any person who truly understands the implications for daily living that are part of the commandment to love God with all his heart, might, mind, and strength and to love his neighbour as himself, can function well with no additional laws. One does not need to warn a person who loves God properly about idolatry, for any act of worship not devoted to God would be naturally offensive to him.

“The prohibitions against stealing, adultery, murder, and so on are not required if a person truly loves his neighbour as himself, for to injure his neighbour in such ways would be unthinkable. But, of course, the vast majority of men fail to understand and keep these two commandments, and so the Lord has revealed many additional laws and rules to show specifically what the commandments require……. all such commandmnets do nothing more than define and support the two basic principles: all the law and the prophets are summarized in the two great commandments.”  (The Old Testament Student Manul p 186)

Moses spent 40 days on Mt Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. Before he went he entered the children of Israel into a covenant of obedience. The covenant bound God to support, defend, and save them and the people were bound to God to fear, love, and serve him.

This covenant was written in the book of the covenant, a sacrifice was offered, half the blood was sprinkled on the people and the other half on the altar. The covenant was binding when the people proclaimed: “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:1-7).

You can only imagine the outrage Moses felt when he descended the mountain 40 days later to find the Israelites breaking the very first command by worshipping a golden calf. It is no wonder he broke the tablets of stone containing the commandments written by the finger of the Lord (Exodus 32:19).

Historians have speculated why the people turned away from the covenant so quickly. There is no scriptural explanation for this or Aaron’s seemingly unobjected fulfilment of the camp’s request for other gods to worship (ibid v 1-5). Their idolatry was a metaphorical ‘return’ to Egypt by worshipping an Egyptian highly revered idol of a cow but their greatest sin was giving the golden calf credit for bringing them out of Egypt (ibid v 4).

The Israelites paid a heavy price for breaking the covenant. Jehovah’s punishment caused 3,000 men to be slain (ibid v 27,28). Aaron also was nearly destroyed and was saved only through Moses’ intercession in his behalf (see Deuteronomy 9:20).

And Moses? He proved he truly was a prototype of Christ. He returned to the Lord and begged for Israel’s forgiveness, and if the forgiveness was not granted, he asked the Lord to blot out his name from the book of the covenant instead as intercession for the people’s sin (ibid v 31,32). The weight this man carried on his shoulders is astounding. But not nearly as heavy as the weight of the God of Israel.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

 

THE GOD OF VICTORY

 

As the children of Israel marched toward Canaan, their magnitude and size drove fear into the nations they encountered along the way. The most warlike nation they encountered inhabited the lands of Gobolitis and Petra and were called Amalekites (the descendants of Esau).

This is what the Amalekites saw: a formidable army of strangers, which by their strength, escaped the slavery of Egypt and which needed to be crushed before they came to be prosperous and take over the cities and all their goods…..therefore they had to be destroyed. (Josephus, “Jewish Antiquities” Book 3, Chapter 2:1).

The Amalekites made two big mistakes. The first was making the wrong assumption of the Hebrews which were ill prepared for war, who had nothing and only escaped Egypt through the strength of their God. The second mistake they made was cowardly attacking the rear end of the marching Israelites killing the feeble and the faint and the weary. This did not sit well with God who commanded the Israelites to “utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:14; The Old Testament Student Manual p 123).

This slaughter of their weak members drove incredible fear into the rest of the camp. Lucky for them they had one great advantage over all the other nations they would encounter in their sojourn. They had a living prophet among them. Moses exhorted his people to be courageous and to look upon their entire prosperity at the hands of God since they left Egypt and to believe that God will deliver them again (Josephus, "Jewish Antiquities" Book 3, 2:2).

Moses had a brilliant battle strategy: First, he appointed as the captain of the army a man of great courage, of great abilities and very serious in the worship of God, and very much like Moses who the people could have confidence in. Enter Joshua, the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. Secondly, he directed his brother Aaron and Miriam’s husband, Hur, to stand on each side of him and uphold his hands to be a beacon of God’s power which would ensure the victory (Exodus 17:8-13)

The children of Israel won that war, terrified the neighbouring nations and enriched themselves with the spoils, having not lost one soul while those of the enemy’s army were too many to be numbered (“Jewish Antiquities” p 117).

I wasn’t going to write about this part of the Israelite’s journey but I saw something very significant in it. I saw the importance of a living prophet who represents the one who stands at the head. The Israelites could never have made it to the promised land if they did not have a prophet holding his hands up invoking the power of Him who had said:  “….and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 16:12)

Never in the history of the world have we needed a living prophet as much as we do now. The spiritual battle is raging, the evil power is the greatest it has ever been. The battle ground is fierce. Our promised land awaits but we need not fear.  I offer thanks this day that we have a prophet who is willing to hold up his hands to remind us we are led by the God of victory.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

THE GLORIOUS GOD OF ISRAEL

 

 

It is estimated by historians that the total number of the children of Israel who left Egypt would have been close to 2 million. That number would have increased over the 40 years of journeying. Just imagine people’s struggle with this ongoing travel and its associated frustrations, fears and doubts for 40 years. It’s like a camping trip from hell!

Imagine setting up tents and then tearing them down to continue from one point of distance to another and doing that for 40 years. Now imagine running out of food and water along the way and having to fight off the people who saw you as a threat to their land.

We who live in an age of sophisticated transportation could never relate to reaching any destination on foot. Jehovah instructed Moses the congregation should march in groups of 4, with each group consisting of 3 tribes, on the west, south, east and north surrounding the tabernacle with Levites who were consecrated to the service of caring for the tabernacle and priesthood ordinances within, to be in the middle.

The places of honour, at the head and immediately following the tabernacle and the Levites were held by Judah and Ephraim (Numbers 2). These were the choice tribes who presided over the two kingdoms in the promised land. Judah, because Christ was to come from that line and Ephraim, because He is God’s firstborn:”…for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:9).

It was an eleven-day journey from Mt Sinai to the promised land but because of their rebellions that journey became 40 years of wandering (Clarke, “Bible Commentary” 1:737). Years ago when I was studying this, I came to the conclusion that the children of Israel were very spiritually immature. Their constant complaining and murmurings seemed like unnecessary faith defeating melt downs. Now that I have lived a life-time experiencing hardship, I have compassion for what they went through. I who abhor camping would not have lasted two days in such a situation.

Imagine being in charge of this whole operation.  No wonder Moses exclaimed: I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me!” (Numbers 11:14). But Moses did bear it because the God of Israel sent him Jethro, his father-in-law who taught him about delegation (Exodus 18:13-27). And that was not the only help He gave.

Jehovah also travelled with His chosen people (Numbers 9;21-23; 10:34; Psalm 78:14); sustained them with provisions; preserved their health and even the clothes upon their backs (Deuteronomy 8:4). He was there throughout the whole difficult experience refining them to become after 430 years in slavery, ‘a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people’ who could ‘show forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light’ (1 Peter 2:9)

This life is like a wilderness through which we must pass to get home. I have often asked myself why it has to be this hard. The answer is the same for us as it was for the children of Israel: “…and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 16:12)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Artist Unknown)

 

 

 

SONGS OF EVERLASTING JOY

 

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake saying, I will sing unto the Lord; for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation: my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

Thy right hand, O Lord is become glorious in power, thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

-          Exodus 15:1-18

“Regardless of where the Ten Tribes are, it will require a miracle to bring them forth. It will be of greater magnitude than the dividing of the Red Sea in the days of Israel’s Exodus. Mountains, ice and a continent of water will stand between the Ten Tribes and the land of Zion when they first appear, but they will ‘smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence’ (D&C 133:26). As they come to the great body of water, dry land will be cast up in the midst of it so that a mighty highway will spread before them (ibid v 27; Isaiah 11:16).” (Cleaon Skousen, “Prophecy and Modern Times” p 56)

And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.

And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.

And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy.

(D&C 133:31-33

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

HE WHO RESCUES

 

“So the Hebrews went out of Egypt, while the Egyptians wept, and repented that they had treated them so harshly…..but the Egyptians didn’t weep for long and…’soon repented that the Hebrews were gone; and the king also was mightily concerned that this had been procured by the magic arts of Moses; so they resolved to go after them.”

-           (Josephus, “Jewish Antiquities” 15:1, The New Complete Works of Josephus p 107)

The number of Egyptians that pursued the children of Israel was overwhelming and terrifying:six

hundred chariots, fifty thousand horsemen, and two hundred thousand footmen, all armed (ibid page 107; Exodus 14:7).

The terrifying appearance of the Egyptian army when they found the Hebrews encamping by the Red Sea, triggered their often-repeated accusations against Moses during their travels to the promised land (Exodus 14:12. Josephus claims they attempted to stone him several times.

Moses, however, would not be deterred by the threat of his life and reasoned with people that God would not lead them out of Egypt to abandon them and if He so please He can make plain ground out of the mountains that were behind them and dry land out of the sea that was before them. He therefore prayed to God for their deliverance:

“You are not ignorant, O Lord, that it is beyond human strength and human contrivance to avoid the difficulties we are now under….and we have recourse only to that hope we have in you….therefore manifest your power to us….the sea is yours, the mountains also…..these mountains will open themselves if you command them, and the sea also, if you command it, will become dry land.” (Josephus, “Jewish Antiquities” 16:1, p 109)

Moses closed his supplication to God by saying that they can even escape by ‘flight through the air, if He should determine that they should have that way of salvation’. Can you imagine God not acting upon such a prayer of faith? It is unthinkable. I’ve learnt something from Moses….without faith, prayer becomes just words.

Jehovah responded to Moses’ faith and “caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided…and the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground….and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.” (Exodus 14:21,22,31)

If you are in bondage to the adversary, in any way, know this. He will not let you go easily and when you try to escape he will come after you. But there is one mightier than he. He will ensure your escape and honour your faith. Hope, trust, believe…..He is the deliverer of your soul, may glory be His forever more.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: I Was There by Danny Hahlbohm)

MOSES, THE VOICE OF GOD

 

“The Lord’s concern for His chosen people can be seen in the call of Moses. So great was Moses that forever after the Lord and His people have used him as a standard, or model, of a prophet. Even Jesus Christ was called a prophet like unto Moses (see Acts 3:22; 7:37; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19; 1 Nephi 22:20-21; 3 Nephi 20:23-24). Indeed, Moses was a similitude or living symbol of Jesus Christ (see Moses 1:6).”

-          The Old Testament Student Manual Genesis 2 – Samuel p 103

“The true Moses was one of the mightiest men of God in all time….. He walked and talked with God, received of divine glory while yet in mortality, was called a son of God, and was in the similitude of the Only Begotten. He saw the mysteries of the heavens and much of creation, and received laws from God beyond any other ancient man of whom we have record.”

-          Elder Mark E. Petersen, “Moses”, p 49)

“He had few equals as a general and none as a prophet, to the extend that in all his pronouncements, one seemed to hear the voice of God himself.”

-          Flavius Josephus, “The New Complete Works of Josephus” p 119

As mighty and exemplary as Moses was, he was not perfect. It seems he made a crucial mistake which cost him entrance into the promised land (Numbers 20:12; Deuteronomy 32:51-52). Some sources say, however, that other factors might have contributed also (see the Old Testament Student Manual 1 p 208).

The children of Israel certainly were a whining lot and one can see how easy it was for Moses to be led to the mistake he made being driven by the frustration of their complaints. The story unfolds when they arrived to the desert of Zin and found there was no water there. They immediately accused Moses and Aaron of taking them out of Egypt and bringing them to ‘this evil place’ that they might die (Numbers 20:1-5).

The Lord told Moses to “speak” to a rock at Meribah and to strike it with a rod to bring forth water for the children of Israel. The instructions were, however, not adhered to properly. Gathering the people to witness the miracle, Moses never spoke to the rock and instead struck it in anger and suggested to the congregation that he and Aaron were responsible for the saving water that issued in response to their accusations (v 8-11).

Think for a moment what this could have meant to a people who were exposed to the idolatry and sorcery of Egypt for 430 years. Now think about it in the context of Jehovah being the living water and how this incident could have impressed this on their minds. Every miracle, every answered prayer, every conquest had to be attributed to the God who would make them “a peculiar people” that would carry the banner of the one true and living God into the land of Canaan to conquer the unbelievers and claim their inheritance.

And Moses? The merciful Jehovah took him to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab and showed him the promised land before He took him unto himself (Deuteronomy 32:49) and that in itself was a far greater land of promise (Alma 45:19).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Be Still My Soul by Mark Missman)

CLOUDS OF GLORY

 

When the Saviour came for the first time, He came as the Suffering Servant to ‘justify many’ through His Atonement, meaning He brought back into alignment with the Father many of His children, by bearing their iniquities and declaring them innocent and guiltless (Isaiah 53:11).

“Persecuted and despised, He trod the thorny path of duty, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”; and finally condemned by His people, who clamored to an alien power for authority to execute their own unjust sentence upon their Lord, He went to death by the torturing crucifixion prescribed for malefactors.”  (James E. Talmage, “Jesus the Christ”, p 357)

When He comes again, Christ will come as the King, trading the stench of the stable with the clouds of glory, and the government shall be upon His shoulders to reign on earth a Millenium of days as the Prince of Peace. This prophecy of the Millenial Messiah can be found in the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price (see Det 18:15-19; Isaiah 9:6,7; Acts 3:22; 3 Nephi 20:23-24; D&C 133:63; JSH 1:40)

What touches my heart the most about the Second Coming is this…when He comes, the Saviour will come to His people Israel first. Unlike the first time, however, when He came to lift them out of apostasy and establish His Church through which all the nations of the earth would be blessed according to the Abrahamic Covenant, His Second Coming will be a jubilation amongst His people, who love Him, serve Him, and have accepted Him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This will be the order of His appearances: 1. To priesthood leadership at Adam-ondi-Ahman (Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; D&C 116); 2. To His saints at New Jerusalem in America (3 Nephi 21:23-25; D&C 45:66-67); 3. To the Jews in Jerusalem (D&C 45:48; 51-53; Zechariah 12:10; 14:2-5); 4. Lastly, He will appear in glory to all mankind (D&C 45:44; 101:23; Matt 24:30; Isaiah 40:5; JST, Revelation 1:7) (see also the Institute Manual, Introduction to “The Lord’s Second Coming”, Chapter 36)

In the ‘meridian of time’ Christ was born amid obscurity to all except the faithful few who had been watching for the promised event. It is those few who recognised Him and accepted him. His second advent, however, will outnumber those few by the masses of His faithful saints. It will be a triumphant return.

Modern day revelation tells us that the coming of the Lord will overtake ‘the world’ as a thief in the night (D&C 106:4), meaning those who live in darkness rejecting the spiritual light of day will see the day unprepared and surprised.

But this is not us….as Apostle Paul tells us, that day cannot overtake us as a thief in the night because we are not in darkness…..we are “the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” (1 Thessalonias 5:2-5). We will be neither unprepared or surprised. We are Israel, children of light. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Transcendent Glory by Greg Collins)

SHEMA

 

In his farewell address to the children of Israel, just before they entered the promised land and before Moses was taken from them by the Lord (Deauteronomy 34:56), he outlined the commandments Israel was to live by in great detail. The very first and most important commandment was that there is only one God who should be loved and worshipped which was in contrast to the many gods worshipped by those in neighbouring lands. The existence of only one God became the Jewish credo and it began like this:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4-6). This commandment became the dogma of Judaism to be recited both morning and evening by Jewish males. It is called SHEMA, the very first word of the declaration, which is HEAR.

So sacred is SHEMA to Jews “that the pious in Israel have always sought to die with it upon their lips. This has been true down through the ages, even to the Holocaust death camps, where Jews who were being put to death recited the SHEMA in their last moments on earth.” (Marshall D. Isaacson, “Children of the Covenant” p 56).

Have you ever heard of anything more soul wrenching? Perhaps there is this: Because Jesus claimed to be co-equal with God when He said “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), the credo of SHEMA became the very reason why the Jews rejected Christ. Thus the Jewish staunch belief that there is only one God became the dogma of Judaism and their conversion to Christianity one of the great improbabilities of this life.

When I first read about SHEMA, I was immediately transported to the Sacred Grove and Joseph who was told: “This is my Beloved Son, HEAR Him!” (JSH 1:17). To me, this word “Hear” seemed incredibly significant. It was a confirmation to the world of the Saviour’s Sonship and Godhood, that He is indeed one with the Father and the awaited Messiah. And all with just one word, HEAR!

The Church has sent the proclamation only recently to the membership of the House of Israel to: Hear Him! It’s a call to alertness and attention, a call to obedience and repentance and to focus on the one and only way to salvation. When I remembered the First Vision whilst reading about SHEMA, I also remembered investigating the Church fifty years ago. I HEARD every word of the restored Gospel with my very soul. It resonated with me like whispers from home because I felt that’s where I was.

Ever since I heard, I have been following, and all glory be to the One who has led me. Because I have followed, I have endured much and prospered much spiritually and gratefully I have learnt that indeed there is only one God, the Father and the Son who are one……

I hear Your voice in empty silence

When loneliness envelops me;

I hear Your voice in violent storms

That plague me in mortality;

I hear Your voice in my struggles

That never let me be;

I hear Your voice when You pilot me

On dangerous journeys of earthly seas;

I hear Your voice beckoning me

To stay the course because
You will never abandon me.

I hear Your voice getting louder

And more distinct on the narrow path

That leads me home to Thee.

I see Your arms wide open

Waiting to welcome me.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Guardian by Kelsy and Jesse Lightweave)

VESSELS OF HONOUR

 

“On 19 December 1841, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met in the home of the Prophet Joseph Smith. According to the minutes of the meeting kept by Wilford Woodruff, ‘Elder Heber C. Kimball preached of the clay in the hands of the potter, that when it was marred in the hands of the potter, it was cut off the wheel and then thrown back again into the mill, to go into the next batch, and was a vessel of dishonour; but all clay that formed well in the hands of the potter….was a vessel of honour!

Our lives may also be vessels of honour, a work of beauty in the hands of the Master potter, if we will respond to His call, be pliable in His hands, and learn from the things that we suffer.”

-       - Jean A. Tefan, “Jeremiah: As Potter’s Clay”, Ensign Oct 2002, p 11

“O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

-        - Jeremiah 18:6

Let us dear Lord

Sit by Thy furnace of affliction

To warm ourselves by Thy refiner’s fire.

Purge our suffering and polish us as silver

That we might in the end receive our desire;

When Thou wilt come

To gather Thine own

To receive us into Thy bosom,

To carry us home.

 

Thy love for Thy people is beyond compare,

Thy mercy affixed forever more.

Thy power delivers us and

Thy loving kindness gathers us;

We are restored by Thy merciful might,

We are Israel, children of light.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Master Potter by Paige Payne)

IF YE ARE NOT ONE, YE ARE NOT MINE

 

The Sunday School lesson for this Sunday teaches us that God gathers his people into one, if for no other reason but simply because we are stronger as a whole. This can be seen through a very interesting story in the Old Testament.

In his farewell address, Moses admonished the children of Israel, repeatedly, to worship the one true and living God and that they should have no other gods before Him. This farewell constitutes the entire book of Deuteronomy with strong emphasis on dangers of worshipping false gods. Because the inhabitants of Canaan were ripe in iniquity and idol worship (1 Nephi 17:32-35) they presented a very real threat to the covenant people. For this reason Israel was commanded to cleanse the entire land before they took possession, which they failed to do miserably because of their disobedience. As they conquered cities before them, however, lands were appropriated to them for their settlement. The first to receive land were the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Mannesah. They settled in the land of Gilead which divided them from the rest of Israel by river Jordan (Joshua 22:9). After these three tribes assisted in further conquest of the land, Joshua sent them back to Gilead to live peacefully in their newly appointed inheritance. Upon their return home, these tribes built an altar by river Jordan. When the rest of Israel heard of it they were outraged presuming the altar was built for idol worship. They sent Phineas, the son of Eleazor the priest, with the heads of the tribes, to call the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Mannesah to repentance. In their defence, these two and a half tribes explained that the altar was not made for any worship but was meant to stand as a witness to the rest of Israel, for generations to come, that the tribe of Reuben and Gad and Mannesah were united with the rest of Israel in the worship of one true and living God (Joshua 22:34); that even though they were divided geographically from the rest of the House of Israel, they were still a link in the chain and that they would not be the downfall of Israel. They knew that if they turned to the worship of other gods, the ripple effect would be detrimental to the whole House of Israel.

So it is with us. We of modern day Israel are individual links in a great chain which binds the covenant people. How we live our lives and how we worship God has great impact upon not only us personally but upon the body of Christ collectively because "no one sins in isolation. We cannot say that our actions influence only ourselves for even if we do something sinful that is completely personal, our individual loss of spiritual power means a lessening of power for all mankind and contributes to the withdrawal of the Lord's spirit, and that is damaging to all......". (Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel, p 243). We cannot afford to be the downfall of modern day Israel. We bear a grave responsibility for the gathering of God's people. Each link in the chain is important and contributes towards this goal through individual gifts, talents and personal power. When we worship the world instead of God we forfeit that power and cannot accomplish our collective purpose.

May each one of us erect personal altars in our lives as a witness to the rest that we will honour our commitment to the divine destiny of the House of Israel.

- Cathryne Allen