THE ARMOUR

 

In Section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we are told to ‘lift up our hearts and rejoice’ because there is a way to withstand the evils of our day, if we put on the armour of God (D&C 27:15-18). This is good news indeed when you consider the evils of our day which have the power to extinguish any happiness and down-right destroy us.

Our enemy knows us well. He knows us both from our pre-mortal life and from observing us in our mortal state.  He knows what buttons to push when and he knows how to get into our cracks and inflict wounds that might never heal therefore it is of utmost importance to put on the 'whole armour' of God upon us to prevent these wounds.  A section or two is not enough.  Almost all the armour will not do.  It needs to be a complete armour for complete protection.

When Ahab, the king of Israel led his army against the forces of Syria, he took every precaution to avoid being injured, even disguising himself so that the Syrians would not recognise him and focus on his destruction.  The only thing he did not do was wear enough armour and ‘someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel BETWEEN the sections of his armour’ (2K22:34, NIV). By the evening, he had bled to death.

The degree of protection we have from the adversary is proportional to the diligence and heed we give to the Lord's commandments.  How obedient we are here is an indication of how much we are willing to stand for the conviction that was ours in our pre-existence.  The extent of our armour is a good indication of how valiant in our testimony of Jesus we are being here and now. 

Our testimony of Christ is the key. When writing to the Ephesians, Paul took the concept of the armour to a new level when he admonished the Romans to put on ‘the armour of light’ meaning ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 13:14). The armour of God truly does protect us from spiritual darkness because each section of the armour deals with a gospel principle that counteracts sin. This is the greatest protection we can have. The ‘armour of light’ however suggests something more. It means bringing the light of Christ to the world to counteract the darkness.

The adversary is having enormous success but He can never win against ‘the light of the world’. His power is no match for Him who has conquered the power of sin and death.

Now more than ever, we need to wear the armour of God and the armour of light and bring it to the world.  The more righteous we are, the more light we are endowed with until we come to that day when we become as glorious as the one who is the source of all light.

In the words of Terri Savelle Foy: Satan has no power on his best day to take you out on your worst day……

Is this not cause enough to rejoice???

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Put On the Armour of God by Celestial Heritage)

THE MADNESS OF SAUL

This is a very sad story of a fallen king who allowed jelousy to corrupt his heart and who invited the forces of evil to torment his soul. Having already lost God's favour through disobedience, Saul, the first king of Israel, continued on the down hill slide to self-destruction. Saul, who was born great and was above all Israel in stature and goodness ended up a bitter man not worthy of his kingdom and feared by all, even his family.

David having found favour with the king of Israel by slaying Goliath, was taken away from his family and installed into the king's household. So impeccable was his behaviour that he was beloved by all Judah and Israel (1 Sam 18:16). And so obedient was he to any task that he was given by the king that Saul placed him in charge of his army (1 Sam 18:5). It naturally followed that David had great success in his battles with the Philistines and Saul was soon overshadowed by his popularity (1 Sam 18:6,7). Saul perceived this popularity as a threat to himself and his kingdom. In his mind, praise for another somehow diminished him in the eyes of the people. Saul, who had everything, who was the king of Israel, chosen by God, under whose command armies moved, who had all power and influence in the land, wanted more. From the moment Saul heard the women chanting "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands" (1 Sam 18:7), he hated David and became exceedingly jelous of him (1 Sam 18:8,9).

Saul's good qualities and his ability to rule with wisdom were totally subverted as he allowed jelousy to consume him. What would seem a rather harmless emotion became a deadly murderous obsession. He makes it his life mission to kill David even risking the life of his son Jonathan (1 Sam 20:33) and willing to annihilate a whole city (1 Sam 23:10) to accomplish his purpose. How did Saul come to sink so low? Armies could not have toppled him if he had remained righteous. Only one person had the power to destroy him and that person was himself. Jelousy, a seemingly harmless emotion proved to be not so harmless after all. The scriptures record that Saul came to be overcome by an evil spirit continually (1 Sam 18:10, 19:9). Through the life of Saul we can see the author of all jelousy and envy, he who sought to elevate himself above all else, not wanting anyone to have what he had. The father of all lies would have us believe that somebody else's greatness diminishes our own and that blessings others receive means blessings taken away from us. He convinces us so well that self-seeking is the path to abundance and therefore happiness. Elder Holland cites one observer who summed this up well:

"In a world that constantly compares people, ranking them as more or less intelligent, more or less attractive, more or less successful, it is not easy to really believe in a (divine) love that does not do the same. When I hear someone praised, it is hard not to think of myself as less praiseworthy; when I read about the goodness and kindness of other people, it is hard not to wonder whether I myself am as good and kind as they; and when I see trophies, rewards, and prizes being handed out to special people, I  cannot avoid asking myself why that didn't happen to me." (Meridian Magazine, "The Lord Be Between Thee and Me Forever", p 2)

What leads us to these assumptions and feelings of want? Elder Holland elaborates:

"As others seem to grow larger in our sight, we think we must therefore be smaller. So unfortunately, we occasionally act that way. How does this happen, especially when we wish so much that it would not? I think one reason is that every day we see allurements of one kind or another that tell us what we have is not enough. Someone or something is forever telling us we need to be more handsome or more wealthy, more applauded or more admired than we see ourselves as being. We are told we haven't collected enough possessions or gone to enough fun places. We are bombarded with the message that on the world's scale of things we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Some days it is as if we have been locked in a cubicle of a great and spacious building where the only thing on the TV is a never-ending soap opera entitled Vain Imaginations." (Elder Jeffrey R Holland, Meridian Magazine, "The Lord Be Between Thee and Me Forever", p. 2)

Opposite to Satan's plan to make us greedy and self-absorbed is the Saviour's plan to nurture in us the ability to become Zion people. A Zion person seeks the welfare of others and not just his own. A Zion person is one that is bound in love to his fellow beings. A very good example of this comes from the same story as Saul. It is the friendship and bond of love between his son Jonathan and David, the future king of Israel. Where his father sought to slay David, Jonathan sought to preserve his life. Jonathan was the next in line to the throne and his father warned him that as long as David lived, his kingdom will not be his (1 Sam 20:31). Jonathan however, was more interested in being faithful than in being a king. He shows that faithfulness through his friendship with David by saying: "....the Lord be between thee and me forever" (1 Sam 20:23). Whereas Saul, in cahoots with an evil spirit, seeks to take away David's life, Jonathan fueled by his faithfulness to God, seeks to preserve it. Jonathan and David share a common bond of faithfulness which binds them in friendship and love forever. Because of this bond of love, they seek each other's welfare rather than their own. The only author of such love can be God. David too shows his faithfulness to God by resisting an opportunity that delivers Saul into his hands and refuses to take his life reasoning that Saul is anointed of the Lord and that there is no evil nor transgression in his hand and would therefore not commit such wickedness (1 Sam 24:6,11,12). Had David murdered Saul in the cave in which he found him asleep he would have obtained the kingdom through the evil design of murder and not be given it by the hand of the Lord. If that had been the case, that would have been the beginning of David's demise. He could have rid himself of Saul and his dogmatic murderous pursuit forever but he would also have succumbed to the same hatred and evil that came to possess the heart of Saul and would therefore become lost.  David was more interested in respecting and loving the Lord than in self-seeking and because of it he became the next king of Israel.

What blessings that come from serving others will we miss out on if we engage ourselves in self-seeking and elevating ourselves above our fellowman? Whether it is being better, having better or doing better than someone else, it is all the same. It all leads to pride which robs us of the godly nature which we need to be of benefit to our fellowman. Self-seeking has no future. It is of this world only for in celestial kingdom there will be no one that is more or has more than someone else. It will be a perfect existence with equality of heart and mind and possession. The only children of God who will be able to abide this existence will be those who love others as themselves. This is what we are here to learn most of all, to love. Without this love we cannot pass through the gates of eternity and have eternal life with God. The author of this love beckons us to follow Him and to 'pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that we may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are the true followers of his Son..." (Moroni 7:48).

KNEE DEEP

 

Last Sunday our Sunday School lesson was entitled "Zion - The Pure In Heart".  I thought as I studied the lesson how much becoming a Zion person is at the other end of the spectrum of someone who is an inactive member of the Church.  Somewhere between being a Zion member and an inactive member we encounter all sorts of members.  Ones who sit on the fence and come to Church because they know they should and do little else about their membership, ones who consider the Church to be a social club and somewhere to belong, ones who choose what commandments they will live and live the gospel as it suits them.  Some members have barely wet feet and others are knee deep in the Church and strive with all their might to live the Gospel.  These members are Zion people.

  

In D&C 6:6, we are admonished to 'seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion'.  This should make every member feel the need and urgency to put their life into order and strive to become a Zion person.  One only needs to consider the condition of this world to be convinced that the time of the Saviour's coming is near, even at hand.  "For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory" (D&C 34:7)   When the Saviour comes we will not stand to experience the Millenium if we are not a Zion people. I've reflected a lot on my own worthiness during the past week and have sadly concluded that after nearly 40 years of Church membership I should be much further ahead than what I am.  Thank goodness for repentance and hopefully enough time for improvement before the Saviour makes an appearance because right now I am not sure I am yet a Zion person.

 

The Saviour's call for the Church to rise in strength of Zion is found in D&C 82:14: "For Zion must increase in beauty and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments".  President Franklin D. Richards explained: "What are these beautiful garments?  These beautiful garments are the clothing upon with the authority and power of the Holy Priesthood.  It is that which makes people beautiful; it is that which makes people useful...." (Journal of Discourses, 21:195).   President Eyring made clear the purpose and destiny of those who have the holy priesthood upon them in this dispensation:  "The destiny of the rising generation of priesthood holders is far more than to be ready to bring God's power down to heal the sick.  The preparation is to be ready to go and do whatever the Lord wants done as the world is preparing for His coming".  (Eyring, "Be Ready", Ensign, Nov. 2009, 59)  I don't know all things the Lord will ask of us before He comes but I know we need to be so knee deep in the Gospel and so committed that we will do anything.

 

 

 

To be Zion people, we cannot sit at the door of the chapel hoping the holiness will rub off on us, but need to be so far into the Church that its' principles and teachings dictate our every action.  We need to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost to have him purify our hearts and sanctify us and form us into the image of God.  Our hearts need to become pure and free of any malice and selfishness and full of love for our fellowman.  If we do not become like this we will not be able to abide the Zion community and the Zion way of life in the Millenium.  Here's what President Spencer W. Kimball had to say about this: 

 

"Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people.  Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart.  Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism.  No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart". (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p 363)

 

I've concluded that there are three qualifications needed to belong to a Zion society: 

 

1.  Personal righteousness;

2.  Love of fellowman;

3.  Detachment from worldliness.

 

If we strive to obey the two greatest commandments on daily basis we can accomplish this . The Saviour made clear what these commandments are:

 

"37...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38.  This is the first and great commandment.

39.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  (Matthew 22:37-40)

 

Why does everything depend on obedience of these two?  Because if we obey these two, we will be obeying all the rest too.

 

I've pondered on why some of us fail to make this preparation for Zion a priority in our lives and why we get so immersed and lost in the business of living in this telestial world rather than 'seeking for the things of a better' as Emma Smith was counselled to do (D&C 25:10).  The only answer that comes to my mind is that we give little thought to what life in Zion during the Millenium will really be like.  Imagine a society free of crime, war, pestilence and natural disasters;  a government with  a member of the Godhead  at the helm; where food is plentiful without hard labour, where there are no poor among us and people live in happiness.  Wouldn't you want that?  If anything, rather than being attached to this telestial world where there is so much suffering and evil and life is just plain hard, we should be wanting to let go of it and look forward to a better way of life a hundred times over.  We should heed Alma's admonition: "....come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things..."(Alma 5:57)

 

Zion starts in one's heart. You can be a Zion person here and now.  And you can exert so much righteous influence on those around you that you could have Zion anywhere: in your home, in your community, in your country, and eventually the world.  It all starts with a handful who are willing.  The Church was organised with just 6 members.  Now we number 15,000,000.  Without the work of those 6 members we would not be numbering into millions now.  According to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, half of us will not be invited to the wedding feast when the Saviour comes, remembering the 10 Virgins represent the Church members only.  This means a lot of us will miss out. With tongue in cheek,  I guess it all depends on whether you like weddings.