OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER

 

The legendary missionary labours of the sons of Mosiah are worthy of admiration. I came to Alma 17 in my Book of Mormon study today and was overcome with the spirit of these men. It is mind blowing to think that they would choose to engage in missionary labours with a hostile, wild, hardened and a ferocious people who delighted in murdering the Nephites (v14). Besides their miraculous conversions and new found testimonies, I can see another reason why they would do so.

When the sons of Mosiah approached their father for permission to engage in their missionary labours, they did so with a desire to ‘impart the word of God to their BRETHREN the Lamanites’ (Mosiah 28:1).  Mormon mentions that they desired to be instruments in the hands of God to bring ‘their BRETHREN the Lamanites’ to the knowledge of the truth (Alma 17:9). He also mentions the Lord’s admonition to them to ‘go forth among the Lamanites, thy BRETHREN’ to establish His word (v 11). It is easy to see that the recognition of the Lamanites as their ‘brothers’ fueled the motivation for such a dangerous mission.

Another thing of importance that struck me this time around studying Alma 17 is the principle of fasting. Not only did these men do it as a means of obtaining revelation and prophecy but that they might bring their brethren to the knowledge of the truth (v 3, 9). In other words, they also fasted for those who they would teach, for their hearts to be opened,  because they understood that those they served held strong beliefs (see Introduction to Alma 17-22, Institute Student Manual).

Elder M Russell Ballard said something that pricked my soul in regards to fasting for the unbelievers: “In gospel-sharing homes we pray for guidance for ourselves, and we pray for the physical and spiritual well-being of others. We pray for the people the missionaries are teaching, for our acquaintances, and for those not of our faith. In the gospel-sharing homes of Alma’s time, the people would ‘join in FASTING and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God (Alma 6:6)” (In Conference Report, Apr 2006, 88; or Ensign May 2006, 85). I do not think I have ever fasted in this way since my mission. This, my friends, is being ‘our brother’s keeper’.

Before the Saviour began His mission He fasted for 40 days (Luke 4:2; Matt 4:1,2). No doubt He was tutored, strengthened, received instruction and was apprised of what to expect during his Atonement but I somehow cannot help but believe that He also fasted for His ‘brethren’…..that they might receive His message, believe His words, and accept Him and the salvation He brought. The sacrifice for the unbelieving, the wicked, the unrepentant, the hostile, the highly iniquitous, did not deter Christ from His appointed mission, not even at the peril of His life, which in the end He freely gave. Why did He do it? Because, besides wanting to preserve His Father's glory, He is His brothers' keeper......

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus of Nazareth by Greg Olsen)

HE SEES ALL

 

A lesson came to me this morning as I revisited the story of Alma and Amulek’s coming together as missionary companions. At first an understanding came to me that the Lord provided Amulek as the second witness of Alma’s message to the spiritually depraved people of Ammonihah (Alma 8:29) and as a merciful provision of comfort to Alma who sorrowed greatly for the wickedness of the people (Alma 8:14). What piqued my interest the most, however, was this: when Amulek recounted the story of their association, he said the angel that appeared to him told him to abort his journey to his nearest kin and return to his house because he will ‘feed a prophet of the Lord’ who had fasted for many days (Alma 10:7). It is astonishing to me that the angel didn’t say, ‘Amulek, receive this man into your home because you have been chosen to be his companion in his missionary labours’. Instead of the call to serve, the angel revealed the Lord’s most pressing concern:  Alma was hungry and he needs to be fed. Until now I have always focused on Saviour’s redeeming attributes but have missed his Fatherly ones. And to me feeding Alma was a fatherly concern. We know that the Saviour becomes our spiritually begotten Father upon baptism but I feel we seldom think of Him as such.

The scriptures are very big on lessons in prayer. Alma himself admonished the people of Gideon to pray for whatsoever they stand in need of, both spiritual and temporal (Alma 7:23). Paul told the Philippians not to be afflicted in anything but in ‘everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving’ let their requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).

Knowing that God’s primary concern is our eternal welfare has stopped me many times asking Him for temporal blessings thinking they are not as important. I have overlooked, however, the Father in Him who would do anything to sustain us in this life and the next. I don’t know if Alma was fed as an answer to a prayer but I do know that the Saviour has said the very hairs of our heads are all numbered (Luke 12:7). And none of us know that fact. He sees all, He knows all, and He cares about all.

As the sun bursts through the morning light

It reveals You in the depths of my heart.

Gratitude overwhelms me

For Thy enduring patience

Of my inconsistent delight;

My erratic trust,

My feeble faith in Thy might.

I marvel You wait

In the shadow of my stubborn heart

And reach out to me in forgiveness

To fulfil Thy part.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

ART: "Nurtured by the Word" by Greg Olsen

LIKE A BROKEN VESSEL

I taught the Relief Society lesson today based on Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk entitled 'Like a Broken Vessel'. It is refreshing to have the General Authorities share the things they have suffered in their lives as Elder Holland did with a bout of serious depression, so serious that it made it difficult for him to function. The depression he talks of is 'a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it would surely go away if those victims would just square their shoulders and think more positively'.  This kind of depression is usually born from some serious trials that we are subject to in this fallen world: death, divorce, prolonged unemployment, transgression, post natal blues, abusive marriage, work stress etc.  Sometimes physical reasons come into the equation as well such as food allergies, prolonged sickness, disability, diet deficiency, drug dependency.  I realise there are many degrees of depression and many different ways of handling it. The purpose of this blog is always to view things from the spiritual perspective and so I offer my thoughts in this vein.

Among other suggestions for coping with this malady,  Elder Holland suggests to 'faithfully pursue the time-tested devotional practices that bring the Spirit of the Lord into your life'.  We all know what these practices are: prayer, scriptures, fasting, temple, Church attendance.  I can attest that bringing the spirit into your life is the best course to pursue in relation to depression because I have benefited from it myself.  I recognise how incredibly hard it is to do anything positive when you are depressed.  Even though I have not had debilitating depression, I had experienced prolonged bouts of it for many years leading to my marriage.  This only got worse during my marriage.  Following my divorce I was hanging by a thread in the Church not knowing which way I was gonna go.  I finally resolved that I could not leave the Church not only because of myself but mostly because of my children.  However, I did not just stay active, I did something that would bring me amazing benefits which I did not know at the time.  I immersed myself in the scriptures and started studying about the Atonement.  After about a year or more I realised one day I had not been depressed for a very long time.  In fact, I realised that I had not been depressed since I had started studying the scriptures.  I gave it some serious reflection and came to understand that studying the scriptures brought the spirit into my life more than anything else I was doing and that the spirit healed me of the depression.  That was 18 years ago and I have not been depressed since.  This is not to say that life doesn't get me down from time to time but an occasional down day does not depression make.  I feel mentally healthy and spiritually well.

I believe the reason Elder Holland suggests the devotional practices first and foremost is because not only does the spirit help us cope from day to day but because in the end it heals us.  It might not happen overnight but I truly believe that over time the spirit of God heals all spiritual wounds and corrects all spiritual and emotional defects.

My spiritually sensitive daughter suffered from severe depression for 5 years during her teenagehood.  It was the most difficult time of her life and mine too.  The depression was so great that it derailed her from the Church as she searched for other ways to free herself from the prison she felt she was in.  This only compounded the problem as it produced a huge amount of guilt and remorse in her.  I feel this ride to hell and subsequent emergence from it will somehow be a force for good if she now remains faithful.  Just like Alma and the sons of Mosiah, I too believe that she will make something good come out of something so bad.  A year after my daughter came back to the Church she served a full time mission.  Her reactivation was the beginning of her spiritual and emotional healing.  Her journey of wellness has really only just begun. It's like an onion that she is peeling off one layer at a time but already she has helped so many people with her understanding of their trials.  She is not a broken vessel anymore, only slight cracks remain but a vessel with cracks can still do much good as is demonstrated in the following story.

'A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck.  One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water, at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house the cracked pot arrived only half full.  For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.  But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.  After two years, of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house.  Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts", the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said:
"As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path".

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.  But at the end of the trial, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot:
"Did you notice that there were flowers only on you side of your path, but not on  the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.  I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.  For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table.  Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws.  We are all cracked pots.  But if we will allow it, our flaws are used to grace life's table.  In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste.  Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them and you too can be the case of beauty.  Know that in our weakness we find our strength.  May we look for one another's strengths to build up one another and in doing so build the kingdom of God.'

My daughter informed me the other day that she is helping one of her converts from her mission who had gone inactive and is now suffering from severe depression.  I thank God that my daughter is a cracked pot. May she water the flower bed every day of her life and thereby serve God who gave her life.

If you are in the darkest abyss and "though you may feel 'like a broken vessel'....you must remember, that vessel is in the hands of the divine potter......Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee" (Jeffrey R. Holland).  Trust in it, believe in it, hope for it.

THE POWER OF YOU

 

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies"

Proverbs 31:10

 

"The colour of rubies varies from vermilion to red. The most desired colour is pure red with a hint of blue.  If the colour is too pink, the stone is a pink sapphire.  The same is true if it is too violet - it is a violet sapphire.  The best rubies and star rubies are bright red....The Mogok Valley in Upper Burma  was for centuries the world's main source for rubies.  That region has produced some of the finest rubies ever mined, but in the recent years very few good rubies have been found there....."(Wikipedia)

 

A virtuous woman, as valued as a bright red ruby, is fast becoming a rare possession in today's world.  The glare of the telestial world has blinded so many of us to the inherent spiritual nature we as women are born with.  In his last conference talk, Elder D. Todd Christofferson pointed out that 'women bring with them into the world a certain virtue, a divine gift, that makes them adept at instilling such qualities as faith, courage, empathy and refinement in relationships and in cultures'.  This statement suggests that women have been gifted in this way because they have a particular responsibility in this life to lift others to higher ground.  The adversary knows this and he also knows that if he works on women to dull their spiritual natures, they will not accomplish this divine responsibility.  He uses the world and its ideals to weaken and eliminate our influence to the great detriment of our families and the society at large.  Elder Christofferson mentions three ways as a caution and a warning:

 

1.  The devaluation of marriage and of motherhood and homemaking as a career.  I remember some years ago I heard a woman of prominence discuss child care on the radio.  Her suggestion was that women use the cost of child care as an excuse to stay at home and 'do nothing'.  It saddened me greatly to hear a woman say such a thing.  The attitude that homemaking and rearing children is unimportant and demeaning to women is getting more and more prevalent in our society. 

 

 

 

2.  Sexual immorality which reinforces the lie that a woman's sexuality is what defines her worth.

I think that women have played a large part in the undermining of marriage by becoming sexually available to men.  Elder Christofferson says this:

 

"There has long been a cultural double standard that expected women to be sexually circumspect while excusing male immorality.  The unfairness of such a double standard is obvious, and it has been justifiably criticized and rejected.  In that rejection, one would have hoped that men would rise to the higher, single standard, but just the opposite has occurred - women and girls are now encouraged to be as promiscuous as the double standard expected men to be.  Where once women's higher standards demanded commitment and responsibility from men, we now have sexual relations without conscience, fatherless families, and growing poverty.  Equal-opportunity promiscuity simply robs women of their moral influence and degrades all of society.  In this hollow bargain, it is men who are 'liberated' and women and children who suffer most."

 

3.  Erasing of differences between the masculine and the feminine.  Lara Croft, as gorgeous, wealthy and adventurous as she is, has done much to push women to adopt more masculine traits.  Through the media's influence women are encouraged to be more aggressive, tough and confrontational.  It is so common now to see women in terribly violent roles, leaving dead bodies and mayhem in their wake.  Elder Christofferson goes on to say that it is "soul-numbing to see men in such roles and certainly no less when women are the ones perpetrating and suffering the violence".

 

 

Former Young Women general president Margaret D. Nadauld taught:  "The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.  There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind.  There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined.  We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith.  We have enough greed; we need more goodness.  We have enough vanity; we need more virtue.  We have enough popularity; we need more purity".

 

 

 



The only source of our moral power is God the Father.  Elder Christofferson says that Jesus' power came through His single-minded devotion to the Father's will.  Submitting ourselves to Him in likewise manner can endow us with power also.  It is only through this relationship that we can continue to cultivate the spiritual divine nature we were born with.  The Father made us gentle, He made us kind and tender and loving.  These are all attributes that the Saviour possesses.  Nurturing our spiritual selves and putting aside the values of the telestial world will ensure that we sharpen these attributes and become powerful enough to lift others to higher ground.  This means our children, our spouses, our extended families, our friends, our co-workers, our communities.  We all know how to immerse ourselves in things of the spirit: prayer, scripture study, fasting, temple attendance, church attendance, service and living the commandments.  All this goes a long way towards enabling us to identify with our spiritual identities from day to day.  When we know who we are and don't allow the world to confuse us, we are being single minded, in other words, being at one with God.  Having our feet in two camps never works.  Being double minded often finds us sitting on the fence not being truly committed to either masters.  Know who you are and do everything you can to uphold that knowledge and you will be a power for good.


"Yet I will own them, and they shall be mine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels".
(D&C 101:3)

 

(RS lesson taught in Mortdale Ward 24 November 2013)