POWER

 

I was going to write about the amazing sacrifices of the pioneers in building the Kirtland Temple. This first temple was no doubt the highlight of the early Church history. I am sure you have read about it.

What I want to write about instead is the infallible proof of the Saviour’s investment in our salvation. It begins with the dedicatory prayer that Joseph Smith received by revelation prior to the dedication which he read out instead of praying spontaneously. The dedicatory prayer of this temple is one of my most favourite sections of the Doctrine and Covenants.

This one promise from it has stuck with me for many years: “And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house ARMED WITH THY POWER, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them.”  (v 22)

Verse 23 speaks of the servants carrying the message of truth in power to the ends of the earth but to me this power means it is available to all members of the Church for their ultimate efforts in progressing toward perfection. I know this because I have felt this power wash over me at the veil several times when I have uttered the word POWER. You temple patrons will understand.

And this is what tells me of the Saviour’s investment in our salvation. In Section 95, the Lord indicated the temple should be built so He can endow those whom He has chosen with power from on high (v 8). Who are the chosen? They are those who make the covenants of obedience and who are presented at the veil. They are the chosen. Obedience is the principle of power.

How much does this tell us about the Saviour and His investment in our growth, our well-being, and our salvation? How much does this tell us about His love, His mercy, His grace, His compassion and His sacrifice for us? It tells us this much: “I am with you to bless you and deliver you forever.”  (D&C 108:8)

 

Your power and Your grace

flood my mortal being 

with everlasting hope

And bring me to Thee;

I love You more dearly;

I obey you more freely;

I become what I alone could never be.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Lord's Appearance to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple by Theodore S. Gorka)

OUR DAY

 

I cannot help but feel that our day very much resembles Charles Dickens’ first famous line of his successful novel titled “The Tale of Two Cities” through which he described France prior to the French Revolution of 1700s:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair….”

The best of our day is the Restoration of the Gospel, the expansion of missionary work, temples dotting the earth, the Millenium imminent. The worst of our day is warfare engulfing us, hatred among people dividing us and evil luring around every corner seeking to destroy us.

Lest we get lulled into complacency thinking there have always been bad times throughout history, it is important for us to remember that our dispensation is different. We have been illuminated by God’s light of truth and this means the adversary is working harder than ever before to spread his darkness. He is no longer hiding in the shadows. His attempts to destroy the two countries that will be Christ’s governmental seats when He comes and thus foil the millennial plans is out in the open.

Things are not going to get any better, only worse. Some of us are eager to embrace all the calamities and the worst that is yet to come because it means the Saviour is closer to coming. That is true but enduring until then will come at price, for us and for our children alike:

"Before the Saviour comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within these walls. The Saints will come here not only to do vicarious work, but to find a haven of peace. They will long to bring their children here for safety's sake...”

 

But then the promise and reward of endurance….all that will stand between us and the greatest 1,000 years of this earth is our personal worthiness and this is how we will achieve it:

 

“The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm; we will mount up as on eagles' wings; we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world. We will be as fair as the sun and clear as the moon.”

 

This prophecy was given by Elder Vaugn J. Featherstone at the re-dedication of the Manti Temple in April 1987. He went on to say that the Saviour’s people will know Him when He appears. Why is that? Because we will become like Him through the light of the Gospel that has been given us in this dispensation. Because of the saving ordinances which qualify us to be a covenant people. Because we will have strived to spread the light which we have been given to extinguish the darkness which seeks to destroy us.

 

In Elder Featherstone’s words, when the Saviour comes: “Our children will bow down at His feet and worship Him as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. They will bathe His feet with their tears and He will weep, and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials known to man.”

 

We, the children of light and of the everlasting covenant will do this….

-CATHRYNE ALLEN 

Artist Unknown 

 

SANCTUARY

 

We frequent the Temple for various reasons: to be obedient, to renew our covenants, to advance the work for the dead, to receive answers to our prayers, to understand the doctrine of Christ, or to just get away from the world and feel at peace. There is something that works for everybody. Take notice though of the last reason I listed. The Temple would have to be a sanctuary like no other and here is why.

Some years ago I read this prophetic address delivered by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone at the Manti Temple in April 1987 and was highly impressed by it. I have reflected on it recently because of the latest push for us to increase our temple attendance, particularly by President Nelson:

"Before the Saviour comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within these walls. The Saints will come here not only to do vicarious work, but to find a haven of peace. They will long to bring their children here for safety's sake...

 

“The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm; we will mount up as on eagles' wings; we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world. We will be as fair as the sun and clear as the moon.

 

“When the Saviour comes He will honour His people. Those who are spared and prepared will be a temple-loving people. They will know Him. [This is a clear reference to the Ten Virgins parable]

 

“Our children will bow down at His feet and worship Him as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. They will bathe His feet with their tears and He will weep, and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials known to man.

 

“Let us prepare them with the faith to surmount every trial and every condition. We will do it in these holy, sacred temples".

 

I can see Christ’s immense mercy as the temples dot the earth.  In a world where people’s hearts are failing them through ‘enticements of the world, the distraction of alluring voices, the neglect of spiritual nourishment, the fatigue from the demands of discipleship’, a sanctuary from the world is needed like never before (see Elder Neil L. Andersen in CR, Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth, April 2024). We will need to this sanctuary especially when the desolations of the last days come upon us.

 

This is the Saviour’s mercy. His godly desire for our protection cannot be overstated. How great are His rewards for the value of our discipleship! May we kneel at the altars of our temples with overflowing gratitude for the sacred houses of the Lord, the sanctuaries of the last days where we will come under the protection of His wings.

 

Your arms are our shelter,

Your heart is our home,

Our only hope

For protection from the storm.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: In The Shadow of Your Wings by Daniel Gerhartz)

ON HIGHER GROUND

 

This is my favourite lesson from the war chapters of the Book of Mormon.

When Captain Moroni defeated Amalickiah, who sought to be king, he fled the land of Zarahemla with some followers, and headed for the land of Nephi (Alma 47:1). His plan was  to dethrone the king of the Lamanites (Alma 47:4).  Having convinced the king to go to battle against the Nephites, he caused a division amongst the people. Those who would not consent to fight the Nephites fled to a place called Onidah with a leader called Lehonti, gathering themselves upon the top of the mountain Antipas. Here comes into play one of the most interesting stories of drama, evil and intrigue in the Book of Mormon.

Amalickiah, being a 'subtle man to do evil' (Alma 47:4) devised a plan most clever to obtain the kingdom through Lehonti, who originally opposed him in every way. Causing his army to pitch their tents in the valley near the mount Antipas, Amalickiah proceeded to coax Lehonti to come down the mountain to speak with him. The record states that Lehonti at first would not dare to do so but Amalickiah was patient and persistent. After sending the third message to Lehonti, Amalickiah decided to get closer and ascended half way up the mountain enticing Lehonti to come to down to him with his guards to speak with him.

On the fourth message, Lehonti relented and came half way down the mountain. There Amalickiah lay open his plan before him as to how he could assist Lehonti in obtaining command of the whole army if he would place him, Amalickiah, as second in charge. Lehonti could not resist this temptation of power and came all the way down the mountain, took possession of the whole army through Amalickiah's assistance and became the leader he desired to be. There was only one problem. He had a dangerous man as his 'second in charge' who according to the Lamanite custom stood to become chief leader if the chief was killed (Alma 47:17).

The plan worked beautifully for Amalickiah instructed one of his servants to administer poison 'by degrees' to Lehonti and Lehonti died (Alma 47:18) leaving Amalickiah in charge of the entire army of the Lamanites. With such power under his belt, the whole kingdom fell into his hands as he proceeded with his evil plan and caused the death of the king by the hands of his servants. Thus, by secret works, manipulating others to do his dirty work, did Amalickiah obtain the whole kingdom of the Lamanites.

The story of Lehonti, who took his army to the top of the mountain for physical safety has many parallels with us today. As the covenant people of God, we have been invited to preserve our spiritual safety on top of another mountain, the mountain of the Lord's house, the temple (2 Nephi 12:2). Today, LDS temples are always built on the highest vantage point in the designated community, suggesting that once we have entered into sacred covenants with God, we stand on higher ground. Those who adhere to their temple covenants and make their abode with God within its sacred walls, receive spiritual protection and power against the enemy of all righteousness. This, however, does not mean that this enemy sleeps or has no interest in those who have made temple covenants and enjoy the safety of such. On the contrary, the adversary takes no sabbaticals and has more interest in those who are endowed with temple covenants than those who are not and he will use all his skills to bring them down the mountain.

Viewing Amalickiah as a prototype of the adversary we can learn that our enemy is three things - he is subtle, he is persistent and he is cunning. He watches patiently and plots with dedication to bring about our demise. He knows which buttons to push and he will do so repeatedly until cracks in our resolve begin to appear. Using subtle means he will make his enticements appear appealing and even of good value. Like Amalickiah, he will meet us half way up the mountain and make his propositions difficult to resist appealing to our egos and "what's in it for me" attitude. Once we succumb, he will 'poison' us 'by degrees' until he succeeds in bringing about our spiritual death. Compromising ourselves in such a way where our obedience to the commandments suffers can only lead us down the slippery slope to the valley of shadow and death where we are eventually cut off from the presence of the Lord (Alma 50:20). This is what our enemy hopes for, works for and lives for.

Like Nephites of old, we are at war. The battle is raging and many are falling by the way. When Amalickiah left the Nephites, he fled before the armies of Captain Moroni. Is it any wonder considering Moroni’s valour, determination and fearlessness???

Moroni’s counterpart in most of his battles was a man called Lehi, who was a man like Moroni, a man of faith in Christ (Alma 48:13; 53:2). Together they fought valiantly and had many victories. And here is the most interesting thing, the Lamanites ‘feared Lehi exceedingly’ (Alma 49:17). Be a Moroni and be a Lehi, make the devil fear you exceedingly and make him flee. Stand firm. Don't come down the mountain.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

GODLY POWER

 

I am always enthralled by Nephi’s vision of us, the saints of the last days (1 Nephi 14:12-17). Compared with the rest of the world, Nephi says our numbers were few and we were scattered upon the face of the earth. Worse than being few in number is this: ‘the great and abominable church’ of the devil consisted of multitudes, and they gathered together to fight against the saints of the Lamb of God. Here is why this is scary: ‘the great and abominable church of the devil’ encompasses all organisations of whatever name or nature – whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious, which are designed to lead people away from God’ – Bruce R McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 137-138))? Can you see ‘the multitudes’??? But there is good news.

Nephi tells us that the power of the Lamb of God descended upon us and we were armed with ‘righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (v 14). We all know that righteousness begins and ends with our obedience, but the spiritual and godly power comes from only one source, the Lamb of God, the God of glory, the God of our salvation. This power is bestowed on the righteous in abundance in one special place. In Kirtland in June 1833, Joseph Smith was given a revelation and divine direction to build the very first temple of the latter-days in which house the Lord indicated He intended to ‘endow those whom He had chosen with power from on high’ (D&C 95:8). When Joseph dedicated the Kirtland Temple in March of 1836, the dedicatory prayer given by revelation, included very clearly a petition for the saints ‘to go forth from this house armed with Thy power’ (D&C 109:22). Temple patrons of today receive this power at the veil of every endowment session. Cast your minds on the words and you will agree.

When all hell combines against us, we will see the reason behind the push for us to be a temple loving people. When the adversary sends out his ‘mighty winds, and his shafts in the whirlwind’ (Helaman 5:12) to derail us from the truth we have known, in every way he possibly can, we will want that godly power, more impenetrable than the coat of armour, to shield our faith, to preserve our families, to secure our salvation. We will want to run to the hills upon which the houses of God stand firm and unshakeable. We will want to be as strong as an oak tree to survive the strongest winds of hate, corruption, and evil. We will want to be a powerful army, the invincible souls, the spiritual giants, the covenant people of God….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Brigham City Temple by Brent Borup)

A CALL TO RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

I think it is safe to say that most of us are by now looking forward to the Millenium. I also think the day will come all too soon when we will be begging for it. 

I remember reading years ago a dedicatory prayer of one of the American temples, offered by Elder Featherstone, in which he said that the day will come when the only place the saints will feel peace will be within the walls of the holy temples. He also said that we will long to be able to bring our children to the temple to escape the world. Imagine the desperation……

Right now the adversary reigns supreme. Why? Because the world is giving him the power. The only power he can have is the power that we give him. Seeing he has no body, he operates through us who do. He has taken possession of the minds of many who are in power to be able to control the rest of us. Hence the Lord’s warning in the scriptures about ‘the conspiring men of the last days’ (D&C 89:4). 

One of my favourite passages of scripture in Isaiah are the ones that describe Satan’s eventual fall. Isaiah says he will be reduced to such nothingness that people will look upon him and ask: “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?” (Isaiah 14:12-20). We, as the body of the House of Israel, have an amazing responsibility. Mormon expressed it well when he said: “….for we have a labour to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness….” (Moroni 9:6). The conquering will result in the binding of Satan for a whole one thousand years. 

When the Saviour comes and all the telestial people are destroyed, there will be no one left who will heed Satan’s call, he will no longer have anyone who will give him any power and will therefore be ‘bound’. He will lose all power……but until then it is our responsibility to build ourselves, firstly by being aware of his tactics:

 

HIS THREE DOCTRINES:

1.     There is no punishment for sin;

2.     There is nothing after death;

3.     He does not exist.

HIS THREE LIES:

1.     Just once won’t hurt;

2.     No one will know;

3.     Everybody is doing it.

HIS VALUE SYSTEM:

1.     Selfishness;

2.     Self-indulgence;

3.     Immediate gratification.

HIS SALES TECHNIQUES:

1.     Pacifying;

2.     Flattering;

3.     Lulling.

HIS GOAL:

1.     To steal our spiritual identity;

2.     To kill our faith in God;

3.     To destroy our commitment to Christ.

 

Our only recourse to fight this foe is in Him who has already overcome and paved the way for the rest of us. By the virtue of our discipleship, we can have access to His power to overcome the enemy of all righteousness that we may meet Him at His appearing clothed in robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Nephi 9:14; D&C 29:12;109:76), with clean hands and pure hearts worthy to be sanctified and exalted to our rightful place…..

Grant me power God

For purity of my thoughts

The cleanliness of my lips

The righteous paths I need to walk;

Grand me power to crush each tempter’s snare

That my hands may be clean

The hem of Thy robe to touch

When I kneel before Thy throne

To enter the splendour of my celestial home.

 

- Cathryne Allen 

(Art: The Robe of Righteousness by Phil McKay) 

 

IT IS UP TO US

Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem

by Rembrandt

The biggest heroes of the scriptures are the ones that make things happen. They are workers who understand that God's will is up to His children to put into effect. When we read scriptural prophecies we tend to think that God will miraculously make things happen or that someone else will suddenly appear to fulfil the promises God has made.

Daniel of the Old Testament is a good example of making things happen. As we know he lived in Babylonian captivity in service to heathen kings for most of his life. He was very much devoted to the God of Israel and had Israel's welfare at heart. He eagerly hung onto the Lord's promise that Israel's captivity would last only 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10). It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus, the king of Persia, conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity,  and that Daniel  pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem, that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Isaiah even named Cyrus by name.....210 years before he even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing isn't it? It certainly was to Cyrus because he freed the Jews and allowed 50,000 of them to return to Jerusalem. The rest chose to stay until Ezra's second party of 17,000 some years later after the construction project was completed. It is significant here to note that Daniel who so loved his homeland and his heritage did not choose to return to Jerusalem but chose to remain in Babylon to continue to serve God in a foreign land. The point is this. Daniel in all likelihood played a huge part in this historical event. This theory can be supported by another example of Daniel's doing.

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the temple, they encountered bitter opposition from Samaritans who reasoned that they should be involved in the project. Because Samaritans were not pure Israelites and had practised a variant religion of Jehovah worship heavily intermingled with pagan and other unauthorised religious practices, the Jews refused. In retaliation the Samaritans influenced the Persian kings who succeeded Cyrus to halt the rebuilding project for 17 years. In steps Daniel again. In the first year of King Darius, Daniel again petitioned the Lord about Jeremiah's prophecy. Daniel 9:17-19 shows Daniel's prayerful concern for the unfinished temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Lord answered Daniel and raised two prophets in Jerusalem: Haggai and Zechariah. You might wonder how prophets could finish construction of anything, right?? You might wonder why God didn't send someone with political clout, negotiation expertise or even military power....but instead he sent two of his servants to finish the job....and finish they did....Haggai alone showed the Jews exactly why they were not able to finish the project. He taught them that all temporal problems arise out of spiritual weakness and that if they would put God first, they would extricate themselves from abject poverty they were in which was their main problem.  It makes for compelling reading. These two prophets instructed the governor Zerubbabel, the high priest Jeshua and the Jewish people how to complete the temple in spite of persecution, poverty and governmental red tape (Haggai 1:1-5, 12-14; Zechariah 4:9, Ezra 6:14). Even though these two prophets got the job done, in reality, this began with Daniel and was his doing.

President Kimball prayed and petitioned the Lord repeatedly regarding the priesthood for the black members of the Church. I am sure President Nelson did the same regarding the many changes he has brought in since his calling. They didn't sit back and think things will happen out of thin air. The state of Christ's Kingdom when we present it to Him upon His coming will depend on us. The Church as an administrative body takes care of the physical entity of the Kingdom but we, its' member body take care of its spiritual condition. We must consider this our responsibility because we will be the ones to usher in the Millenium. The scriptures state that at the beginning of the Millenium Satan will be bound and will have no power for 1,000 years. This loss of power will not be because God will bind him in chains and throw him in a dungeon but because we, God's saints and disciples of Christ, will be so spiritually strong that he will simply have no power over us and will therefore no longer have a role to play. We will simply make him irrelevant.

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild, the first thing they built was the altar of the temple, even before the foundation of the temple was laid (Ezra 3:1-6). They knew that the altar was the heart of the temple and the temple was the heart of the Jewish religious life.  Our temples today dot the earth, and all without much sacrifice from us. Our temples set us apart from other religions, they make us a 'peculiar people' to the world and a 'peculiar treasure' to the Lord (Exodus 19:5). They provide us with spiritual backbone through our obedience to its covenants. It is in the temples of our God that we will be armed with His power to bind Satan and to become a holy people (D&C 109:22); and it is in the temples that we will find refuge from the storm that is yet to come upon the saints of God in the last days. Consider Elder Featherstone's words:

"Before the Saviour comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within its walls. The saints will come here not only to do vicarious work but to find a haven of peace. The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm; we will mount up as on eagles' wings; we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world. We will be as fair as the sun ad clear as the moon. When the Saviour comes He will honour His people. Those who are spared and prepared will be a temple-loving people. They will know Him. Our children will bow down at His feet and worship Him as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. They will bathe His feet with their tears and He will weep, and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials known to man. Let us prepare them with the faith to surmount every trial and every condition. We will do it in these holy, sacred temples." (Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, Manti Temple, April 1987)

May we worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our hearts, in our homes and in our temples that we may possess God's power and ever remember that "we have a labour to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay to conquor the enemy of all righteousness." (Moroni 9:6)