MAN OF HAPPINESS

 

Joy of the Lord by Greg Olsen

"I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheeful, pleasant, lively and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit. That is one reason why I know; and another is - the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, "I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance." That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person, and a beautiful man."  (President Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 4:222)

"The plan of happiness, which is spoken about so often in the Church today, comes from a "Man of Happiness" as well as a "Man of Holiness". Our developing faith comes as we understand better the purpose of the scriptures, and that is to teach us the nature of a saved being, he who beckons us to become like him."

- Jerry A. Wilson, "The Great Plan of Happiness - Insights from the Lectures on Faith" p 37

How can I tell you

What my mortal lips cannot say?

How can I show you

What my mortal heart cannot hold?

All that I feel

And all that I am

I owe to you,

My God,

My Exemplar,

My all.  

 - Cathryne Allen 

FOR THE JOY

 

 

“Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones.

“And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them……… (Abraham 3:22, 24,25)

We are told we sang together and shouted for joy at the prospect of our eternal progression through the Plan of Salvation (Job 37:7). How easy it is to embrace something so willingly before it becomes a reality.

I think of Enoch witnessing the Father weeping over his disobedient children so early into that reality (Moses 7:28). I have one wayward child and I have wept over her. I cannot imagine the Father’s sorrow over so many of His children. It is true that moral agency is not free. It comes with a price that is not only paid by the sinner but by all those within their heavenly and earthly parental and family circle.

If you have a child that is currently lost, you are in good company. The Father knows your pain. To this end He has sacrificed His son to atone for the sins of our wayward children should they return. Until that day, hold fast onto hope. He will reach out to them some day and endeavour to bring them back. After all, they were His, before they were ours.

I often hope that my efforts of obedience make up, to some degree, for my daughter’s waywardness. I also hope that many of Father’s righteous children will return to Him with honour to cushion the blow of those who will be missing.

We are told obedience is the first principle of heaven. I have a friend who thinks love is greater than obedience but to me, you cannot separate the two. Obedience springs from love and magnifies love. If we love the Father and His Son, we will hold fast onto this principle.

May we strive to be a delight in His hand and a joy to Him forever and may our example reach the hearts of those who are presently lost.  

I pleaded with You, Father,

In the beginning,

To bring me home again to Thee.

I promised to heed every call,

To avoid every danger,

To abhor every sin.

 

I have laboured to bring Thee joy

To be worthy of Your love for me.

I’ll wait at heaven’s door and knock

Until I hear the angels sing. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: For the Joy by Eva Koleva Timothy)

THE OBEDIENT SON

 

“Jesus achieved perfect unity with the Father by submitting Himself, both flesh and spirit, to the will of the Father. The Saviour’s ministry was always clearly focused because there was no debilitating or distracting double-mindedness in Him. Referring to His Father, Jesus said, “I do always those things that please Him” (John 8:29)

-        Elder D. Todd Christofferson, in Conference Report, Oct 2022, 76-77

Indeed, the Saviour did always those things that pleased His Father. And He still does.

When the resurrected Christ visited the Americas, He made 163 references to the Father and 15 of those were references to His obedience to His Father. Over and over He reiterated He was following His Father’s commands in all His teachings to the Nephites (3 Nephi 15:14-16,18,19; 16:3,10,16; 17:2; 18;14,27; 20:10,14,46).

There are two notable examples of Christ’s obedience to the Father whilst in mortality:

-        HIS BAPTISM:  Nephi tells us that Christ was baptised to enter into the covenant of obedience (2 Nephi 31:7). We read of the most glorious confirmation of Christ’s Sonship at the time of His baptism. Matthew records the Father’s voice saying: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Is there a greater example of obedience than from Him who knew no sin and needed no baptism?

-        HIS ATONEMENT: In the hour of His crucible, in the midst of His worst agony, the Saviour did not shrink from drinking the bitter cup that was given to Him and that He agreed to drink before the world was (3 Nephi 11:11; D&C 19:18; Abraham 3:27). No matter how deep the suffering, the commitment and obedience was unfailing as He submitted himself to the Father’s will (Mark 14:36; Matt 26:42). Is there a greater example of submission to the eternal plan of one’s life?

Such a level of submission and obedience is unfathomable to most of us. It can only come from the deepest love and respect and one other thing, lack of pride. Let me explain.

Generally speaking, the older generation in our society is no longer respected. Our advice is seldom solicited or heeded once our children are adults. And we would not dare tell them what to do. We feel we no longer have that right once they are living their own lives. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.

I grew up in Croatia in the 60s. I would not dare address my parents with a familiar pronoun of ‘you’. To the date of their death, I addressed them with ‘thou’. No, it was not forced wokeness but a sign of respect and all of us children were doing it. It was reflective of ‘thou shalt honour thy father and they mother’.  I don’t know if this is still the custom but it used to be.

My point is this. The Saviour continues to be obedient to the Father despite having obtained godhood himself. Only total lack of pride would enable Him to recognize and honour a higher deity than himself. He has lived up to His commitment to preserve the Father’s glory and I see Him honouring the Father forever. Could we possibly have a greater example than the beloved Christ?

 

My obedience, Father

I lay at Thy feet,

For He who has brought

Honour and glory to Thy name

Shall forever my guide remain.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Not My Will by Yongsung Kim)