TO SERVE GOD 2

 

Whereas ancient Israel’s conquest was a physical one, ours is a spiritual one. Israel’s charge was to conquer land for the temporal and eternal possession, our charge is to create a Zion society of God’s chosen people. Both responsibilities rested on one commandment, to serve God but in two different ways.

Ancient Israel was to serve God through obedience to His commandments and worship through the law of Moses, we are to serve God by our obedience to His commandments and to serve one another to prepare us for Zion. Consider these two commandments that came long after the conquest of Canaan:

-          Matt 25:40: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me……and: Matt 25:45 – when we don’t do it for “the least of these”, we don’t do it for Him;

-          Mosiah 2:17: “….when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

Our societal structure is more different from the ancient one which depended so much on possession of land and as a result was more used to physical warfare. We, however, fight a spiritual battle with the prince of darkness who seeks to destroy us spiritually in diving us to the point where our hearts have turned cold one towards another (D&C 45:26,27). This is not to overlook the increase of wars and rumours of wars in these latter-days as prophesied (Mark 13:7)

This is why the spiritual battle is more devastating to God’s people today. Zion can only be built in preparation for the Saviour’s return ‘according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom’ (D&C 105:3-5). It is this union that enables men to obey the law of consecration whereby they impart of their ‘substance, as becometh saints, to the poor and the afflicted’ (v 3). This was the success of the city of Enoch. Because they were of one heart and one mind they willingly met each other’s needs so there was no poor among them (Moses 7:18).

If God’s goal for the human family is unity, you can be assured that Satan’s is division. Right now the world is divided into left and right and contention and disunity is rife. The Church leaders are constantly warning us against this because our destiny as the Church of Jesus Christ is great.

The celestial law that will get us to Zion is not just about obedience but also love. Love leads to unity. The Lord called the city of Enoch, Zion the Pure in Heart. The people of this city ‘walked’ with God (Moses 7:69) which means they were ‘true’ followers of Jesus Christ and as true followers of Jesus Christ they were endowed with the ‘pure love' of Christ (Moroni 7:48).

This is the key: He leads and we follow. We follow His example of love, compassion, understanding, tolerance, respect, giving and ministering……today obedience, tomorrow Zion, the day after, Celestial Kingdom. In Joseph’s words: “We are on the pathway to eternal fame, and immortal glory.”

I knelt before the throne of God

And asked of Him today:

Lord, when will I become like Thee?

To my feeble self He answered:

When you start to walk with me.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Come Follow Me by Gabriel Heaton)

WALK WITH ME

 

In the 12 months of my illness and solitude, I have learnt how very important the Church is. I have suffered much isolation as I have been confined to my home. I didn’t expect the members of my ward to grace my doors every week but in this day and age when technology makes it so easy, I was not prepared for lack of contact I experienced, even from my Ward leaders.

I didn’t want to feel forgotten.  On days when I felt that even God had forsaken me, it would have mattered so much to be told that I was still remembered.

I get it, everyone is busy and dealing with their own stressful lives so thinking about others is difficult but there never has been a time of this earth where people did not live under duress of some sort and yet the call to become a Zion people has always been there.

This is my conclusion. We will never, never, never become a Zion people if we continue on this path of self-absorption and neglect of one another. Most people in the Church think the Saviour has not come because the world is not wicked enough. In reality, He will not come until we are a Zion people (see D&C 105:9-12 on how long the Lord will wait to redeem Zion and Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual commentary for these scriptures)

When the Saviour said to Enoch, “walk with Me”, He said it for this very purpose (Moses 6:34). And Enoch walked with God (v 39) and he established the city called Zion (v 18). Note, however, that this happened amidst the greatest distress for Enoch and his people as ‘from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among the people’ and their enemies and giants of the land came to battle against them (Moses 7:13,15,16). Even so, the people of Enoch survived and still managed to establish Zion because ‘the Lord came and dwelt with them’ (v 16).

There is another who was told ‘walk with me’, with the promise that if he did, he would be perfect, and that was Abraham (Genesis 17:1). From the time he was called out of Haran, Abraham was in pursuit of the city of Zion (Hebrews 11:8-10).

“But how could he seek it if it was gone from the earth? Latter-day scripture also describes an order of priesthood available in Abraham’s day that could actually give mortals access to that translated city. According to Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis….”the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch”….for men having this faith, coming up to this order of God, .were translated and taken up into heaven (JST Gen. 14:27,32).” (E. Douglas Clark, “The Blessings of Abraham – Becoming a Zion People, p 92)

Abraham did walk with God and he became the protector, the teacher and servant of all the people he associated with. There is an endearing story in Midrash, a Jewish interpretation of biblical texts, that tells of Abraham’s concern and care of his fellowmen. It tells of Abraham sitting outside his tent one day in the heat of the day on the plains of Mamre with the breath of hell whirling the heat and the dust and the sand. He was worried thinking that there was some stranger out there lost in that dust storm so he sent his servant Eleazer out to look in all directions but Eleazer came back and said he couldn’t find anyone.

Abraham was still worried so he went out into that hell himself though he was very sick following his circumcision at such an old age (Genesis 17:24) but he found no one. Upon his return there were three strangers at his tent. It was the Lord with two others. Abraham threw himself down on his face in obeisance and it was then that he was given the promise of Isaac…..as a reward for what he had done. Abraham found someone more significant in that dust storm than he had ever imagined….he found his son Isaac.  (see Genesis 18 and “The Faith of an Observer – Conversations with Hugh Nibley, pp 28-29)

“….Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” (James 2:23). A friend is someone who walks and talks and keeps company with you. May we all do so and become not only a friend to God but to each other. Until then we will not love one another as He had loved us.....

- CATHRYNE ALLEN  

INCONVENIENT LOVE

 

It is said, ‘It’s easy to love the lovelies’, and how very true that is! It is the ones who do not agree with us, who seek to hurt others, who we consider toxic, who do not look or live according to our standards and views that are not the easy or convenient for us to love.

The commandment to love one another must be the hardest one to live for most of us and most of us justify our failure to live up to it in one way or another  (John 15:12). Consider though the other side of the coin: “He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:14,15). Those are hard words to swallow but logic prevails: if God is love, and we aspire to be gods like Him, how can we ever reach such a station if love is not in us? Can we be ‘loveless’ gods when love is so obviously central to the character of deity (1 John 4:7-11)?

When the Saviour said to His disciples, “love one another” he added an incredibly high standard: “as I have loved you” (John 15:12). This means that Christ loved those around Him without prejudice. I wager that among them were also the ‘unlovelies’…..such as Judas.

The standard is high but it is achievable, because of the example set before us: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). We hear of heroic acts where people have sacrificed their own lives to save another. These acts are usually motivated by love for the person the sacrifice is given for. Imagine though giving up your life for someone you cannot abide. Someone who has hurt you, your children, your family. Even someone whose personality and character you cannot stand. But this is not required of us. What is required is sacrifice out of compassion which propels us to aid a brother in need (1 John 3:17). This is all that is asked of us to earn the love of God to dwell in us.

Very often we say, ‘oh they are not worth it!’. What is being said in reality is that such a person is of no worth. When on the other hand, we can give of ourselves to those we consider to be the unloveable we are on the path to godly love. This godly love was what prevented the Saviour from ever considering anyone not being worthy of His attention, His care, His love and ultimately His sacrifice. We are told that the worth of a soul is great in the sight of God (D&C 18:10). Imagine if there was a proviso in His atoning sacrifice which excluded you by name.  How would you feel?  It would crush even the most odious person if he was not atoned for. This was unthinkable to the Saviour as He hung upon the cross. The ‘unlovelies’ were gathered into His bosom as much as the lovely ones. No sinner, no thief, no murderer, no liar, no adulterer, no atheist was excluded. Such is the heart of the man who is The Truth, The Light, and The Way. (John 14:6)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art AI generated)

LOVING AS CHRIST LOVES

 

Some years ago I was very stressed so I made a trip to the temple to receive some peace. I unfortunately sat next to two sisters who I later learnt had a ‘get-together’ standing outing to the Temple. As I sat there waiting for the session to begin peace eluded me because the sisters next to me chatted incessantly. My stress escalated until I angrily and tersely told these unfortunate sisters to desist with their chatter. My outburst upset them so much that they left the endowment room and in tears complained to the Temple matron. I was called out of the room and reprimanded for which I apologised. I knew even back then that this hurt I had caused someone else would one day find me because I believe that you shouldn’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to you. This theory of mine proved to be true. As I posted a spiritual message in a Ward Newsletter as part of my calling this year, it was misunderstood by one sister who very unkindly replied to my message telling me that people are in a lockdown and that my message was suicide worthy. As we conversed and I tried to make my message clearer she remained hostile and indignant. In the end I had to just tell her that she had broken my heart by her attack on me and that I hoped I would never hurt a sister in Zion like she had hurt me…..hmmmmm.  I reflected on this incident and I realised that this sister had acted poorly towards me due to the stress she was under due to one of our severe Australian lockdowns. It was exactly what I had done in the temple some years prior. Is it possible to treat others lovingly even when under duress? Is it possible to treat others lovingly under ANY circumstances?

 

Consider the story of people called Anti-Nephi-Lehi. You cannot get greater duress than this. 

As we know, when the Lamanites came upon them to slay them, these people of Ammon did not prepare for war, nor did they run away. They stayed put, buried their weapons and subjected themselves to slaughter. We tend to always reflect on the main reason they did this, that reason being a sign of their covenant with God (Alma 24:18) but that reason does not end there. So profound and deep did their conversion become that  rather than ‘take away from a brother, they would give unto him’ (Alma 24:18).  And not just another, but even the sinner who would hate them, revile them, and even kill them.  But there is more….they also LOVED their brethren who sought to kill them (Alma 26:32). 

 

The lesson of the massacre of Anti-Nephi-Lehies doesn’t stop there. The number of Lamanites who were converted and ‘saved’  was greater than one thousand and five of them who were slain (Alma 24:22,26). So the sacrifice of the ‘innocent’ brought about the salvation of the ‘sinful’. How is it possible that these people could kneel in front of their executors and willingly go to their deaths for the sake of the salvation of others? There is only one answer. The love that they possessed towards their brethren was not ordinary love but ‘the pure love of Christ’. This was a deeper love than loving your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 19:19). This was to love ‘as I have loved you’ (John 13:34), this was the love the way HE FEELS IT, not the way we do. This love sends you to the altar of sacrifice to lay down your life for another, as was the case of people of Ammon whose sacrifice mirrored the sacrifice of the Son of God. This love cannot be developed by us but can only be a gift to the true followers of Christ who prayerfully seek it (Moroni 7:47,48). 

 

This Christmas may we contemplate the birth and the condescension of a God who lowered himself to the dust of this earth so He can bind us one to another and to the Father through His unfathomable sacrifice born out of the deepest recesses of His heart.  And may we love one another as He has loved us……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

Art by Liz Lemon Swindle

IN SIMILITUDE OF HIS HEART

 

The greatest challenge in the world today is not surviving the pandemic, lack of entitled freedoms or even financial ruin. The greatest challenge in the world today is to love one another. The corroding sociologically programmed traits of self-centerdness, victim mentality, differing political convictions, and rampant sinful tendencies have come to undermine the neighbourly concerns we once had for each other and have hardened our hearts towards the tide of humanity. As the world has become less and less attractive, I have been failing of late not to be swept up in that tide. 

I am presently re-visiting the book of Exodus. Those of you who have studied this book will be familiar with the 'stiffnecked' children of Israel (Exodus 33:5). Over and over these people failed to respect the God who delivered them out of bondage. But who I want to talk about here is the person who 'led' them out of bondage, and this person is Moses. I cannot say enough about this man who has earned my ardent admiration....but I'll try to be brief. Moses was brought up knowing the Hebrews were his people (Exodus 2:11). He forsook Egypt when 40 years old, in faith, believing God would by his hand deliver the Hebrews (Acts 7:23-25), preferring God to the riches of Egypt (Hebrews 11:24-27). He went from the privilege of his Egyptian upbringing to slavery and then to being a shepherd for 40 years (Acts 7:23-30) before God deemed him ready for his pre-destined calling. 

What impresses me the most about Moses is this. When God appointed him to his calling on Mount Horeb, He told him:  'thou art in the similitude of my Son' (Moses 1:6). This, among other similarities between Moses' life and the Saviour's, has clear reference to Moses delivering the children of Israel out of physical bondage even as Christ would deliver us from spiritual bondage. This physical similitude however, is only a precursor to an even greater one. When the children of Israel committed their grave sin against Jehovah by worshipping the golden calf, Moses' reaction was not one of condemnation. Instead of considering them ripe for destruction and recommending them to Jehovah for extinction, he offered his own life in recompense (Exodus 32:32).  This is being in the true similitude of the Son. 

Moses led 2 million people out of Egypt and loved them through 40 years of unnecessary wandering putting up with their tedious murmuring, lack of faith and spiritual immaturity, even at the peril of his life (Exodus 17:4), yet he still loved them....even as the Saviour has loved us, with our tedious murmuring, lack of faith and spiritual immaturity.  Moses could withstand the frustration of loving imperfect people because he was in the similitude of the Saviour's heart. Could this be possible for us? Could we come to love the humanity that is being swept up in the tide of hate and wickedness and destruction? 

Moroni teaches us of a love without which we are nothing; a love that survives hatred, animosity, harm, racism, sin, abuse, racial difference and all the inhumanity we are capable of; a love that ensures salvation at the last day (Moroni 7:44,47). This love is a gift bestowed upon those who are true followers of Christ (Moroni 7:48) and not a love we are capable of on our own. This love ensures that we become the sons and daughters of God so that we will be like Him at His appearing (v 48). This love will ensure we endure the here and now and in the end it will bring us home. This love is the foundation of the glories of heaven and the cradle of eternity. This love is the pure love of Christ, a love that endures forever and ever.

- Cathryne Allen

(It is recorded in Numbers 1:45-46 that the children of Israel numbered 600,000 men; meaning only men over 20 years and over who were capable of going to war. When women and children are added to that number, the multitude could have been well over 2 million people. (LDS Institute Old Testament Student Manual, p 119)

- Cathryne Allen, Did Not Our Hearts Burn When He Opened To Us The Scriptures?

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