BELIEVING BLOOD OF ISRAEL

 

I Will Go Before Your Face by Kenneth R. Turner

“To the missionaries of the latter-days the Lord has said: “Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect, for the Lord explained, ‘mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts’ (D&C 29:7). For theirs was a ‘believing blood’. What then is believing blood? It is the blood that flows in the veins of those who are the literal seed of Abraham – not that the blood itself believes, but that those born in that lineage have both the right and a special spiritual capacity to recognise, receive, and believe the truth.

“The term is simply a beautiful, a poetic, and a symbolic way of referring to the seed of Abraham to whom the promises were made. It identifies those who developed in pre-mortality the talent to recognise the truth and to desire righteousness.” (New Witness, 38-39)

-          (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary On The Book of Mormon, Vol 2, 61)

 

I remember coming to You

Long ago through the water’s gate,

So wide open for my soul to embrace.

 

You flowed through my heart since that day

Showing me the wonder of You;

I have seen Your agonizing sacrifice,

And Your spilt blood too.

 

I hear You, I am Your sheep,

I know You and Your sacrificial pains

For the believing blood of Israel

Runs through my veins.

 

-          Cathryne Allen 

THE WISH

 

O that I were an angel, and could have

The wish of mine heart,

That I might go forth and speak

With the trump of God,

With a voice to shake the earth,

And cry repentance unto every people!

(Alma 29:1)

Is there a more poetic scripture in the Book of Mormon than this?

Alma affirmed that God grants unto men according to their desire (Alma 29:4). Consider the process of fulfilment of desires and how they affect our personal development and eventually determine our eternal blessings:

“Desires….become real determinants, even when, with pitiful naivete, we do not really want the consequences of our desires…..therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity….Righteous desires need to be relentless, therefore, because, said President Brigham Young, ‘the men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle every day’ (in Journal of Discourses, 11:14). Therefore, true Christian soldiers are more than weekend warriors…..” (Neal A. Maxwell, “According to the Desire of Our Hearts”, October 1996 GC)

It is clear that educating and cultivating our righteous desire means doing everything possible that is our part in its fulfilment. The cultivation of Alma’s desire began with something extremely personal – born out of his own painful repentance and godly sorrow, Alma came to sorrow greatly and continually for the sins of the people (Alma 7:5; 8:10,14; 31:1,2,30,31; 35:15). This sorrowing evolved into relentless missionary service so much so that ‘he could not rest’ when his sons went to preach ‘and he also went forth’ (Alma 43:1). I am also certain that his personal spiritual preparation was such that the time came for him to be given to speak with the tongue of angels (2 Nephi 32:2).

Alma’s desire to be an angel preaching repentance was no doubt realised past his natural mortal life. We are told that he was translated, even like Moses ‘to be a ministering angel unto many planets’ until the time of resurrection (Alma 45:18,19; Deuteronomy 34:5,6; Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:210)

Alma, who was once one of the 'very vilest of sinners' (Mosiah 28:4) became Alma who led the Nephite armies in battle, who sat naked with Amulek in dungeons, who was spat upon by the unrepentant, who dumbfounded an anti-christ, who baptised thousands of souls unto repentance (Alma 4:4,5), and who the Lord in the end took up unto himself (Alma 45:19).  This is where Alma’s wish of the heart took him.

 

ODE TO ALMA:

He stood between you

And the gaping jaws of hell,

He cherished your soul

And snatched you from everlasting

Misery of the damned.

He planted the seed of faith

In your willing heart

But you, you tilled the ground

And nurtured the tree of faith

Growing the fruit, so exquisite and sweet.

So heavy in your overflowing arms

You sought to feed the spiritually maimed.

He who stood at the gates of Hell

Your soul to save

Gathered the fruit,

Your path to His throne to pave.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: O That I Were An Angel by Jay Bryant Ward)

A LIGHT IN THE WILDERNESS

 

This was Abraham wherever he went. He was 62 when he arrived into the land of Canaan that the Lord promised him as an inheritance, but also ‘to make of him a minister to bear His name in a strange land’ (Abraham 2:6;14). And bear His name he did for the famine in Canaan necessitated Abraham and all who came with him to end up in Egypt on a prolonged mission, possibly as long as 13 years.  

The land of Canaan was overrun by the idol worshipping descendants of Cain. Going to Egypt would have been like going from a frying pain into a fire. It was by the hand of an Egyptian priest that Abraham nearly lost his life in the land of Ur. Egypt was the hotbed of human sacrifice to false gods.

The famine of Canaan proved to be a blessing in disguise because at the end Abraham returned to Canaan richer than he was before he left on account of Sarah whom the Pharoah desired to take for his wife. Abraham’s sojourn in Egypt reads like Arabian nights. It’s a fascinating story.

What is of most importance of this part of Abraham’s life is the light that he was in this evil infested land where idolatry was blinding the children of men and the truth was obscured from their understanding.

Before Abraham left for Egypt, he had an encounter with the Lord who told him: “Abraham, I show these things unto thee before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words” (Abraham 3:15). Thus proceeded a revelation which enriched Abraham’s personal knowledge of the field of science: astronomy, the plan of salvation and organization of the world for human habitation.

“The great truths shown to Abraham were not for him alone. He was to declare “all these words” to the Egyptians. The Lord knew that some of the learning of the Egyptians would be passed on to the Greeks and that the Greeks in turn would teach the Romans. He also knew that through Rome this knowledge would spread to other parts of the world as a blessing to humanity. During these transitions many precious truths were lost but some of them survived and became the foundation for modern science.”  (W. Cleon Skousen, The First 2,000 Years, p 285)

“In the Egyptian Alphabet compiled by Joseph Smith at the time he translated the Book of Abraham, we are given the added information that Abraham was called as a missionary of Christ to go into Egypt and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Egyptians.” (Clark, James R., “Before Ye Go Into Egypt”, Vol 2, p 2)

I think of the recent mandate of the leaders to the membership of the Church to flood the earth with the gospel. We need to be well informed of the doctrine, convinced of its efficacy, bold and unafraid of the opposition. The light needs to shine from us as bright as the sun.  

I stand in awe of Abraham and his fortitude in spreading the light in a darkened world. He is the prototype of Christ who came to enlighten our understanding of the truth. Without His light we would be lost in this world of darkness which seeks to engulf us in its misery and woe. He is the light that shines, the light we must follow. He is the light of the world, the only light…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: A Light in the Wilderness by Rose Datoc Dall)

ABRAHAM, GATHERER OF SOULS

 

 

The moment young Abraham faced death on the sacrificial table of the priest of Elkenah is the moment he learnt that it pays to worship the one true and living God. It is the moment he heard his voice saying: “Abraham, Abraham, I am Jehovah and I have come to deliver you….” (Abraham 1:16)

After his rescue, Abraham became a relentless missionary and a Zionist at heart. His study of the Book of Remembrance gave him a glimpse of Enoch and Melchizedek and the Zion communities they established and he longed to do the same (Abraham 1:31). As he was led by the Lord on his way to Canaan, he wasted no time in this endeavour. He comments in the Book of Abraham that he left Haran where they temporarily resided enroute with all their substance that they gathered ‘and the souls that they had won in Haran’ (Abraham 2:15).  

Abraham’s humane spirit and his piety attracted people to him so he could teach them in a large-scale missionary effort wherever he went. He extended hospitality to all and considered  his temporal blessings from God were opportunities to bless the lives of others.

According to the Qur’an, Abraham was an elegant speaker blessed with a gift of teaching and power to convey the truth unto others, and according to the Jewish tradition, “he called out in a mighty voice to all the world and he led them to righteousness” by speaking persuasively as their hearts were changed and they felt to declare the “the Lord, He is God in the heavens above the earth below, and you are Abraham, His prophet”. “Thus was Abraham fulfilling his baptismal covenant to stand as a witness of God “at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9). (E. Douglas Clark, “The Blessings of Abraham, Becoming a Zion People” 86)

“The Jewish tradition claims that Abraham’s converts came to be numbered into the thousands and tens of thousands. If this seems exaggerated, one need only remember the remarkably rapid growth of the Church restored by Joseph Smith, who, like his forefather Abraham, was also a missionary par excellence…..According to Hugh Nibley, “Abraham founded his Zion, and those who wished to follow became the followers of Abraham. By special rites and ordinances they were adopted into the family….

“Such were the fervent efforts to build the kingdom of God by the man who, as he himself said, had left Ur seeking “peace, happiness and rest” – not by looking forward to retirement, or by building his dream house away from humanity, but by living among them and serving them tirelessly. The “rest that Abraham sought was not a life of affluent ease. He was striving to “enter into the rest of the Lord”, obtainable only by serving Him with all of one’s heart, might, mind, and strength.” (E. Douglas Clark, “The Blessings of Abraham, p 87)

Abraham was exceptional even before the beginning of his mortal life. When he was shown the great spirits that resided in pre-existence, he was told that he was one of them and that he was ‘chosen before he was born’ (Abraham 3:23). When Jehovah came to rescue Abraham from imminent death, He came not just to prolong his life but to ensure Abraham would be able to embrace his divine destiny.

Abraham is known by more than one name, the most known being ‘the father of the faithful’ (D&C 138:41) and ‘the friend of God’ (James 2:23). I personally love ‘the gatherer of souls’ because he gathered them unto God wherever he went. This in my mind made him the prototype of Christ who gathered souls unto Him through His infinite sacrifice and who commanded Abraham: “walk before me,and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1). And walk he did…..following Him all the way to his exaltation (D&C 132:37)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(ART: Follow Me by Liz Lemon Swindle)

ULTIMATE JOY

 

“For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore He suffered the pain of all men that all men might repent and come unto Him…..and how great is His joy in the soul that repenteth!” D&C 18: 11,13)

I am sure we are all familiar with what comes next…..’how great will be your joy if you should bring souls unto me into the kingdom of my Father’ (v 15, 16).

The Saviour’s sacrifice for us was borne out of love (John 15:13) therefore it goes without saying that He would be overjoyed to have us with Him after this life. After all, Celestial Kingdom would be a lonely place if there was only one person there….

Even though, we the believers, have not died for anyone’s soul like the Saviour has, we nevertheless become saviours by proxy as we bring others to repentance. By this we become more like the Saviour than any other way because we develop love for our fellowmen and we become more sanctified and this is why:

“Missionary work has a redemptive effect for the missionary as well as the convert. The Apostle James wrote, “He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20)

“Elder Bruce R. McConkie elaborated on this: “By reclaiming an erring brother, we save both him and ourselves. Our sins are hidden (remitted) because we ministered for the salvation and blessing of another member of the Kingdom.

“In principle this special reward for Christ’s ministers applies also to those who preach the gospel and bring souls into the Kingdom. The minister is rewarded with salvation and, of necessity, in the process, is freed from his own sins (D&C 41:1-4).” (“Doctrinal New Testament Commentary”, 3:279, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual p 132)

I think how wonderful it would be to have a Christ-like love for everyone. Then I think of those who we already love and who have gone astray and have their salvation in peril…..our children over whom we sorrow and labour in faith that we can in some way bring them back.

I think of people we have loved in pre-mortal life and have asked to have them on our earthly path so that we can increase their faith in Christ unto salvation. I think of all that love and how great would be the joy if we could bring them into God’s Kingdom that we might enjoy eternal life together. I think of Joseph’s advice that we should wear out our lives in such a pursuit and I tend to agree (D&C 123:12-17).

I cherished the truth locked firmly in my heart

But it became too heavy for me to bear.

I scattered the seeds of faith

Along humanity’s path

To feed the hungry souls for many years

Until each cared for soul

Paved the trail of my happy tears.

-  CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Remain in Love by Chris Brazelton)

THE GOLDEN GRAIN OF GOD

 

During His ministry, the Saviour related a lot of His teachings to the agricultural practices of His day. I love it when I come across examples of this in the scriptures because it takes me back to my European upbringing.

When the Saviour says that ‘the angels are waiting the great command to reap down the earth, to gather the tares that they may be burned’, I am immediately taken back to the wheat harvests that I witnessed in my youth.

The angels are waiting eagerly to reap as “all eternity is pained” because ‘all flesh is corrupted’ (D&C 38:11,12).  If all flesh is corrupted why gather and burn the tares only?  Because interspersed among the tares is something very valuable, ‘the golden wheat’…..

When Jesus visited the Nephites, He gave them the same warning He gave to Peter. He told them that Satan desired to have them that he may sift them as wheat (3 Nephi 18:18; Luke 22:31). I know something about this process. It is called ‘threshing’.

In agriculture, the process of threshing removes the thin, dry, scaly husks around the grains of wheat which act as a protective barrier as the wheat matures. Once the wheat is harvested, this casing, called ‘chaff’ has to be removed as it is not digestible by humans.

The thrashing happens either through a machine or among the less affluent farmers, manually by hand. I have memories of my grandfather sifting the wheat in a broad, round wooden sieve, shaking it from side to side to loosen the chaff from the wheat. It was a very vigorous process. The wheat was then thrown up lightly and the chaff blown away by the wind while the wheat which was heavier fell back into the sieve. This sifting was essential to expose and gather the golden grain.

I picture Satan greedily and viciously sifting us as wheat in a wooden sieve. He wants us as he wanted Peter because every grain is as important to him as it is to God:

In essence, Jesus was saying: “Peter, Satan wants you in his harvest. He wants to harvest your soul and bring you into his granary, into his garner, where he will have you as his disciple’. It is the same figure we use when we say that the field is white, already to harvest. And we go out and preach the gospel and harvest the souls of men. Satan wanted Peter, he wanted to sift him as wheat or to harvest his soul.”  (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, ed. Mark L. McConkie [1998], 127).

In 1830 the Lord issued a call for the ‘weak things of the world’ to thresh the nations by the power of His Spirit (D&C 35:13). As the missionary labours expanded, The Lord’s granary grew and continues  to grow to this day. We are the ‘weak things of the world’ but His Spirit is the mighty force of conversion which is gathering the golden wheat.

Satan might have attempted to sift Peter but he did not succeed in harvesting his soul. He is attempting the same with us because as the saints of the Saviour’s Church, we are valuable not only to God but to the world also. We stand as an ensign to the nations. Peter was important in the infancy of the Church but we are important in the winding up scenes of the world.

The Church has to stand to fulfil its divine destiny as the Kingdom of God. Our value is greater than we realise. May we be strong enough to survive the sifting and garner each golden grain of God.  

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art:  Ready to Harvest by LeafyTreeCo)

 

 

 

A MILLENIAL WORLD

 

Following the days of tribulation and desolation the Saviour will ‘reveal himself with power and great glory and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years’ (D&C 29:8-11).

Two significant things will happen at the onset of the Millenium. Firstly, all wickedness and corruption will be destroyed and there will be an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked (D&C 63:54). Only those will remain on earth who are worthy to live on a paradisiacal or terrestrial sphere (Mormon Doctrine, p 494).

Secondly, ‘all things shall become new’ (D&C 101:25). The planetary systems are to be changed, purified and refined in the similitude of the resurrection, by which means all physical evil or imperfections will be done away (Elder Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, p 61). All land will also come back together before it was divided in the days of Peleg (D&C 133:23-24). The earth will return to its paradisiacal glory of the days of Eden and the pure language of Adam will be restored so that we can all ‘serve the Lord with one consent’ (Zephaniah 3:9)

The massive enterprise during the Millenium will be something to behold, namely, the revelation of all knowledge for our learning (D&C 101:23-35); the temple work and the amount of missionary work that will no doubt be necessary to flood the earth with the knowledge of the Lord (2 Nephi 30:15).

Now consider the Millennial conditions that will make this stage of earth’s history an amazing time to be alive:

1.      “The enmity of all flesh shall cease” (D&C 101:26). All ferocious nature of animals will cease and there will be no killing between them or between animals and man.

2.      “Whatsoever any man shall ask, it shall be given unto him” (D&C 101:27). Because of their righteousness, people will only ask for the right things hence all petitions will be granted.

3.      “Satan shall not have power to tempt any man” (D&C 101:28). This will be accomplished by the Lord rewarding the righteous by pouring out His Spirit on them to such an extent that Satan’s power will be overwhelmed. Both the righteousness of the Saints and the Lord’s power will be a force that will bind Satan (D&C Student Manual p 89; commentary for 43:31).

4.      “Death will vanish from the earth” (D&C 101:29-31). There will be no sickness and there will be no death. When arriving to the point of death, people will be ‘changed in the twinkling of an eye’ instead. This means the body will pass from mortality to immortality and will have no need to wait for the resurrection day in the spirit world (Student Manual p 241). Imagine going from a hundred-year old body to a thirty year old one in a matter of minutes (Isaiah 65:20).

What an adventure we are on in this grand Plan of Salvation! When Moses met with God on Mt Sinai, he was shown this earth and all the inhabitants thereof. He was also told that there are many worlds existing and many had already passed away (Moses 1:35).

I often wonder if the great library in the sky has digital records of the earths that have existed and if we had access to view such. Seeing the Plan of Salvation playing out from the beginning to the end on other earths would have fostered in us an eternal perspective that propelled us to this earth with eagerness.

May we remember when the world overwhelms us, that we are so close to the parting of the heavens and welcoming our God in His glory to give us a thousand years of peace, tranquility and happiness and may we pray for Him to hasten His coming.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Loving Reverence by Greg Collins)

 

BEYOND THE VEIL

 

“President Heber J. Grant told a wonderful story about work for the dead:

"There were three young men who were as intimate, I think, as any three young men who ever lived could be.  They were Heber J. Grant, Feramorz L. Young and Richard W. Young. 

Feramorz L. Young had been in the East and had been graduated with honors from the Troy Polytechnic Institute, then went on a mission to Mexico, where he died and was buried in the Gulf of Mexico. 

“It always seemed to me a strange thing that a boy with all the education he had, who had made a wonderful success should be taken from us...He had to fight for the Church and its doctrines all the time he was in the East.

I thought that with his faith and knowledge and with all the information he had gained, it was too bad he had to lay down his life while in the Lord's service.

“I do not think that Fera Young in his life ever listened to an unclean story.  If anyone started to tell such a story he would excuse himself and walk away.  I never heard an unchaste word uttered by him.  If there ever was a clean, sweet, absolutely pure young man upon the earth, he was that young man.

“When he died his mother said she could not remember a word or thought or act of his life that would bring her the least sorrow or uneasiness. 

“What in the providence of the Lord is the result?...A woman came to Sister Young, his mother, with photographs of one of this lady's near and dear friends, a very beautiful woman, and said:

"Now Mrs. Young, I do not believe a thing of what I am going to tell you.  This girlfriend of mine was one of the noblest, finest, choicest kind of girls and young women that ever lived. 

“She has come to me in this city of Salt Lake on three separate occasions at night in dreams, and has given me this information: the date of her birth, the date of her death, and all this is necessary, she says, for a record in the temple; and she has told me that your son, Feramorz L. Young, has converted her, and that in addition to converting her he has proposed marriage to her. 

“She has said to me, "I want you to go to Mrs. Young and give her this information and vouch for my honesty, virtue, integrity and upright life, and have the work done for me and have me married for eternity to her son, Feramorz. L. Young."

“This woman who visited Mrs Young said:  "I do not believe a word of it but the last time this friend of mine came - which was the third time - she said: "There is nobody in Salt Lake City who knows me and can vouch for me except you." 

"You might just as well go to Mrs. Young and give her this information, because I am going to come, and come, and come, until you do it". 

“This beautiful girl was sealed to Brother Fera Young and I am convinced that my dear friend lost nothing by dying in his youth.

("Comforting Manifestations": Excerpts from Funeral Sermon delivered by President Heber J. Grant from the Improvement Era February 1931)

There is not one righteous soul that will miss out on any fruits of the Plan of Salvation. To this end was the Saviour born and to this end He sacrificed His all that we might have ALL. The price has been paid, the ordinances of salvation put into place. Has he not secured eternal happiness and blessings of eternity for you and me and for all who seek Him???

All honour and glory be to His name forever and ever…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Salt Lake City Temple by Brent Borup)

TO SERVE GOD

 

I have very fond memories of my childhood in Croatia. I spent every school holiday with my relatives in the village from which we came. Because of it I am very familiar with the agrarian way of life. I know what shepherds are. I have witnessed harvests, attended yearly village festivals, journeyed in open wagons. It makes the New and Old Testament very relatable. My patriarchal blessing says I have a rich heritage. Indeed.

When I read the Saviour saying to his disciples, “…..look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest”, I recall running my hand through the heavy ripe heads of wheat shining like gold in the sun (John 4:35). I love that the Saviour compared those who are ready to receive the truth to ripe wheat. And I love the imagery of the harvest.  It appeals to my understanding.

The harvest began well and truly in our dispensation with Joseph and the restoration of the Church. The results of the missionary labours in 1800s were astounding. People truly were like ripe golden wheat:

“In the early days of the Restoration, thousands were prepared to receive the gospel. So many came into the Church that the enemies of the work were frightened. It was not one of a city or two of a family who joined; whole congregations united themselves with the work. Wilford Woodruff alone baptized over two thousand converts in less than a year’s ministry in Great Britain.” (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual commentary for D&C 4:4, p 12)

In Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Saviour used the imagery of the sickle for harvesting. This too evokes memories. I remember my grandfather cutting down the wheat with a sickle. Sometimes he would use a small sickle with a short handle and a curved blade. He would cut with one hand and hold the stalks with the other.

At other times he would use a large sickle with a long handle and cut through the field while my grandmother would walk behind him and gather the stalks that fell. It was arduous work. The trick in how fast this could be done lay in the sharpness of the sickle. If the blade was sharp it would cut through the wheat like butter and the work was quicker.

Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy spoke of the importance of a sharp sickle and how it relates to our preparedness to be profitable servants of God. He pointed out that our spiritual sickles need to be kept sharpened in order to produce a worthy harvest. The qualities needed to qualify for the work are in D&C 4:5,6  (Abandoned Seeds in Rocky Places, New Era, July 2014, 18).

Regarding chapter 4 of Doctrine and Covenants, President Joseph Fielding Smith remarked:  “Perhaps there is no other revelation in all our scriptures that embodies greater instruction pertaining to the manner of qualification of members of the Church for the service of God, and in such condensed form than this revelation. It is as broad, as high and as deep as eternity” (Church History and Modern Revelation [1953], 1:35)

I consider Joseph’s take on service superior to all the rest. While a prisoner in Liberty jail, he wrote to the Church members. Despite the iron yoke of hell, he told the saints that they still owed ‘an imperative duty to all the rising generation and to all the pure in heart….for there are many yet on the earth who are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it….’  Joseph admonished that ‘we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness’ and give the world the truth.

This is being like Christ. This is following in the footsteps of Him who indeed wore himself out in bringing truth to the world, forgiveness to the sinful, love for the righteous and joy un-surpassing for those who endure to the end. Didn’t He descend to the bottomless pit of human suffering for me and you, for the ungrateful, for the unaccepting and indeed for all creation???

He will come and He will make up His jewels from among the righteous and spare them, ‘as a man spareth his own son that serveth him’  (Malachi 3:17)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Reaping the Harvest by Nathan Greene)

SPIRITUAL WARRIORS

 

 

Just as you finish the war chapters of the Book of Mormon, you wonder if anyone thereafter will be able to match the war heroes that have found their way into your heart. But then the spiritual warriors begin to emerge. Such were two brothers who hailed from a rich heritage: from Alma came his unconquerable great-grandsons, Nephi and Lehi, the valiant sons of their father Helaman who gave them names of their forefathers in remembrance of their good works. Helaman was big on remembering and in his discourse to his sons, he used the word ‘remember’ 12 times (Helaman 5:5-12). Nephi and Lehi certainly did remember and they kept the commandments to a tee (v 14).

30 B.C. became the defining year of the good works of these valiant brothers. Things were not good on the home front. Nephi became so weary of the iniquity of his people that he ‘delivered up the judgment-seat to a man whose name was Cezoram’ and chose instead ‘to preach the word of God’ with his brother Lehi….and not just to preach until they had some converts but ‘all the remainder of their days’ (v 1, 4). Their missionary work was legendary, taking them through all the Nephite cities and culminating in their labours amongst the Lamanites (v 16). Have you noticed how the greatest missionaries of the Book of Mormon never omitted to wade into dangerous waters to also  preach to their enemies, the Lamanites? That my friends, is real missionary work….

The brothers had amazing success in the land of Zarahemla where they baptized 8,000 Lamanites (v 18, 19). But the Lamanite territory of the land of Nephi found them imprisoned where they languished for many days without food (v 22) until a spectacular spiritual experience granted them their freedom. As the threat of death approached, the heavens intervened and encircled the brothers by fire, the Father’s voice broke the spell of darkness that overshadowed the witnesses ‘and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them’ (v 43, 48). The witnesses numbered no less than 300 souls who took the power of their testimonies throughout all the regions converting many (v 50).

The missionary labours of these two brothers didn’t stop there, the effects of which were far more reaching: the majority of the Lamanites became more righteous than the Nephites (Helaman 6:1); the Lamanites began to preach the gospel to the Nephites (6:4); there was peace in all the land (6:7); the Lamanites and Nephites had open travel and free trade with one another (6:8).

Not many years hence, however, the Nephite nation rejected the word of God and all the preaching and prophesying among them fell on deaf ears leading the nation into spiritual decay (Helaman 6:2).  By year 23 B.C., their extreme greed for riches made way to secret combinations allowing the Gadianton secret society to become the governing body of the day (v 17-19). The spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from the Nephites and began to be poured out upon the Lamanites (v 35,36). The Nephites were ripening for destruction (v 40).

When Nephi returned to the land of Zarahemla from his mission in the north, and saw the great iniquity that had come upon his people ‘in the space of not many years’, ‘his heart was swollen with sorrow within his breast and he wept in the agony of his soul wondering why he was consigned to live among ‘the wickedness of his brethren’ (7:1,6-9). It made me reflect on the condition of the world we live in. I came to understand that God sends His most valiant spirits to earth at the time of gross wickedness to give balance to the world in the hope that their righteousness will reverse the tide. Such was the calling of the spiritual warrior called Nephi, the son of Helaman, and his brother Lehi.

Nephi’s greatest accomplishment was to remember his father’s admonition to build his foundation ‘upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ’ (Helaman 5:12). This admonition he passed on to his son, Third Nephi, whose faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was so great ‘that angels ministered unto him daily’, who, in the name of Jesus, cast out devils and unclean spirits ‘and even his brother did he raise from the dead….’ (3 Nephi 7:18,19)…..and who witnessed the greatest event of the American history, the coming of the resurrected Christ. It sends shivers up your spine, does it not?

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Clouds of Glory by Greg Sargent)

WHAT WAS LOST IS FOUND

 

The imagery Isaiah used to describe the splendor of the gathering of the House of Israel in latter days is stunning. Picture if you will lambs whose “pastures shall be in all high places, who shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them” (1 Nephi 21:9,10). Isaiah says we shall be led from the four corners of the earth for the God of Israel who had once been rejected shall have mercy on the offspring of them who rejected Him. He expresses the proof of that mercy by saying it is more likely that a nursing woman would forget her child before He forgets His covenant children (v 15).

So great will this gathering be that the House of Israel will far exceed the children it once had. They will be brought to Zion by the Gentiles who will establish a standard for God’s people, meaning the restored Church (v 22). Yet again the imagery of children being carried in their arms and daughters carried upon their shoulders is overwhelmingly endearing and suggestive of Jehovah’s spiritually begotten children whose importance shall far exceed that of the kings and queens of the earth who will ‘bow down to Israel’s covenant children and lick up the dust of their feet’ (v 23). Such a global event this will be that ‘all flesh shall know that He is our Saviour and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob’ (v 26).

The gathering of Israel is yet in its infancy. That which is yet to come will be a global event to behold. When the main body of the Ten Lost Tribes return, who are now hidden from us, they alone will affect a migration of gigantic proportions (D&C 133:26-34). It will be of greater magnitude than the diving of the Red Sea in the days of Israel’s Exodus. The massive miracle of the Exodus will be forgotten compared to the Ten Lost Tribes’ return. In awe, we will no longer say, “The Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but the Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel out of the North” (Jeremiah 16:14-15). So great will this migration be that the ‘boundaries of the everlasting hills (North America) shall tremble at their presence. The Lost Tribes will come to be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim’ (D&C 133:31,32). We will then come to Zion singing songs of everlasting joy (D&C 101:18). We will kiss them and rejoice that what was lost is found.

But even this is not all. Ín Jeremiah’s words: “Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." (Jeremiah 16:14-16). Right now we are just ‘fishing’ through the missionary work, but after the return of the Ten Lost Tribes and before the Lord comes, there will be 144,000 high priests appointed, 12,000 from each tribe who will be ordained and receive power to ‘hunt’ out the House of Israel, wherever they are scattered, to be brought to Zion (D&C 77:11,18; Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 16:325; 18:25). Not one, with the ‘believing blood of Israel’ coursing through their veins will be overlooked.

The Holy One of Israel will gather His own… He is our Shepherd who will feed us in green pastures and assuage our thirst with living waters, who will lead us to rest in the shadow of His mighty wings…..our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jehovah the king of heaven and earth……‘for the mighty God shall deliver His covenant people’ (v 24a JST). 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by Yongsung Kim)

RESPONSIBILITY OF ISRAEL

 

 

Some of us are inclined to think that the events of the past contained in the scriptures are not really relevant to us today. Every time I study the Old Testament I see the lessons that still apply because as they say, history repeats itself……. because we rarely learn from those gone before us. Ancient Israel was warned if they joined in with the wicked, they would be destroyed with the wicked (Deuteronomy 7:2-4). We stand to suffer the same punishment if we join with the world today. We all know what awaits the wicked when the hour of His appearing is upon us.

 

There is something very significant we can take from ancient Israel’s occupation of the promised land of Canaan. In his narration of the 40 year wanderings before entering the promised land, the great Moses prepared the Israelites with a very sober explanation of who they were and what their role was. He was very clear that the Lord had not chosen them to possess Canaan because of their righteousness (because they were a stiffnecked people (Deuteronomy 9:6), but because they were chosen to be a ‘special people above all people that are upon the face of the earth’ (Deuteronomy 7:6). And this is the reason why: because they were the descendants of Abraham with whom Jehovah made an everlasting covenant, it was their responsibility to cleanse Canaan of an idolatrous people, to abolish idolatry, and re-instate the worship of Jehovah. The responsibility was not wholly spiritual though; part of the Abrahamic covenant was the land of Canaan which was promised to Abraham’s posterity forever, so Canaan was rightfully theirs.

 

How is this relevant to us today? The Abrahamic covenant bridges time because it is an everlasting covenant. The covenant being this in a nutshell: for the privilege of blessings of the priesthood, we would take the gospel to all the nations of the earth and spread righteousness among those we live and interact with. Our method of installing the worship of Jehovah might be different but the responsibility to be an ensign to the nations is the same. And here is our motivation, so eloquently spoken by Moses: “…..this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statues, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great who hath God so nigh unto them…And what nation is there so great that hath statues and judgments so righteous as all this law…..???”  (Deuteronomy 4:5-9)  What nation indeed? 

 

What other nation has the fulness of the Gospel? What other nation has the priesthood ordinances of salvation and exaltation? What other nation knows our beloved Saviour like we know Him through modern revelation? What other nation is ‘the apple of His eye’ (Deuteronomy 32:9,10; Zechariah 2:8; Psalm 17:8)? What other nation are the jewels in His crown (Exodus 28:17-21; Malachi 3:17; D&C 60:4; 101:3)? I hear the echo from Isaiah still: “O Israel, fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine [forever]” (Isaiah 43:1-3).

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Almost Time by Danny Hahlbohm)

ALMA, A MAN OF HOLINESS

What comes to your mind when you think of Alma the Younger? No doubt his miraculous conversion. And miraculous it was. More miraculous than his conversion, however, were the works that followed this life changing event in his life. Amongst his accomplishments as a high priest, a military commander and the first chief judge of the land, none distinguished him more than his missionary labours. Alma's missionary labours equaled, in greatness, those of his friends, the sons of Mosiah. Whereas the sons of Mosiah laboured diligently amongst the Lamonites, Alma did so amongst the Nephites. Alma could have easily sat on the cushy judgment seat for the rest of his life (Mosiah 29:44); judging people and meting out punishment. Alma, however, longed to save people. 

After being a chief judge for nine years, Alma gave up the judgment seat (Alma 4:20) and dedicated himself to establishing and strengthening the Church in the land of Zarahemla. And he baptised 3,500 people in the process (Alma 4:4,5). After he put the Church in order in Zarahemla, his  missionary labours took him to Gideon, Melek and to the hotbed of iniquity and apostasy, Ammonihah, the city that became Alma's crucible. Ammonihah was apostate and destined for annihilation as per the Mosiac law (Deauteronomy 13:12-18). 

Alma didn't go to Ammonihah once, but twice. The first time he was spit upon, reviled and rejected (Alma 8:13). Alma left and whilst journeying in dejection and sorrow an angel appeared to him commending him for his obedience (Alma 8:15). As he lifted Alma's spirits, he made the Lord's mercy known in asking him to return to Ammonihah to give them a second chance. Alma didn't dawdle, he returned to the den of disbelievers with speed (Alma 8:18), for more abuse. His labours in this infamous city are well documented in the book of Alma. Even though he couldn't save Ammonihah, Alma's missionary labours there and and his discourses on the plan of redemption are legendary. This in itself is impressive enough about this man but what impresses me most is this:

Amulek, whom Alma acquired as a missionary companion on his return to Ammonihah, called Alma 'a holy man' (Alma 10:7). Then he proceeded to say why. He said Alma was called of God and that he had fasted many days because of the sins of the people. And so he did. He fasted; he 'laboured much in the spirit'; he 'wrestled with God in prayer'; he suffered; he sorrowed; and he waded through anguish. And all this because of the wickedness of the people he didn't even know (Alma 8:10,14) . People who didn't care about him. People who abused him (Alma 14:22). People who wanted to kill him (Alma 14:3). 

Alma withstood it all. Like Christ did; who was spit upon, reviled and rejected.  Who laboured relentlessly despite all He suffered in body and spirit for the salvation of men. Yes Alma's conversion was miraculous but what he did after it mattered more. He lived up to the forgiveness he received and nurtured his faith that changed his heart and placed him on the path to becoming like Christ. I am certain Alma spoke from personal experience when he delivered his sermon on nourishing the seed of faith to the apostate Zoromites (Alma 32). Alma gave up the judgment seat because he could see there was no other way that he might reclaim his people but by bearing pure testimony (Alma 4:19).  As he lived what he believed and as he loved as the Saviour loved, Alma could with confidence ask: "...have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenance? Have ye experienced a mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:14). Because he did. And this made all the difference.

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

published 2021 by amazon.com

OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER

When I study the scriptures I am often amazed at the zeal with which the prophets of old preached repentance and how tirelessly they laboured for the House of Israel. Equally impressive, in a devastating way, is the stubbornness of people to repent and heed warnings of impending destruction. Very often the picture we get through scriptures of missionary labours is bleak and converts seem very few and far between, so the admiration for the prophets grows even more as their labours seem futile. Elijah was so depressed about his seemingly lack of success that he fled from the murderous intentions of wicked Jezebel and sat under the juniper tree "requesting for himself that he might die" (1 kings 18:4). Imagine the very government of your country seeking your head. This was the fate of Elijah who fled before the most evil queen history has ever known. So Elijah went to Horeb (Mount Sinai) and fasted 40 days and 40 nights (1 Kings 19:8) when his request for death was not granted. The  Lord enquired of him what he was doing there and Elijah said he had laboured zealously for the Lord because the children of Israel had forsaken the covenant, thrown down the Lord's altars and slain his prophets and that he alone was left while they sought his life (1 Kings 19:14). It makes you want to weep, doesn't it? Now here comes the interesting part. The Lord gave Elijah a most unexpected path to hope. He informed him that He had yet 7,000 Israelites who have not bowed down to Baal in heathen worship and whose lips had not kissed this abhorrent idol (1 kings 19:18). Seven thousand people who have remained true to the God of Israel. That's a lot of people!

Now consider the missionary labours of Abinadi in the court of the wicked king Noah. He was persecuted, bound, scourged and burnt to death.  Nobody believed anything he said, "but there was one among them whose name was Alma" (Mosiah 17:2) and we might say, the rest is history.....from one convert came thousands, the most significant of which was Alma the Younger; high priest, chief judge, military leader. Alma the Younger, who once went about with the intent to destroy the Church became Alma who led the Nephite armies in battle, who sat naked with Amulek in dungeons, who was spat upon by the unrepentant, who dumbfounded an anti-christ,  and who baptised thousands of souls unto repentance (Alma 4:4,5).

It seems that in our day and age wickedness and disobedience to God reigns supreme in and out of the Church yet we need not feel discouraged. The House of Israel will endure forever. The Lord will make sure of that. We of modern Israel have been promised that the spirit of the Lord will be poured down upon us and "sons and daughters will prophesy - preach, exhort, pray, and instruct so as to benefit the Church. Direction and revelation will be given. Young men and women who are representatives of the Lord will be inspired. The gifts of teaching and inspiration will be given to all classes and levels of people......the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon them, and they will be endowed with the gifts necessary to convert sinners and to build up the Church". (Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings-Malachi, pp 85-86). This prophecy was given by Joel (Joel 2:28).

Our purpose is clear, the strong are to succor the weak. For we are our brother's keeper. We are the powerful ones. We are Israel. We are Ephraim. We are the Church of the Firstborn. We will be gathered from the four corners of the earth. We will endure calamities. We will conquor the enemy of all righteousness. We will usher in the Millenium. We will be caught up to meet Him. Well might we say:

Hurrah, Hurrah for Israel!

"And ye shall know that I am 

in the midst of Israel,

and that I am the Lord your God,

and none else;

and my people shall never be ashamed."

(Joel 2:27)