A BETTER WORLD

"Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. Moroni spoke of it in the Book of Mormon as "hope for a better world". For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of 'good things to come'. My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the 'light that is endless, that can never be darkened'. It is the very Son of God Himself."
- Holland, Jeffrey R., "An High Priest of Good Things to Come", October 1999

Imagine if this world was perfect. If there were no calamities, wickedness or turmoil....Imagine if this telestial life was an easy ride; one of constant happiness and devoid of strife. Would we, as disciples of Christ, be yearning for our Celestial home which is our ultimate destination? Would we be yearning for Christ to come back to make resurrection and eternal life possible? Some say that there have been bad times on this earth since year one and what we are experiencing now is not new. That is true but never before have calamities and scourges come with such intensity, frequency and speed. There will soon come a time when there will not be a period of respite; when we will long for peace, rest and freedom from oppression of every kind; when we will know beyond a shadow of doubt that He is our only hope, our Deliverer, our God. It will be a time when we will say, in the words of John the Beloved: Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20)

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

published 2021 by amazon.com

SUFFERING ENDURED

The suffering endured;

The power displayed;

The love manifested;

- Tad Callister

"The Infinite Atonement"

There is no depth of pain He hasn't suffered;

There is no extent of sorrow He hasn't felt;

There is no degree of difficulty He hasn't experienced;

There is no human suffering He hasn't endured;

The Healer

The Rescuer

The Balm of Gilead

- Cathryne Allen

MINISTERING

Have you ever wondered why the two greatest commandments are to first to love God and second to love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40)? It is obvious that we need to love God so that this love would motivate us to obey his commandments and thus set ourselves on the course to eternal life. It is equally obvious that we need to love others so that we could become like Christ, once again to set us on the course to eternal life. There is a good reason however why these two commandments stand side by side. Consider President Benson's take on this: "The world largely ignores the first and great commandment - to love God - but talks a lot about loving their brother....But only those who know and love God can best love and serve his children, for only God fully understands his children and knows what is best for their welfare. Therefore, one needs to be in tune with God to best help his children...If you desire to help your fellowmen the most, then you must put the first commandment first. When we fail to put the love of God first, we are easily deceived by crafty men who profess a great love of humanity" (Ezra Taft Benson, CR Oct 1967, p 35)

We live in a world of political correctness where the philosophy of kindness has replaced the importance of religion and a God centered life. One such example is the teachings of Dalai Lama whose popularity and influence has grown exponentially over the recent years:
"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." (Dalai Lama)
It is not my wish to disparage any religion here but rather to elevate the importance of placing God in our lives first so that we can better serve and love one another. Kindness is well and good and obviously necessary but it is not the tool by which we can help change lives and alleviate someone's suffering by bringing them to the fountain of all healing which is Christ. Kindness is just the beginning.

I noticed through my years of being a single mother that I and the other single mothers I have known have had a different response to the same situation we found ourselves in. Why is that? Because we are all unique with different capabilities, understanding and strengths of character. Well did Dr Seus say that 'there is no one youer than you'. From this period of my life I have concluded that nobody can support and sustain me better than God Himself. And here is the important part of this. God the Father understands and knows us best not only because He knew us long before we were embodied in mortality but because of the Atonement of His Son who has felt, experienced and gained first hand insight into every being that has ever lived and ever will walk the face of this earth. I had a priesthood blessing recently in which I was told that the Father knew all that I was experiencing in my present situation because the Saviour Himself has told Him so. This is a pretty powerful foundation for one's faith in God and his watchful providence.

If we want to be under-shepherds ministering to one another as the Saviour himself would do, we need to pay close attention to what He has to tell us about those that we serve. For one simple reason: there is no depths of pain that He hasn't suffered; there is no extent of sorrow that He hasn't felt; there is no degree of difficulty that He hasn't experienced. The depths of all human suffering is known to Him and Him alone. He is the Healer, He is the Rescuer, He is the Balm of Gilead.

FORERUNNER

In the ancient world there were men who held an important job. They were required to go ahead of a travelling party to clear the path of fallen trees, rocks, undesirable persons or any obstacles that would prevent the travelling party from finishing their journey. They prepared the way. They were called 'forerunners'.

The most famous 'forerunner' to whom this title was applied symbolically was John the Baptist. Not much is known of John's personal life besides the role he played in the accomplishment of Christ's mission, but this much we do know. He was born to two elderly people according to God's promise to be 'the voice crying in the wilderness' to herald the arrival of one greater than he, as prophesied by Isaiah (40:3) and Malachi (3:1). When John the Baptist was two and a half years old a decree went out from Herod the king that all boy children two years and younger should be slain. John escaped this deadly fate because of the selfless courage of his father Zacharias who caused his wife Elizabeth to take him to the desert where he was raised to manhood. When Zacharias refused to disclose his hiding place he was slain by Herod's order, between the temple and the altar as he performed his temple duties (Matthew 23:35).  So apart from his miraculous birth and a rough upbringing what we know most from the scriptures is that John's life was solely focused on being the 'forerunner' of the long awaited Messiah. One might ask why the Son of God would need anyone to prepare the way before Him?

We know that first and foremost there needed to be a person with proper priesthood authority that could baptise Jesus, even though He needed no baptism. John had this priesthood power and authority. His father Zacharias would have been the high priest had that office not been corrupted earlier in Jews' history by making it a political appointment reserved primarily for those of wealth and prominence. Upon his death, John would have been the next reigning high priest. The leadership in Jerusalem, including the Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees and the Sanhedrin knew who John was and what his lineage was. Therefore, his teaching of the Saviour's coming, the gospel, the performing of miracles and baptising would have created a fertile environment for Jesus as He began his ministry. If there was no John beforehand to vouch for and testify of Him, the leadership in Jerusalem and indeed the Jewish population would not have recognized Jesus as having any authority or position as He was a carpenter without any acknowledged political or religious standing. John's ministry also provided a nucleus of faithful baptised believers from whom he could call His apostles. These were men already converted and ready to serve, hence their ability to walk away from their professions and families the instant the Saviour called them. Such was the power of John the Baptist, a martyr, who valiantly testified, taught and prepared the way and whom Jesus characterized as "a burning and a shining light" (John 5:35).

And here is an interesting fact. Even though Jesus and John were cousins and John testified of Him unrelentessly, it can be assumed that he didn't really know Him directly. The only time prior to the baptism that they would have been in close contact would be in Bethleham before they were 3 years old and before Herod's death decree. After that Jesus grew up in Nazareth and John was raised in Perea, on the east side of Jordan. In JST of John chapter 1, John says that he knew Him but was told by 'Him' who sent him to baptise that he shall know the Messiah when he sees the spirit descending upon Him following baptism (John 1:33, 34). He might have been told prior to baptism that it was his cousin but he might not have recognized Him when he saw Him without divine assistance. The Holy Ghost descending upon Jesus like a dove was both a confirmation to John of the Saviour's identity and a spiritual witness of His Sonship.

Here is the crux of this story. In my patriarchal blessing there is an interesting sentence that goes like this: "As you remain faithful to your trust, your guardian angels will never forsake you. They will go before you to 'prepare the way' and will be close to you and give you strength to resist evil." As I studied about John the Baptist this year my thoughts were cast upon this sentence and I realised I had 'forerunners' in my life. I wondered how much harder I would have struggled in my life had not an obstacle been removed from my path here and there, a temptation repressed , a hurtful incident prevented. I realised that I could very well have come this far more on the merits of my forerunners than on my own strength. If we are sincerely striving to accomplish our life's mission, our guardian angels will ensure that obstacles of any kind will not be keep us from accomplishing the purposes of our second estate. And one day when we look back on our lives we will plainly see just how much these guardian angels have helped us and we will be compelled to say as Elisha of old said to his servant who trembled at the sight of the approaching Syrians:

"Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they 

that be with them"

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee,

open his eyes, that he may see.

And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man;

and he saw:

and behold, the mountain was full of horses and

chariots of fire....."

2 Kings 6:16,17

I attribute and credit some insight and phraseology in this blog post to my friend Larry Keeler who has enlarged my understanding of the scriptures many times.

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)

THIS IS MY WORK AND MY GLORY

When I read the scriptures I choke up when I come across sentences such as "I am Helaman, the son of Alma" (Alma 58:41) or "I am Mormon, and I am a disciple of Jesus Christ" (3 Nephi 5:12,13). I lap up the war chapters of The Book of Mormon where Moroni, Helaman, Teancum and Antipus distinguish themselves in war strategies and moments of battle, and I want to bow to Lehi, at the mention of whose name the Lamanites trembled because "they feared Lehi exceedingly" (Alma 49:17). I long to have the penmanship skills of Isaiah and unnerving passion of Jeremiah who could not refrain from preaching because "the word of God was as a burning fire shut up in his bones" (Jeremiah 20:9). I see people all through the scriptures and I see people everywhere in this rich tapestry of life we call mortality. I imagine if there were no mortal days of probation I might never have heard of a man called Abraham Lincoln in the vastness of the Universe or been moved by music written by Mozart or heard Renee Fleming sing Casta Diva. What an amazing gift it is to be a witness of someone's unique expression of self and of the mark they leave on this world. What an amazing assortment of humanity we are. I marvel at our uniqueness, our creativity, our intelligence, our very essence and all that we are and are yet to become.

When Moses encountered God on Mount Sinai, God revealed Himself to him and Moses saw the glory of God and every particle of this earth and all the children of men (Moses 1:8,27) that have ever been created. The vision of God's power was overwhelming to a man who grew up in an Egyptian court believing that Pharoah was god and there was no one greater than him so he exclaimed that now he could see that man is nothing (Moses :10). God, however, didn't want Moses to miss the point so He showed him the same vision again and concluded it with the most important message in the scriptures: "For behold this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). The point that God didn't want Moses to miss is this: amongst all of God's creations, none are greater than man. Why? Because man constitutes Gods glory. All that we are and all that we become matters because it leads to our glory and adds to His.

Most of us will not earn a page in the annals of history. Most of us will never become another Abraham Lincoln or Mozart or Helaman or Isaiah. We can, however, fight a good fight, do much good, accomplish our purpose, become the best we can possibly be. In the words of Abraham Lincoln: "Whatever you are, be a good one". And in the process, share your uniqueness with the world because according to Dr. Seuss: "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You". How true and how magnificant are you!