He
arose and rebuked the roaring winds
and
the raging sea,
He,
who with His word
caused
the earth to be,
Spoke
to the Galilean tempest:
“Peace, be still”.
He
who has all things
under
His command,
Calmed
the troubled sea of dismay
in
the souls of men.
He,
who holds all humanity
in
the palm of His hand,
Caused
the waves of the sea
to
whisper His name.
-
CATHRYNE ALLEN
He
arose and rebuked the roaring winds
and
the raging sea,
He,
who with His word
caused
the earth to be,
Spoke
to the Galilean tempest:
“Peace, be still”.
He
who has all things
under
His command,
Calmed
the troubled sea of dismay
in
the souls of men.
He,
who holds all humanity
in
the palm of His hand,
Caused
the waves of the sea
to
whisper His name.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Emmanuel by Danny Hahlbohm)
Following
the disastrous Babel and confounding of tongues, God proceeded to preserve His
ways among the people by establishing communities of righteous groups in
various parts of the earth who held the Priesthood:
“One of the
most important colonies raised up by the members of the Priesthood during the
life time of Noah was in Palestine. Most of this territory was dominated by the
seed of Ham. The land was even named after Ham’s oldest son, Canaan. But the
seed of Seth had carved out a mountainous kingdom over toward the northern end
of the Dead Sea called Salem. This is the territory which surrounds the modern
city of Jerusalem (Jeru-salem) (Bible Dictionary under “Salem”). (W. Cleon
Skousen, “The First 2,000 Years” p 253)
The kingdom
of Salem was governed by the prophet-king called Melchizedek. This amazing,
righteous ruler had an effective tool for counteracting wickedness and apostasy
that was engulfing his land and this was it: “But Melchizedek, having exercised
mighty faith, and having received the office of the high priesthood according
to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold,
they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days;
therefore he was called the prince of peace ….” (Alma 13:17)
Throughout
history it has been proven by people who have embraced the gospel that peace is
one of its by-products. Permanent peace to every soul only comes through
repentance, righteousness and saving ordinances of the priesthood.
This is
what fascinates me and it should fascinate every member of the Church. Perhaps
the most familiar mention of Melchizedek is in connection with Abraham who paid
tithes to him following his battle with the kings who took his nephew Lot (JST
Genesis 14:36-39; Genesis 14:18-20). There is no more mention of him in the Old
Testament. Melchizedek did not remain in existence for long. What we do know of
him comes from latter-day revelation and the Book of Mormon.
By the time
Abraham needed to find a wife for Isaac of proper lineage, there were none of
the righteous people of Melchizedek left in the land of Canaan. Therefore, he had to send a servant all the
way to Mesopotamia to get a wife for Isaac.
And this is
what happened to the people of Salem: “Melchizedek and his people had been
allowed to enjoy the blessings of Enoch….and were translated and taken up into
heaven. And his people wrought righteousness and obtained heaven, and sought
for the city of Enoch which God had before taken….” (JST 14:32-34).
My point is
this. We now have two groups of saints who have given us the pattern of
becoming a Zion people…..the followers of the mighty Enoch and the mighty
Melchizedek. Both of them achieved the state of Zion amongst the greatest
wickedness of their time. Our time is no different but there is hope for us too,
given through repentance, righteousness, and purity of heart: all fruits of the
gospel of peace of our Saviour Jesus Christ, our God and our King.
A river of peace floods my mortal being;
I struggle to contain such a merciful
gift.
With grace You enlarge
the sparse capacity of my heart
And righteousness moves within me
as the waves of the sea.
I love You more dearly;
I serve you more freely;
I become what I alone could never be.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Christ and the Dove of Peace by Doc Christensen)
"About
fifty years ago, Mr. F.M. Bareham wrote the following:
A century
ago men were following with bated breath the march of Napoleon and waiting with
feverish impatience for news of the wars. And all the while in their homes
babies were being born. But who could think about babies? Everybody was
thinking about battles.
In one year
between Trafalgar and Waterloo there stole into the world a host of heroes:
Gladstone was born in Liverpool; Tennyson at the Somersby Rectory; and Oliver
Wendell Holmes in Massachusetts. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, and
music was enriched by the advent of Felix Mendelssohn in Hamburg.
But nobody
thought of babies, everybody was thinking of battles. Yet which of the battles
of 1809 mattered more than the babies of 1809? We fancy God can manage His
world only with great battalions, when all the time he is doing it with
beautiful babies.
When a wrong
wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent wants discovering,
God sends a baby into the world to do it.”
- Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle: pp 84, 85
We have fought many battles since 1809 and today, in 2025, we are still
fighting and turmoil reigns supreme. We fight other nations, we fight our own
countrymen, we fight our neighbours, we fight our families, we even fight
ourselves. And there is one thing we seem to be overlooking, that God sent us a
baby 2025 years ago to give us peace.
Every year we celebrate His birth but we do not celebrate Him. Some
of us try hard to take Christ out of Christmas and focus on the tradition
instead. Maybe animosity between nations and brotherhood of man will cease when
instead of Christmas we start celebrating The Prince of Peace.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Emmanuel by June Jameson)
I have
always liked this picture of Jesus with a white dove. I have wondered what the
artist tried to say with it. She titled the piece, The Creator. Yes, He created
everything, including the birds of the air, but why was the white dove featured
to represent all creation? I knew that scripturally a white dove is a symbol of
the Holy Ghost. I researched further and found out that there are many positive
attributes that are associated with white doves such as: hope, honesty, purity
and peace. When I read the last attribute, I immediately remembered that famous
scripture: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you.” (John 14:27). And so now I tend to think that the
focus of this painting is on Christ who represents all these attributes but especially
that of peace.
What did
the Saviour mean when He said, ‘my peace I give unto you’? It means, if you
know Me, you will have peace; if you follow Me, you will have peace; if you
seek Me, you will have peace; if you live my Gospel, you will have peace; if
you allow me to help you do what you cannot do, you will have peace; if you
allow me to make of you, what you should be, you will have peace. This kind of
peace does not come from the world, hence the proclamation, ‘not as the world
giveth’. We cannot have peace if we have our feet in both camps because we
receive wages of the master we obey.
My greatest
witness of Christ’s peace came through my experience with forgiveness. Some
people have a forgiving nature all around, some can forgive small acts, some
hold a grudge about anything and everything. The hardest to forgive is an
offence perpetrated against you that hurts the most. These offences fall into
the category of ‘too hard to forgive’ but they are not impossible because there
is a way.
The whole premise
of the Atonement rests on the principle of forgiveness. The Saviour died so
that forgiveness would be possible. Forgiveness is central to His character. There
is nothing like peace that forgiveness can bring to your heart. I speak from
experience and my personal frame of reference. I had an opportunity many years
ago to seek His ability to forgive when I could not do so on my own merit. The
emotional pain I was in during the crucible of my life was beyond me to repair
but I knew someone who could. I sought the gift of forgiveness, through my
faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, multiple times a day. The pain was
extreme but when the peace came, it was a freedom I had not known before. This
experience in my life was the defining moment of my true discipleship.
Imagine
what kind of peace the world can offer. It is a world where tribulation abounds
and suffering is rife. Even the most righteous are not exempt from a world of opposition
but endurance and overcoming of the world is possible through Him who has
overcome it all. If you are in a boat that is enduring a storm, there is hope. Whatever
the crucible of your life, it will be your defining moment that will lead you
to know the Prince of Peace.
He, who with His word caused the
earth to be,
Spoke to the Galilean tempest: “Peace,
be still”.
He who has all things under His command,
Calmed the troubled sea of dismay
in the souls of men.
He, who holds all humanity in the
palm of His hand,
Caused the waves of the sea to
whisper His name.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: The Creator by Liz Lemon Swindle)
The world is getting worse and worse. It is becoming the challenge of the day to foster contentment and peace. As we contemplate that it might get much worse, hope seems to be on the slippery slope. Now more than ever we need to believe that peace of heart is still possible. Consider the blessed state of those who did something to make this a reality: “….they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation…..because of their yielding their hearts unto God.” (Helaman 3:35). This state of joy and consolation came to the Nephites who were members of Christ’s Church amid much ‘persecution and affliction’ (v34). In other words, their state of contentment was not situational or circumstantial. It came from their spiritual well-being. This is not all, however….there is something greater. In the second part of this verse it says: “filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts” (v35). To be sanctified means to be freed from sin and to be made holy. There is only one path to sanctification and that is obedience and obedience becomes ever so much easier when you are yielding your heart to God. When you do so, you are sanctified and you enter into a state of spiritual joy and consolation. Consolation means comfort and solace. And is this not needed in the world today?
We are in the twelfth hour. The Saviour is at the door. However, that does not necessarily mean that He will come tomorrow, this year or the next. There is still so much more to come before He appears, so much good to fulfill the promises, but also so much more strife as evil grips the ‘powerful’ men of this world who yield control. We might have to endure much more than we want to but the tool to survive it all is ours and then the peace…..for a thousand years…..such as has never been known on earth before…may we await with eagerness, hope and iron-clad conviction, the one and only, Prince of Peace.
I long to reside in Your presence;
To never know sadness
Or the wretched heat of my tears.
I know I will be safe there
Where fears cannot find me
And trials cannot scar me.
I know there will be safety
In the shadow of Your wings;
My burdens You will carry
And wipe away my sins.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Time Is At Hand by Danny Hahlbohm)
