JOSEPH THE PURE IN HEART

 

"Young man, a thousand miles away from home, can you keep the standards of your mother and father?  One man changed the history of the world by taking into a foreign country these standards: He was good looking, he had personality; he was young.  Because of his physique and general carriage, he carried prestige.  She was a woman of importance….. She tempted him once - she tempted him twice - yes, and many more times.  Each time he remembered the teachings of his folk at home.  He looked sin in the face and stood like a rock….. “ (Bishop Marvin O. Ashton, Improvement Era, Vol. XIviii, December, 1945, No. 12)

 

Joseph's ultimate test of faith came in the form of a woman.  This test of faith became the crowning glory of proof that he would never stray from his faith and commitment to live God's laws.  Joseph referred to Potiphar's wife's invitation as 'great wickedness' (Genesis 39:9).  The following insight into Joseph's character helps us have appreciation of his tenacity and ability to overcome what could have been an overwhelming sense of hopelessness as his life took a turn for the worse.

 

Joseph never failed to recognise that something good always comes out of something bad.  He believed that even his unjust imprisonment was a blessing.  The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs quotes Joseph as saying: "I gave thanks to the Lord and sang praise in the house of darkness, and how I rejoiced with cheerful voice, glorifying my God, because through her trumped-up charge I was set free from this Egyptian woman".

(James H. Charlesworth, The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments)

 

Joseph felt it was better to sit in a dark dungeon for two years then to have succumbed to sin. How easy it would have been to embrace a sinful life far away from his family….nobody would have known! But God would have known and this was more important to Joseph….because God sees all and He knows all. And Joseph knew if he was faithful to the God of his fathers, he would have the right to hope for help from Him.

 

It is staggering to think of what lay on the line when Joseph was tempted by his master's wife.  Had Joseph succumbed, his destiny, the destiny of his family and the destiny of his descendants would have all been in peril. Had he chosen the life of sin, he would never have become the man that he became.  This would have had disastrous effects not only on him but on us too.

 

Just as Joseph became a saviour of his family temporally, I am convinced his morally clean life has had an impact on his progeny and their role in becoming spiritual saviours to their brethren of Israel and the rest of the Father's children:

 

"Wherefore thy brethren (the other tribes of Israel) shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins (Ephraim and Manasseh) for ever; For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin". (JST Gen. 48:10-11)

 

When I consider Ephraim’s responsibility of salvation, I am convinced that the lives that we live have an impact on our generation and on the generations to come: “No one sins in isolation. We cannot say that our actions influence only ourselves for even if we do something sinful that is completely personal, our individual loss of spiritual power means a lessening of power for all mankind and contributes to the withdrawal of the Lord’s Spirit, and that is damaging to all…..” (Old Testament Student Manual Gensis – 2 Samuel p 243)

 

But there is hope…in repentance and a God who can extend mercy to the penitent….

 

Like a bird in flight

Our sins ascend to Thee;

Rising from the ashes of mortality

They seek Thy mercy to set them free. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet by Greg Collins)

THE CITY OF ENOCH

 

“One of the most outstanding features of the society which Enoch established was the manner in which the Lord instructed him to combine the religious ideals of the people with certain divinely inspired economic principles. The successful practice of these principles resulted in a golden age of prosperity which continued throughout the earthly existence of this community – a total of three hundred and sixty-five years (Moses 7:68).” (W. Cleon Skousen, “The First Two Thousand Years”, p 173)

This golden age of the City of Enoch is the blueprint of New Jerusalem, the modern day Millenial Zion upon the American continent. Enoch’s city had another name: the City of Holiness, even Zion (Moses 7:19). There is only one reason why this city was called the City of Holiness and that’s because ‘the Lord came and dwelt with his people’ and ‘dwelt in the midst of Zion  (Moses 7:16;69). It was He who was the embodiment of holiness and not its people. Much like He will be in New Jerusalem.

When the Saviour comes and resides in New Jerusalem, “the need will disappear for the sun and the moon to give light to God’s covenant people. The Lord Himself will be an everlasting light…and all the city will be lighted up by the glory of His presence….” (Orson Pratt, in “Journal of Discourses”, 14:355-56; see also D&C 133:57-58)

Because the Saviour was there with the people of Enoch, they ‘were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in righteousness and there was no poor among them’ (v 18). This description tells us one thing: because the citizens of Zion were true followers of Christ, they were endowed with His pure love.

Without the pure love of Christ we can never become citizens of Celestial Kingdom. A Zion life-style prepares us for this eventuality. And here is something we need to know. This pure love is unique only to Christ. It is solely His kind of love. We do not possess it and neither are we capable of developing it. His pure love is an endowment on those who love Him and follow Him (Moroni 7:48). That’s the good news.

I am guessing that it took Enoch’s city 365 years of ‘walking with the Saviour’ to reach the state of holiness which ‘lifted them up, even into the bosom of the Father and of the Son of Man’ (Moses 7:24,69). Much like 1,000 Millenial years will prepare us for the same.

When the Saviour returns, those who are spared will be those who are only ‘more’ righteous than those who will not be spared, like the Nephites of old when he appeared to them after His resurrection (3 Nephi 9:13). There will be no perfect people on earth when He comes. Perfection only comes in and through Him. The Saviour will live with His saints upon this earth for a thousand years to perfect them through His grace and endow them with His pure love in preparation for the celestial realm.

When the Saviour returns, Enoch’s city will return with Him to live with Zion, the New Jerusalem (Moses 7:62). This is us. They will meet us there and “we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other” (Moses 7:63)….it will be a meeting of hearts knit together with the pure love of Christ. The Saviour is at the door….the Millennium imminent. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Divine Companion by Yongsung Kim)

THE DESTINY OF ZION

 

When Elder Bruce C. Hafen was the Area President here in Australia he shared with me that the goal of the Church was at that time to prepare the members for Zion. That was some 25 years ago.

I learnt something important this year from Section 105 of the Doctrine and Covenants. I was reminded of Elder Hafen and I came to see how important the Church is as an organisation of the body of saints because of its leaders who are implementing this preparation.

We are told certain conditions need to be met before Zion can be established as ‘the bridge between the world as it is and the world as God designed it and meant it to be’ (Hugh Nibley, “Approaching Zion” p 4).

Firstly, the elders of the Church are to be endowed with power from on high that we the members might be taught more perfectly in order to develop more experience concerning our duties and what God requires of us (v 10,11).

There are some who believe they can be inactive in the Church and in the end show up at New Jerusalem’s gate expecting to live a Zion life. Imagine arriving to Zion without any experience behind you that would have taught you to be obedient to the leaders’ instructions and to be  united with other members of the Church community.

Zion can only be built ‘according to the union required by the law of the celestial kingdom’  (v 3-5). It is this law and this only 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. I don’t know how much progress we have made in the last 25 years since Elder Hafen was here. Right now the world is divided into left and right and contention and disunity is rife. President Nelson is 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.” 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: As I Have Loved You by B. Laura Wilson)

COME TO ZION PART 2

 

“And there were no envyings, nor strife, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness…..and they had all things common among them; therefore there were no rich and poor…. they were all made free…..and they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God….and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:3,16,17).

This was a Zion society amongst the Nephites of old akin to the city of Enoch, but in just 200 years they went from that idyllic picture to this:

“And now, in this two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride…and from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them (4 Nephi 1:25). This pride of the people led to division into classes which led to the buildings of many churches which led to denial of the true church of Christ (vs 24-27).

During the two hundred years of peace and unity and no contention, the love of God dwelt in the hearts of the people (v 15).

It took two hundred years for two generations post Christ’s visit to die out and for Satan to step in to get ‘hold upon their hearts’ (v 28). His success to make them weak was based on the inverted formula which once made them strong. First came Church inactivity (v 20), then pride (v 24) and then iniquity (v 28).

This is the path that the city of Enoch never took. Instead, they chose to ‘walk with God’ and were endowed with the pure love of Christ. This pure love enabled them to become a celestial society where only unity reigned.

This is the pure love of Christ: The Saviour had no self interest or motivation for self-advancement when He accepted His role as our Saviour and Redeemer. His only motivation was our salvation. He put us ahead of Himself. When He was here, He never used His power to satisfy His needs. It was always used for the benefit of others. This is what it means to be a celestial person. The self no longer ranks first.

A pure love means it is not contaminated with selfishness. This is proven by the fact that there were no poor among the citizens of Enoch’s city. It means everyone put others before themselves so everyone was cared for and provided for. This is a celestial state of being that we are asked to prepare ourselves for.

I stated in Part 1 that the pure love of Christ cannot be developed by us. It is a love unique only to Christ, hence its name. It is a gift given to the true followers of Christ who keep His commandments because they love Him: “If you love me, keep my commandments” is repeated 20 times in the Bible alone (Exodus 20:3-6; Deut 5:8-10; 7:9-11; 10:12-13; 11:1;13-14;22-23; 19:8-9; 30:16; Joshua 22:5; Daniel 9:4; Nehemiah 1:5-6; Matt 5:17-19;19:17;22:37-40; John 14:15,21; 1 John 2:3-4; 5:2-3; 2 John 1:6).

Can you see how love begets love? If we love the Saviour and show it, He will endow us with the ability to love others as He loves.

This is the greatest commandment for us to live if we expect to become a Zion people that will usher in the Millenium. Right now, the world is in turmoil. Satan is bringing out his strongest weapons to divide us, get us to hate each other and to promote the ‘me society’. All this is the opposite to the principles of Zion.  His scheme of One World Order is a counterfeit of the Millenial theocracy under Christ. All his schemes are counterfeits with one goal in mind, to destroy us.

We must not let this happen, because we are the children of Christ……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: As I Have Loved You by B. Laura Wilson)

A LAMANITE

 

 

I was anxious to get to Samuel the Lamanite in the Book of Mormon. I have always admired his tenacity in preaching to the Nephites. It’s the only point in their history where the tables were turned and a Lamanite was fired up by the missionary zeal. I scoured a couple of reliable sources that would give me an insight into this man. Of course, I found nothing.

Samuel appeared suddenly in 6 B.C. from nowhere and disappeared the same way (Helaman 12:2; 16:7,8). No parentage, no conversion story, no place of abode, but what a valiant Lamanite! It sends shivers up my spine.

And then this…..my eyes were opened and I saw the man. Samuel had a pure heart. On his way back to his own land after the Nephites cast him out of Zarahemla, the voice of the Lord instructed him to return and to prophesy ‘whatsoever things should come into his heart’ (Helaman 13:3). Mormon reiterated twice that Samuel prophesied whatever the Lord put into his heart (v 4,5).

The Scriptures speak a lot about the heart as a conduit of the spirit. God looks on the heart and not on the appearance and thereby chooses His servants (1 Samuel 16:7). There are numerous scriptures that verify that the Lord works with the heart of the children of men such as: ‘I will tell you in your mind and in your heart’ (D&C 8:2) or ‘Speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts (D&C 100:5).

The Lord who knows the hearts of all men (Acts 1:24) would not put prophecies, revelations, and words of holiness into any heart that was not pure. In Samuel’s heart He placed four important points of His message to the Nephites: 1. Know the judgments of God; 2. Know the conditions of repentance; 3. Know the coming of Jesus Christ; 4. Know of the signs of His coming.

Samuel’s dedication and obedience at all cost reminds me of Alma who was cast out of Ammonihah and who returned upon the Lord’s instruction. So determined was Alma to deliver his message that he found another way to enter the city unnoticed (Alma 8:18).

Such was the determination of Samuel who returned to Zarahemla and climbed upon the wall of the city and ‘prophesied whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart’ even as the stones and arrows flew with no effect as ‘the Spirit of the Lord was with him’ (Helaman 13:4; 16:2).

It amazes me how the Saviour will not cease to warn people of their impending doom. While the Nephites were reveling in their unrighteousness just six years before the prophecies of the birth of Christ were fulfilled, He ensured that He had valiant servants who would cry repentance unceasingly.

When Samuel left Zarahemla, some who believed his words went to Nephi for baptism, who was frantically crying repentance, showing signs and working miracles among the people so they would believe that Christ was coming (Helaman 16:3,4).

I have often thought that the Saviour’s tolerance and mercy toward us is excessive but as I reflected on it a thought came to me that He could have never subjected himself to such an unjust death if He was any other way. For this I will be eternally grateful. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Samuel the Lamanite by Briana Shawcroft)

A CALL TO RISE

 

Many of us are wondering how much more wicked does the world have to become before the Saviour makes His appearance. The thing is, it's not the state of the world that will determine that but the state of us, His people. Not until Zion can be established among us will the Saviour be able to come. And since the Lord works through us and He honours our free agency, our wickedness or righteousness can impede or accelerate His work (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, p 258).

Section 105 of Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the early Saints failed to establish Zion and were driven from their inheritances in Missouri because they failed to comply with the order of consecration. In other words, their hearts were not right to live the principles of the Celestial Kingdom. Since Zion is THE PURE IN HEART, there is no Zion where there is no purity of heart. What does being pure in heart mean? Elder McConkie taught that living by the principles of the Celestial Kingdom means living by the law of the gospel because through it men are sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, thus becoming clean, pure, and spotless (Mormon Doctrine, p 117). But there is more....being pure in heart means having the pure love of Christ within you.

This is the pure love of Christ: It means having no motive for self-advancement. Think for a moment of the Saviour and what He volunteered to do. There was no self-advancement in His sacrifice, He didn't need it, He was already a God. We were the only ones who received advancement through His sacrifice. Until we come to the point where we can be selfless like He is and care about others as much as we care about ourselves, we will not be fit enough to live a Zion life in the Millenium. Zion cannot be redeemed, meaning we cannot expect to live there, until such a time as this and until this can happen, the Saviour cannot come. So you see it is up to us to make this happen.

It is time for us to stop worrying about the state of the world and start focusing on our state of being and on our worthiness. Now is the time for us, the House of Israel, to walk the path the Saviour has paved; to become as He is; to seek the purity of heart that He has; to become a Zion people. It is time for us to RISE.

I gave you my all;

My heart, my body, my soul,

Your salvation to ensure.

I paved the way and opened the gate,

Come and take my hand;

Eat and do not hunger,

Drink and do not thirst.

I am in your midst;

I am the only,

I am the last,

And I am the first.

• Cathryne Allen

(Art: Dr. Ashraf Fekry)

KNEE DEEP

 

Last Sunday our Sunday School lesson was entitled "Zion - The Pure In Heart".  I thought as I studied the lesson how much becoming a Zion person is at the other end of the spectrum of someone who is an inactive member of the Church.  Somewhere between being a Zion member and an inactive member we encounter all sorts of members.  Ones who sit on the fence and come to Church because they know they should and do little else about their membership, ones who consider the Church to be a social club and somewhere to belong, ones who choose what commandments they will live and live the gospel as it suits them.  Some members have barely wet feet and others are knee deep in the Church and strive with all their might to live the Gospel.  These members are Zion people.

  

In D&C 6:6, we are admonished to 'seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion'.  This should make every member feel the need and urgency to put their life into order and strive to become a Zion person.  One only needs to consider the condition of this world to be convinced that the time of the Saviour's coming is near, even at hand.  "For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory" (D&C 34:7)   When the Saviour comes we will not stand to experience the Millenium if we are not a Zion people. I've reflected a lot on my own worthiness during the past week and have sadly concluded that after nearly 40 years of Church membership I should be much further ahead than what I am.  Thank goodness for repentance and hopefully enough time for improvement before the Saviour makes an appearance because right now I am not sure I am yet a Zion person.

 

The Saviour's call for the Church to rise in strength of Zion is found in D&C 82:14: "For Zion must increase in beauty and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments".  President Franklin D. Richards explained: "What are these beautiful garments?  These beautiful garments are the clothing upon with the authority and power of the Holy Priesthood.  It is that which makes people beautiful; it is that which makes people useful...." (Journal of Discourses, 21:195).   President Eyring made clear the purpose and destiny of those who have the holy priesthood upon them in this dispensation:  "The destiny of the rising generation of priesthood holders is far more than to be ready to bring God's power down to heal the sick.  The preparation is to be ready to go and do whatever the Lord wants done as the world is preparing for His coming".  (Eyring, "Be Ready", Ensign, Nov. 2009, 59)  I don't know all things the Lord will ask of us before He comes but I know we need to be so knee deep in the Gospel and so committed that we will do anything.

 

 

 

To be Zion people, we cannot sit at the door of the chapel hoping the holiness will rub off on us, but need to be so far into the Church that its' principles and teachings dictate our every action.  We need to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost to have him purify our hearts and sanctify us and form us into the image of God.  Our hearts need to become pure and free of any malice and selfishness and full of love for our fellowman.  If we do not become like this we will not be able to abide the Zion community and the Zion way of life in the Millenium.  Here's what President Spencer W. Kimball had to say about this: 

 

"Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people.  Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart.  Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism.  No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart". (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p 363)

 

I've concluded that there are three qualifications needed to belong to a Zion society: 

 

1.  Personal righteousness;

2.  Love of fellowman;

3.  Detachment from worldliness.

 

If we strive to obey the two greatest commandments on daily basis we can accomplish this . The Saviour made clear what these commandments are:

 

"37...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38.  This is the first and great commandment.

39.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  (Matthew 22:37-40)

 

Why does everything depend on obedience of these two?  Because if we obey these two, we will be obeying all the rest too.

 

I've pondered on why some of us fail to make this preparation for Zion a priority in our lives and why we get so immersed and lost in the business of living in this telestial world rather than 'seeking for the things of a better' as Emma Smith was counselled to do (D&C 25:10).  The only answer that comes to my mind is that we give little thought to what life in Zion during the Millenium will really be like.  Imagine a society free of crime, war, pestilence and natural disasters;  a government with  a member of the Godhead  at the helm; where food is plentiful without hard labour, where there are no poor among us and people live in happiness.  Wouldn't you want that?  If anything, rather than being attached to this telestial world where there is so much suffering and evil and life is just plain hard, we should be wanting to let go of it and look forward to a better way of life a hundred times over.  We should heed Alma's admonition: "....come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things..."(Alma 5:57)

 

Zion starts in one's heart. You can be a Zion person here and now.  And you can exert so much righteous influence on those around you that you could have Zion anywhere: in your home, in your community, in your country, and eventually the world.  It all starts with a handful who are willing.  The Church was organised with just 6 members.  Now we number 15,000,000.  Without the work of those 6 members we would not be numbering into millions now.  According to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, half of us will not be invited to the wedding feast when the Saviour comes, remembering the 10 Virgins represent the Church members only.  This means a lot of us will miss out. With tongue in cheek,  I guess it all depends on whether you like weddings.