TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD

 

Imagine sitting on a family feud for 20 years. Imagine having to face the person who sought to take away your life because of this feud after all the time you were estranged from them. This was the situation Jacob found himself in when God commanded him to return to Canaan. He knew he would come across his brother Esau and dread took possession of him. So much so that he prayed to God for protection.

Consider his humility in approaching God: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant…deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my brother…..” (Genesis 32:10) Then he evoked God’s promise of the Abrahamic covenant through which he would be blessed with posterity ‘as the sand of the sea which cannot be numbered for multitude’ (vs 11,12)

Imagine Jacob’s joy when Esau “ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him”…..and instead of animosity, hatred and vengeance, they wept….(Genesis 33:4). And this is the reward of forgiveness in Jacob’s words: “I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God….” (v 10)

This reminds me of that famous quote from the finale of Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Miserables”, “To love another person is to see the face of God”, emphasizing that selfless love breaks all the barriers of contention, hatred and discord and represents the highest, divine and sacred experience.  

I could not imagine life without forgiveness. Living in such immense opposition and weakness, we simply could not survive spiritually without it because the imperfection of this life would canker our souls beyond saving. Forgiveness rescued me from the greatest trial of my life. This forgiveness was what made me ‘see the face of God’ because it came as His gift.

Now in this later stage of my life, I am learning more about self-forgiveness of my humanity. I erroneously and arrogantly expected I was going to be perfect in this life…..my weaknesses taught me otherwise. Self-forgiveness, like forgiveness of others, is a freeing tool that makes something wonderful of us. Consider Alma the Younger who suffered the godly sorrow asked of every repentant sinner (Alma36:18). 

Obviously’, the Saviour didn't require more than that of Alma.  He did not require him to live in the past or the future beating himself up for what he did.  What He did require of Alma was for Alma to become a great man.  A man who would be an instrument in His hands to convince others of His great power to save. 

Alma, 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, who baptised thousands of souls unto repentance (Alma 4:4,5), who the Lord in the end took up unto himself (Alma 45:19).  Alma certainly did become that great man that the Lord needed…because of forgiveness.

I am in awe of the ‘Man of Sorrows’……of His mercy and His love. The older I get the more I feel the overwhelming reliance I have on His salvation. He has made my earthly life possible and my eternal life a surety because of His forgiveness of my humanity. I am in awe of His ability to liberate the beauty in me.

 

If I had the might to plant Thee in each heart

Of all that breathes,

In pursuit of such a quest I would walk the earth

With apparent ease.

As I can do so little this desire to meet,

I lay my loyal love at Thy holy feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Gentle Saviour by Jay Bryant Ward)

THE CROWNING BLESSING

 

If ever there was a book for our time, it is the Doctrine and Covenants: a warning to the world and a concise compilation of prophecies, revelations and direct instructions and commandments to Christ’s Church. When I read this book I hear the voice of God.

Every time I study the Doctrine and Covenants, my testimony of Joseph as a prophet grows. No mortal man could come up with anything to rival or match any revelation contained therein that fell from the lips of our exalted, glorified and beloved Saviour.

Consider if anyone bar Christ himself could possibly make the promise He made at the very start of Section 93. The promise to the faithful members of His Church is beyond our wildest imagination:

“It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am.”  (v1)

It is the same promise He gave to His Church in the meridian of time:

“If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”  (John 14:23)

Could there be a greater promise than to see His face??? Elder Bruce R. McConkie called this “the crowning blessing of mortality”:

“We have the power – and it is our privilege – so to live, that becoming pure in heart, we shall see the face of God while we yet dwell as mortals in a world of sin and sorrow. This is the crowning blessing of mortality. It is offered by that God who is no respecter of persons to ALL the faithful in his kingdom. (In CR, Oct 1977, p 52, or Ensign Nov 1977, p 34)

President Spencer W. Kimball confirmed this privilege is available to all the members of the Church:

“I have learnt that where there is hungering after righteousness, forsaking of sins and obedience to the commandments of God, the Lord pours out more and more light until there is finally power to pierce the heavenly veil and to know more than man knows. A person of such righteousness has the priceless promise that one day he shall see the Lord’s face and know that he is.”  (“Give the Lord Your Loyalty”, Ensign March 1980, p 4)

“Sanctify yourselves that your mind become single to God, and the day will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you….”  (D&C 88:68)

“Verily I say unto you that it is your privilege, and a promise I give unto you that inasmuch as you …..humble yourselves before me….the veil shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am….” (67:10)

I sometimes wonder if it is our lack of worthiness or our lack of belief in the promise that keeps Him away…..

I lift and I float in this vast

Universal space,

Seeking and hoping to see Your face.

Angels are near me,

They beckon and call

Ensuring I find a soft place to fall.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Bridegroom by LDS Art)

 

TO SEE HIS FACE

 

“If we want a real testimony, if we want to seek God until we find Him, even if we want eternal life – all these things can be ours, if we desire them, so long as we do not desire other things more. We show what we really want by what we do, not just by what we say.

“So if we say we desire to grow in our faith, but the way we live suggests otherwise, we probably want something else more than we want eternal life. It might be our friends. It might be physical pleasures. Or it might only be that we don’t want the Church bothering us with meetings and rules and guilt trips.

“Whatever it is we want so much, we are likely some day to have it. Not only will the righteous desires of our hearts be granted, the unrighteous desires of our hearts will also be granted. Over the long run, our most deeply held desires will govern our choices, one by one and day by day, until our lives finally add up to what we have really wanted.”

-        Elder Bruce C. Hafen, “The Believing Heart”, p 22-23

My question is this. How many of us have the faith that we can have what we desire? How many of us think our desires are feasible? How many of us would dare desire to see God in this life? Do we think it possible? Well, actually it is.

At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples that He will manifest himself to anyone who loves Him and keeps His commandments. When the disciples asked how that is possible that He will manifest himself to them and not to the whole world, Jesus answered: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our above with him.”  (John 14:21-23).

This personal appearance to anyone is alluded to in Doctrine and Covenants also where the Saviour said: “I am in your midst…..and the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me and know that I am” (D&C 50:44,45).

If you think you need to be a prophet or someone of great importance in the Church to see God, consider this: “It shall come to pass that EVERY soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth my name and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1).

And if you think that this does not apply to this life, consider the scripture where the Saviour tells us that if we strip ourelves from jealousies and fears, and humble ourselves before Him, ‘the VEIL shall be rent and we shall see Him and know that He is’ (D&C 67:10).

It is the veil of forgetfulness that was ‘taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared’ whereby he was able to see the Saviour before him (Ether 3:6). It is the veil that separates us from the literal presence of God and it is something that exceeding faith and righteous state of a person can remove:

“And there were MANY whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad.” (Ether 12:19)

If we desire to see God, we can, “so long as we do not desire other things more”………….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Christ by Jechoon Choi)