ON SACRIFICE

 

"The World" by LDS Bookstore

“For a man to lay down his all, his (1) character and reputation, his honour, and applause, his good name among men, (2) houses, his lands, his (3) brothers and sisters, his wife and children and even his (4) own life also….requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended; he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God” (Jerry A. Wilson, Lecture 6:5, The Great Plan of Happiness, Insights From the Lectures on Faith, p 68)

Just as the Saviour paid an enormous price for the gift of eternal life that is on offer to all of us, we are asked to sacrifice our all here in mortality, to basically become like Him and be worthy of such a gift.

Paul called all things that he sacrificed and walked away from ‘but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ’. A real Jew, circumcised, of the stock of Israel, a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin, as he called himself (Philippians 3:5,8; Romans 11:1), walked away from his Jewish upbringing, family, lucrative career, and social standing amongst the Romans, and chose to believe in the gifts of eternity.

As well defined as the path of sacrifice is in the above quote, I wish to write about another form of sacrifice and that is the sacrifice of ego and self-importance because I believe this is the power base of all other forms of sacrifice. This is the root out of which all forms of sacrifice can grow.

I have a friend currently on vacation in Bali. She has been very impressed with the people’s kindness and helpfulness. She has learnt a lot of their customs, among which is the traditional responsibility among Balinese people to care for their aging parents. She found it amazing that ‘the poorer they are, the more caring and loving they are.

I replied to her that it is a proven truth that when you are not spoilt and encumbered by the comforts and luxuries of the world, you care about things that truly matter much easier and better. I also pointed out that we are so intent on ‘having things’ and we do not realize how that pursuit encourages and motivates self-importance to the detriment of the important things like giving of yourself to others which is one of the sacrifices we are asked to make.

We live in a world of ego called “me, myself and I”. Somehow, we have lost the sight of sacrifice as we seek to elevate ourselves instead. The nature of our world is undergirded by possession of worldly things, of houses and lands, of honour and applause. We cannot survive without two incomes, professional unfulfillment, a house in a well to do neighbourhood, private schools, latest cars…..and so called holidays essential for our mental health.

While Balinese people live on scooters from the age of 17 and care for their aging family members, a lot of us are relying on aged care homes to care for our parents and grandparents so we can ‘get on with our lives’.  

If we are to secure that gift of eternal life by emulating the life of Him who can give it to us, we need to place the self on the altar of sacrifice more often that we do as sacrifice of self reveals the face of eternity and the view is glorious because of the greatest sacrifice there ever was:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

TO BE LIKE THEE

 

Had I the choice

To rest in Paradise,

Or live in this dismal world

And sacrifice all that is in me;

I would choose the latter always

Dear Saviour

So I could be like Thee.

- Cathryne Allen 

(Art: Light of Glory by Christ Brazelton)

A NOBLE LIFE

 

Some months ago I received an understanding that made sense of one part of my life. It was given to me to understand that opportunity of self-sacrifice was offered as a choice in pre-earth life to those who wanted to become like Christ. It meant that someone else’s life and well-being would matter more than one’s own. I could see that Celestial Kingdom will consist of people who care about others more than they care about themselves. That’s being Christ-like.

Yesterday, I made a connection to this principle at a deeper level. I had maintained for a while now that it is wrong for children of single mothers to feel responsible for their care in their old age. I maintained we are a burden around their necks that would prevent them from pursuing their own lives. I saw it as something unhealthy when in reality this is the view of the ‘me, myself and I’ world we live in today.

This is what opened my eyes. I was speaking to a close friend who is also a single mother. She was telling me of her daughter who was recently faced with a choice to create a new life for herself away from her. She chose to stay to care for her instead rather than pass her onto someone else’s care. This girl also intends to move to another state to care for her father in his old age if that ever becomes necessary. My friend said her daughter was “100% Ruth”. I saw how wrong I had been in my assumption of what is right in such a situation. It also opened my eyes to the wider view of the 5^th Commandment to ‘honour thy father and thy mother’.

I wrote about Ruth yesterday and how her choice to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi put her on the path to becoming a symbol of redemption in Israel through her levirate marriage to Boaz. What else I see now is her Christ-like self-sacrifice which rewarded her for her noble life.

Ruth's story begins in Moab, her home-land, where she married Mahlon, one of the sons of an Israelite couple called Elimelech and Naomi, who had fled from their hometown of Bethlehem because of famine and came to Moab, a gentile country east of the Dead Sea. Another Moabite woman by the name of Orpah married Chilon, the other son of that family. Neither of the women produced any children before the father and both sons died leaving the three women destitute.

 

Ruth's story is a prime example of how you can go from nothing to everything if you live a life of sacrifice and faithfulness. When the famine abated Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem and entreated her daughters-in-law to remain in Moab and return to their families. Both of the women wept at the suggestion wanting to follow her but Orpah consented after further encouragement from Naomi while Ruth refused to abandon her aging mother-in-law who faced a life of uncertainty without offspring and opportunity (Ruth 1:15-17). And here begins a life dedicated to caring.

 

Ruth accompanied her mother-in-law to Bethlehem and there gained a reputation of a virtuous woman in Israel. This is a true convert….The entire city of Bethlehem knew how good she was and told Naomi that Ruth was better to her than seven sons (Ruth 3:11, 4:15). I am a convert also so this touches me to the core….

 

As the poor in Israel were accustomed to do, Ruth offers to go gleaning the barley fields being harvested. Gleaning was in effect gathering any stalks of barley that fell from the harvesters' hands and that were left on the field for the poor to gather to save them from starvation. Being new in the area, Ruth, unbeknownst to her, chose a field that belonged to Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi's husband, but not just any relative. Naomi identifies him as the 'next kinsmen’.

 

This is where Ruth’s sense of duty and care comes into play. Ruth, a young woman does not seek a man closer to her own age and of her own liking to marry and get on with her life, as the women in our day would do, she instead heeds the counsel of her mother-in-law and approaches Boaz to lay claim to a 'levirate marriage'. As the 'next kinsmen' it would be his duty to marry the widowed Ruth and provide her with offspring. This duty would have fallen to her husband's brother had he remained alive.

 

What is even more interesting is that Naomi could have laid this claim herself but Naomi was too stricken in years to bear more children. By Ruth marrying and bearing a son, she provided a way for both women to be cared for in their old age. Lucky for Ruth, Boaz was a good man and was impressed that she was following the Israelite family law in seeking a rightful husband rather than going after her own selfish desires. He regarded her proposal as 'a proof of feminine virtue and modesty by offering herself as a wife to an old man like him rather than going after young men’. (Ruth 3:10,11)

 

Ruth, a converted Gentile, came to Bethlehem empty but was filled in every way. She went from nothing to everything. Boaz married Ruth and they had a son, Obed who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who was a progenitor of Mary, who was the mother of Christ (Ruth 4:17-22). By giving birth to Obed, Ruth brought honour again to her mother-in-law who was left childless: "And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom and became nurse unto it. And the women, her neighbours, gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed...." (Ruth 4:16,17). Thus by her life's choices Ruth became a symbol of selfless love to be emulated by all the daughters of God.

 

I take my hat off to people who care for their aged parents in our day.

 

I personally know one modern-day Ruth. Her name is Kimberly. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Ruth by Sue Killingsworth)

A PERSPECTIVE

 

Many years ago when I was going through the darkest time of my life, I had a priesthood blessing from my Bishop during which he told me that my life was planned for me before I was born and that I agreed to that plan. Still, part of me did not fully accept that painful period or my life until a year ago when I gained a deeper perspective regarding the matter. It was revealed to me that because of the goal I had for myself in pre-earth life, an opportunity of self-sacrifice was offered to me as a means of becoming who I wanted to be and I took that choice. I agreed to a painful path for myself so that another can benefit from it.

I reflected on this yesterday because of the children of Israel who fell into Egyptian bondage  for 430 years. Before I expound on the relevance, here is how that servitude came about:

“And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” (Exodus 1:6-8)

This new king was no doubt Egyptian and not of the Hyksos dynasty of Semitic people that Joseph governed Egypt  under (Old Testament Student Manual 1 p 103). The Egyptians hated Semitic people in their land and erased all mention of Joseph from their history, but one piece of evidence remains. Apparently, “they exaggerated their ‘successes’ and immortalized them on a stone slab of Merneptah, which in listing conquered peoples claims proudly: “Israel is laid waste and his seed is not.” (Jewish Antiquities, “The New Complete Works of Josephus” p 95)

Josephus tells us when the children of Israel came into Egypt they numbered no more than seventy souls (see also Genesis 46:27). By the time Jacob and Joseph died and the Egyptian king came to power, they numbered above 600,000. This frightened the Egyptians to the point of severe affliction of the Hebrews in an attempt to eradicate them (see Exodus 1:9-14).

Imagine 430 years of bondage. Imagine being born into it and dying in it. Imagine all you know of life is slavery, for yourself, your family, your ancestors….and you cannot see the end. One would wonder why would God allow this to go on for so long. This is where my theory of sacrifice comes in…..because there is an explanation. It would seem their servitude was a sacrifice that helped tremendously in developing and preserving their identity for the future generations:

Palestine was a battleground for warring nations…and Israel needed stable conditions to become a ‘peculiar people’ and this is how:  Firstly, the hatred that existed between the Hebrews and the Egyptians and the length of their trying servitude fused Jacob’s children into a united people; and secondly, Israel had to remain a pure race and the hatred between these two nations prevented intermarriage (otherwise the validity of the priesthood would have been compromised as the Egyptians were descendants of Cain and did not have the right to the  priesthood…see Abraham 1:21-27) (Mark Petersen, “Moses” pp 27-30, “Old Testament Student Manual” 1 p 103)

Both James Talmage and Bruce R. McConkie claimed that valiant spirits earned the privilege of being chosen before they were born to come to earth as members of the House of Israel (see “Articles of Faith” pp 193-94; “The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary”, 1:23)

I wondered if those valiant early members of the House of Israel chose to be born in Egypt for the purpose of building a strong House of Israel and its destiny. I rather think they understood the principle of self-sacrifice for the greater good of others and accepted this responsibility. I imagine the resilience and the survival of Israel over the course of history had its beginning in Egypt where the task masters of bondage built the strength of the tribe that could not be broken……the tribe that gave birth to the Lion of Judah…..and we know what HIS destiny was.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Saviour and King by Greg Collins)

 

 

 

CONVERSION OF INTEGRITY

 

When Ammon and his brothers brought King Lamoni, his father and their subjects to the knowledge of the truth, their conversion was so deep that they buried their weapons of war as a token of their repentance, never to be used again for the shedding of blood. This token also extended to their desire to be distinguished from their brethren the Lamanites whereby they sought to take upon themselves a new name. Being more Lamanites by their biological nature and more Nephites by the changed nature of their hearts, they chose the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehies (Alma 23:16,17). This name also suggests the joining together of the descendants of Nephi and Lehi's other posterity, meaning they were now one. The prefix ‘Anti’ does not suggest opposition as it does in our English language. It rather suggests a reflex of the Egyptian nty meaning 'he of’ or ‘the one of''. Thus, rather than having the sense 'against', the name means 'the one of Nephi and Lehi'" (Stephen D. Ricks, "Anti-Nephi-Lehi", in Dennis L. Largey, ed., Book of Mormon Reference Companion [2003], p 67).

When the Lamanites came upon them to slay them, the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi did not prepare for war, nor did they run away. They stayed put, buried their weapons and subjected themselves to slaughter. We tend to always reflect on the main reason they did this, that reason being a sign of their covenant with God (Alma 24:18) that they would kill no more but that reason does not end there.

During the massacre of the people of Anti-Nephi-Lehi, the number of Lamanites who were converted and ‘saved’ was greater than one thousand and five of them who were slain (Alma 24:22,26). So the sacrifice of the ‘innocent’ brought about the salvation of the ‘sinful’. In other words, one thousand and five of them went willingly to their deaths for the sake of the salvation of others. How is that possible? Here is how: We are told that the people Anti-Nephi-Lehi LOVED their brethren who sought to kill them (Alma 26:32).  Does all this remind you of someone?

The love these converts possessed towards their brethren was not ordinary love but ‘the pure love of Christ’. This was a deeper love than loving your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 19:19). This was to love ‘as I have loved you’ (John 13:34), this was the love the way HE FEELS IT, not the way we do. This love sends you to the altar of sacrifice to lay down your life for another, as was the case of the people of Ammon whose self-sacrifice mirrored the sacrifice of the Son of God. This love cannot be developed by us but can only be a gift to the true followers of Christ who prayerfully seek it (Moroni 7:47,48) AND who are deeply committed to the covenants they have made. Only the integrity of the conversion of our hearts qualifies us for this love.

The lesson and example of Anti-Nephi-Lehies’ resonates throughout history but their greatest legacy? 2,000 stripling warriors….but of that later….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Anti-Nephi-Lehies by Del Parson)

PARENTHOOD

 

I am often amazed how much is required of some parents. I see it in my daughter constantly who is a mother of a special needs child. I worry about her, I ache for her, I cry with her. It has made me reflect on the two special attributes that she is acquiring in the process of her motherhood: selflessness and self-sacrifice.

 

Our society has drummed into us, especially into women, that we need to have a life of our own, unimpeded by children who always demand to come first and push us and our needs to the back burner. We often complain that we no longer have a life of our own because of kids. Whereas there needs to be some sort of a balance and respite provided to cope better with demands of parenthood, society’s dogma has convinced a lot of people in the world not to have children at all. 

 

I think of Christ, whose children we are….and his selflessness and self-sacrifice. Imagine if the Saviour spent His life complaining that He also had no life of His own because He was purely here for us. Would He be willing to get up on that cross when the time came? It boggles the mind. Lucky for us, the Saviour navigated His whole life through the pure love of Christ within Him. Pure love basically means He had no motive for self-advancement or self-gain. The love was purely for others and this love enabled Him to carry the cross of  selflessness and self-sacrifice. By virtue of our discipleship, we have access to the pure love of Christ so we too can carry such a cross. This love is bestowed upon all true followers of Christ who actively seek it. Moroni promised as much (Moroni 7:47,8). 

 

I take my hat off to you parents who are bringing up children in this ever increasingly evil world. Just remember, your children will one day be gems in your royal crown, as we will be in Christ’s when He comes to make up His jewels (Malachi 3:17).

 

What are children to a mother

If not gifts from heaven’s door;

As jewels from God’s own bosom

Gifted to her heart forever more.

Entrusted with the greatest charge

Sealed with hope of tender care;

From His hands

To mothers given

As gifts of worth beyond compare.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Greg Olsen)