TRUST

 

“A grand part of our experience in mortality is to ultimately trust in the Lord, in the fact that He knows what is best for us and is working for our eternal life. He it is who allows overwhelming or underwhelming experiences to happen in a perfect tutorial. We are here to become as he is, and that will happen in a multitude of ways, it being sometimes in a way we least expect.” (Jerry A. Wilson, “The Great Plan of Happiness-Insights From the Lectures On Faith” p 79)

I have a close friend who once told me I have a ‘rear-view mirror syndrome’. There was a time I used to look back on my life a lot judging my decisions and choices to discover why my life had turned out the way it did and consequently I was always the bad guy, taking the accountability a bit too far for comfort.

When I was young I had a totally different view of how my life would turn out. I think many of us have a vision that does not match our reality. Now I look back and I realise if I had a chance to do it al over again, I would make exactly the same decisions and choices because that’s who I am. I listen to my heart more than logic. It might sound like a bad thing but I have learnt that my heart led me to become who I now am because my heart was listening to God.

My point is this. God knows us better than we know ourselves so He knows how to lead us for our highest good. There is a plan for each of us and it is important we surrender to it fully trusting that a higher power than our inadequate mortal compass can get us to our destination. To some trust is a frightening concept but once you see its fruits, it’s nothing short of freedom.

The Saviour was born within the veil, much like us. He grew from grace to grace (D&C 93:12-3). He had to learn who He was and what was to become of Him. And He trusted the Plan. He trusted in the higher power to get Him to His destination. And He walked a hard road to get there…..still trusting.

I viewed my life as hopeless pieces

And shame consumed my fragile heart.

I questioned every move and every choice;

I berated, I gave no value to any part.

Not until my trust consumed me

And my will to heavens flew

Did solace nestle in my soul

And such freedom as I never knew.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Prince of Peace by Greg Collins)

TO BE WILLING

 

 

“When Mary told Joseph that she was with child by the power of the Holy Ghost, his reaction was one not only of shock, of sorrow, and of dismay, but also of disbelief…..That he wanted to believe Mary, but did not, is shown by his determination ‘to put her away privily’ with as little embarrassment as possible.

He planned to give her a letter of divorce in the presence of two witnesses only, as the law permitted, rather than to make the dissolution of their contract to marry a matter of public knowledge and possible gossip. It must have been at this point that Mary sped hastily to Hebron to find comfort in the arms of Elisabeth.” 

(Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah Book 1, p 331-2)

Mary stayed with Elisabeth in Hebron for three months. We may well suppose that Joseph struggled with his problem during that time until he received the revelation from angel Gabriel who appeared to him in a dream testifying of the divine paternity of Mary’s expected child.

In Elder McConkie’s words: “As with all men, his [Joseph’s) faith and his willingness to submit to the divine will in all things [had to] be tested.” (ibid)

This submission to God’s will would have to have been Joseph’s greatest trial of faith. That he passed the test with flying colours is evidenced by his guardianship and care of the Christ child and His mother.

What relief and elation Joseph must have felt when he was assured of Mary’s condition. It meant she was still his but he must have envisaged that fathering such an important child that was not his own would mean he would tread a difficult road.

Receiving confirmation of the path we should follow in life is one thing but following that path is another. Receiving is sometimes the easy part and following, the hardest because it means you are conforming to God’s will instead of your own.

On a lesser scale than Joseph’s, but also of eternal significance,  is our commitment to follow the revelations we receive:

“After you have gotten the message, after you have paid the price to feel his love and hear the word of the Lord, ‘go forward’. Don’t fear, don’t vacillate, don’t quibble, don’t whine….with the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet…..

“Therefore, let not your hearts faint….Mine angel shall go up before you…and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land (D&C 103:17-20)……What goodly land? Your goodly land. Your promised land. Your New Jerusalem. Your own little acre flowing with milk and honey. Your future. Your dreams. Your destiny.”

-        Jeffrey R. Holland, Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, BYU Speeches ,  March 2, 1999

Next time you hear the voice of revelation, do not retreat, because you might just discover how very important you are…..to yourself….and to someone else.

 

When God called,

So willing was your spiritually tender heart

No forces of hell could sever you

from your appointed path.

 

The guardian of my youth,

The obedient servant of the Lord,

Thou art Joseph

The valiant son of God. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Mary and Joseph by Rose Datoc Dall) 

BEING WEAK PART 4

 

I have taught several lessons over the years on the gifts of the spirit as outlined in D&C 46.  The last time I taught about it, I learnt that besides their purpose to enrich the Church spiritually, they are an incredible tool for overcoming weaknesses. 

I got so convinced by this last lesson that the gifts of the spirit should be sought for this purpose that I started to wonder if one of them could help me with a long-standing weakness I had. 

As I pondered about it I realised I didn't know which gift was needed for me to have for this particular weakness so I decided to pray about this and ask which gift I should seek.  I knew the answer that came to me was straight from above because I would never have come up with it in those words on my own. 

I have a very strong sense of justice which sometimes robs me of ability to show mercy. Add to that a somewhat dogmatic manner which created clashes over the years with people, necessitating later apologies.  This weakness caused me to stand up for myself even in less important situations such as customer service. 

The gift I was told to pray for was the gift of 'forbearance and self-restraint'.  As I contemplated this definition of the gift that I needed, I realised I had other weaknesses that could be overcome with this gift.  It was rather humbling to discover I had so many weaknesses that they could be grouped into a whole category!

I thought obtaining this gift was going to be a simple matter of praying for it and one day I would wake up with it under my belt ready to take on the world.  Unfortunately, it didn't prove to be that simple.  I prayed many weeks for this gift and one day I had another 'customer service' incident that left me feeling less than good about myself.  I was wrongly done by and I gave as good as I got. 

I walked away thinking I really could have used the gift of forbearance and self-restraint that day and wondered when I was going to get it.  As I thought about it, I realised what I had been doing wrong.  When I remembered, I prayed for this gift during my prayers and then I would forget about it. I realised this is not calling upon God for help at all.  I remembered the scripture in Ether 12:27.

I realised I lacked humility and faith in 'receiving' this gift.  I could see it was not enough to just pray for the gift in my daily prayers.  What I needed to do was humbly call upon God for my gift to be active in the moment that I needed it and then act in faith as if I had it. In other words, some effort on my part was needed as well.

I realise it can be very hard to make yourself call on God in the moment when you are facing your weakness instead of giving into it there and then. The gravity of habit is mind blowing.

Perseverance can be a hard road because overcoming weaknesses, even with God’s help, is a process and not a race run in one day. It is a race run EVERY day for as long as it takes, until one day that weakness becomes a strength.

When a weak link in your character becomes a force for good and blesses not just yourself but the lives of others, you know you have arrived.

The longer it takes to overcome something, the more steadfast is the change in our nature and less likely the relapse. Everything takes time in mortality. So what drives us to make the effort? When we no longer want to be the person we see in the mirror…..

 

I will scatter my prayers upward

Like birds in flight reaching for Thy throne;

I will seek Thy strength

I will surrender my soul.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Divine Faith by Greg Collins)

THE SEER OF THE SOUL

 

When I read about 3^rd Nephi, I am convinced that righteousness is always rewarded with special blessings. It is not surprising to me that 3^rd Nephi was placed in America’s history at such a time when the Saviour would grace that continent with His presence following His resurrection and appoint him as one of His Twelve Disciples  (3 Nephi 12:1). If anyone deserved to have that privilege out of all the prominent leaders of the Book of Mormon, 3^rd Nephi did.

Consider the Saviour’s description of this man: “Blessed art thou Nephi, for thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee….thou hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments…and because thou hast done this, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will (Helaman 10:5).

Imagine the Lord trusting you to such an extent that He would say to you: “Ask for what you will and it shall be given you”. Now imagine one step further, that God would obey you and do whatever you TOLD Him to do, because this is the promise he gave Nephi, a promise He lived up to. After He gave Nephi power to smite the earth with famine, with pestilence and destruction ‘according to the wickedness of the people’, He took this power to the next level when He told him He shall smite the people if Nephi tells him to (v 6,7,9).

One might think that a person could only earn such trust from God if there was enough evidence of submission to God’s will in his life. And that evidence certainly existed in Nephi’s life for the Lord had seen it but there is something much deeper to this. The evidence was in Nephi’s past actions but the trust of what he would do in his future teaches us of the omniscience of God. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught that omniscience is one of the characteristics of God:

“The Lord in a revelation for John Whitmer spoke of that which was in the latter’s heart, which only the Lord and John Whitmer knew, witnessing that God was omniscient concerning the needs of that individual (D&C 15:3).

“Paul said to the saints at Corinth, ‘And again, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain’ (1 Corinthians 3:20). In the period just before the flood God saw not only the wickedness of man in the earth, but he saw also, ‘every imagination of the thoughts’ of men’s hearts (Genesis 6:5). He knows ‘the things that come into your mind’ (Ezekiel 11:5). Jesus himself said before we pray, ‘Your father knoweth what things ye have need of (Matthew 6:8). Indeed as Nephi said, ‘God… knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it’ (2 Nephi 9:20).” (Things As They Really Are [1978], 22)

It was the omniscience of God that Christ possessed that enabled Him to honour Nephi’s every word of command. Because He knows all things, can perceive all things, can see all things in the past, present and future, God can form His judgment of us at any given time. He knows what is in our hearts and in our minds. He knows us at all times and in all situations. To Enoch He said: “I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made, and mine eye can pierce them all…..” (Moses 7:35,36).

Who is a God like Thee

Jehovah, our King?

Who sees our frailties

And knows our needs.

 

Who is a God like Thee

Jehovah, our King?

Who knows our sins,

And pierces our souls

With eyes of mercy

His commands for us to heed.

Who is a God like Thee?

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)