THE GLORY OF YOUR SPIRIT

 

The more I study the Plan of Salvation, the more amazed I am at what a system of precision and intricate planning it took for us to evolve into a peopled planet with a view of eternal destination, the success of which we very much owe to two people.

There were two things in the Garden of Eden that hung in balance and could have arrested the Plan of Salvation and they were in the form of two trees.

Not partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil would have been devastating to the Plan as Adam and Eve could not have had children and thus could not bring about the human family. Partaking of that fruit planted seeds of mortality within them and thus it brought about The Fall. That was the right choice we all expected but partaking the fruit of the second tree, the tree of life, would have been such a dangerous act that God the Father positioned a cherubim with a flaming sword to prevent that from happening (Moses 4:28-31).

Had Adam and Eve partaken of the fruit of the second tree, they would have been doomed forever by becoming immortal prematurely. Had this happened this too would have annihilated the whole Plan of Salvation. Had it happened there would have been no repentance, no redemption, no advancement, no probation, no children, no exaltation. They would have become immortal in their fallen state and been forever miserable (Alma 12:26)

And one other very important thing – no death.

And this is why death is important. Death purifies the physical body, which is a temporal mass of atoms, in preparation for the resurrection (President Joseph Fielding Smith, “Answers to Gospel Questions”, 5 vols [1957-66], 4:185).  The spirit, however, is an eternal matter made of light that goes through refinement, improvement and progress which adds to its glory (B. Grant Bishop, M.D., “The LDS Gospel of Light”, p 106). The spirit is the pilot, the body is the vehicle .

“When the spirit leaves the body and passes into the spirit world, it is entering a kingdom specifically organized to prepare each spirit for the resurrection. Alma had a revelation concerning it and said: “now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death and the time of resurrection” (Alma 40:6).

“This space of time is used for the cleansing, redemption and education of the spirit. The spirit is prepared for as high a degree of glory as it is capable of receiving. How the individual conducted himself during mortality determines, to a very large extent, what that degree of glory shall be.” (Clean Skousen, “The First Two Thousand Years” p 70).

Without death there is no resurrection and without resurrection there is no immortality and eternal life. And this is resurrection: “They who are of a celestial SPIRIT shall receive the same body which was a natural body….and YOUR glory (the glory of one’s spirit) shall be the GLORY by which your bodies are quickened.” (D&C 88:28)

A personal view. The most enlightened prayers I have had in my life have been the ones where I had asked for the Holy Ghost to give me the words of my prayer. Some years ago I was given to say that I will “rise to be the glorious being I was before the earth began”. Never before then have I ever entertained the idea that my spirit possessed any glory in any degree. If we could all see ourselves without this body of clay, we would see ourselves in a very different light indeed.

In the end, the real success of our story belongs to only one person, The Saviour Jesus Christ….the Creation, the Redemption, the Resurrection, the Exaltation……all glory be to His holy name!!!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Soul's Surrender by Greg Collins)

THE SEED, THE TREE, THE FRUIT

 

Alma delivered an amazing discourse on faith when teaching the Zoromites, which is found in Alma 32. Most of us are familiar with this chapter as it is always referred to when we talk about faith. However, this discourse is not just about the principle of faith. This chapter is about faith in Christ.

Alma compared faith to a seed, which, when nourished, grows into a tree and eventually produces fruit. And not just faith in anything but in the word of God (v 28). Elder Jeffrey R. Holland explains what that word really is: “In the brilliant discourse of Alma 32, Alma moves the reader from a general commentary on faith in the seedlike word of God to a focused discourse on faith in Christ as the Word of God, grown to a fruit-bearing tree, a tree whose fruit is exactly that of Lehi’s earlier perception of Christ’s love….” (Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 169). See John 1:1 for clarification of the Word of God being Christ.

Alma compares faith to a seed because in the beginning it is something small, and really only just a belief, but this seed has the ability to produce something great, a fruit that becomes knowledge. Alma identifies this fruit as ‘most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet’ and those who have nourished the tree will eat of it and they shall not ‘hunger’ and also not ‘thirst’ (Alma 32:42). This is clear reference to Christ being ‘the fruit’ because Jesus is ‘the bread of life’ (John 6:31,51) which takes away hunger and He is ‘the living water’ which takes away the thirst (John 4:6-15; 7:37).

Again, in the words of Elder Holland: “Christ is the bread of life, the living water, the true vine. Christ is the seed, the tree, and the fruit of eternal life”. Elder Holland continues to say that “the profound and central Tree of Life imagery in this discourse is lost, or at least greatly diminished, if the reader does not follow it on into the next two chapters of the Book of Mormon” (Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 169). Alma mentions the Son of God 7 times in chapter 33 and Amulek speaks of Him 11 times in chapter 34, which makes it plain to see that Alma 32 is a discourse on faith in Christ. 

When our faith bears fruit, our belief in Christ becomes knowledge through the power of the Holy Ghost. We then have a sure witness of the spirit and not tangible proof of His existence. How many of us ‘know’ that He lives? Everyone in the Church who has a testimony. I hear it across the pulpit on Fast Sundays. This ‘knowing’ is acknowledged because of the spiritual witness of those who bear testimony. I have never heard anyone say, ‘I know Jesus Christ lives because I’ve seen Him’. That is not to say that nobody has, but we bear testimony because of the spiritual witness we have received.  This is knowledge that Alma spoke of.

We can have faith in many things but the ultimate faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the very first principle of the gospel. Why? Because He is the foundation of this Church, of the Gospel, of mortality, of eternal life, of all. Without Him we would not be. At what stage is your faith? Is it a seed, a tree or are you feasting on the fruit that is most desirable and delicious above all?

 

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

The Father laid at our feet.

No greater gift He had to offer

The broken, the lost and the weary

Than the tree springing into life,

Yielding fruit with endless supply.

He gathers the fruit spilt on the ground

That multiplies with each harvest of

penitent hearts.

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

Grows on the cross at Father’s feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: The Tree of Life by Annie Henrie Nader)

GOODLY PARENTS

 

The most famous scripture in the Book of Mormon would have to be the very first verse and the most famous words would have to be this: “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents….” (1 Nephi 1:1). This phrase has become the standard of parental excellence in the Church because it suggests to us that the greatness of Nephi was due to his parents’ parenting skills. This is, however, not entirely true.

As we read further, we come to read the entire truth….”therefore, I was taught SOMEWHAT in all the learning of my father……” (1 Nephi 1:1).  It is clear by this word that Nephi did not give his parents all the credit for who he became. The dictionary defines ‘somewhat’ as: to some extent or in some measure or degree. What Nephi is clearly saying here is that his ‘great knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God’ (v 1) was as much, if not more, a product of his own effort than that of his parents. This is evident early on in his record through the cited personal and extensive tutoring he received from an angel when he inquired about the meaning of his father’s dream of the tree of life (1 Nephi 11-14). In fact, it can be seen throughout Nephi’s entire life as he demonstrated how willingly and conscientiously he took responsibility for his own salvation.

It is human nature that we as parents beat ourselves up when we have wayward children feeling that we have somehow failed. I have been there myself. When my daughter chose a different path in life to the one that she was reared to follow, a friend said to me: “You are being trained for godhood.” And I think he was right. I am certain of it when I reflect on Heavenly Father’s respect for our free agency, and His mercy and His grace. These traits can most certainly be acquired during our role as parents and they are essential for those who would be gods. There are no more perfect parents than our heavenly parents and yet they have lost a third of their children due to the principle of free agency. Consider a lesson closer to home. Try as they may, Lehi and Sariah did not succeed in keeping all of their children on the straight and narrow. This means that, if you are a parent, no matter how many parenting courses you take, how much patience you exercise, how many tears you shed, how much love you give, you are at a risk of losing a child.

I will not elaborate on parents’ responsibility in parenting here. My intent is to make parents of wayward children know that there is hope through the mercies of the God that we love and worship; a God who honours righteous parents and holds their fragile hearts in the palm of His hands;  a God who sorrows over our wayward children as much as we do; a God who has suffered for their disobedience and destructive choices; a God who desires to save each and every one of us; a God who will not forsake those whom we love and yearn to have back in the fold; a God of mercy; a God of forgiveness; a God of love. This is the assurance: “Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold….Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold onto them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.” (Joseph Smith, as quoted by Orson F. Whitney, “Hope for Parents of Wayward Children”, in Conference Report, April 1929, p 110.

One day when Your tears cease to fall

For the ones that go astray

And You reach for them from Your throne

Your power to display;

I will praise

I will rejoice

I will join the heavenly throng in song

For the return of the lost

For whom You suffered for so long. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Nephi And the Tree of Life by Katie Payne)

THE TREE OF LOVE

 

I don’t know about the rest of the world, but here in Australia, Easter goodies start appearing in stores as soon as the Christmas fare has been cleared away. I used to view this as greedy commercialism but this year I have begun to think differently. Greedy commercialism or not, the world’s focus on Christ diminishes post-Christmas and the Easter goodies now in our stores can somehow keep us in remembrance of Him as we near an even more significant event than His birth. 

 

It is my hope that before Easter, we will as members of His Church, reflect upon a set of enormously significant scriptures found in 2 Nephi. When Nephi, being the dutiful son that he was, inquired of God the meaning of the tree of life that his father had seen in a dream, an angel appeared to him to tutor him.  When the angel asked Nephi if he knew what the tree represented,  Nephi answered that it is the love of God, most desirable above all (2 Nephi 11:22,23).  Immediately following his answer he was shown a vision of the Savior during His mortal ministry.  It becomes very clear through Nephi's vision that the love of God is manifest to his children through the gift of His only begotten son.

 

Living on this side of the veil and experiencing the harshness of mortal life, it is easy at times to feel unloved by God because he allows misfortune to befall us or we don't get in life what we want.  We wonder how He could possibly love us when we are in the depths of despair and need so much that we don't have.  All the while we are wondering where the love of God is for us, He is hoping against all hope that we would open our eyes and see that He could not give us greater proof of His love than He has already done so through His son.  Why would Jesus be the ultimate expression of God's love for us?  Because through him God is offering us the greatest gift he could possibly give us, the gift of eternal life.  This life is but a moment, a few years of school so to speak but eternity is forever.  For this reason God's greatest desire is not that we have everything in this life but in the next and there is only one person who can make that happen.

 

Now that the celebration of His birth is over, let us prepare for the reminder of one event that we should never forget…..

 

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

The Father laid at our feet.

No greater gift He had to offer

The broken, the lost and the weary

Than the tree of life,

Yielding fruit with endless supply.

He gathers the fruit spilt on the ground

That multiplies with each harvest of

Penitent hearts.

The fruit, so precious and sweet,

Grows on the cross at the Father’s feet.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

Art: The Tree of Life by Annie Henrie Nader

 

A LABOUR OF LOVE

When Lehi had a dream of his vision of the Tree of Life he found himself in a dark and dreary wilderness.  After he had been in this dark wilderness for many hours he began to pray to the Lord that He would have mercy on him 'according to the multitude of His tender mercies' (1 Nephi 8:8)  Immediately following his request he was shown a spacious field with a tree that bore fruit which was exceptionally desirable and not only the sweetest fruit he had ever tasted but it had extraordinary power to provide exceeding joy.  Unlike his brothers, Nephi sought explanation of his father's dream and was given to know that the Tree of Life was a representation of the love of God (1 Nephi 11:25).  A love that is the most desirable above all things and the most joyous to the soul (1 Nephi 11:23).  Immediately following the description of this love, Nephi was given the vision of the Son of God during his earthly ministry.  Why?  Because the ultimate love that God the Father can give us is His son, Jesus Christ.  He is the chosen vessel through which we receive godly love. The proof of God's great love for us lies in His sacrifice of His only begotten son. "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).  Everlasting life is the greatest blessing the Father can bestow upon us, this blessing being proportionate to His love for His children. This godly love is amplified by the Saviour's love for us which was demonstrated through the Atonement.  "Greater love hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Our ultimate goal in life should be to prepare to meet Christ and to be "encircled eternally in the arms of his love" (2 Nephi 1:15)  To bring ourselves back into God's presence is wonderful, but to bring someone back with us, that's powerful.  As disciples of Jesus Christ, it is our duty to make this happen.  This is what missionary work is.

The purpose of missionary work is not to bring people into the Church but to bring souls to Jesus Christ.  The Church is merely a vehicle to accomplish this purpose.  Our goal whilst accomplishing this purpose is to be messengers of God's love for his children through His Son, Jesus Christ. With so many people in the world languishing for the want of love and spiritual comfort and not knowing where to find it or what it exactly is that is missing in their lives, missionary work becomes an easier task.  Too often we think we need to be heavily invested in the doctrines of the Church to be able to do missionary work properly but what most people need is the spirit of our testimony rather than the doctrine. 

You are not in this Church by chance.  You have been called out of the world to save the world. The Lord has said, "The voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days" (D&C 1:4).  Who are these disciples? You and I. Whether you have been born in the Church or you are a convert, you are His disciple and you have been chosen long before this world began.  Consider Joseph F. Smith's vision of us in pre-mortal world as outlined in D&C 138:55, 56:

"55. I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God.
56. Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men."

If you do not consider yourself a ruler in the Church of God, then you are one of the 'many others'.  Either way, you are a labourer in His vineyard saving the souls of men. You are unique and there are people in the world who need this uniqueness.  There are some people that only you can touch.  Some who will believe only your words, be impressed with only your example, feel only the spirit of your testimony. You are endowed with the truth and your companion is the Holy Ghost.  You have been prepared, you need not fear.