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)

TO LIVE

 

 

“Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:28-31)

In all our suffering and stumbling in the dark we tend to turn to the ways of the world to fill us. We seek for the corruptible things of this earth that have no lasting power to fill our cracks, heal our sorrows and make up for our lack. We think that this dismal telestial world has treasures to offer us that will somehow make us whole. The truth is that the lustre of this world can only be seen during the day. When the night falls, the emptiness is still there, the pain exposed, the suffering unbearable.

If we would but drink from the fountain of living water that the Saviour offers us, we would be filled with that which matters most, that which is lasting, that which will speak peace to the deepest recesses of our soul. Then the suffering will be bearable and even conquerable. Then the lack will not matter and the cracks will diminish and fade. Then we can look forward to the living water within us springing up into everlasting life.

 

Thou art the source of all my blessings,

Thou art the source of all my joys,

Thou art the living water

I drink with haste

And savour each and every drop

So careful of tragic waste.

Feed me Saviour ever more

The love that flows with every cup

Grant me my fill each day

That keeps me living and bears me up. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Jesus Living Water by Grok2)

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

 

We have the deepest and darkest nights in this earth life. If we endure them well, these nights teach us, give us a broader perspective and in the end heal us. And this is how the healing happens. After every deep and dark night comes the dawn.

Cast your mind on the death of the most prolific, important, significant and worshipped person who has ever lived on this earth. Thirty-four years after His birth, a huge, terrible storm swept over the land of America. The upheaval was of such proportion that the face of all the land was torn apart and deformed. Cities caught on fire and collapsed into the sea and mountains were upheaved (3 Nephi 9:5-22)

So great was the storm that a thick, frightening vapor of darkness covered the land. So dark, thick, suffocating and palpable was the darkness that the stars and the sun could not produce any light for three days (v 23). Imagine the chaos. Could people find their children and their loved ones? Did they know if anybody survived? Could they walk in any direction not knowing where they were? If they were hurt, could they get help?

Imagine such suffering that echoed across continents and caused the Spirit of God to exclaim: “The God of nature suffers” (1 Nephi 19:12). Such was the darkest night that brought about the light of dawn which proclaimed: “I am the light and the life of the world.” (3 Nephi 9:18).

There was no more fitting way to proclaim the Saviour to be the light of the world, the dawn after the night, the power that brings life, the truth that says nothing in this life is lost. This is not the beginning and not the end. First the night and then the dawn….first the death and then the life…..first the emptiness and then the full cup….

I stand in awe of Your sacrifice

And Your soul’s pain;

The body freely given

For nothing of You to remain.

 

I ache, I ache,

Knowing the cost;

Then I remember where You are

And I am comforted

Knowing nothing is lost.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Fill My Cup Lord by Danny Hahlbohm)

LOVE UNFEIGNED

 

I reflected this week on the hardest commandment that Jesus gave us: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”  (Matthew 5:44). Then I was reminded that He was the greatest example of this.

Never has there been a man who has been persecuted and hated more and who suffered greater pain at the hands of His enemies and who died an unjust death.  And all this whilst He possessed the power to defend himself and cause the destruction of those who He suffered for. Imagine the God who created worlds submitting himself to being mocked, spit upon, whipped, smitten, and adorned with a crown of thorns (Luke 22:63-65; Mark 14:65; Matthew 27:26-31)

Over and over the Lord’s own testimony of His subjection to this treatment came into my mind: “I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.”  (Isaiah 50:6)

Following this testimony, the Saviour seeks our attention by saying twice: “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord….the people in whose heart is my law” (Isaiah 51:1,7). He not only wants us to take note of the example He set but He then tells us that ‘the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads….” (v 11).

Why do you think the adversary is attacking America and causing so much division there right now? Because that’s where Zion is where ‘the redeemed of the Lord shall return’. We cannot be redeemed if we are not united, if hatred exists amongst us. Zion The Pure In Heart, cannot be pure if we are divided in purpose, in care of each other, in love.

The adversary is driving division amongst us in the best ways possible. He knows if he can divide us, he can destroy us. He doesn’t care who dies, bad or good, as long as it makes us hate one another. If you are posting about this week’s tragedy, even if it is something good, don’t. It just reminds others of the injustice and makes them more angry and more prone to hate. We are emissaries of Christ and not the enemy. Therefore, we are to spread love and not hate.

We are not asked to follow the Prince of Peace in times of peace but in times of turmoil. We the people in whose heart is Christ’s law of love unfeigned, unity and hope of joy, need to stand against the forces of evil that seek to plant hatred in us or we will never make it to Zion. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus Prince of Peace by Danny Hahlbohm)

THE POWER OF US

 

When I awoke yesterday morning I thought I would visit YouTube for any world news and was amazed at the mess our world has become. I saw an assassination, hatred, political protests, murders and drug addicted cities of America. Amidst all that chaos I saw one person so prominently that it had an incredible impact on me. I saw the enemy of all humanity.

Lately I have been reluctant to check out the world news because I have realised it has a downing effect on me but this morning it actually did the opposite. It awakened the warrior spirit in me that wants to defeat the enemy. I don’t know that I can change the world, but I can change me. And every soul that changes or remains faithful to God is one soul lost to the enemy.

I am of the opinion that the adversary is exerting his power now more than ever because the Millenium is drawing nigh and he knows this is the time when he will be powerless (D&C 101:28). And why will he be powerless? Because of the righteousness of the people who will be left to enjoy the Millenial era (1 Nephi 22:26).

The adversary has two goals: 1. To make all men miserable like himself (2 Nephi 2:27); and 2. To overthrow Christ who he rebelled against in pre-earth life (D&C 29:36-9). I once asked a friend of mine in Utah who is very well versed in scripture why Satan is called ‘the son of the morning’. Here is what he replied:

“My presumption is that the term ‘morning’ refers to the fact that he was born early on as a spirit offspring of the Father. Perhaps he might have even been second born vs his brother who was firstborn.

“We have so many fascinating stories among the great patriarchs of having two competing sons vying for the firstborn birthright and it almost seems as though these stories are a continuation of that which started in the pre-mortal life with the Saviour and Lucifer. You can even get that sense from a statement in D&C 88:115, about Lucifer having as his goal that of displacing his brother from his throne.” (Larry Keeler, 6 February 2023)

The adversary knows if he gets us, he gets Him….but that will never be. As I said in my recent post, it’s time to dust off our armour…..

There is a desire in my soul

That wants to conquer Goliath

And watch him fall….

This warrior within me never sleeps

And yearns to hear the angels’ call,

A call to battle to make the devil fall.

And when Christ comes in clouds so holy

He will conquer that enemy

And we will confess His glory.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Almost Time by Danny Hahlbohm)

A MEANINGFUL LIFE

 

“Adam and Eve must at times felt like lost sheep. They were originally in God’s presence, then left him through an act we sometimes call a sin, but which might also be called an ‘act of independence’. They were cast out of their garden of innocence into the lone and dreary world. They began to suffer pain as a consequence of their independent action.

“In humility and childlike faith they called upon God for help. They offered sacrifices as instructed by an angel….through the symbol of sacrifice they were taught about the Saviour and were shown how they could return to God’s presence through His Atonement.

“What did Adam and Eve know after they returned to God’s presence that they hadn’t known when they were originally with Him in the Garden? What can WE know after our own return to God that we didn’t know in our premortal life?

“The scriptures explain that God expected and desired that Adam and Eve’s children would have the same kind of mortal experiences as their first parents had, which suggests that the redemption of Adam and Eve was not just a convenient way to erase the effect of an unfortunate error.

“Rather, it was an intentional element in a course of instruction designed by God himself for the preparation, if they freely chose to accept it. Without that course of instruction, they could not have developed the capacity to live a ‘meaningful’ celestial life.

“So it is with our experience as their children. Mortality is not mere estrangement from God – it is the crucible through which the possibility of truly meaningful life becomes real.”

-          Bruce C. Hafen, “The Broken Heart” p 38-9

 

You tell me I must stay and conquer

Like You conquered Your turbulent sea;

I understand, but oh how I long to see

The shore of eternity!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Deep Calls to Deep by Aeron Brown)

THE AGE OF THE WARRIOR

 

I am pretty sure that I was very converted to the Plan of Salvation in my pre-mortal life. In fact, I suspect I thought the warrior spirit within me was going to come here and set the world on fire. Instead, life brought me down to the depths of humility. It was something I needed to break through the brick veneer of my idealistic nature.

Pre-earth life and mortality is very much like pregnancy and the baby….when you’re pregnant you believe you will be the ideal mother skipping through the tulips of an ideal life with your perfect children but then the baby comes and shocks you into reality.

Lehi claimed that if Adam and Eve had stayed in the Garden of Eden and had had no children  ‘they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery’ (2 Nephi 2:23). Notice he said that having children gives you knowledge of misery. Sometimes, I think I missed the memo about the misery part and focused only on the joy that mortality would eventually bring. That’s the idealist that I am.

Sister Marie Hafen explained this well: “As I lay there in my hospital bed holding that beautiful little boy in my arms, his reddish hair already hinting at his temperament, I thought, “Nothing could be more wonderful than this”…..

“The day after the baby was born, I was cuddling him happily in my hospital room when my doctor came in. He was my uncle and quite a salty character. He looked at us and said cheerily, “How does it feel to have the easiest part over with?”  “Easiest part?” I asked. “Why sure”, he replied, “It’s the next twenty years that are going to be tough.” (Bruce C. Hafen, “The Broken Heart” p 69)

We are going through the twenty years of bringing up the baby. Sometimes the challenges and trials are overwhelming. We are not just charged with responsibility of survival and our salvation but the survival of the entire entity of the House of Israel. We are the builders of the Millenial future of this earth.

Now more than ever the Saviour needs warriors to combat the subtle and not so subtle evil that is striving to envelop the entire human family. I see many people in the Church here in Australia leaving, Wards and Stakes being lost. We are being lulled into believing that all is well in Zion (2 Nephi 28:21). Satan’s greatest propaganda of this dispensation….

It is time to put the baby down for a nap and dust off that armour……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Put On the Armour of God by Celestial Heritage)