143. Come and See, Come and Help, Come and Share (1)
PREFACE:
As so-called "Mainline Christian Churches" fracture and break apart due to schisms in foundational doctrines, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be seen as an opportunity for those who still seek "the faith of our Fathers" to reject the heresies and outright iniquity of "modern Christianity". We should ponder, prayerfully, Elder Uchtdorf's classic address from the October 2019 General Conference and then ask for inspiration as to whom we can extend invitations to "Come and see; come and help; come and stay".
I grew up in times of beauty,
When most knew and did their duty
And renounced as false and ugly
What too many claim is good.
The “elites”-- our so-called “betters”
Push for laws that would be fetters
To our right to speak and act
Just as the scriptures say we should.
Now our peril is quite real here,
As the foes of faith promote fear
That our laws and Constitution
Seem to hang “as by a thread”.
Corrupt “Media” are lying
And they’ll never cease their trying,
To persuade us God and Jesus
Are now powerless or dead.
Our concerns lead us to wonder
If our nation’s “going under”--
Failing, falling ever faster
Due to Satan’s evil schemes.
But the Holy Spirit tells us
That the time is now before us
To seek allies and supporters
Who still share our sacred dreams.
We take heart that some we can’t see,
Who could join us and become “WE”
Are now seeking and beseeching
Both the God and Son we know.
In their homes and closet spaces
Where the world can’t see their faces
They are praying, day and night
That the Lord’s path will be shown.
To all such we give this promise,
That the God of Heaven loves us
And has asked that we invite them--
“Come and see” truths He would share.
Feast on finest milk and honey, (2)
Without price and without money.
From the mouths of living prophets
There are answers to your prayers.
Thus the Spirit’s peace we’re sharing
That this faith that prompts our daring
Will be answered by the Heavens
In these times of greater need.
As we join in love and caring
For the souls whose cries we’re hearing,
We will labor with Our Master
'Til from sin and want they’re free.
(c) servingjesuspoetry.com
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REFERENCES:
1) Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the General Conference of October of 2019: “Your Great Adventure”:
“We love and respect all of God’s children, regardless of their position in life, regardless of their race or religion, regardless of their life’s decisions. For our part, we will say, ‘Come and see! Find out for yourself how walking the path of discipleship will be rewarding and ennobling.’ We invite people to ‘come and help, as we try to make the world a better place.’ And we say, ‘Come and stay! We are your brothers and sisters. We are not perfect. We trust God and seek to keep His commandments. Join with us, and you will make us better. And, in the process, you will become better as well. Let’s take this adventure together.’”
2) 2 Nephi 26:25 “Behold, doth he [Jesus] cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.”
NOTES:
- I respectfully submit, the time for the glorious return of Jesus Christ in power and great glory is not yet nor even truly close. The prophecies are clear, all may search them and see what great and terrible antecedents, preparations, and events must necessarily precede the Lord’s Second Coming. We have a long way to go.
- However, I believe that those precursors and preconditions cannot take place without a “correction” whereby a generation of children and youth who will lay the foundation for that climatic event will be allowed, permitted, encouraged to grow up in virtue. In this regard, the new "Children and Youth" initiative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a supernal, inspired program exquisitely crafted for our day. BUT, if the zeitgeist of our nation continues, unabated, on its present course, that program will be rendered moot.
- Now, at the end of calendar 2019, forces, developments, and social movements are in motion which, if not checked in some degree, will preclude children and youth from the opportunity to choose righteousness and virtue. When Sodom degenerated to the point where there was no chance for children (Jesus' innocents) to mature in righteousness, it was destroyed. This poem anticipates no such definitive cataclysm.
- However, a "correction" or "check" appears to be both needful and timely. Compare the tumultuous events in Alma 14-15 which lead to a "great check" of pride: "Therefore, after Alma having established the church at Sidom, seeing a great check, yea, seeing that the people were checked as to the pride of their hearts, and began to humble themselves before God, and began to assemble themselves together at their sanctuaries to worship God before the altar, watching and praying continually, that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction"
- Our Constitution is threatened, but it does not yet truly “hang by a thread”—things will get worse.
- OVERALL, we can and should trust that God the Father, God the Messiah, and God the Holy Spirit will shower believers with both courage and POWER to withstand the unholy collusions, rampant vices, and dark plans of Satan’s mortal servants. In this regard, we would do well to recall the immortal words of one of the most glorious of all Christmas Hymns: “Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, God is not dead nor doth He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth good will to men” (Henry Wadsworth Longellow). While it is true that in its fullness, such enduring and perfect peace will be delayed until the return of the Prince of Peace, a correction now will show both believers and doubters that God will bare his arm in the eyes of all the world to confound the wicked and hearten His people.
- We can and should be further heartened by such promises as found in our sacred hymns, e.g. "God Moves in a Mysterious Way", viz: "Ye fearful Saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread, are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head." .
- Query 1: As a principal of preparation, it appears advisable to appreciate that alternatives exist under which God may manifest His will, if only in part. The Lord has ways and means beyond the ken of man to effect such corrections. Consider, just as one example, Nephi's solution [Helaman 11] to the problem of civil war which was devastating the people. The point being that the Lord may effect changes which are very different from what we might expect. How God "corrects the nations" (Psalms 94:10) is unknown to us; but His prophets, seers, and revelators have warned us for decades to prepare for times of uncertainty and peril.
- Query 2: Do we have an emergency supply of food, medicine, water (or purification tools and supplies), and other essentials? The correction will be painful for the unprepared. Thus, we prepare first, for our “own house” (1 Timothy 5:8), and then we lay in supplies for others, keeping firmly in mind James 1:27—"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”)
TRIGGER and CONTEXT:
Last Sunday’s Elders Quorum discussion was based upon Elder Uchtdorf’s Conference address, referenced above. The brethren’s wisdom was inspiring, their testimonies fervent, and our desire to invite others to know the goodness of Christ and His Restored Church was refired. Later that night, I awoke with several stanzas to record, and the balance came quickly. If there is any virtue to these verses, then praise God.