ODE TO THE MOTHERS OF STRIPLING WARRIORS

 

Son of my body,

Heart of my heart,

I give you to God,

Knowing not despair,

I know my son, you will be safe

In His merciful, tender care.

 

I know He will watch over you

And honour your faith;

I trust He will guard you

Against the open jaws of hate.

 

Son of my body,

Heart of my heart,

I will wait with faith

Knowing not despair,

I know you will return

To my loving, tender care.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Divine Call by Sandy Freckleton Gagon)

UPON A ROCK

 

"Someone once said you can't visually tell the difference between a strand of cobweb and a strand of powerful cable - until stress is put on the strand. Our testimonies are that way, and for most of us, the days of stress for our testimonies have already begun.

"It may not be the death of a loved one. We might not yet have been asked to give up something that is really precious to us, though the time for such a test may well come to us by and by.

"Our current stress is more likely to come in the form of overpowering temptations, which show us that a shallow acceptance of the gospel does not have the power to cope with the full fury of the powers of darkness.

"Perhaps there is a mission call to a place of illness and disappointment, when we had planned on a mission to a place of unbounded opportunity. Or perhaps there are too many questions to which our limited knowledge simply has no answer, and those who claim to know more than we do taunt us with what appears to be a persuasive certainty.

"When those times come, our testimonies must be more than the cobweb strand of a fair-weather faith. They need to be like strands of a cable, powerful enough to resist the shafts of him who would destroy us.

"In our days of stress and trouble, we must be built 'upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God....that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind....and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you....because of the rock upon which ye are built' (Helaman 5:12).

- Bruce C. Hafen, "The Believing Heart, 2nd ed. [1990] 21-22

There is none like Thee
My Saviour and my King,
With power and glory in Thy wings.
Who can compare and who can equal Thee
In Thy unfailing care of me?

Thou art the rock of my salvation
Thy wings my refuge from the fall.
Thou art my role model,

My example, my all.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: In Humility Our Saviour by Jay Bryant Ward)

ODE TO THE STRIPLING WARRIORS

 

Son of my body,

Heart of my heart,

I give you to God,

Knowing not despair,

I know my son, you will be safe

In his merciful, tender care.

 

I know He will watch you

And honour your faith;

I trust He will guard you

Against the open jaws of hate.

 

Son of my body,

Heart of my heart,

I will wait with faith

Knowing not despair,

I know you will return

To my loving, tender care.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Divine Call By Sandy Freckleton Gagon)

ON THE MORROW

"......on the morrow come I into the world...."

3 Nephi 1:13

THE SEEDS OF ETERNAL LIFE

The Book of Mormon tells us that whilst hunting one day Enos hungered for a remission of his sins. This hunger came from remembering the words which his father often spoke about eternal life (Enos 1:3,4). We speak many words from day to day but none more important than the ones that uplift, inspire and sow seeds of eternal life in the hearts of those we love. Such were the words which Enos heard his father speak: "But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith.........O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever (Jacob 3:1,2). So Enos prayed and received a remission of his sins, hoping that one day he will hear :"Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father" (Enos 1:27). This hope he owed to his father Jacob, the brother of Nephi, the defender of the faith, the foe to the anti-Christ, Jacob the believer.   

- Cathryne Allen

A GREAT ADVENTURE

"May I tell you of a great adventure? As I traveled to a weekend assignment, I took with me an unusual book which was my constant companion. I could lay it down only to sleep, eat, and change trains. It fascinated me, captivated me, and held me spellbound with its irresistible charm and engaging interest. I have read it many times.

As I finished it, I closed the book and sat back, absorbed as I relived its contents. Its pages held me, bound me, and my eyes were riveted to them. I knew the book was factual, but as has been said, "Truth is stranger than fiction".

I am constrained to speak to you of it today. It is a story of courage, faith, and fortitude, of perseverance, sacrifice, and super-human accomplishments, of intrigue, of revenge, of disaster, of war murder, and rapine, of idolatry, and of cannibalism, of miracles, visions, and manifestations, of prophecies and their fulfillment.

I found in it life at its best and at its worst, in ever-changing patterns. I hardly recovered from one great crisis until another engulfed me.

Across the stage of this drama of life through the ages, marched actors in exotic, colorful costumes from the blood-painted nudity of the warrior to the lavish, ornamented pageantry of royal courts - some actors loathsome and degraded, others so near perfection that they conversed with angels and with God. There are sowers and reapers, the artisans, the engineers, the traders, and the toilers, the rake in his debauchery, the alcoholic with his liquor, the pervert rotting in his sex, the warrior in his armor, the missionary on his knees.

This dramatic story is one of the greatest ever played by man.

- Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1963, p 63)