MY EVERYTHING

 

Faithful and True by LDS Bookstore

I looked up to You

When in my beginning.

I saw Your strength,

Your care, Your undying love,

And I knew only You

Could make up for what

I alone could not do.

 

You are my Shepherd,

You are my King,

You are my Holy Grail,

You are my everything.

 

-      CATHRYNE ALLEN 

BRINGING THEM HOME

 

The Lord Is My Shepherd by LDS Bookstore

See Father,

I brought home the sheep!

I did all that I could

To save them in my keep.

 

They come to You Father

In whose arms they belong,

They come to You,

Whom they loved all along.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

IN HIS ARMS

 

I wandered and I strayed in unknown paths,

Far from my eternal home;

I knew not where to find You

And how to become Your own.

 

Then You came when I was trapped

In brier, bleeding, helpless and all alone.

You worked so gently while Your hands were

Bleeding much more than my own.

 

I now take the roads I know

And avoid the paths unknown;

I remember Your arms that held me

And how they felt like home.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by Yongsung Kim)

THE SHEPHERD

 

"Isaiah spoke of those tender moments when the Lord would "gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom" (Isaiah 40:11).  Elder Orson F. Whitney experienced such a glorious moment when he saw a marvelous manifestation of the Saviour. In his dream, he said, "I ran [to meet Him]....fell at his feet, clasped Him around the knees, and begged Him to take me with him. I shall never forget the kind and gentle manner in which He stooped, raised me up, and embraced me. It was so vivid, so real. I felt the very warmth of his body, as He held me in his arms."  Who would not long for that warmth, that embrace?

To be cast from the presence of the Holy One is estrangement of the worst kind. It is to take from us that which means most - our sense of belonging to the divine family. It is to strip us of security and self-worth in one fatal blow. It is like earing the suckling babe from her mother's bosom, sending the wayward child to his room, or sentencing the incorrigible to solitary confinement. It is akin to restricting our communication with a loved one to the telephone; the lines can be clear, the conversation frequent, but the happeiness that comes from being in another's physical presence is missing."

(Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 29, 41)

How dear to the heart of the Shepherd

Is the flock of His sheep;

With tenderness and love

He watches over those in His keep.

How much do they love their Shepherd!

How closely they stay by His side!

With every footstep they follow

To forever with Him abide.

 

-        Cathryne Allen 

(Art: AI Generated)

MIGHTY GOD

Jehovah

Jesus Christ

The Lord

The Son of God

The Son of the Eternal Father

The Lamb

Shepherd

Redeemer

Almighty God

The God of Israel

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

The Lord of Hosts

The Holy One of Israel

The Redeemer of Israel

King Immanuel

The Eternal God

Holy One

The King of Zion

The Rock of Heaven

The Saviour

The Mighty One of Jacob

The Mighty One of Israel

Messiah

The Lord God

The God of Hosts

The Prince of Life

The Lord of Hosts

The Lord of Glory

Eternal King

Lord God Almighty

The Son of Righteousness

Alpha and Omega

The Great I am

The Stone of Israel

Holy Messiah

The Great Mediator

Son Ahman 

Firstborn

Endless

Eternal
I Am

Man of Holiness

Man of Counsel

King of Glory

The Lord God of Hosts

The Father of Heaven and Earth

The Creator of All Things

Immanuel

Wonderful

Counselor

The Mighty God

The Everlasting Father

The Prince of Peace

- Derived by Cathryne Allen from
 The Standard Works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

HE WILL BRING YOU HOME

"Our Saviour, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves YOU. He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears. It matters not how you became lost - whether because of your own poor choices or because of circumstances beyond your control. What matters is that you are His child. And He loves you. Because He loves you, He will find you. He will place you upon His shoulders, rejoicing. And when he brings you come, He will say to one and all, 'Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.'

You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Saviour of the world, He will find you. He will rescue you. He will lift you up and place you on His shoulders. He will carry you home."

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Ensign May 2016, p 101

A LOST SHEEP

"Jesus taught a parable about a lost sheep. Remember the shepherd who left the 'ninety and nine' to go in search of the one (Luke 15:4)? When I was younger I always felt bad for the ninety-nine who were left behind while the shepherd paid so much attention to just one. Now I realize that by caring so much about the one, the shepherd was also communicating his love for the ninety-nine.  What if the shepherd had said, 'Hey, I'm not going to take time to go find that dumb lost sheep. He has a big nose and frizzy wool anyway.' Even if the ninety-nine laughed, they probably would have been thinking, 'Is that how he is going to act when I get lost?' By seeking the lost sheep, the shepherd helped all the others feel more secure."

- Brad Wilcox

THE KING OF LOVE MY SHEPHERD IS

The king of love my shepherd is

Whose goodness faileth never.

I nothing lack if I am his

And he is mine forever.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,

But yet in love he sought me.

And on his shoulder gently laid

And home rejoicing brought me.

- Harry Rowe Shelley

REDEMPTION

 

O Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight
On whom in affliction I call,
My comfort by day and my song in the night
My hope, my salvation, my all.

Where dost thou at noontide resort with thy sheep
To feed on the pastures of love?
Say why in the valley of death should I weep,
Or alone in the wilderness rove?

O why should I wander an alien from Thee
Or cry in the desert for bread?
Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they'll see
And smile at the tears I have shed.

Dear shepherd, I hear and will follow thy call;
I know the sweet sound of Thy voice.
Restore and defend me, for Thou art my all,
And in Thee I will ever rejoice.

   - Joseph Swain, London, 1791

NINETY AND NINE

There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold,
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from that gate of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.

"Lord, thou has there thine ninety and nine,
Are they not enough for thee?"
But the Shepherd made answer:
"This one of mine has wondered away from me;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep."

But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through
Ere he found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry,
'Twas sick and helpless and ready to die.

"Lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountains' track?"
"They were shed for one who has gone astray,
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back."
"Lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn?"
"They are pierced tonight by many a thorn".

And all through the mountains thunder-riven,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heaven,
"Rejoice! I have found my sheep".


- Elizabeth C. Clephane

IN GOD'S FOLD

Twas a sheep, not a lamb that went astray in the parable Jesus told,
Twas a grown up sheep that wandered away from the ninety and nine in the fold,
And out on the hill tops and out in the storm twas a sheep that the good shepherd sought,
And back to the flock and back to the fold twas a sheep that the good shepherd brought.
Now why should the sheep be so carefully fed and cared for still today,
Because there is danger if they go wrong they will lead the lambs astray.
For the lambs will follow the sheep you know wherever they wonder wherever they go.
If the sheep go wrong it will not be long till the lambs are as wrong as they.
So still with the sheep do we earnestly plead for the sake of the lambs today,
If the lambs are lost what a terrible cost some sheep will have to pay.

- Author unknown