WINDS OF TRIBULATION

 

The winds of tribulation scatter my hopes,

Like feathers they lift to the sky.

They find You there

ever waiting to answer my pleas;

To restore that which is lost,

To renew that which is broken.

I stand amazed at Your love, Your care:

Your everlasting token.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Remain in Love by Chris Brazelton)

HUNGRY FIRES OF COURAGE

They cut desire into short lengths
And fed it to the hungry fires of courage.
Long after, when the flames had died
Molten gold gleamed in the ashes.
They gathered it into bruised palms
And handed it to their children
And their children's children forever.

- Vilate C. Raile

WITHIN THESE SACRED WALLS

"Before the Saviour comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within these walls. The Saints will come here not only to do vicarious work but to find a haven of peace. They will long to bring their children here for safety's sake...We will not be alone in our temples... The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm; we will mount up as on eagles' wings; we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world. We will be as fair as the sun and clear as the moon. When the Saviour comes He will honour His people. Those who are spared and prepared will be a temple-loving people. They will know Him. Our children will bow down at His feet and worship Him as the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. They will bathe His feet with their tears and He will weep, and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials known to man. Let us prepare them with the faith to surmout every trial and every condition. We will do it in these holy, sacred temples".

- Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, Manti Temple, April 1987

AND GOD SAID "NO"

I asked God to take away my pride, and God said "No".
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.
I asked God to grant me patience, and God said "No".
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation, it isn't granted, it is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness, and God said "No".
He said He gives us blessings, happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain, and God said "No".
He said "suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me".
I asked God to make my spirit grow, and God said "No".
He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make me fruitful.
I asked God if He loved me, and God said "Yes",
That's why He gave His only Son to die for me,
And I will be in heaven someday because I believe.
I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me,
And God said, "Ah, finally you understand what you really need".

-  Author unknown, revised by Cathryne Allen