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Monday, September 19, 2005

 

Day 10:The Parable of Farmer John: Mormon 8- Ether 2 pages 481-492

Mormon 9
[1] And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.

[2] Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation -- behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God -- then will ye say that there is no God?

[3] Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

[4] Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

[5] For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

[6] O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.
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Many people see the God's judgment as evidence of a wrathful and vengeful God, but I believe otherwise. I believe God kindly and mercifully places us where we will be comfortable. We will gladly seek our own comfort level and praise him for his mercy in sending us there.

The Parable of Farmer John: by Carol Khan

Suppose you are Farmer John. You have lots of work to do today so you arise early and put on your grungiest work clothes, even though it is Sunday. You know you should be dressing for church, but always seem too busy to attend. First you have hogs to butcher. It's a messy job and your clothes are stained with blood and gore. Then you head out to the barn to muck out the stalls. Afterward, the stalls are clean, but your already bloody and gory clothes are now covered in animal filth. Even your face and hands are filthy.

Just as you are about to return home to bath and put on clean clothes, the messenger of the king appears at your gate. Your heart leaps into your throat for you know what this means. Your king has a habit of inviting his subjects to dine with him and meet with him. The only stipulation is that when their invitation comes, they must stop whatever they are doing and attend the banquet as they are. The messenger commands you to accompany him to the great feast at the king's palace. You are given no time to change, all MUST go immediately with the messenger by the king's command! You accompany the messenger: you cannot refuse.

You are escorted to a banquet hall more beautiful than you had even imagined. The room is full of people dressed in their finest Sunday attire. Some clothes are fancy, some clothes are humble, but all are clean and neat. The people smile and nod to you kindly. You feel ashamed of your smelly, stained, filthy clothes. People invite you towards the banquet table whereon is laid a feast truly fit for a king. You are hungry from your day's hard labor, but you are ashamed to reach for any food because of your filthy hands. You eat and drink nothing. You feel terrible; you are clearly not having a good time. Then after the others have eaten and drunk their fill, the tables are cleared away, and trumpets announce the entrance of the king himself.

He enters the room in clothes so radiant that the light is blinding. His face radiates nothing but love and kindness even brighter than the light of his clothing. The persons in the room line up to be received by the king one by one. All your life you have imagined meeting the king, how he would receive you and smile at you. You stand in line, but you wish there was some way you could run away and hide. This meeting is nothing like you imagined it would be.

The king is receiving everyone with smiles and kind words. He is even more kind and loving than you had ever imagined, but you want to shirk away in shame. When it is your turn to meet him you flinch as he reaches out to take your filthy hand. Your eyes fill with tears and you can't bring yourself to look him in the eyes. He hugs you, looks you full in the face with a sadness you can feel even though you are staring at his feet.

Finally, with tears in his eyes, he addresses you, "I feel your uneasiness. I am sad my invitation caught you unprepared. I can tell you are not comfortable here. I'll have my messenger take you where you will be more comfortable." You raise your eyes in gratitude and try to mumble your thanks, as you are lead away, out of the banquet hall, out of his presence to a place where other people are gathered. You breathe a sigh of relief as you look about the crowded and dimly lit hall and witness others with stained clothes and filthy hands greedily eating and drinking and exclaiming how glad they are that their ordeal is over.

How will we feel when we meet our King? Will we be prepared? If we don't accept Christ, follow Christ and live the gospel to the best of our abilities, then our clothes will not be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb of God. We will have to carry our own sins, stains and filth of the world upon us.

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