Growing up I was always that irreverent teenager in back of the Sunday school class, laughing at all the inappropriate times, okay I'm still kinda that way. But I've matured ever so slightly....
Tonight was the adult session of our Nanaimo Stake Conference, which is always my favourite. The night largely focused on the importance of the family.
There were many beautiful things shared but it was the words of the intermediate hymn that really touched my heart. We sang: How Firm a Foundation. A hymn that I've sung hundreds of times before. The hymn we used to call the "bra hymn" , I told you I was irreverent...Tonight the words meant so much more.
In ev’ry condition—in sickness, in health,
In poverty’s vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea—
As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
Our family has found great strength in our knowledge that we all have a loving Savior who is there to help us. I am so grateful for such a sweet reminder tonight. We do not walk alone, we weren't supposed to...
Trivia alert....do you know what the word/phrase "to succour" means? We see it often in the scriptures. Its literal translation means "to run to". What a beautiful way to describe the help our Savior offers us. Its now one of my favorite words.
It's even better than "to run to". In Latin, it shares the same route as "courier" (where the "to run to" part comes from). But it also has "sub", or 'under'. Put them together and you get someone who comes up from below to run to our aid.
ReplyDelete"He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he ccomprehended all things..." (D&C 88:6)
When Christ says he can succor us, He's the only one who, no matter how far we think we've gone, can still come from below to lift us up again. Gotta love the Atonement :)
One of my favorite words too...