"He will comfort and lead you"

"Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties. At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel’s end—no dawn to break the night’s darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea 'Is there no balm in Gilead?' We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face."

Thomas S. Monson, “Looking Back and Moving Forward,” Ensign, May 2008, 87–90


I very much have a testimony of this. Every bit of it. And know with complete surety that the very last part is true. We are not left to weather the stormy darkness alone. There is a guiding light--our Savior. If we just put our faith and trust in Him.


This quote puts me in mind of a beautiful song that Women's Chorus (and other choirs) got to sing for the Alliance World Festival of Women's singing in 2004. In fact, it was commissioned specifically for the festival. (Though I do remember that we sang it at a BYU Devotional. I thought for Pres. Monson, but cannot find any documented proof online. Guess I'll have to pull out my journal and hope I was updating then. We later learned that the world premiere was to be at the Festival. We had to keep it a bit hushed that we had already sung it. But the Spirit definitely wanted us to sing the song because it went hand-in-hand with the speaker's message. No one even knew he would give the original quote that the lyrics were based off of.) So, so beautiful--music-wise and message-wise.

The Gate of the Year

Lux aeterna. Lux aeterna.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,

"Give me a light, give me a light, give me a light

That I may tread safely into the unknown,

Tread safely into the unknown.

Go out into the darkness. Go out into the darkness.

Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light,

And safer, safer, safer than a known way!

So I went forth and finding the hand of God

Trod gladly, gladly, gladly into the night.

Lux aeterna. Lux aeterna. Lux.