We believe in an active God, a heavenly parent who takes an active interest in our lives, and who acts for the good of His children. While miracles do happen, often God’s help is invisible, arriving through inspiration and less-obvious interventions. Even God’s intervention in the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den is not necessarily obvious—it wouldn’t have been obvious why the lions didn’t consume Daniel. We are told that God stopped their mouths, but how could they know that it was God? A doubter could easily attribute Daniel’s survival to something else.

The subtle and indirect way that God acts leaves room for doubt—and for faith. In a world that believes we should focus decisions only on evidence, it is hard to understand how to rely on faith, and when we are relying on what we want to believe, instead of things that are true. On one hand we have those who only believe what they can see and understand, and on the other we have those who claim faith in false ideas, counter to evidence and based on what they want to believe. Faith exists somewhere in the middle. And there we find that God really delivers.

 

I can trust in the Lord when my faith is tried.

We are here on this earth to learn to walk in faith, to struggle with the range of possible decisions we can make, using evidence and careful consideration, yes, but also using faith when the way isn’t clear or when we receive revelation.

This short poem provides encouragement in such times, urging us, the readers, to maintain faith despite the challenges of life. And the poet, as a survivor of the Willie and Martin handcart companies and of abandonment by her first husband, knew what she was talking about when she spoke of trials.

 

When surging waves of sorrow flow fiercely o’er thy soul,

When overwhelming darkness does all thy powers control.

When tempests gather o’er thee and bow thee to the sod;

Then let not Faith desert thee –

Be still! and trust in God.

Be still, for He will save thee; Yield not to weak despair.

He’ll make the clouds break o’er thee, the day dawn bright

Oh! ’tis not to oppress thee He makes thee feel the rod;

He chastens, but to bless thee –

Be still! and trust in God.

18??

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the kingdom of God on earth.

We also see God’s intervention in the restoration of the Gospel and the growth of His church. The restoration is a major theme of LDS poetry and often appears in our hymns. These works always attribute the events of the restoration to God’s actions. This poem is similar to many poems about the restoration, and was written to be a hymn urging conversion and participation in the Kingdom of God, crediting Him for the restoration.

 

Once more from the heavens Jehovah has spoken,

His voice clears the mist which for ages had spread

O’er the minds of the people, but now it is broken-

No longer by priestcraft the honest are led.

The Stone from the Mountain has now begun rolling,

And never will stop till it fills the whole earth;

And Babylon’s death-knell has now begun tolling,

While Zion increases in wisdom and worth.

Hark, hear ye the voice of the Prophet proclaiming-

“Repent ye, the Kingdom of Heaven’s at hand;

“The harvest is ripe, and the vintage wants gleaning,

“The tares with the wheat now no longer must stand.”

The Stone, &c.

The Ensign is lifted, the Temple is rearing,

To which for salvation the Gentiles shall seek,

The time is at hand for the Saviour’s appearing,

The earth will ere long be possess’d by the meek.

The Stone, &c.

The vision of Daniel is surely fulfilling,

The toes of the Image now feel the Stone’s weight,

The Gospel is gath’ring the faithful and willing,

The path of the Saviour will soon be made straight.

The Stone, &c.

Rouse, rouse from your slumbers, O ye foolish virgins;

Up, up, trim your lamps, let them burn bright and clear;

Let Zion be ready, the Saviour is coming,

The great day of vengeance is now drawing near.

The Stone, &c.

1855

 

Receiving revelation requires spiritual preparation.

Perhaps the most frequent and personal intervention of God in our lives is revelation. But revelation is communication, a two-way event that requires our participation as well. We have to listen, and listen with spiritual ears—I believe this is what we mean by spiritual preparation; the ability to hear spiritually.

In celebrating Wilford Woodruff’s birthday, this poem points out the kind of spiritual preparation he had for his calling. Note how often this poem speaks of hearing, and listening.

 

Hail! honored leader. Israel greets thee well

On this, thy ninetieth natal festival.

The peace of God be with thee; may His hand

Lead, guard and guide toward the Better Land,

As in years gone by; His grace inspire,

His Spirit fill thee with prophetic fire;

Thy “crown of years” prolong, by Christ’s decree,

His faithful representative to be.

Press on, thy lofty destiny to fill;

Thou hast the fervent prayers of Israel.

May little children who, at mother’s knee,

Offer in lisping accents prayers for thee—

(A homage sweeter than the bow of kings—

An incense which the smile of heaven brings)—

Learn by thy upright life a lesson true,

And aged sires their faith and vows renew.

May all God’s people learn by thy example

The gospel is for all conditions ample;

Obey its precepts and its teachings pure,

And priceless gifts of Endless Lives secure.

Ring out, brave voice, in accents strong and bold,

The Shepherd’s present message to the fold.

And you, ye listening multitudes, give ear

The Prophet of the Living God to hear.

And as ye value life, Eternal Life,

For which ye have so long endured the strife,

Put not your trust in mortal vision dim,

But heed the voice of Israel’s God through him.

And as the boding signs in every nation

Foretell the end of this last dispensation

Be wise; in virtuous deeds your lives enshroud—

Prepared to meet your Savior in the cloud.

1898

 

Jesus Christ is the Son of the Eternal Father.

The point of spiritual preparation, and of faith for that matter, is to get us to see the world of the spirit, the world of things that our minds are not trained to see; i.e., the obvious things that are right in front of us but past the surface, that never occurs to us to look at. When we see the whole world, including those things that are clear spiritually, we see more easily the hand of God in our lives and in our world.

Poet Elizabeth Hill Boswell shows how important seeing this way is. Without spiritual sight, how would we know the Savior, if He were standing in front of us? Boswell is really suggesting that there is a way of seeing more than what is on the surface. How would we know who the Savior is in the middle of a crowd? Wouldn’t we just see him as one more person among many?

And if we wouldn’t know Him by his outward appearance, what makes us think that we would know Him any other way?

 

Would we know Jesus Christ today

If he came as a wandering Jew,

An outcast of a despised race

Followed by a motley crew?

 

If we didn’t know our Saviour had lived

And saw a man, poorly shod,

A bearded man saying, “I’m your Christ,

The Son of your Living God.”

 

Would we leave our homes, our wealth, our friends

To go with that motley crew,

Or would we smile in a wise sort of way

As the worldly are wont to do?

 

Jesus the Christ, the Son of our God,

Came on foot and alone,

A bearded man, a man poorly shod,

Would you and I have known?

1951