June 8, 2025
SPIRITUALLY STRETCHING
MACK WILBERG AND RYAN MURPHY
Conductors
BRIAN MATHIAS
Organist
DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word
LET ALL THE WORLD IN EVERY CORNER SING
Music: Ryan Murphy
Text: George Herbert
“GIVE,” SAID THE LITTLE STREAM
Music: William B. Bradbury
Text: Fanny J. Crosby
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
THE ASH GROVE
(ORGAN SOLO)
Music: Welsh Melody
Arrangement: John Longhurst
RISE! UP! ARISE! (EXCERPT)
from Saint Paul
Music: Felix Mendelssohn
Text: Based on Scripture
YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE
from Carousel
Music: Richard Rodgers
Text: Oscar Hammerstein II
Arrangement: Arthur Harris
THE SPOKEN WORD
“Spiritually Stretching”
JESUS, THE VERY THOUGHT OF THEE
Music: John B. Dykes
Text: attr. Bernard of Clairvaux;
trans. Edward Caswall
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
HIGH ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP
Music: Ebenezer Beesley
Text: Joel H. Johnson
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
REACH OUTWARD
The Spoken Word, June 8, 2025By: Derrick Porter
AS A YOUNG BOY, I remember being at a public swimming pool and exploring what I thought was the exciting “deep end.” This pool was known for its ability, on occasion, to make large waves, mimicking what the rolling waves of the ocean might be like.
As I swam in the calm water, the waves began to swell, and I struggled to remain afloat. Within seconds, I was sinking, and even as I applied every muscle I had, it wasn’t enough. I recall in that moment holding my breath and looking up through the water, seeing others around me, but they didn’t know I was there. I was out of oxygen. I was doomed. A thought then entered my mind with force: “Reach one more time.” With every ounce of energy I had left, I stretched my hand high above my head, but I was still well beneath the water’s surface.
Suddenly, a hand reached down with lightning-like speed, pulling me to safety. I will forever be grateful for the stranger that saved my life that day.
Decades later, this experience came to mind as I listened to Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, say the following: “Do you remember the biblical story of the woman who suffered for 12 years with a debilitating problem? She exercised great faith in the Savior, exclaiming, ‘If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.’ This faithful … woman needed to stretch as far as she could to access His power.”
He continued: “Many of us have [similarly] cried out … ‘If I could spiritually stretch enough to draw the Savior’s power into my life, I would know how to handle my heart-wrenching situation. I would know what to do. And I would have the power to do it.’”
President Nelson then stated, “When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours.”1
As we reach for the Savior with our whole soul, we find that “His arms [are always] open, extended, stretched out, and encircling. They are described as mighty and holy, arms of mercy, arms of safety, arms of love, ‘lengthened out all the day long’ [2 Nephi 28:32].”2 Indeed, when we spiritually stretch toward Him with all the might we can muster, the Savior “reaches [our] reaching.”3
References:
1. Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 41–42.
2. See Neil L. Andersen, “Repent … That I May Heal You,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 40.
3. “Where Can I Turn for Peace?,” Hymns, no. 129.