The Music & the Spoken Word broadcast airs live via TV, radio, and internet stream on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. mountain standard time. For information on other airtimes, visit “Airing Schedules” at musicandthespokenword.org.

Music

Conductor: Mack Wilberg
Organist: Brian Mathias
Announcer: Lloyd Newell

“All Creatures of Our God and King”                                                                     German hymn tune                                                                                                        Lyrics: St. Francis of Assisi; translated by William H. Draper                        Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“Look at the World”
by John Rutter

“Fanfare” (Organ Solo)
Music: William Mathias

“Who will Buy?”¹ from Oliver
by Lionel Bart
Arrangement: Michael Davis

“Where Can I turn for Peace?”²
Music: Joleen G. Meredith
Lyrics: Emma Lou Thayne
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“Thou Lovely Source of True Delight”
Music: Mack Wilberg
Lyrics: Anne Steele; additional text by David Warner

1 On the CD Showtime! and in the CD set Encore Collection.
2 On the CD This Is The Christ.

The Spoken Word

Our Lifeline

You don’t have to be a sailor or even a swimmer to know what it feels like to be thrown overboard into a stormy sea and struggle to keep your head above water. Life can feel that way sometimes. Fear and uncertainty crash and swirl all around us, and we feel that all we can do is hold on for dear life—if we could only find something to hold onto. To make matters worse, sometimes people and organizations we once trusted let us down. And so we wonder, where can we turn for peace? Where can we find safety and solace to our souls? Whom can we really trust?

At such times we appreciate the value of a lifeline, especially if we know it is fastened to something sure and secure. From the beginning, people have looked heavenward and found such a lifeline. In divine, everlasting truths that never change, we find the wisdom, love, and light that we can trust, that will never let us down.

A leader and writer from a century ago, George Q. Cannon, once taught: “God can be trusted…No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, He will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character. He is an unchangeable being…He will [always] stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them.”

That simple truth can be our lifeline. When it seems like there’s nothing else to hold onto, we can grab hold of that thought—that divine love will never fail us. If we can secure ourselves to that reassurance, we can have the confidence to keep trying, to keep trusting, and to keep doing our best. Even when everything else seems as unstable and unreliable as the waves of the sea, the love of God will stand the test of time and lead us to harbors of safety and peace.

1. George Q. Cannon, “Remarks,” Deseret Evening News, Mar. 7, 1891, 4.