He Watching Over Israel, Slumbers Not

“I hope you enjoyed that magnificent anthem presented by the Choir—“He, Watching Over Israel, Slumbers Not, Nor Sleeps.” It is from Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and the words are adapted from the Psalms. (See Ps. 121:4.)…

Play: He Watching Over Israel

… “Recently while wrestling in my mind with a problem I thought to be of serious consequence I went to my knees in prayer. There came into my mind a feeling of peace and the words of the Lord, “Be still and know that I am God.” I turned to the scripture and read this reassuring statement spoken to the Prophet Joseph Smith 150 years ago: “Let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.” (D&C 101:16.)

“God is weaving his tapestry according to his own grand design. All flesh is in his hands. It is not our prerogative to counsel him. It is our responsibility and our opportunity to be at peace in our minds and in our hearts, and to know that he is God, that this is his work, and that he will not permit it to fail…“…We have no need to fear. We have no need to worry. We have no need to speculate. Our imperative need is to be found doing our duty individually in the callings which have come to us…consistently growing ever stronger…

“…My assigned ministry has taken me over the earth to many lands, to various places where I have seen with my own eyes both peace and war, both prosperity and terrible poverty, both liberty and oppression. I have witnessed the miracles that come with faith. I have seen the evidences of true goodness and greatness in men and women living under a great variety of circumstances. I have observed in a very intimate and wonderful way the workings of the power of the Almighty among his children…

“…Our great, basic message to the world is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; that he gave his life as a sacrifice for all mankind; that he rose from the grave that first Easter morning, “the first-fruits of them that slept” (1 Cor. 15:20); that “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22); that he lives, our resurrected Lord and Master…“…We must prioritize our teachings to emphasize that which is of the greatest worth.

“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
“Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
“This is the first and great commandment.
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22:35–40.)

“This must be the foundation of our instruction: love of God and love for and service to others—neighbors, family, and all with whom we have association… You and I may fail as individuals and miss the blessing. But his work cannot fail. There will always be those he will raise up to accomplish it. He has declared: “Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.” (Isa. 14:24.) 

Gordon B. Hinckley, “He Slumbers Not, nor Sleeps,” Ensign, May 1983