Week 15: Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy

THE MEN OF THE TABERNACLE CHOIR.....

Men singing, can you get better then this?

1. Brightly beams our Father’s mercy
From his lighthouse evermore,
But to us he gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.

[Chorus]
Let the lower lights be burning;
Send a gleam across the wave.
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.

2. Dark the night of sin has settled;
Loud the angry billows roar.
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore.

3. Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;
Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor,
In the darkness may be lost.

David A. Bednar, "The Tender Mercies of the Lord", Liahona, May 2005, 99–102

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I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.

 

What Are the Tender Mercies of the Lord?

"I have reflected repeatedly upon the phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord.” Through personal study, observation, pondering, and prayer, I believe I have come to better understand that the Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, the Lord suits “his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men” (D&C 46:15)."

Who Are They Whom the Lord Has Chosen to Receive His Tender Mercies?

  " The word chosen in 1 Nephi 1:20 [1 Ne. 1:20] is central to understanding the concept of the Lord’s tender mercies. The dictionary indicates that chosen suggests one who is selected, taken by preference, or picked out. It also can be used to refer to the elect or chosen of God (Oxford English Dictionary Online, second ed. [1989], “Chosen”).

   Some individuals who hear or read this message erroneously may discount or dismiss in their personal lives the availability of the tender mercies of the Lord, believing that “I certainly am not one who has been or ever will be chosen.” We may falsely think that such blessings and gifts are reserved for other people who appear to be more righteous or who serve in visible Church callings. I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.

   To be or to become chosen is not an exclusive status conferred upon us. Rather, you and I ultimately determine if we are chosen. Please now note the use of the word chosen in the following verses from the Doctrine and Covenants:

“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men” (D&C 121:34–35; emphasis added).

  I believe the implication of these verses is quite straightforward. God does not have a list of favorites to which we must hope our names will someday be added. He does not limit “the chosen” to a restricted few. Rather, it is our hearts and our aspirations and our obedience which definitively determine whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen."

  

"As we learn in these scriptures, the fundamental purposes for the gift of agency were to love one another and to choose God. Thus we become God’s chosen and invite His tender mercies as we use our agency to choose God."

  "Our desires, faithfulness, and obedience invite and help us to discern His mercies in our lives. As one of His servants, I declare my witness that Jesus is the Christ, our Redeemer and our Savior. I know that He lives and that His tender mercies are available to all of us. Each of us can have eyes to see clearly and ears to hear distinctly the tender mercies of the Lord as they strengthen and assist us in these latter days. May our hearts always be filled with gratitude for His abundant and tender mercies. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen."

               ......I love to learn about the Mercies of the Lord.

How many of us are walking in the Dark? How many of us know someone else in the Dark?

How often do we need the guidance and mercy of the lights of the Lord.

I love this song, it is such wonderful story of being lost and then found again in the Arms of our Savior.

The image of the Sailor whose only hope it the light of another on the shore.

The light of someone who can see the way that needs to be taken.

A lost sailor who is looking for that light.

The Mercies of the Lord are accessible to all.....if only we seek and are willing to follow that light.

I imagine a sailor who doesn't seek or even notice the light, the danger that they are in.

If that light is not there, (they say) but it is.

There is always someone there manning the lighthouse.

Acceptance of God's mercies may require change, uncomfortable change.

It may require admitting you need help. It will require TRUST in the plan.

Mostly, I think of MERCY as LOVE.

Knowing that His LOVE is there, I can be saved. I can make it home.

I also look at the words to this song and I imagine others at the lighthouse.

Family, and friends and Leaders. They have follow that same light, they may be those who show me the light, when I can't see it. Then there are those times when others around me don't see the light, but I can.

We are all here to help each other make it to safety. . The Mercy of the Lord is those who have been placed in our lives because HE loves us. We may be their pillar of Strength and in turn they may be ours.

The tender Mercies of the Lord are ALL around us. In everything that brings us closer to God.

I think we can each find something that is a tender mercy. Whether it is big or small.

A hug from a child, a call from a friend, a beautiful sunrise, or even a blossoming flower.

These are evidences of His Mercy.

May we all seek the light of the Savior and find the safety that we seek. May we see even the smallest thing as the Love of the Lord, a whisper to you from a FATHER who loves you.