Come along, Come along - Hymns #244

January 7th, 2018

Hymn "Come along, come along"

Lyrics

1. “Come along, come along” is the call that will win,To lead us to virtue and keep us from sin;

The call that will win. What does it means? In this hymn I think is referring to how we lead, to that call that we must make to those we have a stewardship upon, that call we must make to our families. Basically is that call we must do to come to Christ, which is the purpoe of missionary work, which is a work that all members must be involved.

So how can we lead better? I like what "The Beasley Project" says about it:

"We'll have greater success when we lead, rather than coerce. By inviting others to "come along", we invite them to a place where we are, instead of trying to push them a place we will not go."

To be better church, family, and even professional leaders, we must invite others to walk on that path with us, doing their best, but not requiring of them perfection. Yes, there are sacrifices to make if we want success, but we all have our struggles and our limitations, and we must keep going forward, but not running faster than we have strength. I actually love that scripture on Mosiah 4:7 because it says that we must be dilligent, do our best, but not faster that our strength. And is what this hymn invites us to do.

What would be the result of this call? According to this hymn, it will lead US to virtue, it will keep us from sin. I love that it is not saying that all those we lead will necessarily have those results in our lives, but it actually says that WE, those who lead, we'll be the ones affected by it. Yes, how we lead can certainly have that impact of those we are leading, but first of all, the greater impact will be on us. Is what happens when we serve, when we do good, when we teach others to do good: the joy and the greatest learning are the reward of the leader, of the teacher. We might do it because we love others and we want to do our best for them, but whether the recipients take it or not, when we do our best in our service, when we call to "come along", we are the firsts to learn, to grow, to feel blessed. 

As we do our best to lead others by calling them to "come along" and walk by our side, we will become more virtuous. The Latin root word virtus means stregth. Virtuous women and men possess a quiet dignity and inner strength. They are confident because they are worthy to receive andbe guided by the Holy Ghost. That's the kind of leaders we can become if we make that call to "come along". Leaders with strength, with power. To do what? To succeed in our callings to invite others to come to Christ. The price of a virtuous woman (and any individual) is "far above rubies". Imagine what we can make of us if we simply follow this advice: lead others by inviting them to "come along".

It also keeps us from sin. How can this call keep us from sin? Elder Hales taught that virtue "is cleanliness and holiness in mind and body". Something that comes to my mind is that when we strive to be fair in our callings and to teach what we preach, inviting others to "come along", we try to have a worthy live in order to be better examples. By doing this, we do our best to repent and to follow the commandments. I remember when I was young I wrote regularly in my journal. I often wrote to my future children. I wanted my children to be faithful and to follow the Lord, so I wanted my life to be an example to them. I made many mistakes, but even in those moments, I always shared my testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how because of Him, the was hope for me to be forgiven. I often wrote about good things I was doing, about things I learned at church, about service projects, about meaningful experiences that strengthen my testimony. I realized that through my journals I was inviting my children to "come along", to walk on that path of discipleship, and I was showing them that yes, there were mistakes, but that Heavenly Father sent us His Son to make us clean again. I was shoing my future children that I too went through what they would be going through, but that as we avoid sin and when we repent from it, we can find peace and joy. That's how by inviting my children to "come along", I was being "kept from sin", and i what it can do for us as we serve in our callings. 

Most men can be led, but few can be driv’n

In shunning perdition and striving for heav’n.

It can be easy to "lead", but not all the leaders get to shun perdition and strive for heaven. Sometime in our desire to show how good leaders we can be, we let the Spirit aside, we forget the manuals, the policies, and we just try to show how much WE know, how much WE do, how smart WE are, how strong WE are, how people love US, how much success WE have. When we do this, and lead with a proud heart, we might be leaving the path of eternal life and not being the best leaders for those we call. That's why we must invite to "come along".

2. “Come to me, come to me” sweetly falls on the ear,
The word of the Lord full of comfort and cheer,
To bind up the broken, the captive set free,
In the good time that’s coming, we hope soon to see.

The Lord was the perfect example of leadership. He invited all of us to "come to me". That's the kind of leaders we must be, invite other to come to Christ by inviting them to take our hands and to "come along", that we may walk on that path to Christ together. Oh how much comfort, cheer, that calling brings: to know that despite our imperfections, Christ is more than willing to receive us and to heal us, to give us freedom. If Christ is willing to do that, shouldn't we, leaders, have that desire too?

3. Let us govern by kindness and never by force,All cheering and bright, like the sun in its course;Obedience will spring from each heart with a bound,And brotherhood flourish the wide world around.

So this is the invitation of that him: to lead, to govern, to teach, with kindness. Not by force, not by fear, not by intimidation, no by bulliying, not by threats. Sometime we want to show how powerful we are and we want to intimidate and scare others so they will listen to us. That never works. People might do what we ask, but they will never love us, and, specially at church, they might just give up our religion because of the abuse they receive from those who are supposed to lead and to love them. We must be cheering and bright, like the sun, like light - like the light of the world, Jesus Christ. May we all just be obedient, loving, caring, true disciples of Christ, that those under our stewardship will feel the love of God through us and will accept to walk on the path to Come unto Him, as we invite them to "come along".

Scriptures
D&C 121:45

"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile."

How can we invite others to "come along"? This scriptures says it all, by persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, pure knowledge, and not with hypocrisy nor guile. In other words, being Christlike.

Isaiah 55:3

"Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David."

What are the "sure mercies of David"? Elder Bruce R. McConkie teaches in his book "The Promised Messiah", p.452, it explains that they are the promise of the resurrection. In other words, if David, who committed adultery and on whose hands was found the blood of Uriah, will be resurrected, then all men should rest in the hope that they shall rise from the grave." What this teaches me is that the promises of God are upon all of us, and that as we come unto Him, we shall see those promises being fulfilled in our live, to ultimately resurrect and have not only immortality, but also Eternal life through our Savior. 

Isaiah 61:1

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;"

The things we can accomplish as leaders are great. It is amazing to have the capacity to do all of that. And this verse tells us exactly what we need to accomplish all that: the Spirit of the Lord upon  us! As we remain worthy of the Holy Ghost, we have the power to fulfill well our responsibilities and to succed in our calling to "come along"

About the author

William Willes (1814–1890) was an early Latter-day Saint songwriter and, along with Hugh Findlay, was one of the first Mormon missionaries to enter India.

Willes was born in England. He was well-educated and by the age of 22 became head of a boys' college in Cardiff, Wales. He lost his position as a result of joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1848.^[1] In 1851 he and Findlay traveled to India, where they met limited success. He sailed for the United States in 1855.

Willes served as a "Sabbath School missionary" after his arrival in Utah. He was an accomplished singer and premiered a song by Eliza R. Snow at the Salt Lake City 4 July celebration in 1861.

You can access more documents about William Willes here. There are links to his journals and other historic documents.

Guide us, O thou great Jehovah - Hymns # 83

January 6, 2018

Lyrics

1. Guide us, O thou great Jehovah, Guide us to the promised land.

We are weak, but thou art able; Hold us with thy pow'rful hand.

Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Feed us till the Savior comes, Feed us till the Savior comes.

French

Vers Sion, cité promise, guide nous grand Jehovah.

Que ta main nous y conduise, c'est toi qui nous sauveras.

Que tous ceux de ton Église soient prêts quand tu reviendras.

Portuguese

Dá-nos, Cristo, teu socorro e afasta a tentaçao!

Spanish

Danos, Cristo, tu socorro; líbranos de tentación.

Jehovah, God, Christ, is the great and powerful god who can guide us to Zion, his promised land. He can do it with his powerful hand, and save us, despite our weakness. Through his Holy Ghost, He can feed us with his gospel, he can prepare us for his return, he can himself give his relief and deliver us from temptation. As members of his church, we can receive the Holy Ghost and have the guidance to prepare for his Second Coming.

2. Open, Jesus, Zion's fountains; let her richest blessings come.
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar guard us to this holy home.
Great Redeemer, Great Redeemer, bring, oh, bring the welcome day, bring, oh, bring the welcome day!

French

Fais briller ta belle aurore, qui répandra ses bienfaits.

Sus Sion où vont éclore nos désirs et nos projets.

Notre Dieu, vois, on t'implore, conduis-nous à tes sommets.

Portuguese

Faz, Senhor, que se propaguem boas novas de Siâo.

Um pilar de fogo e nuvem nos será por pavilhao.

Ó Messias prometido eis a tua legiao!

Spanish

Danos, Cristo bendiciones que nos lleven a Sión.

el pilar y nube deja que nos guién en unión.

Christ can gives us blessings, he can let the rich blessings from his gospel, the good news of Zion, come upon us from his fountain of love, guidance that can guide us to Zion. It is when getting to Zion that we shall be able to see our deepest desires and dreams been fulfilled, and god will let the sunrise shine upon us in order to accomplish those desires and dreams.
As the Israelites, God can lead us through a pillar of fire or a cloud, or any other "form", he will always provide us the way to return to Him, to receive his blessings. His pillar of light (interesting, as the pillar of light seen by Joseph Smith) will be our pavilion, our way to Him (the restoration brought us that way... ;)) That pilar and cloud can guide us in unity to Zion - unity is important to take us there, because although salvation is personal, we can, with our service to each other, remain on that path.
God is the one who will bring that day of His return. We pray him that we might be there with him, that he will take us to the top of his mountain with him.
Christ can give us blessing to lead us to Zion: through his tender mercies and the reminder of his love we can keep the focus and the faith of where we want to be: home, with him.

3. When the earth begins to tremble, bid our fearful thoughts be still;

When thy judgments spread destruction, keep us safe on Zion's hill,

Singing praises, Singing praises, songs of glory unto thee, songs of glory unto thee.

French

Calme-nous dans la détresse, quand la terre tremblera.

En Sion, ô Dieu, nous laisse quand le jugement viendra,

là, un doux chant d'allégresse en ces jours s'élevera.

Portuguese

Ao sentir tremer a terra, dá-nos forças e valor.

E, chegando o julgamente, ergue o braço protetor.

Em teu reino, louvaremos o teu nome com fervor!

Spanish

Al venir Tus grandes juicios, cuidanos con tu amor.

He will come back - earth will tremble that great and abominable day for the wicked - may we be still, may he calm our troubled heart, may he gives us strenght and courage. How? Through obedience and faithfulness. As we follow him, he will give us his gifts and his peace, allowing us to know that we have remain worthy of His love, so when he shall judge us, we will know that we are protected through his love, that we will remain safe on his hill, in Zion, that we will avoid being destroyed, he will stretch his arm upon us to protec us. Oh this great day, we shall sing to Him, we shall sing songs of praises, songs of glory, song of joy, with fervour.

Original Welsh version:

Lord, lead me through the wilderness, me, a pilgrim of poor appearance,

I don't have strength or life in me, like lying in the grave:

Omnipotent, Omnipotent is the one who brings me to the shore. Is the one who brings me to the shore.

We are nothing, we are pilgrims, and he, the Omnipotent, is the one who can take us to the shore. 

Open the sweet fountains flowing from the Rock that is;

Give a column of fire to lead me at night, and give a column of fog during the day.

Give me manna. Give me manna, so that I shall not falter. So that I shall not falter.

He gives us water, he guides us, he feeds us with manna, that we shall not falter.

When I walk the bank of the Jordan, cause all my fears to sink;

Take me through the roughest waves over to Canaan, a cosy home:

Unending praise. Unending praise will be to Your name for this. Will be to Your name for this.

He can help us walk through waters without fears, he can take us accros rough waves. 

Oh how should we praise him for this.

— Verbatim English-language translation

Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but thou art mighty; hold me with thy powerful hand:

Bread of heaven, bread of heaven feed me till I want no more. Feed me till I want no more.

Open thou the crystal fountain whence the healing stream shall flow;

Let the fiery, cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through:

Strong deliverer, strong deliverer be thou still my strength and shield. Be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,bid my anxious fears subside;

Death of death, and hell's destruction, land me safe on Canaan's side:

Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to thee. I will ever give to thee.

— Hymns and Psalms

Although the LDS version (the one on the hymnbook) is more about the Second Coming and great judgment, I love how the original version is about the israelites' exodus and the mercy Jehovah had towards them during those hard travelings. He guide them, he protected them, he fed them, he gave them to drink, he delivered them, he guided them home, to their promised land. As with the israelites, God is doing exactly the same with us in our day, through our challenges as persons, through our progression as members of his church, through how he is preparing for his Second Coming. In any aspect of our lives, he is the One who will give us the greatest protection, blessings, love... He is the One we must praise with song forever.

Scriptures
Exodus 13:21-22

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

The Lord want to guide us, he wants to be there before us to take us to our promised land, and he won't take it away.

D&C 45:57

For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived -
verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day. 

God has given us that pillar of fire and a cloud, he has given us the means to receive his guidance: the Holy Ghost! If we keep ourselves clean and worthy to have the constant company of the Holy Spirit, we will feel his guidance, his protection, his support, his love.

About the author: 
William Williams 
"Williams Pantycelyn travelled throughout Wales (he is said to have partly supported his ministry by selling tea,)[4] preaching the doctrine of Calvinistic Methodism. He needed to be not only a theologian and an advocate for the new Connexion, but an organiser and administrator. His converts gathered in seiadau (fellowship meetings). Williams had to organise, and then maintain, these seiadau as he went around the country. Each successful visit to a new locality in turn required a new seiat. Although he was not alone in his mission, the workload and mental burden must have been considerable. By the same token, it must have been deeply rewarding to see the community grow and thrive over the years and to reflect on the alternative life he had forsaken, as the priest of some obscure rural Anglican parish in mid-Wales... Williams' virtuosity as a hymn-writer earned him the accolade: Y pêr ganiedydd (The Sweet Songster) - echoing the description of King David as "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel, 23:1)."