I Will Help Thee

In the most recent general conference, President Oaks spoke about “divine helps for mortality” that the Lord has given us. He taught first about the most important help we have been given: “By far, God’s strongest mortal help was His provision of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who would suffer to pay the price and provide forgiveness for repented sins. That merciful and glorious Atonement explains why faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel. His Atonement ‘bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead’ (Alma 42:23), and it ‘atone[s] for the sins of the world’ (Alma 34:8), erasing all of our repented sins and giving our Savior power to succor us in our mortal infirmities.” Two books in the scriptures in particular highlight that the Savior is a great help to us in mortality. One of these is Isaiah, in which the Lord said to us, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness…. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 41:10, 13-14). He promises to be with us, to strengthen us, to uphold us, and to help us. When we struggle and are in need of aid, we should say in faith with the prophet, “the Lord God will help me” (Isaiah 50:9). We can also say with the psalmist: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). He encouraged all of us, “O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield” (Psalm 116:9). I love this statement from the psalmist describing all the things that He will do for those who have hope in Him: “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down” (Psalm 146:5-9). He can help the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoners, the blind, the sick, the fatherless and widow, the strangers, and all those who look to Him for help.

            President Oaks described as well other helps that God has given us in our mortal journey, including the light of Christ, the scriptures, commandments, ordinances, covenants, manifestations of the Holy Ghost, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Of this last gift, he described it as “one of the most significant of God’s helps for His faithful children.” I love this quote from President Joseph F. Smith that he cited in connection with this gift: “[It will] enlighten the minds of the people with regard to the things of God, to convince them at the time of their conversion of their having done the will of the Father, and to be in them an abiding testimony as a companion through life, acting as the sure and safe guide into all truth and filling them day by day with joy and gladness, with a disposition to do good to all men, to suffer wrong rather than to do wrong, to be kind and merciful, long suffering and charitable. All who possess this inestimable gift, this pearl of great price, have a continual thirst after righteousness.” We should seek each day to have this gift with us, trusting that through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost—which ultimately can come to us because of the gift of the atonement of Jesus Christ that cleanses us in order to have a member of the Godhead be with us—we can be guided and helped in all we do. The Doctrine and Covenants describes how it can be for us as we seek this help from the Lord: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:46).

            Each of us at various times in our lives realize that we need help. We have challenges we simply cannot face or overcome on our own We can trust that the Lord did not send us here to fail, and He has provided the help we need to overcome the difficulties of mortal life. But we do need to seek out this help in humility and faith as President Oaks summarized: “Our part in this divine plan is to trust in God and seek and use these divine helps, most notably the Atonement of His Beloved Son, our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.” As we do so, we can trust these powerful words from the Lord through the prophet Isaiah and put to music in a beloved hymn: “Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”