Ye Shall Obtain

My favorite hymn performed by the Tabernacle Choir is I Believe in Christ as arranged by Mack Wilberg. The part that moves me the most is the fourth verse as they sing, “I believe in Christ; he stands supreme! From him I’ll gain my fondest dream; And while I strive through grief and pain, His voice is heard:” and then instead of following the normal descending melody their voices rise up to sing these words in a powerful crescendo: “Ye shall obtain”! That to me is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ—no matter what our “grief and pain,” no matter what our “woes of sin”, we can obtain our “fondest dream” through the saving power of Jesus Christ. We can indeed “do all things through Christ which strengtheneth [us]” as Paul declared (Philippians 4:13). Or as the Savior Himself said it, “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moroni 7:33). Perhaps the angel said it most completely when he gave these words to King Benjamin: “And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17). Obtaining salvation and all our hopes and dreams come only through the power of Jesus Christ which enables us, through our faith, to overcome all our mortal struggles.

                This idea is for me well depicted in the story recounted by Elder Stevenson in the most recent general conference. He told of a sister missionary who received her mission call and was looking forward to going to the temple, but “shortly after she scheduled her endowment, the announcement came that all temples would temporarily close due to the worldwide pandemic.” She did the MTC at home, earnestly hoping she would be able to attend the temple before her departure. He continued, “In the intervening months, Sister Palmer never lost hope of attending the temple. Her family fasted and prayed that temples would open prior to her departure. Kaitlyn would often start her home MTC mornings by saying, ‘Is today going to be the day we receive a miracle and temples open back up?’ On August 10, the First Presidency announced that Kaitlyn’s temple would reopen for living ordinances on the exact day her early-morning flight to her mission was scheduled. She would not be able to attend the temple and make her flight. With little hope for success, her family contacted temple president Michael Vellinga to see if there was any way the miracle they had been praying for could be realized. Their fasting and prayers were answered!” They prepared an endowment session that she attended at two in the morning so she could subsequently catch her early flight for her mission. Indeed her “fondest dream” was obtained as she and her family sought fervently that great blessing from the Lord. Of course even our righteous desires are not always answered in our desired timing, but the Lord has promised that those who seek will obtain. As Elder Holland so eloquently said, “Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.” So as we seek for help and strength in life’s struggles that we face, as we hope for blessings that seem afar of, we must put our trust in He who can indeed help us to obtain. With His help, there is always “an effectual struggle” to made, as long as we follow King Limhi’s call: “If ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage” (Mosiah 7:33).