All Things Were Made By Him

To my daughter, 

                This morning you showed me the beautiful sun rays coming up over the mountain. You told me, “Did you know that Jesus made the sun?” He did indeed and He created the earth and the animals and all of the beauty that we see around us. The apostle John wrote this about Jesus: “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made which was made” (John 1:3). Today in Sacrament Meeting we are singing one of my favorite hymns called How Great Thou Art, and it speaks of these wondrous creations of the Savior. In it we sing these words: 

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

 When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur

And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

 Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

The poem was originally written originally by Carl Boberg in Sweden in 1885. One story recounts the inspiration for the song this way: “Carl Boberg and some friends were returning home to Mönsterås from Kronobäck, where they had participated in an afternoon service. Presently a thundercloud appeared on the horizon, and soon lightning flashed across the sky. Strong winds swept over the meadows and billowing fields of grain. The thunder pealed in loud claps. Then rain came in cool fresh showers. In a little while the storm was over, and a rainbow appeared. When Boberg arrived home, he opened the window and saw the bay of Mönsterås like a mirror before him… From the woods on the other side of the bay, he heard the song of a thrush… the church bells were tolling in the quiet evening. It was this series of sights, sounds, and experiences that inspired the writing of the song.” Like you this morning, he was inspired by the powerful displays in nature that he saw and memorialized those feelings in a poem that was eventually put to music and translated into English. As you sing the words to this song I hope that you feel the great goodness and power of God and His infinite love for you.

                One of my favorite passages in the Book of Mormon when Alma was bearing his testimony to Korihor. Korihor was preaching false doctrines to the people and trying to convince them that there is no God. He asked Alma for a sign to prove to him that God exists, and Alma responded this way: “Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44). Indeed, you have so many witnesses that God exists: you have the testimony of your family and friends, the witness of modern prophets, and the words of the ancient prophets in many books of scriptures. You also have the testimony of the creations themselves from the planets to the earth and everything on it such as the mountains and animals and plants. This didn’t all come here by chance! Most importantly, you have the testimony of the Spirit that bears witness to your heart that Jesus lives and loves you and that you are a beloved daughter of our Heavenly Father. I hope that you will always hold fast to these truths and know, even when life gets hard, that Jesus created the rays of sunshine to bring light to your life no matter how dark things get. 

Love,

Dad