It is Well

In chapter nine of his book Heart of the Matter, President Nelson told the story of Horatio G. Spafford, a real estate investor and attorney who suddenly lost his fortune in the great Chicago fire in 1871. That was the beginning of his losses: “Around the same time, scarlet fever took the life of his four-year-old son. He and his family were devastated. Believing that a vacation would give them time to mourn, he sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to England, planning to join them after he finished some business at home. While crossing the Atlantic, however, the ship carrying his family members sunk. His wife survived, but his four daughters drowned. Upon arriving in England, she sent a telegram to her husband that read: ‘Saved alone. What shall I do?’ I can only try to imagine the grief Horatio must have felt.” Thus, he had lost five children and much of his wealth in a short space of time, not unlike Job of old. He subsequently took a ship to join his wife in England, and as they approached the area where his daughters had been lost, the captain showed him. President Nelson recounted, “As Horatio tried to grapple with his grief, words of comfort filled his heart and mind. Those words have since become the text for a beloved hymn, one verse of which reads: 

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll—

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to know

It is well, it is well with my soul. 

In his own way, Horatio Spafford’s words express a remarkable kind of deep gratitude, even amidst great trial.” The tabernacle choir told the story and sang the hymn in this video, encouraging us to remember that with trust in God we can feel indeed that it is well with our soul. Even amidst life challenges we can experience the sustaining hand of the Lord and feel deep gratitude for His great blessings.

                One of the scripture stories that President Nelson referenced in his discussion of gratitude was that of Nephi on the boat to the promised land. Nephi described what his brothers did to him this way: “And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness;… And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work. Wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three days; and they began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me.” He described how his wrists had “swollen exceedingly; and also mine ankles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.” But then he told how he mentally dealt this this situation—which turned out to be four days tied up in a terrible storm: “Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions” (1 Nephi 18:11-16). Instead of dwelling on the difficulty of his situation, he turned to the Lord and praised Him. In other words, to make it through this terrible trial he showed gratitude, even in the midst of suffering. And I believe that gratitude gave him strength, just as it did for Horatio Spafford as they turned to the Lord not with naïve hope but with a deep understanding and love for God. This was the same feeling the propelled the suffering pioneers onward as they similarly sang these words amidst their hardship: 

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?

’Tis not so; all is right.

Why should we think to earn a great reward

If we now shun the fight?

Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.

Our God will never us forsake;

And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—

All is well! All is well! 

No matter what difficulties we face, if we still have our faith and hope in God we too can sing that “It is well with  my soul” and that indeed “All is well.”