The Goodness of God

Recently I discovered a new collection of four songs by BYU Noteworthy titled “Goodness of God.” BYU Noteworthy is the female a cappella group similar to Vocal Point, the male a cappella group at BYU. The title of this set of songs comes from the last song of the same name, and for me the song is a powerful witness of God’s grace and help that we receive in our lives. They didn’t write the song but they give a moving rendition of the music. Some of the lyrics include these: 

For Your mercy never fails me

All my days, I've been held in Your hands

From the moment that I wake up

Until I lay my head

Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice

You have led me through the fire

In darkest night

You are close like no other

I've known You as a Father

I've known You as a Friend

And I have lived in the goodness of God

'Cause all my life You have been faithful

And all my life You have been so, so good

With every breath that I am able

Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God 

I know that as we look closely at our own lives, no matter how many challenges we face, we will find that we too live in the goodness of God and that His mercy will never fail us.

The goodness of God is a theme we see throughout the Book of Mormon. In fact, Nephi spoke of it even in the first verse, telling how he had “been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1). Despite his many challenges, he could always see God’s goodness to him through the difficulties. His brother Jacob rejoiced in these words as he pondered the effect of the Savior’s atonement: “O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit” (2 Nephi 9:10). Many years later King Benjamin encouraged us to remember the goodness of God with these words: “I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.” He promised that as we did that—always remembering God’s goodness—we would “always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God” (Mosiah 4:11-12). After many of the Nephites had been miraculously delivered from bondage, Mormon described their reaction this way: “And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God” (Mosiah 25:10). I love that adjective and I believe we too can see in our lives the “immediate” goodness of God as we seek His divine aid.  

Other passages in the Book of Mormon similarly testify of God’s goodness. The Lamanites converted by Ammon and his brethren similarly rejoiced because of the Lord’s goodness. Mormon described the change that came upon Lamoni this way: “The dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul” (Alma 19:6). The king of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies also said this, “I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers” (Alma 24:7). They recognized and felt the goodness of God, and that made all the difference. The Nephites rejoiced when their sons were later miraculously preserved in battle: “According to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds” (Alma 57:25). After another divine preservation in war many decades later, when the Nephites overcame the Gadianton robbers, they recognized again God’s goodness: “Their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies” (3 Nephi 4:33). Mormon summarized his own experience saying that he had “tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus” (Mormon 1:15). The whole book that he abridged indeed encourages us to likewise see and taste and rejoice in the goodness of God in our own lives.