Lord, I Would Follow Thee

Lord, I Would Follow Thee

 

Savior, may I learn to love thee,

Walk the path that thou hast shown,

Pause to help and lift another,

Finding strength beyond my own.

Savior, may I learn to love thee—

Lord, I would follow thee.

Who am I to judge another

When I walk imperfectly?

In the quiet heart is hidden

Sorrow that the eye can’t see.

Who am I to judge another?

Lord, I would follow thee.

I would be my brother’s keeper;

I would learn the healer’s art.

To the wounded and the weary

I would show a gentle heart.

I would be my brother’s keeper—

Lord, I would follow thee.

Savior, may I love my brother

As I know thou lovest me,

Find in thee my strength, my beacon,

For thy servant I would be.

Savior, may I love my brother—

Lord, I would follow thee.

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Text: Susan Evans McCloud, b. 1945. © 1985 IRI

Music: K. Newell Dayley, b. 1939. © 1985 IRI

"A new commandment I give unto you, 

That ye love one another; 

as I have loved you, 

that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know 

that ye are my disciples, 

if ye have love one to another."

John 13:34–35

"Hereby perceive we the love of God,

 because he laid down his life for us: 

and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

But whoso hath this world’s good, 

and seeth his brother have need, 

and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, 

how dwelleth the love of God in him?

My little children, 

let us not love in word, 

neither in tongue; 

but in deed and in truth.

And hereby we know that we are of the truth, 

and shall assure our hearts before him."

1 John 3:16–19

And this commandment have we from him, 

That he who loveth God 

love his brother also.

• 1 John 4:21
• 
  

Image by Christine Rappleye, Deseret News

Susan Evans McCloud, the lyricist of the beloved hymn, “Lord, I Would Follow Thee” (Hymns, no. 220), says that while she was writing the hymn one of the things that she learned is that the Lord’s timing is not our timing, and His ways are not our ways. He often has a plan that is far different than our own.

During the period in the early 1980s when preparations for a new hymnbook was taking place, McCloud worked occasionally for the Young Women’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-fay Saints or the Church Education System. At that time, Michael Moody was the chairman of the Church Music Committee and over the hymnbook project. Whenever McCloud met him at the Church Office Building, he encouraged her to send him some of her lyrics.

She was excited to do so, but nothing would come to her. And there were times when she would simply forget. It was not until the book was complete that she also realized that she never contacted one of her music colleagues to ask about writing a song together, nor did they contact her.

Late one Friday afternoon in March 1985, McCloud received a telephone call from Michael Moody, asking her to write some lyrics for a song about the Savior that would be tender and powerful – about loving Him and striving to emulate Him in her life. Many songs were reviewed as possible selections for the new hymnal, but only 92 would be chosen that were new either in music, text, or both.

With not much to go on, and very little time to write the lyrics as they were needed for a Monday morning meeting, she spent many quiet hours in writing and in prayer on Saturday evening, with one last final effort on Sunday. On Sunday evening, she telephoned Moody and read the lyrics to him as he had requested. After a moment of silence, he said, “I knew you were the one.”

She recalls the experience that she had following the death of her three-month-old niece, Sarah, the daughter of her sister, Laura. She and Laura were out shopping the day after Sarah’s death. She found herself watching people, and when someone was being brash or rude, she would look at them and think, “How do I know what they’re suffering? What if they just lost their job, or found out they have cancer? What if someone they love has died?” That experience caused her to be more loving, patient, kind, and forgiving of others. From that experience came the line of the song: “In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see.”

One week later, her experience was repeated when Brother Newell Dayley was given her lyrics and told to compose the music as quickly as possible, as the hymnbook was in the final stages. He too was faced with challenges in being able to complete the task on time. She says, “The hymn became a living thing because of the beauty of the music and the perfect harmony between the lyrics and the tune, which harmony was created by the spirit as well as the skill of this gifted man.” She continues, “This was the hymn that, for some reason, I was supposed to write. If I had sent in something else, it would not have worked. Therefore, this seeming veil was drawn over until the time and circumstances were right.”

Turn Heavenward Our Eyes to Jesus Christ Our Savior and Redeemer

 

In the Book of Job we read where the Lord spoke to Job and said:

“Gird up now thy loins like a man; 

for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? 

declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? 

or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? 

or who laid the corner stone thereof;

When the morning stars sang together, 

and all the sons of God 

shouted for joy?” 

(Job 38:3–7.)

This bit of scripture, we believe, alludes to our 

preexistence with God when we, 

in his presence, 

rejoiced at his announcing to us, 

his children, 

the plan of the creation of the earth 

on which the human race would dwell. 

We believe that, as the plan was presented, 

we agreed to it and received the privilege of 

progressing in our eternal existence.

William Wordsworth 

must have given a great deal of thought 

to the mystery of life when he was inspired to write his 

“Ode on Intimations of Immortality” in which he says:

“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

Shades of the prison-house begin to close

Upon the growing Boy,

But he beholds the light, and whence it flows,

He sees it in his joy;

The Youth, who daily farther from the east

Must travel, still is Nature’s Priest,

And by the vision splendid

Is on his way attended;

At length the Man perceives it die away,

And fade into the light of common day.

Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own;

Yearnings she hath in her own natural kind,

And, even with something of a Mother’s mind,

And no unworthy aim,

The homely Nurse doth all she can

To make her Foster-child, her Inmate Man,

Forget the glories he hath known,

And that imperial palace whence he came.”

Henry Ward Beecher wrote: 

“God asks no man whether he will accept life. 

That is not his choice. 

He must take it. The only choice is how.” 

Parenthetically, I would say 

we did make the choice to come to earth. 

God does not force his children.

The choice we are now concerned with is 

how we are going to live our lives. 

We have the agency to make that choice 

as we react to the conditions in which we find ourselves 

during our life span. 

We must make choices, 

as we are surrounded by the 

elements and resources of the earth 

as well as by the people with whom we associate. 

From the words of the prophets 

to the words of the atheists, the question is: 

How will we emerge? Will we rise or fall? 

Will we fulfill our life’s purpose, 

or will it be wasted?

In accepting life, we must relate to the world as it is—

to the struggle between good and evil. 

There are, of course, some who would have us 

believe that there is no such thing as good or evil, 

but this philosophy runs counter to the natural laws of opposites 

that exist, such as heat and cold, light and dark, 

gravitation and vacuum, and many others. 

We need to use our eyes that we may see, 

our ears that we may hear, 

and our minds that we may be able to think 

and make our own decisions as we sift out the chaff 

of all we see and hear, 

so that we may know the truth 

of that which we feel in our hearts, 

as it is affirmed by the Holy Spirit.

Faith in God is a prerequisite to the influence of the Holy Spirit. 

To have a belief in God is the foundation of a full and happy life.

 Without this belief, 

life can be wasted. 

Evidence of God’s existence 

spreads throughout the universe.

Abraham Lincoln said: 

“I can see how it might be possible for a man to 

look down upon the earth and be an atheist, 

but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens 

and say there is no God.” 

I believe I know what Lincoln meant when he made that statement.

“And by the word of my power have I created them. …

“And worlds without number have I created; 

and I also created them for mine own purpose; 

and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. …"

“And as one earth shall pass away, 

and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; 

and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—

to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” 

(Moses 1:19–22, 24–25, 30–33, 35–39.)

Think of the impact of that statement. 

All the creations of God were made for this one purpose—

to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children.

Moses became aware of 

the magnitude of the creation and its purpose firsthand, 

by talking face to face with God and beholding his works. 

There are few who have had that experience. 

But others have beheld God’s majesty through his works. 

Abraham Lincoln stated his conviction 

when he said that he could not conceive 

how anyone could look up into the heavens 

and say there is no God. 

I had an unforgettable witness to God’s handiwork 

as I lay on my back in the mountains of Bear Lake County, Idaho. 

No doubt many could concur in such an experience, 

for it has been said, 

“We must, despite ourselves, turn heavenward our eyes.”

And so the creation of the world, 

the plan of salvation—all this is for us. 

It behooves all parents to know of it, 

that they may respond to desires of the child 

that are so aptly stated  in this poem.

Mamie Gene Cole in her poem 

“The Child’s Appeal” said:

“I am the Child.

All the world waits for my coming.

All the earth watches with interest to see what I shall become.

Civilization hangs in the balance,

For what I am, the world of tomorrow will be.

I am the Child.

I have come into your world, about which I know nothing.

Why I came I know not;

How I came I know not;

I am curious; I am interested.

I am the Child.

You hold in your hand my destiny.

You determine, largely, whether I shall succeed or fail.

Give me, I pray you, those things that make for happiness.

Train me, I beg you, that I may be a blessing to the world.”

What a responsibility for a mother and father, 

to answer this appeal from their child: 

“Give me, I pray you, those things that make for happiness.” 

President David O. McKay stated what

 the first condition of happiness is. 

He said: “It is glorious when you can lie down at night 

with a clear conscience that you have done your best 

not to offend anyone and have injured no one. … 

These and countless other virtues and conditions are 

all wrapped up in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” 

(Man May Know for Himself [Deseret Book Co., 1967], p. 458.)

Some other conditions that make 

for happiness are the ability to 

follow that which you know to be true,

 to control your appetites and passions, 

to be able to make your own decisions, 

to feel no envy of another, 

to be able to commune with God in prayer, 

and to be free from bonds, 

and to be master of yourself.

The appeal of the child to his parents—

train me to be a blessing to the world—

is companion to happiness, 

for it calls for action by the individual in an expression of service, 

of losing himself in helping his fellowman.

Those who are a blessing to the world will try to do these things: 

(1) lend a helping hand, 

(2) refrain from infringing upon the rights of others, 

(3) obey God’s laws and the laws of the land, 

(4) stand up for the right and fight against evil, and 

(5) share the truth with others, 

remembering, and remembering well, 

that the greatest gift of God is his plan of salvation.

We must, despite ourselves, turn heavenward our eyes

to Jesus Christ our Savior and creator.

May we guide our lives and those of our children in this direction, 

I pray humbly in the name of 

Jesus Christ. 

Amen.

Excerpts from the talk: 

“Turn Heavenward Our Eyes”

October 1971

By Bishop John H. Vandenberg

Presiding Bishop