May My Heart be Turned to Prayer

Alma 3:  3-11

3 Do ye remember to have read what ^aZenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or ^bworship?

 4 For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was ^ain the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine^benemies, and thou didst turn them to me.

 5 Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my ^afield; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me.

 6 And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer.

 7 And when I did turn unto my ^acloset, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.

 8 Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou ^awilt hear them.

 9 Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.

 10 Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been ^acast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst ^bvisitthem in thine anger with speedy destruction.

 11 And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my^asincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine^bafflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, ^cbecause of thy Son.

Secret Prayer

There is an hour of peace and rest,
Unmarred by earthly care;
'Tis when before the Lord I go
And kneel in secret prayer.

May my heart be turned to pray,
Pray in secret day by day,
That this boon to mortals giv'n
May unite my soul with heav'n.

The straight and narrow way to heav'n,
Where angels bright and fair
Are singing to God's praise, is found
Thru constant secret prayer.

When sailing on life's stormy sea,
'Mid billows of despair,
'Tis solace to my soul to know
God hears my secret prayer.

When thorns are strewn along my path,
And foes my feet ensnare,
My Savior to my aid will come,
If sought in secret prayer.

Text and music: Hans Henry Petersen, 1835-1909

Sweet Hour of Prayer

Let Your Light Shine

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14–16.)

"If we live the principles of the gospel, we are the fulfillment of the Savior’s pronouncement: “Ye are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). And possessing this light, we can shine among our fellowmen through our lives and deeds, influencing them to glorify our Father in Heaven.

Jesus wants every one of us to know him because of the transforming power of that knowledge and because of the indescribable joy it brings into our lives. But the influence of the gospel is to extend beyond each individual. It is to be as a light that dispels the darkness from the lives of those around us. No one of us is saved solely and simply for himself alone, just as no lamp is lighted merely for its own benefit."

JOSEPH B. WIRTHLIN

Of the First Quorum of the Seventy

October 1978

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
Saint Francis of Assisi