I've Got Peace Like a River In My Soul

I've got peace like a river

I've got peace like a river

I've got peace like a river

In my soul

I've got peace like a river

I've got peace like a river

I've got peace like a river

In my soul

I've got love like an ocean

I've got love like an ocean

I've got love like an ocean

In my soul

I've got love like an ocean

I've got love like an ocean

I've got love like an ocean

In my soul

I've got joy like a fountain

I've got joy like a fountain

I've got joy like a fountain

In my soul

I've got joy like a fountain

I've got joy like a fountain

I've got joy like a fountain

In my soul

I've got peace, love…

John 14:26

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: 

not as the world giveth, give I unto you. 

Let not your heart be troubled, 

neither let it be afraid.

President Heber J. Grant described 

the Savior’s peace this way: 

“His peace will ease our suffering, 

bind up our broken hearts, 

blot out our hates, 

engender in our breasts a love of fellow men 

that will suffuse our souls 

with calm and happiness.”

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant (2002), 226.

Lift up your hearts in praise to God;

Let your rejoicings never cease.

Though tribulations rage abroad,

Christ says, “In me ye shall have peace.”

“Though Deepening Trials,” Hymns, no. 122.

The Fatherless and the Widow

The Fatherless and the Widows—

Beloved of God

Thomas S. Monson

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

1994

James 1:27

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world

Let us remember that after the funeral flowers fade, the well wishes of friends become memories, and the prayers offered and words spoken dim in the corridors of the mind. Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a departed companion. The clock ticks more loudly, time passes more slowly, and four walls do indeed a prison make.

Hopefully, all of us may again hear the echo of words spoken by the Master, inspiring us to good deeds: 

Matthew 25:40

 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The late Elder Richard L. Evans left for our contemplation and action this admonition:

“We who are young should never become so blindly absorbed in our own pursuits as to forget that there are still with us those who will live in loneliness unless we let them share our lives as once they let us share theirs. We cannot bring them back the morning hours of youth. But we can help them live in the warm glow of a sunset made more beautiful by our thoughtfulness, by our provision, and by our active and unfeigned love. Life in its fulness is a loving ministry of service from generation to generation. God grant that those who belong to us may never be left in loneliness.”

As we follow in his footsteps, as we ponder his thoughts and his deeds, as we keep his commandments, we will be blessed. The grieving widow, the fatherless child, and the lonely of heart everywhere will be gladdened, comforted, and sustained through our service, and we will experience a deeper understanding of the words recorded in the Epistle of James: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

“We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness. … We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.”

Thomas S. Monson, “What Have I Done for Someone Today?” 

Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 86.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1994/10/the-fatherless-and-the-widows-beloved-of-god?lang=eng