Welcome

All is well

Written by

Mandy

in

,

In church this past Sunday, we sang a hymn entitled “Come, Come Ye Saints,” by William Clayton.

It is a beautiful song of hope that the Mormon pioneers sang as they made the long, treacherous journey across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley:

1. Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
‘Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell–
All is well! All is well!
2. 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!
3. We’ll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.
We’ll make the air with music ring,
Shout praises to our God and King;
Above the rest these words we’ll tell–
All is well! All is well!
4. And should we die before our journey’s through,
Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again
To see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh, how we’ll make this chorus swell–
All is well! All is well!

This song is very close to my heart. It reminds me of my Granddad. He was our church’s organist for many years, and he had a God-given gift for music. The way he played this song, I will never forget.

The fourth verse is the one he would play differently. When he played the first four lines, he would always play very softly, reverently, and with a much slower tempo. Then, as he transitioned into the fifth line to the end of the song, he swelled the music loudly and joyfully.

I can’t sing this song without crying my eyes out. I always feel the Holy Spirit, and this time, I also felt the presence of my Granddad with me.

grandad

I felt him send me a message that all is well with him too. He died on April 11, 2006, of Alzheimer’s. He had also struggled with his eyesight and hearing for many years. He was one of the most wonderful men I have ever known.

Granddad is happy, and I know he is doing a great work on the other side. All is well with him, and I know that all will be well with all of us who dedicate our lives, as he, the pioneers, and many others have, to the Lord.

 

 

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