Rejoice, the Lord is King!

Yesterday morning, when I was feeling terrible, it was partly this song that got me through it.





The Mormon Tabernacle Choir (along with the congregation) sang this hymn between the General Conference talk I most recently wrote about (the one by Elder Quentin L. Cook) and the one that I'm going to talk about next, possibly tomorrow. The version I embedded above is just the choir singing, though. It's less garbled.

There are two parts of this hymn that I'd like to write about. The first part is the first line and title of the song. The second part is later in the first verse.

Rejoice, the Lord is King!

At the time I heard this yesterday morning, I didn't feel much like rejoicing, but then Motab gave me a half-decent reason to rejoice: The Lord is King. And, thought I, waking up on the wrong side of the bed isn't going to change that. There are many troubles in life, and experiencing any of them, even experiencing all of them, isn't going the change the fact that God is ultimately in charge, and after "a small moment" (in the Eternal perspective), He'll set everything right again.

You may be having a bad day today. You may have a bad day several weeks from now. I'm pretty darn confident that you're going to have a bad day sometime, and when you do, I'd advise you to remember that the Lord is still King, and He's still just, merciful, and very loving. He'll fix it. Trust Him.

"for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." Alma 36: 3b

Mortals, give thanks and sing
And triumph evermore.

May I add a comma there? I really, really want to add a comma there, right after "sing," but that would really change its meaning. I guess I'll have to take it word for word. This is good advice. I was hoping that it was good advice with a powerful promise, but I guess it's just good advice.

You know, come to think of it, this advice is especially good when you're having a hard time. For example, when something gets stuck in your unusually stiff esophagus and you have to wait a long time for it to get pushed down, and your esophagus hurts for a couple of days afterwards and you can't eat solid food for a while. Look for the silver lining. And if you can't find it yet, look for something else you can be thankful for. My brother, Joe, was a champion! A selfless, exceptionally helpful champion, and I was really glad he was there for me. And I'm really grateful my Mom was there, too. I know that I can always rely on her to be a source of comfort and strength, no matter what happens. I'll never forget that moment after my wisdom teeth were removed. My teeth were yellow and my mouth was full of blood. I looked like a monster, and Mom's first impulse was to hug me. I felt something very special that day.

So, no matter what's going wrong in your life, remember that God is in control, think of something you can be thankful for, sign a hymn, and triumph. I know I threw a comma in there, but I firmly believe that this meaning works, too. Give thanks and sing, and triumph.