Succored by the Lord

When I was preparing to go on a mission, I had an interview with my stake president—who was also my father. After telling him about some of my shortcomings, I anxiously awaited his response. Would he be angry? Would he be disappointed? But my dad simply looked at me. He didn’t lecture me. He didn’t shake his head in shame. He just looked at me and told me that he loved me. I felt the most incredible wave wash over me and my entire body tingled. At that moment, I felt more than just the love of my earthly father. I felt the pure and perfect love of my Heavenly Father. I left with the realization that if my imperfect, earthly father can love me despite my weaknesses, my perfect Heavenly Father loves me perfectly and always. In October 2021 general conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland stated, “The first great truth in the universe is that God loves us . . . wholeheartedly, without reservation or compromise, with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength.” [1]

The foundation of my conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ is based on the knowledge that God loves us. One way that I have experienced, observed, and shown God’s love is through succor.

What is Succor?

In Alma 7, Alma states that Christ took upon Himself our pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses, and infirmities that He might know how to succor us. More than a decade ago, a discussion in a Sunday School class changed the way I thought about this scripture. We were talking about how Christ succors His people. I’d never thought much about the word “succor.” I figured it meant that Christ helps His people. However, that class discussion opened my eyes to a new understanding and greater love for the Savior. Succor is so much more than just help. It means to run to and provide relief.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “’Succor’ . . . is a word often used in the scriptures to describe Christ's care for and attention to us. It means literally "to run to." What an absolutely magnificent way to describe the Savior's urgent effort in our behalf! Even as He calls us to come to Him and follow Him, He is unfailingly running to help us.”[2]

I love the imagery of Christ running to rescue us at the precise moment that we need Him the most. Maybe this has happened to you through a pleading prayer or while listening to a hymn or Primary song. Maybe someone heeded the promptings of the Spirit and succored you in the Savior’s stead. Whether you’re aware of it or not, I’m sure all of you have been an instrument in the Lord’s hands to lift and succor another. Today, I’ll share some examples of succor. I encourage you to reflect on your own similar experiences and hope that while you do so, you will feel the love of Our Heavenly Father and Savior and be inspired to find opportunities to succor others.

Succored by the Lord

The following is an experience of a close friend and how the Lord has succored her as her husband fell away from the Church. This is used with permission, but the names have been changed.

Kayla told me that this experience has been repeated several times over almost 19 years of marriage. The words are nearly identical each time, as are the feelings of peace, hope, and comfort.

President Dallin H. Oaks taught, “And so we see that because of His Atonement, the Savior has the power to succor—to help—every mortal pain and affliction. Sometimes His power heals an infirmity, but the scriptures and our experiences teach that sometimes He succors or helps by giving us the strength or patience to endure our infirmities.”[3]

When I think about Kayla seeking answers from the Lord in prayer, the third verse of “Where Can I Turn for Peace?” comes to my mind.

I know that all of you will have moments in your life where you will plead with the Lord to rescue you or a loved one. Just as the Savior rescued Peter when he exclaimed, “Lord, save me,”[5] I testify that the Savior will also save you.

Succored Through Music

Years ago, when I was the Primary chorister, we learned two new children’s songs called “Gethsemane” by Melanie Hoffman and “The Miracle” by Shawna Edwards. They quickly became the children’s and my favorites. I would tear up every single time they sang these songs because they testified of Christ’s love and Atonement in ways that children and adults alike could understand. I’m so grateful for the music department for how beautifully and powerfully they brought the Spirit with their performance of “Gethsemane” today. I hope that this song touched you as it has me every time I hear it. Some of my favorite words are:

For the Primary Program that year we had the children write their own parts so that what was shared were their testimonies of the Savior. Our last speaker was an 11-year-old boy who had survived cancer. He bore a sweet testimony of the miracle of healing that he had experienced. He reminded the ward how they had fasted and prayed for him and his family and helped to carry their burdens. And then we sang “The Miracle.”

Because these songs were so moving, I told the kids in practice that if I started crying and couldn’t sing, they should keep going and sing their testimonies with even more fervor. As I sobbed through the songs, my legs shaking, the children’s voices amplified and filled the chapel with the most beautiful music and Spirit. Every person in that meeting was reminded of Christ’s power to succor us from our sins, our infirmities, and “all the pain we would ever know,” because “nothing is . . . impossible to Him.” Christ is “the miracle that rescues you and me.”

In the devotional discussion board this week, I asked you to share some of your favorite Primary songs and hymns that have helped you through a time of trial. Thank you for the responses. You can see from this word cloud that “A Child’s Prayer” and “I Am a Child of God” were the favorites. How wonderful that these songs identify our divine lineage as children of a loving Heavenly Father and that we can communicate with Him in prayer. One student wrote, “When I am feeling down or alone just the simple utterance of ‘Heavenly Father, are you really there?’ can help get me through. I can feel His love and only need this simple, sweet reminder that He is near.”

Another student said, “One Sunday, I was having a particularly hard time. While we were at church there was a special musical number, and the sweet sister sang "Come Unto Jesus." . . . It felt like she was singing directly to me. I couldn't hold back my tears. [This hymn] . . . helps me remember that I need to run to my Savior at all times. ‘Ever he calls, “Come to me.”’”

Beauty from Ashes

Whether we’re experiencing trials ourselves or watching others go through them, if we can approach trials with an eternal perspective we can find purpose in them. My sister-in-law, a busy mother of four, upon hearing her cancer diagnosis and treatment plan courageously stated, “If this is what it takes for our family to grow closer to the Savior, I’ll do it.” This eternal perspective gives us power to focus on the outcome of the challenge rather than the difficulty of the journey. President Henry B. Eyring said, “The disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle.”[8]The Lord’s greatest gift, eternal life with Him, is ever worth bearing and overcoming the challenges of mortality.

Several years ago, my aunt and uncle’s grandson died at eight-and-a-half months old. The situation surrounding his death caused feelings of unimaginable loss, intense anger, and paralyzing pain. My aunt and uncle hadn’t been sealed in the temple nor had the baby’s parents. I wondered how they would get through this experience without the comfort and blessing of knowing he was sealed to their family for eternity. But because my aunt had established personal habits of prayer, scripture study, and temple

attendance, she was prepared to declare, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”[9]

The following year, many wonderful things occurred. Their daughter found a worthy and loving man who took her to the temple. My uncle was the proxy for his grandson as this baby was sealed to his family. In addition, my aunt, uncle, and their children were sealed as an eternal family. In the temple, my aunt learned that when death takes us from this world, it’s our covenants that bring us back together. They are now bound together eternally from child to parent to grandparent. The difficulty of losing this child was replaced by the joy and promise of eternity together.

Elder Tad R. Callister has taught:

Upon reflecting on her experiences, my aunt said, “I am a different person because of what I’ve been through, and I never want to forget it. It’s not what we go through in life that matters. It’s who we turn to for understanding, peace, and comfort, and allowing the Savior to make us better than we are.”

In last week’s devotional, Brother Daris Howard made a similar declaration that what really matters is how close you are to your Savior and the Spirit you feel as you try to bring your life in line with His. Whatever heartache, pain, unfairness, or sin is casting a dark cloud over you, the Savior is all-powerful and can turn the darkest night into the brightest day. Just turn to Him. No person or situation is beyond His power to make whole and beautiful!

Succored by Friends

While the Lord can and does succor us, He often enlists other people to come to our aid. At baptism, we covenant to “bear one another's burdens, that they may be light.”[11] We are also commanded in the Doctrine and Covenants to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”[12] Doesn't this describe all of us at some point in our lives? Just like you, I have been succored by others through hard times.

Several years ago, I had two late miscarriages. Upon hearing I was miscarrying for a second time, my friend April, who had just given birth to twins earlier that week, showed up on my doorstep with a meal and a warm embrace. She hugged me and cried with me. Words weren’t needed, she was just there. Incidentally, she is the creator and voice of all the Pathway Connect math lessons. I’ll bet she’s rescued a lot of you in some of your darkest days as well.

After the miscarriage, I tried to get back into the swing of things, but a couple of weeks later, I had a breakdown where I couldn’t stop crying for a day or so. My husband, Brent, tried to console me and wanted to fix whatever was wrong. Although I knew there was a logical reason for these losses and I wasn’t consciously grief-stricken, something deep inside of me was broken. Aside from my husband, I could have called a friend, a sibling, or my parents, but I was too proud to reach out for help. I mistakenly felt like I needed to be a pillar of strength in my ward and my family because my husband was the bishop and my parents were preparing to leave for a mission.

In desperation, Brent called my friend Donna, who lived about 40 minutes away. She was a busy mother of seven, but she dropped everything that Saturday afternoon to come and be with me. She held me, cried with me, and brought me some food. In a matter of hours, the sadness lifted.

Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to help one another face the trials of life. My two friends honored their baptismal covenants and succored me just as it reads in Mosiah. They were “willing to bear . . . another’s burdens, that they may be light . . . and [were] willing to mourn with those that mourn . . . and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”[13] We need each other. We need friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. We need to minister to one another, not just as a calling, but as disciples of Jesus Christ who are trying to be like Him.

Ignore the Second Voice

As we strive to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands to succor others, we must learn to listen to and act on the promptings of the Spirit. Several years ago, I heard a talk that really helped me see how simple this can be.

First, pray each morning and ask the Lord to give you one prompting that you can act on that day. Promise Him that you will act when the prompting comes. Elder Ronald A. Rasband invites us, “If we let the Lord know in our morning prayers that we are ready, He will call on us to respond. If we respond, He will call on us time and time again and we will find ourselves on what President Monson calls ‘the Lord’s errand.’”[14]

Second, when a good thought pops into your head, act on it right away. We often wonder if these are our thoughts or God’s inspiration, so we hesitate to act on them. Do you really think the Lord will hold it against you for acting on your own good thoughts?

Of course not! Elder Rasband taught, “First promptings are pure inspiration from heaven . . . we need to recognize them for what they are and never let them slip past. So often, it is the Spirit inspiring us to reach out to someone in need . . . to rescue one of God’s precious children.”[15]

Third, ignore the second voice! Sometimes after we have a good thought or first prompting, another voice quickly enters our mind and uses logic to talk us out of acting on the good thought we had. It might be something like, “I’ll do it later,” or “They’re probably busy,” or “I hardly know them.” Act on your first promptings even when they don't seem logical and ignore the second voice that tries to talk you out of it. Elder Rasband further counseled, “We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts. When we begin to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings—and we all have—we are dismissing the Spirit; we are questioning divine counsel.”[16]

After hearing this talk, I decided to put it to the test. One day, my daughter and I made our favorite homemade lasagna. The thought popped into my head to make an extra pan and take it to the lady that we minister to. I didn't give the second voice a chance to say anything and quickly began preparing the second pan of lasagna. I texted her to be sure she'd be home and then dropped off some fresh-out-of-the-oven lasagna a couple of hours later. Done! I had acted on my good thought and didn't think much more about it.

The next morning, I saw a text from her. She said that her baby had been sick, and she hadn't been able to put him down all day. She was trying to figure out what to do for dinner that night when my text came through. She said it was a little tender mercy for her.

I know this is a small thing, but for me it was pretty big to follow a prompting and to know that it was an answer to someone’s need. The formula is so simple! Pray for promptings; act on good thoughts; ignore the second voice. You'll do more good than you'll ever know.

Conclusion

I have one final experience to share that is very recent and very tender. A few weeks ago, two members of our Provo young single adult ward lost their lives in a tragic car accident. These young women and their two other roommates were a tightknit group. Naturally, the surviving roommates were extremely shaken and mourned the loss of their friends. Upon learning of the deaths, the father of one of the surviving roommates immediately packed a bag and drove eight hours through the middle of the night to reach his daughter. He could have waited for daylight to leave, but he knew what she needed and ran to her as fast as he could.

This father emulated the very way that Christ succors us. Jesus Christ knows us. He knows what we need, and He comes rushing to rescue us in all circumstances. He sends friends, family, ward members, leaders, and special sacred experiences to help us know that He is near and that He loves us perfectly.

I’ve been the recipient, the observer, and the giver of succor. I cherish these experiences that have helped me feel God’s love and the lessons that have helped me be a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I testify that the “first great truth of the universe”[17] truly is that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and will always succor us in our time of need. I pray that the Spirit has witnessed this truth to you today as well. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

[1] Jeffery R. Holland, “The Greatest Possession,” Ensign, Nov. 2021.

[2] Jeffery R. Holland, “Come unto Me,” BYU devotional, Mar. 2, 1997.

[3] Dallin H. Oaks, “Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Nov. 2015.

[4] “Where Can I Turn for Peace?” Hymns, no. 129.

[5] Matthew 14:30.

[6] Melanie Hoffman, “Gethsemane,” Friend, Mar. 2018.

[7] Shawna Belt Edwards, “The Miracle,” Friend, Jun. 2018.

[8] Henry B. Eyring, “Adversity,” Ensign, May 2009.

[9] Philippians 4:13.

[10] Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, Deseret Book, 2009, 206–7.

[11] Mosiah 18:8.

[12] Doctrine and Covenants 81:5.

[13] Mosiah 18:8–9.

[14] Ronald A. Rasband, “Let the Holy Spirit Guide,” Ensign, May 2017.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Jeffery R. Holland, “The Greatest Possession,” Ensign,