Removing My Pavillion

"In the depths of his anguish in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out: “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”¹ Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done,”² create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time."

-"Where is the Pavillon?"

Pres. Henry B. Eyring
Click here to listen to or read Pres. Eyring's talk

The scriptures found in D&C 121, where the Prophet, Joseph Smith cried to the Lord from Liberty Jail have always been my favorite.

1 O God, ^awhere art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy ^bhiding place?

2 ^aHow long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?

3 Yea, O Lord, ^ahow long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful ^boppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with ^ccompassion toward them?

4 O Lord God ^aAlmighty, maker of ^bheaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy ^cpavilion be taken up; let thy ^dhiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine ^eheart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us.

5 Let thine ^aanger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy ^bsword ^cavenge us of our wrongs.

6 Remember thy ^asuffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.

7 My son, ^apeace be unto thy soul; thine ^badversity and thine afflictions shall be but a ^csmall moment

8 And then, if thou ^aendure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy ^bfoes.

9 Thy ^afriends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.;

We have all experienced moments of anguish and desperation; feeling alone in our despair.

I love how quickly verses 7-9 put my heart at ease. "My son, peace be unto thy soul."

When I heard President Eyring's beautiful talk expounding on the words found in these scriptures, I was so moved! He reminds us that we are NEVER alone. God is always there to hear our prayer. We just need to remember to "remove our pavillion" and submit ourselves completely to His will, in His time.

I just had to write a song about these beautiful inspiring words. I hope you all enjoy!

Preview:

Click play to listen to song-

the audio on this one is a little screwy... my software was not recognizing my "coda." Hope to have it fixed soon!

Click here to download FREE sheet music