The Church of Jesus Christ in Castro Valley

#HymnoftheDay for Sunday, February 21, 2021 "One Sweetly Solemn Thought" One sweetly solemn thought ... comes to me o'er and o'er: I am nearer home today Than I've ever been before, Nearer my Father's house Where the many mansions be, Nearer the white throne, Nearer the crystal sea, Nearer the bounds of life where we lay our burdens down, Nearer leaving the cross, Nearer gaining the crown. But lying darkly between, Winding a-down through the night, Is the silent, unknown stream That leads at last to the light. Father, be near when my feet are slipping o'er the brink, For it may be I am nearer home, Nearer now than I think. #LightTheWorld #OneSweetlySolemnThought

#HymnoftheDay for Saturday, February 20, 2021 "The seer, Joseph, The Seer" The Seer, the Seer, Joseph the Seer!... I'll sing of the Prophet ever dear, the Prophet ever dear; His equal now cannot be found By searching the wide world around. With Gods he soared in the realms of day, And men he taught the heavenly way. The earthly Seer! the heavenly Seer! I love to dwell on his memory dear; The chosen of God and the friend of man, He brought the priesthood back again; He gazed on the past and the future, too, And opened the heavenly world to view. Of noble seed, of heavenly birth, He came to bless the sons of earth; With keys by the Almighty given, He opened the full rich stores of heaven; O'er the world that was wrapped in sable night, Like the sun he spread his golden light. He strove, O how he strove to stay The stream of crime in its reckless way! With a mighty hand and a noble aim, He urged the wayward to reclaim: 'Mid foaming billows of angry strife, He stood at the helm of the ship of life. The Saints, the Saints, his only pride! For them he lived, for them he died; Their joys were his, their sorrows too. He loved the Saints; he loved Nauvoo. Unchanged in death, with a Savior's love, He pleads their cause in the courts above. The Seer, the Seer! Joseph, the Seer! O how I love his memory dear! The just and wise, the pure and free, A father he was and is to me. Let fiends now rage, in their dark hour - No matter, he is beyond their power. He's free! he's free! the Prophet's free! He is where he will ever be, Beyond the reach of mobs and strife, He rests unharmed in endless life. His home's in the sky; he dwells with the Gods Far from the furious rage of mobs. He died, he died for those he loved. He reigns; he reigns in the realms above. He waits with the just who have gone before To welcome the Saints to Zion's shore. Shout, shout ye Saints! this boon is given; We'll meet him Our martyred Seer, in heaven. #LightTheWorld #TheSeer

#HymnoftheDay for Sunday, February 14, 2021 "Though in the Outward Church Below" Though in the outward Church below... Both wheat and tares together grow, Ere long will Jesus weed the crop And pluck the tares in anger up. Will it relieve the horror there To recollect their stations here? How much they heard, how much they knew? How much among the wheat they grew? No; this will aggravate their case; They perish under means of grace; To them the word of life and faith Became an instrument of death. We seem alike when here we meet; Strangers may think we are all wheat; But to the Lord's all-searching eyes, Each heart appears without disguise. The tares are spared for various ends, Some for the sake of praying friends, Others the Lord against their will, Employs, his counsels to fulfil. But though they grow so tall and strong, His plan will not require them long; In harvest, when he saves his own, The tares shall into hell be thrown. O! awful though, and is it so? Must all mankind the harvest know? Is every man a wheat or tare? Me for the harvest, Lord, prepare. Chorus: For soon the reaping time will come, And angels shout the harvest home. #LighttheWorld #ThoughInTheOutwardChurchBelow

#HymnoftheDay for Saturday, February 13, 2021 "Each Cooing Dove" Each cooing dove and sighing bough... That makes the eve so blest to me Has something far diviner now It bears me back to Galilee. Each flow'ry glen and mossy dell Where happy birds in song agree Thro' sunny morn the praises tell Of sights and sounds in Galilee. And when I read the thrilling lore Of Him who walked upon the sea I long, oh, how I long once more To follow Him in Galilee. Chorus: O Galilee! sweet Galilee! Where Jesus loved so much to be; O Galilee! blue Galilee! Come, sing thy song again to me. #LightTheWorld #EachCooingDove

#HymnoftheDay for Sunday, February 7, 2021 "School Thy Feelings" School thy feelings, O my brother;... Train thy warm, impulsive soul. Do not its emotions smother, But let wisdom's voice control. School thy feelings; there is power In the cool, collected mind. Passion shatters reason's tower, Makes the clearest vision blind. Chorus School thy feeling; condemnation Never pass on friend or foe, Though the tide of accusation Like a flood of truth may flow. Hear defense before deciding, And a ray of light may gleam, Showing thee what filth is hiding Underneath the shallow stream. Chorus Should affliction's acrid vial Burst o'er thy unsheltered head, School thy feelings to the trial; Half its bitterness hath fled. Art thou falsely, basely, slandered? Does the world begin to frown? Gauge thy wrath by wisdom's standard; Keep thy rising anger down. Chorus Rest thyself on this assurance: Time's a friend to innocence, And the patient, calm endurance Wins respect and aids defense. Noblest minds have finest feelings; Quiv'ring strings a breath can move; And the gospel's sweet revealings Tune them with the key of love. Chorus Hearts so sensitively molded Strongly fortified should be, Trained to a firmness and enfolded In a calm tranquility. Wound not wilfully another; Conquer haste with reason's might; School thy feelings, sister, brother, Train them in the path of right. Chorus Chorus: School thy feelings, O my brother; Train thy warm, impulsive soul. Do not its emotions smother, But let wisdom's voice control. #LightTheWorld #SchoolThyFeelings

#HymnoftheDay for Saturday, February 6, 2021 "I'm a Pilgrim, I'm a Stranger" I'm a pilgrim, I'm a stranger... Cast upon the rocky shore Of a land where deathly danger Surges with a sullen roar, Oft despairing, lest I reach my home no more. Misty vapors rise before me. Scarcely can I see the way. Clouds of darkest hue hang o'er me, And I'm apt to go astray With the many, that are now the vulture's prey. O my Father, I entreat thee, Let me see thy beck'ning hand; And when straying, may I meet thee, Ere I join the silent band. Guide me, Father, safely to the promised land. #LightTheWorld #ImaPilmgrimImaStranger