Alma 8:13-15; Psalm 27:1; 2 Kings 6:16; Joshua 1:9; Kisses at the Window, Bassett, pp. 37-42; refer in this text to Alma 8:10-15; Alma 26:27
“One on God’s side is a majority.” (Wendell Philips, quoted in Civil War, Burns, Burns, & Ward, p. 399)
“I solemnly testify that Jesus Christ guides this, His church. He knows and loves you personally.” (Richard G. Scott, Ensign, Nov. 1993, p. 88)
“Be sure you understand that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to resist. (See 1 Cor. 10:13). He does not give you challenges that you cannot surmount. He will not ask more than you can do, but may ask right up to your limits so you can prove yourselves. The Lord will never forsake or abandon anyone. You may abandon him, but he will not abandon you. You never need to feel that you are alone.” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, Nov. 1989, p. 75)
“There are times when we are growing up when we feel alone or left out… . I believe that there are some things that help in these growing-up times so we don’t feel so alone. Spend more time talking to Heavenly Father and reading the scriptures. Listen to the still, small voice. In the words of a young woman of Beehive age: ‘At first when I would say my prayers and read scriptures, I would never get a good feeling about it. But after about two months of my scriptures and prayer, I began to feel very happy, and I loved my family, and I felt like being nice to everyone.’” (Janette C. Hales, Ensign, May 1992, pp. 79-80)
“Man does not stand alone, or at least, he need not stand alone. Prayer will open doors; prayer will remove barriers; prayer will ease pressures; prayer will give inner peace and comfort during times of strain and stress and difficulty. Thank God for prayer.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, Oct. 1956, p. 104)
“While President [James E.] Faust has spent so much of his life serving others … he has also known what it is like to be alone… . Though the only Church member on a transport ship in the South Pacific in World War II, … he nevertheless worshipped alone on Sundays. Searching out places where he could sing alone from a pocket-sized hymnal, he would read the scriptures, meditate, and pray in private. Often this meant going up to the front of the ship, where the waves would drown out his singing.” (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, Aug. 1995, p. 14)
“If it were not for the assurance that I have that the Lord is near to us, guiding, directing, the burden would be almost beyond my strength, but because I know that he is there, and that he can be appealed to, and if we have ears to hear attuned to him, we will never be left alone.” (Harold B. Lee, Ensign, Jan. 1974, p. 129)
“One young mother wrote: ‘When I was 13 I knew my life was not worth living. I was living in an abusive home where there never seemed to be lasting happiness. My two best friends told me they didn’t want to be friends with me anymore because I thought I was too good for them, which made no sense but left me feeling completely alone. As the battles in my house continued to rage, I went to my bedroom. I was so scared. I knelt down and called to the one person I still knew I had. I pleaded to my Father in Heaven to somehow take me home. I said, ‘Father, I need to be with you. I need to feel your arms around me.’ As I sat crying and quietly waiting in that desperate moment for Heavenly Father’s arms to reach down, I heard a voice, ‘Put your arms around yourself, and I will be with you.’ As I followed that prompting, I felt Heavenly Father’s love assure me that I could go on, and I would go on and I was not alone.’” (Janette Hales Beckham, Ensign, Nov. 1997, p. 76)
“Valiant servants of the Lord [are] … not entirely alone, … if [they] … are worthy of His companionship and the companionship of the Holy Spirit… . Sarah Ann Meeks … stood alone on the doorstep of her home in far-off England nearly a century and a half ago. Her father met her there with a small bundle containing a few of her belongings and with these words, ‘You join that church and you must never set foot in my home again.’ Unfortunately that was the last she saw of her family. Alone? Very much alone! But … she loved the Lord. She had been touched by the Spirit and knew that the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored to the earth in its fulness… . From that one stalwart woman has sprung a progeny of faithful Latter-day Saints difficult to number… . One of those descendants now stands here as an especial witness of the Savior Jesus Christ… . “ (Wm. Rolfe Kerr, Ensign, Nov. 1996, pp. 80-81)
“When the pathway of life takes a cruel turn, there is the temptation to ask the question ‘Why me?’ … At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel’s end, no dawn to break the night’s darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes… . We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone… . Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required. Do any of the following challenges sound familiar to you?
• Handicapped children
• The passing of a loved one
• Employment downsizing
• Obsolescence of one’s skills
• A wayward son or daughter
• Mental and emotional illness
• Accidents
• Divorce
• Abuse
• Excessive debt
“… In the world of today there is at times a tendency to feel detached—even isolated—from the Giver of every good gift. We worry that we walk alone… . Rarely is the assurance [from God] communicated by a flashing sign or a loud voice. Rather, the language of the Spirit is gentle, quiet, uplifting to the heart, and soothing to the soul.” (Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, May 1998, pp. 52-53)