MACK WILBERG and RYAN MURPHY
Conducting
BRIAN MATHIAS
Organist
DERRICK PORTER
The Spoken Word
O WORSHIP THE KING
Music: Johann Michael Haydn
Text: Robert Grant
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy
BE THOU MY VISION
Music: Traditional Irish hymn
Text: versed by Eleanor H. Hull;
trans. Mary E. Byrne
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
PRELUDE IN B MA JOR
Music: Camille Saint-Saëns
LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM
from Messiah
Music and Text: George Frideric Handel
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
Music and Text: George David Weiss and Bob Thiele
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
THE SPOKEN WORD
“A Noble Pursuit”
DEAREST CHILDREN, GOD IS NEAR YOU
Music: John Menzies Macfarlane
Text: Charles L. Walker
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
ON GREAT LONE HILLS
Music: Jean Sibelius
Text: Amy Sherman Bridgman
Arrangement: H. Alexander Matthews
A NOBLE PURSUIT
The Spoken Word, June 29, 2025
By: Derrick Porter
CHILDHOOD IS A TIME of rapid physical growth and constant discovery as a child learns
about everything from gravity to language. Often, the child wants nothing more than to be like those they literally and figuratively look up to.
Throughout the teenage years, progress continues, even as deliberate decision-making
becomes necessary to form habits and practices that further growth.
And then one day, quite suddenly, the young person realizes they have arrived at the doorstep of adulthood, where focus on preparing for the future may shift to meeting the needs and pressures of the moment. It can be all too easy to become content with current circumstances, postpone potential growth, and even convince oneself that it’s too late or too hard to improve.
But there are many stories of people who experience mighty change and transformation
well after their formative years. The truth is that no matter our age or circumstances, it’s never too late to improve. In fact, one of the most noble pursuits we can embrace is continuous personal improvement.
God desires for us to achieve our full potential. As we turn to Him in our weaknesses, He will help
fortify us. We unlock divine power as we humbly yield to Him and ask for help in our every need.
Religious leader Ezra Taft Benson declared, “Men and women who turn their lives over to God
will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.”1
The Bible offers this evidence:
Simon, once a fisherman, became known as Peter, a fisher of men.2
This change required
faith, and Peter soon became a powerful witness of the Resurrected Savior.3
Saul, a persecutor
of Christians, became Paul the Apostle.4
His transformation took courage, and his testimony
of Jesus Christ blessed countless lives. The Samaritan woman at the well encountered Jesus,
became a believer, and bravely made His name known to her fellow Samaritans.5
These accounts from the Bible can inspire us to embark on the noble pursuit of transformation.
Each step draws us closer to God and helps us become all that He knows we can be.
References:
1. Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations” (Brigham Young University devotional, Dec. 10, 1974), 6, speeches.byu.edu.
2. See Matthew 4:18–19.
3. See Acts 2:22–24, 32–33.
4. See Acts 9:1–30; 13:9.
5. See John 4:1–42.