More Holiness Give Me...

On Sunday we sang the Hymn, "More Holiness Give Me", and it was one of my favorite parts of the meeting. I have heard this song many times but for some reason this time every phrase, every thought seemed to portray a need for greater desire, personal action, and complete diligence. I mentioned this to my husband and found that he had experienced the very same thing as I did during this sacrament meeting hymn. One thing that he said during our discussion was that the Hymn is like a sermon and it really is. Each line could be turned into a sermon in and of itself. What a powerful hymn.

While thinking about the words to this song I came across this wonderful talk by Bishop H. David Burton where he talks about the need for a decrease of the worldly "mores" and a greater focus on developing the "mores" of virtue, "The current conventional wisdom is that more is better and less is usually undesirable. For some, the pursuit to acquire more of this world’s goods and services has become a passion. For others, more of this world’s wealth is necessary just to sustain life or raise living standards to a minimum level. The unbridled desire for more often has tragic consequences.

The meaning of more and less is not always crystal clear. There are times when less is in reality more and times when more can be less. For instance, less pursuit of materialism may enable more family togetherness. More indulgence of children may result in less understanding of life’s important values.

Some aspects of life can be significantly enhanced by the notion that more is better. The sacred hymn “More Holiness Give Me” (Hymns, no. 131) brings to our remembrance the virtues worthy of more of our attention. Jesus Himself described what it requires to be “more, Savior, like thee.” He said, “I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Ne. 12:48)."

As you read the words to the Hymn below, what line sticks out to you the most? What area could you use more perfecting in? As I listened and sang along on Sunday so many things seemed worthy of my greater attention.

More holiness give me, more strivings within.

More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin.

More faith in my Savior, more sense of His care.

More joy in His service, more purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord.

More zeal for His glory, more hope in His Word.

More tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief.

More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.

More purity give me, more strength to o’ercome,

More freedom from earth-stains, more longings for home.

More fit for the kingdom, more useful I’d be,

More blessèd and holy, more, Savior, like Thee.

Bishop Burton continues, "The virtues expressed in “More Holiness Give Me” fall into several groups. Some are personal goals, like more holiness give me; more strivings within; more faith, gratitude, and purity; more fit for the kingdom; more purpose in prayer; and more trust in the Lord. Others center on adversity. They include patience in suffering, meekness in trial, praise for relief, strength to overcome, freedom from earth stains, and longing for home. The rest firmly anchor us to our Savior: more sense of His care; more pride in His glory; more hope in His word; more joy in His service; more tears for His sorrows; more pain at His grief; more blessed and holy; and more, Savior, like Thee. More of these virtues is better. Less is not desirable.

I have a new found love for this Hymn and many mini-sermons to take a much deeper look into. It is time to take a closer look at my life and turn some of my "mores" into less and some of my lackings into "mores". Let us strive to give more attention to the virtues so perfectly written in this Hymn.

As you read the Hymn, which line had the greatest impact on you? Would you like to see me write a post on a specific line from this Hymn? If so, which one?