As I Search the Holy Scriptures
277

Text and music: C. Marianne Johnson Fisher (b. 1932; LDS)
Tune name: ABIDING PEACE

“As I Search the Holy Scriptures” is a moving, personal prayer for the Spirit of the Lord to accompany scripture study. It is a beautiful reminder that rich blessings of peace and knowledge are in store for those who will enhance their scripture study through prayer, meditation, and careful thought.

Each of the four verses cites a different blessing that comes from searching the scriptures. Verse one asks for wisdom and knowledge; verse two asks, “May life’s mysteries be unfolded”; verse three asks for comfort— the healing of wounds and the soothing of a troubled spirit; and verse four asks the Lord’s help in following the path to life eternal.

It was a conscious decision on the part of author- composer Marianne Fisher to use the word search instead of read. To her, searching involves being able to “read and reread, ponder, pause in meditation, search for other related passages, underline.”

Marianne Fisher’s method of underlining is to recopy a particularly meaningful passage in Braille, since she has no way of marking passages in her Braille scriptures, which total thirty- two large volumes. Blind since birth, she commented: “How fortunate for those who read the ink- print edition to have their scriptures always at hand. Those of us who are blind cannot always have our scriptures literally ‘at our fingertips.’”

When the announcement appeared in Church publications that new hymns were being sought for a forthcoming hymnbook (1985), Marianne Fisher chose a topic that, in her words, was “dear to our hearts but had not been the subject of any hymn in our hymnbook.” Her goal was to write a “meaningful, singable text, one that would be easy to remember.”

She wished to share credit for this hymn: “I must acknowledge two special people in my life, who did much in the preparation of this hymn. One was my former husband, James Wallace Fisher. As a noble man and dedicated servant of our Heavenly Father, he provided the necessary transportation for me to get to the home of my dear friend, Emma Furness. There I would dictate my previously brailed text as well as each musical voice part. Emma, in her extraordinarily beautiful penmanship, transcribed my dictation into manuscript to be submitted to the Church Music Committee.” She continued, “How in error I would be if I did not also express my gratitude to my Father in Heaven, who I know, beyond all question, caused me to have clarity of mind, recalling my musical skills and poetic talents.”

First printings of the hymnbook gave a tempo range of 76–92, but in subsequent printings this range was changed to 66–88 to correspond more closely with Marianne Fisher’s suggestion that it be sung prayerfully.