O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me

Author and composer Alice Warner Johnson delighted in living, learning, and developing her many talents and interests. She taught herself to read at age three, and as she grew, she enjoyed singing, acting in stage productions, and playing the piano and cello. With a university degree in economics, she worked as a business executive and then cofounded a consulting firm. Later, as a mother with young children, she learned that she had a progressive form of multiple sclerosis. Episodes of blindness and numbness foreshadowed her coming years of increasing, then total incapacity. Devastated as she declined, Sister Johnson pled with the Lord for more time to serve Him and her family. While learning to trust Him and surrender her will to His, she was inspired to write “O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me.”

After Sister Johnson passed away in 2019, her husband explained what this hymn meant to her: “As her heart was breaking over the gradual, painful loss of her once-brilliant capacities, her love for her Savior deepened. She meekly gave Him back her multiplied talents one by one with a prayer that they live on in her children. This hymn describes her path—the Christian’s path—of conversion from a sorrowing heart, to a trusting heart, to a willing heart, then to a grateful heart bound to Christ.”

Find lyrics, sheet music, and recordings for O Lord, Who Gave Thy Life for Me

Scriptures

Principles

Faith in Jesus Christ prepares us to repent of our sins and obtain His forgiveness.
Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our hearts can be changed and converted to Him.
When we receive God’s forgiveness, our hearts are filled with a desire to serve Him and become like Him.

Questions to Ponder

How can a daily focus on repentance help you obtain a change of heart?
What has Jesus Christ done to help you make changes in your life and follow Him?
What can you do to show your gratitude for Jesus Christ and His help in your life?

Related Gospel Study Guides

From Topics and Questions, Gospel Library:

Activities for Families

Teach about having a broken, contrite heart. Help children understand what it means to have a broken or contrite heart and how Jesus Christ can heal and strengthen us when we humbly turn to Him. Cut out a large paper heart and tear it into several pieces. Explain that it represents how we sometimes feel sad, make mistakes, or need help. Give each child a piece of the heart, and talk about how the Savior wants us to come to Him with a soft, willing heart. Compare a prideful, hard heart to a humble, teachable one. While singing or playing the hymn, have children take turns taping or gluing the heart back together, representing how Christ heals us as we turn to Him. Write words from the hymn such as “love,” “sacrifice,” “humility,” and “trusting” on the heart as a reminder of ways we can bind our hearts to the Lord.
Do a trust walk. Have each child pair up with a sibling or parent. The child is blindfolded while the sibling or parent gently guides him or her along a short path using words or light touches. Ask how it felt to trust someone without seeing where he or she was going. Relate this to having faith in the Lord, especially during uncertain or difficult times. Sing or play the hymn and talk about how trusting the Lord helps us bind our hearts to Him.