Jeffrey R. Holland on what it means to "abide" in the Savior

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (1940- ) served as Church Commissioner of Education from 1976-1980, as the president of BYU from 1980-1989, as a Seventy from 1989-1994, and as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles since 1994.

"Christ said, 'I am the true vine, and … ye are the branches' (John 15:1, 5). 'Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me' (John 15:4).

"'Abide in me' is an understandable and beautiful enough concept in the elegant English of the King James Bible, but 'abide' is not a word we use much anymore. So I gained even more appreciation for this admonition from the Lord when I was introduced to the translation of this passage in another language. In Spanish that familiar phrase is rendered 'permaneced en mi.' Like the English verb 'abide,' 'permanecer' means 'to remain, to stay,' but even gringos like me can hear the root cognate there of 'permanence.' The sense of this then is 'stay—but stay forever.' That is the call of the gospel message to Chileans and everyone else in the world. Come, but come to remain. Come with conviction and endurance. Come permanently, for your sake and the sake of all the generations who must follow you, and we will help each other be strong to the very end."

- Jeffrey R. Holland, "Abide in Me," Ensign, May 2004, pp. 30-32
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I love the hymn "Abide With Me." Its message and melody are sweet, simple, and moving. It's a plea for the Savior to abide with us in in our trials and challenges.

Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
Hymns #166

But abiding is a two-way street, as Elder Holland explains. The Savior invited us to abide in Him. Perhaps as we learn to do that, then He is more able to abide with us. Elder Holland's beautiful explanation of our role in doing that is that we need to establish a permanent relationship as we come unto Him.