Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Derrick Porter every Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir broadcast from Temple Square. This will air on Sunday, February 22, 2026, and was previously aired on October 19, 2025. This week is the 5,032nd broadcast.
Due to the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra’s tour stop in São Paulo, Brazil, there will be no live performances of “Music & the Spoken Word” on February 22nd and March 1st (there will be no public rehearsals on February 26th and March 5th), but past performances will be streamed.
Fear robs us of our ability to take great action. It is so powerful that its effects can include decreased self-confidence and abandonment of dreams. Fear does its best to penetrate our hearts and minds, demanding that we allow it to stay while selfishly trying to monopolize our thoughts and feelings.
Like you, I know fear and have felt the pain at times. But this I also know. Faith and fear cannot exist in the same mind at the same time. (See Lectures on Faith, republished 1985, p. 71.) This truth comforts me. Because within those words is the answer to overcoming fear, and that answer is faith.
So what should we do when we are plagued by fear? How can we move forward? Perform two steps at a time.
Step 1: We pray. We pray to heaven for salvation. We talk about our fears to God, who always listens, and we kneel until the fear is gone. And what if it comes back? We pray again and again.
Step 2: We move forward in faith, courageously filling our hearts and minds with the things of God. Richard L. Evans has this to say about fear: “One way to banish fear is to leave no room for it in our lives. It is usually vacant houses that have a reputation for being haunted. The more empty your life is, the more likely you are to be consumed by fear. A lazy person has more room for fear and more time to feed and indulge in it than someone whose life is filled with good things. (“An Antidote to Fear” by Richard L. Evans, Music and Spoken Word, March 31, 1946.)
What happens after taking these steps? I’ll bring it up again. When we pursue faith, our fear is cast out. Then we can look back and realize that our faith in God created miles of space between yesterday’s fear and today’s peace of mind.
The spirit of fear does not come from God (see 2 Timothy 1:7). Instead, the Lord says, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 12:32; Isaiah 43:1; D&C 6:34-36; 98:1-2).
When we look to God in every thought and do not doubt or fear (see D&C 6:36), our confidence will increase and our faith will overcome all fear.
Tuning…
“Music & the Spoken Word” broadcasts are available on KSL-TV, KSL News Radio 1160AM/102.7FM, KSL.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, Dish and DirecTV, SiriusXM (Ch. 143), tabernaclechoir.org, youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir, and Amazon Alexa (skills must be enabled). The program will be broadcast live on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time on these stations. Find airing information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedule.
