Learn the Background to Writing the New Hymn ‘Look Unto Christ’

She first heard it in a seminary devotional during her high school years in Taylorsville, Utah, in the late 1990s. Ever since then, author and composer of the new hymn “Look Unto Christ” from “Hymns — For Home and Church” Sherrie Manwill Boren carried the scripture in her heart: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36). One day, she hoped, the message would become a hymn. But before the words could be written, she lived them.

Growing up, Boren was “an anxious child,” she said. She feared people, pain, accidents, even the loss of loved ones.

“I didn’t know what anxiety was back then. We didn’t really talk about that,” she said. Boren felt shame for not being able “to just be OK,” so she kept it to herself. The constant fears simmered under the surface until she moved away from home for college.

“It actually became quite debilitating,” Boren recalled, explaining that by her sophomore year in college, still keeping her struggle hidden, the anxiety became overwhelming. “I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep. I could hardly function being in such distress all the time.”

She had prayed and prayed for relief, fully expecting the Lord to take the anxiety away. But it only worsened. Arising from this place of anxiety and fear, she began to feel doubt, questioning her future with the gospel.

“I was so confused — I had tried to be a good girl my whole life, and you are supposed to get blessings for being good,” said Boren, repeating the questions that tore at her faith. “Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with God?”

One night, despairing in her dorm room, in her mind’s eye, she saw herself standing at the edge of a vast, dark void, feeling it was inevitable that she would end up at the bottom. Interrupting the hopelessness came the feeling that someone she could not see was there to give her support, someone she could hold on to. At the same time, a thought came to her mind: “You don’t have to go down there unless you choose to.”

She decided to hold on and began studying words such as “comfort” in scriptures. She found Jesus Christ was often referred to as the source of comfort. Her thoughts processed what she was learning: comfort; Jesus Christ; look unto Christ — what did it really mean to look unto Christ? Though Boren had learned about Jesus growing up, she didn’t feel she knew Jesus Christ personally and she wanted to “find Him.” This realization was the beginning of her intentional search, reading every verse she could about the Savior.

“I wanted to know who He was, what He was like, what He promised, how He helped people who were struggling,” she remembered.

When Boren read Jesus Christ’s promise, “I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:6), she realized she had not been alone — He had always been there.

As she studied, the way she prayed shifted: Instead of asking God to remove her problem, she asked for strength through Christ. Whenever fear arose, she would picture Christ between her and the anxiety.

Listen to “Look unto Christ” here.

“I just hadn’t seen Him — I couldn’t see Him,” recalled Boren, saying this fresh perspective helped her know that whether people see the Savior with their mortal eyes, learning to focus on Him with the eye of faith helps them understand they are not facing their challenges alone, reassuring He is there “every step of the way.”

Boren said helping people work through and overcome their struggles is not as simple as telling them to “just trust in the Lord and not worry.” Nevertheless, this increase in faith and focus on the Savior is an essential part in the process. With a deeper faith and trust in Jesus Christ and the use of effective stress management tools, things gradually improved. Twenty years later, Boren said she is no longer troubled by anxiety.

“Looking unto Christ doesn’t always take away the problem — it isn’t just going to evaporate,” Boren explained. “but when we get our mindset into focusing on Christ, the fears and doubts do recede into the background.”

After more than 30 years, Boren finally was able to write the hymn she had long imagined. Drawing on scripture stories and her own experiences, Boren hopes the message of this hymn will reassure, comfort, remind and encourage people throughout their struggles and challenges.