The Power of Music
In the December 2009 issue of the Ensign (a magazine for adult Mormons), Russell M. Nelson writes of the power and protection of music. Elder Nelson is an apostle, a high-ranking Mormon leader and, prior to full-time church leadership, was a doctor. He recently spoke to young single adults on music, and how it can protect us and about the power it can have for either good or evil.
Music is an important part of Mormon life. From the much loved sounds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to the sweet 
voices of young children singing in their Primary Program, music fills the worship and the lives of Mormons. They are taught from an early age that music can both protect them and teach them. It has the power to build testimonies, as it seems somehow to reach deep into the hearts of those who listen or sing.
A few years ago, I attended a stake conference. A stake conference is a meeting of a number of different Mormon congregations in a geographic area. The children throughout the church had been learning a song that year about the power of reading scripture. The stake president asked all the children to stand wherever they were and sing the song for the adults. To help them, a music leader stood in the front holding up pictures representing the meaning of each part of the song. In one part of the song, the children sing that if they read the scriptures and obey the teachings found therein, they will receive a great reward. The music leader, on the words great reward, held up a picture of Jesus Christ. A child standing in front of me suddenly lit up and said excitedly, “Oh, that’s the reward!”
This story illustrates the importance of making certain our children—and we ourselves—understand and think about the words we sing each Sunday in our worship services. Unless we know what we’re singing, and think about the meaning of those words, the songs cannot reach our souls.
Music can serve as a protection for us as we attempt to live our lives according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Mormon children learn a song in which they sing that if they’re tempted to say a bad word, they can hum a hymn, allowing them to fill their minds and hearts with the gospel of Jesus Christ instead of inappropriate thoughts. Often, as we’re tempted to do something wrong, a hymn we’ve spent a great deal of time with will suddenly come into our minds and remind us that life is more than brief moments of worldly pleasure. We can train ourselves to have these thoughts come to mind by choosing to sing them in moments of weakness.
When we surround ourselves with quiet appropriate music, whether it is spiritual or simply quiet and uplifting, we are better able to feel the Spirit and to receive promptings and inspiration. A home that is playing soft, spiritual music invites the Holy Ghost to be present and minimizes fighting and poor choices.
Elder Nelson warns young people to be careful about the type of music they select:
Wherever we are we should carefully choose what we see and hear. We would not knowingly tolerate pornography in our homes, but if we are not careful, we may allow music into our lives that can be just as devastating.
Many youth listen to music that can be described as loud and fast, becoming louder and faster. It aims to agitate, not to pacify; to excite more than to calm. Beware of that kind of music.
As you know, continued exposure to loud sounds will, in time, damage delicate organs of hearing. In like manner, if you overindulge in loud music, you will more likely become spiritually deaf, unable to hear the still, small voice. A scripture states, “The Lord your God … hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words” (1 Nephi 17:45).
Do not degrade yourself with the numbing shabbiness and irreverence of music that is not worthy of you. Delete the rubbish from your minds and your MP3 players. Protect your personal standards! Be selective! Be wise!
Do not allow unworthy, raucous music to enter your life. It is not harmless. It can weaken your defense and allow unworthy thoughts into your mind and pave the way to unworthy acts. Please remember:
“That which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.
That which is of God is light” (D&C 50:23–24).
Fill your minds with worthy sights and sounds. Cultivate your precious gift of the Holy Ghost. Protect it as the priceless gift that it is. Carefully listen for its quiet communication. You will be spiritually stronger if you do.
You know the proverb, “As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). As you control your thoughts, you control your actions. Indeed, worthy music can provide power and protection for the soul.” (See Russell M. Nelson, “The Power and Protection of Worthy Music,” Ensign, Dec 2009, 13–17)
Children will learn to love quality music if they hear it from the time they are small. We can help them learn to love it by using hymns as lullabies, singing it as we work, having family singing, and by playing it periodically throughout the day. They will learn to value its power if we demonstrate how it can help. A frightened child can be encouraged to join a parent in singing a comforting hymn. When a child is facing a problem, a parent can ask, “Do you know a hymn that answers that question? Let’s sing it together.” By referring to hymns when we’re facing trials, or including them in our celebrations, children will learn how to make the hymns more than just a break in the sermons, but will see them as an essential tool for a Christ-like life.
A Child’s Prayer
There is a beautiful children’s hymn for young Mormons called, “A Child’s Prayer.” The song is written for an adult and child to sing together. In the song, a child asks God if he’s really there, and if he’s really listening to and answering the prayers of children. The child notes that many people feel Heaven is too far off, but when he prays, he feels heaven is very close by. With that, the child remembers that Jesus Christ said to bring the children to Him, referring to the story in which the disciples tried to send away a group of children who came to see the Savior late in the day. The Savior stopped them and invited the children to come to Him to be blessed and to talk with Him. Reassured, the child in the song goes to Heavenly Father in prayer.
This is followed by an adult verse. The adult shares his testimony of God with the child, reassuring him God is listening, because the child is God’s own child, and is loved. The adult encourages the child to pray and promises he will be heard.
This is a lovely song which addresses an important issue for both adults and children. Sometimes it can be hard to keep our faith strong when times are hard.
When we left God’s presence, He created a way for us to stay in touch with Him through prayer. Prayer allows us to talk to God, but it isn’t a one-way communication. He also arranged for us to be able to “hear” his answers to us. The answers aren’t really a voice, most of the time. Usually, it’s more of a feeling, an impression in our minds, or a strong feeling of good or bad in our hearts. This comes to us through the Spirit of Christ or through the Holy Ghost.
Each person has the Spirit of Christ available to Him. We can also receive visits from the Holy Ghost, which is the only source of truth. Once we’re baptized, we can receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost from a priesthood holder with the proper authority. This gift can be with us around the clock if we live worthily.
However, it takes practice to learn to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I first felt it when I was ten years old and was listening to a missionary at a Mormon temple visitor’s center talk about the Book of Mormon. I was not Mormon and didn’t attend church regularly, so I had no idea what I was experiencing. Over the next several years, I felt the same feeling, and gradually began to notice it always occurred in religious settings, and most often in situations where Mormons were involved. When I began to visit the local Mormon church, a friend explained to me this was the Holy Ghost.
Even then, it took time to recognize it as an answer to specific prayers. I learned to first study out the issue in my mind, and then to ask God if I had made the right choice. When I’d done my share of the process, God always did His. I learned to recognize the warm, peaceful feelings as being signs of confirmation or approval from God, and the confused, uneasy feelings as God’s way of warning me I was on the wrong track, and needed to think it through more carefully.
Every talent requires practice. No one expects to pick up a paint brush for the first time and paint a masterpiece. The same is true of prayer. If we want to recognize God’s “voice” in our lives, we need to train and to practice. When we live the way God teaches us to live, study the scriptures, and spend time praying, we are training. When we resist the temptation to pray and then leap up and run off without waiting for an answer, we’re improving our ability to receive the answer. When we trust the answers we receive and act on them, we demonstrate our faith in God. The stronger our faith, the better able we are to recognize His presence and understand how He guides us from day to day. As the song says,”Pray. He is there. Speak-He is listening.”
Listen to A Child’s Prayer.
Changing the Music in Your Home
Once we become aware of the power of music to influence our spirituality for good or bad, we often start to take inventory of the types of music in our homes. This leads to a need to remove some types of music and replace it with others. However, that can seem a bit overwhelming financially. How can we carry out the process of making our music pleasing to God?
The first step is to identify what music needs to leave. Frequently, we’ve paid little attention to the message our music is sending us. While we don’t have to restrict ourselves to religious music, we do have to be certain the music isn’t placing into our minds messages that counteract those God is placing in our minds through the spirit, and that our music isn’t chasing away the spirit. This means we’re going to have to listen to our music, paying attention to the words and the overall message, and also to how the music itself makes us feel. If the music is too hard-hitting, you may feel God’s Spirit leaving the room.
Depending on your media, you may be able to save specific songs that are fine, while deleting those that aren’t on any given piece of media. Otherwise, you’ll need to remove the entire CD or other media, so the songs that are inappropriate are gone.
If you have teenagers, you might offer them a budget you can afford to help them replace inappropriate music. You don’t have to replace everything at once. This can be a long-term project.
Of course, this leaves the family a bit short of music for a while. Fortunately, there are many free or inexpensive sources of music to help supplement the current collection. Radios carry music, although they may not be reliably safe and listeners may have to stay on guard and be ready to change the station. Many websites now allow you to download single songs inexpensively, so you can choose just the music that is appropriate. While it may not be the cheapest way to buy a complete CD, it is one that allows you to have good music, and avoid that which is inappropriate. Doing it this way also sends a message to the artist. If the morally clean songs sell better than the immoral ones, more appropriate music will get made.
Libraries often carry music that can be borrowed. This allows the family to have consistently changing music for variety. Family members can also trade with each other for a little more variety.
Some radio stations focus only on appropriate music. For instance, Brigham Young University, which is owned by the Mormons, has two stations, one for instrumental music, and one for other music and sermons. The music on these stations is spiritual in nature, and therefore morally clean.
Using morally clean radio stations and libraries allows you to find new artists who are more reliably moral than those you may have listened to in the past. It is helpful to discover artists you can trust to uphold your values, so you don’t have to carefully research each purchase, or find yourself the owner of something you don’t want to own. For instance, the Mormon family, the Five Browns, are popular with people of all faiths and are reliably safe.
The new year is a good time to set a music resolution—from here on out, only music you would play for the Savior will be welcome in your home.
Testimony in Music
Filed under: Hymns, Music and the Scriptures, Power of Hymns
“To hear this loved song rendered by an assembly of devoted Latter-day Saints is a spiritual baptism” (Stories of Our Mormon Hymns, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1968, p. 108).
~ J. Spencer Cornwall
Hymns are said to be a prayer offered to the Lord:
“For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads” (Doctrine & Covenants 25:12).
Certainly this is true. As we read through the words of hymns, no matter what religion or denomination we may claim as our own, they reflect the prayers of our hearts. As we sing with reverence such sacred themes, surely they are counted as among the most hallowed of supplications.
Hymns can serve another purpose. They can help us bear testimony when at times our own words do not seem sufficient.
The above quote was rendered by a man after hearing the song “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.” Far more than a prayer, this song has acted as a fervent testimony of many who love and revere the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This beloved hymn gives reference to two scriptures from the Bible. The first can be found in Job. The words are simple, powerful, and straightforward:
“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25).
Job didn’t just believe, he knew his Redeemer was real. In those first seven words he bears testimony of what the Holy Spirit had witnessed to him.
The second scripture can be found in Psalm 104:33-34.
“I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.”
From these two scriptures we begin to glean what it means to share a testimony through song. Anyone can have a testimony of the Redeemer, if they ask of God with real intent, maintaining a humble heart and a contrite spirit. When this testimony is gained, it can be a powerful tool in helping to bring others back to a remembrance of who they are, that they are infinitely loved, and that through the Atonement there is hope for repentance.
When a testimony is gained, we cannot help but declare the intense and beautiful feelings felt deep within our hearts. If our own words don’t seem to be enough, we can always turn to our sacred hymns to say what we cannot.
“He lives! All glory to his name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same.
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
‘I know that my Redeemer lives!’”
(Hymns, no. 95)
Music as a form of Worship
Filed under: Music in Worship, Power of Hymns, Why Music?
Spencer W. Kimball was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While he served the church he suffered from throat cancer. I was a young girl, but I remember the small raspy voice of this great man as he struggled to deliver the messages of God.
President Kimball loved music; he both sang and played the piano. When the cancer took his voice his only complaint was his lack of ability to sing the hymns of the gospel.
“It is sad to me to see in the congregations many people standing silent when they could be singing their hearts out. I wonder constantly if they would sing happily today if for twelve years they could only move their lips through thousands of songs and could make no sound? I wonder if the silent ones can even imagine what it is like to be unable to join fellow singers in praise to their Lord in music?” Spencer W. Kimball
My father served in many leadership positions. He had no exposure to music in his formative years and has difficulty carrying a tune. He was accustomed to remaining silent during the hymns because of his lack of ability, until a visiting apostle reprimanded him. He made it clear that the Lord did not care about the quality of the voice, only the sincerity of the singer. If their leader did not sing, then why should his congregation? It wasn’t pretty, but my father began to sing.
Why does it matter? Why would a prophet of God, faced with terrible health issues, only mourn the loss of his ability to sing? Why would an apostle of God chastise my father for not singing off-key? Simply, music is one of the most pure forms of worship.
The scriptures make this point clear. The book of Psalms is a collection of songs of worship. Modern scripture reemphasizes the point.
For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made. D&C 25:12
If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. D&C 136:28
Here are the thoughts of several others.
Music is part of the language of the Gods. It has been given to man so he can sing praises to the Lord. It is a means of expressing, with poetic words and in melodious tunes, the deep feelings of rejoicing and thanksgiving found in the hearts of those who have testimonies of music is both in the voice and in the heart. Every true saint finds his heart full of songs of praise to his Maker. Those whose voices can sing forth the praises found in their hearts are twice blest. Bruce R. McConkie
When we rejoice in beautiful scenery, great art, and great music, it is but the flexing of instincts acquired in another place and another time. Neal A. Maxwell
We are able to feel and learn very quickly through music, through art, through poetry some spiritual things that we would other-wise learn very slowly. Boyd K. Packer
There come to one’s soul heavenly thoughts as he joins in heavenly expressions coupled with heavenly melody. David B. Haight
Put it together and you have a clear message of the importance of music in learning the gospel of Jesus Christ. It speaks to our hearts because it is part of God’s nature within us. It opens our minds to the workings of the Spirit. We celebrate and recognize the beauty and blessings of life when we surround ourselves with good music.
The scriptures spell it out for us, and great men reiterate it. Music matters to God.
Articles of Faith Series: Part 7
The Articles of Faith are thirteen statements of basic belief for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (referred to as the Mormons). They were written as a part of a document called the Wentworth Letter, which Joseph Smith wrote in 1842 to John Wentworth of the Chicago Democrat. Later, these brief statements were set to music by American composer Vanja Watkins. In this series, we will examine the truths presented in the Articles of Faith.
Article of Faith 7:
We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
A sign of a living Church is that gifts of the Spirit are present therein. The Lord gives these gifts to build up those who have faith, and they are generally not used simply to persuade others that God exists, but to bless those who already believe. In the words of Mark, “…these signs shall follow them that believe…” (Mark 16:17-18)
Let us explore a few ways in which the spiritual gifts mentioned in the seventh Article of Faith are present in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today.
Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues
Although the gift of tongues is sometimes defined as speaking in some unknown language, it is much more commonly used for purposes of meaningful communication. Missionaries of the Church are called to serve in many countries around the world. They teach and preach in the language of the people where they serve. The Church’s Missionary Training Center provides intensive training in many of these languages, and the acquisition of language is based as much on spiritual principles as on linguistic study. In a matter of only a few months, thousands of missionaries each year learn to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a new language. This is the gift of tongues in action.
Prophecy, Revelation, and Visions
Since before the Church was organized, the roots of Mormonism have been in revelation. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in the Spring of 1820. With this visitation, a new era of revelation from God to man was initiated. God speaks to modern prophets, such as Thomas S. Monson, the current President of the Church. As a prophet, he exercises the gift of prophecy as he instructs the members of the Church around the world. However, the Lord also speaks to individuals who seek guidance from Him. Personal revelation is an important principle of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church is led by revelation.
Healing
The power to heal the sick is the same power by which the Lord runs the Church. It is the priesthood, or the authority to officiate in the name of God. He authorizes worthy men to exercise this power to bless others. the Church, the sick are anointed with oil set apart for that purpose, and then men who hold the priesthood authority give a blessing as the Spirit directs. I have personally seen the effects of these healing blessings, and I have been healed.
A true and living Church must contain gifts of the Spirit. They are not given for the purpose of showing off or proving a point, but they are fruits of belief in the Living Christ. I testify that these gifts are in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today as they were in the ancient Church of Christ.
MP3 Recording of The Seventh Article of Faith children’s song
The Very Thought of Thee
One of my favorite Hymns in the LDS Hymn Book was written by a Frenchman in the middle of the dark ages. Born in the year 1091, Bernard of Clairvaux lived more than a thousand years after the great apostasy, which resulted in the removal of the priesthood from the Earth. (This meant the authority to act in God’s name was no longer here. This meant that the Lord’s Church was no longer here in its fullness.)
He lived in a time where very few had access to the Holy Scriptures, many of the doctrines of Christ had been polluted, and religion was more about power, then worship. Yet, in the midst of that this Frenchman, who was also a monk, wrote a 192-line poem titled “Dulcis Jesus Memorial” (”Joyful Rhythm on the Name of Jesus”) which was later translated by Edward Caswall in the early 1800’s. It was from this poem that the hymn “Jesus the Very Thought of Thee” came to us.
Every time I hear the words,
“Jesus, the very thought of thee
With sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far thy face to see
And in thy presence rest.” Verse 1 of Jesus the Very Thought of Thee, Hymn 141Text: Attr. to Bernard of Clairvaux, ca. 1091–1153; trans. by Edward Caswall, 1814–1878
I find myself, like Alma in the Book of Mormon taught us to do in Alma Chapter 5, looking forward to the day when I will Stand before my Lord and Savior to give an accounting of my days. I know that if I can but live so that when that time comes I will have the power to look up, that I will see in his eyes such love, and mercy that my heart will be filled with a sweetness beyond anything I can yet imagine.
“Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,
Nor can the mem’ry find
A sweeter sound than thy blest name,
O Savior of mankind!O hope of ev’ry contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
To those who fall, how kind thou art!
How good to those who seek!” Verses 2 & 3 of Jesus the Very Thought of Thee, Hymn 141Text: Attr. to Bernard of Clairvaux, ca. 1091–1153; trans. by Edward Caswall, 1814–1878
There is no sweeter name that can pass through the lips of mankind then that of our Savior, for it is through Him that we are able to overcome sin and death in order to be brought back into the presence of God. I am again reminded of the words of the prophet Alma when He spoke of the Savior’s mission on Earth and what he did that he might succor (or run to) His people to heal them, and in the process bring them peace and joy.
“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” Alma 7:11-12
The Lord is indeed most kind, understanding, and merciful in his actions toward the children of men. He teaches us how to love and be loved.
“Jesus, our only joy be thou,
As thou our prize wilt be;
Jesus, be thou our glory now,
And thru eternity.” Verse 4 of Jesus the Very Thought of Thee, Hymn 141Text: Attr. to Bernard of Clairvaux, ca. 1091–1153; trans. by Edward Caswall, 1814–1878
I await the day when I may become a joint heir with Christ in the kingdom of my Father in Heaven. This is the mark which I keep my eyes upon to guide me in the choices I make in my life. This beautiful Hymn is one way I help myself to keep my eye on the mark of Eternal Life. Whenever I hear the words or even the music (which always brings the words to my mind) I find my Faith and Testimony strengthen and am then able to face what lies before. For this I shall ever be thankful to Bernard of Clairvaux, and I look to the day when I shall see him face to face and express my gratitude for the influence his sweet testimony has had in my life.
Music in Troubled Times
Filed under: Hymns, Music, Music in Worship, Power of Hymns
I ran across a beautiful story about the power of music the other day. I was looking for something appropriate to post on Memorial Day, because one of the best ways I know of to express strong emotions and bring peace is through music. With this account I read the truth of my thoughts.
The writer speaks of being a young man during a period of war and political unrest in his home land of El Salvador. Shortly after his family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the tensions and conflict became serious enough that many, including the LDS missionaries, were leaving the country. To the saints left in the area, this marked a great loss. The missionaries and the gospel of Jesus Christ were a source of peace and joy in an otherwise very sad world.
Rather than giving into the grief and anger surrounding them, many of the young people in the area began to form small groups to sing the songs of the gospel. Their hope was to replace some of the spirit of goodness and hope that had left their home land. They came together and sang on the street corners and they introduced many others to the power of gospel peace through their music.
As things got even worse for these people, the writer recalls the fear of huddling with a mattress over them as bombs fell around. Again, they turned to the hymns of the church to carry them through these moments of ultimate fear. They sang, they poured out their hearts in prayers of song, and waited for the violence to end.
They sang hymns such as:
Come, Come, Ye Saints (Hymns, no. 30)
How Firm a Foundation (no. 85)
Joseph Smith’s First Prayer& (no. 26)
High on the Mountain Top (no. 5)
O My Father (no. 292)
I Stand All Amazed (no. 193)
Why these hymns? Because of the message they carry. There was a message of God’s love, a message of the Savior’s love, and a message of the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were messages of hope and faith letting everyone in the land that though it might seem God is ignoring their pain and needs know that He is still among them, sharing in their suffering and holding them up whenever He can.
It’s a message of hope for all of us. Even in the darkest times, music and songs with a theme of hope and faith can do more than we know to lift and succor us.
A Musical Testimony Meeting
Years ago I experienced a Sacrament meeting that I will never forget. After partaking of the sacrament, my Bishop arose and addressed us. He had us all open our Hymn books to the First Presidency preface to the hymns, where he read,
“Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.
Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end.
We hope to see an increase of hymn singing in our congregations. We encourage all members, whether musically inclined or not, to join with us in singing the hymns. We hope leaders, teachers, and members who are called on to speak will turn often to the hymn book to find sermons presented powerfully and beautifully in verse.” First Presidency Preface to Hymns
My Bishop testified that he knew that this was true. He testified of the power of the hymns and their importance. He then shared his concern for us as a ward. He said that he had noticed that during the hymns many of us were not singing. We were not even paying attention to the hymns. Because of this, the spirit was not as strong in our meetings as it could and should be.
He continued by saying that this concerned him greatly. So much so that he had been praying to know what he could do, to change this. He realized that some did not sing because they didn’t have good singing voices. To this he responded that he didn’t have one either, but that didn’t matter. For the Lord had said that the song of a heart is a prayer unto him. (D&C 25:12) The Lord never said it had to be a song of the throat.
However, my Bishop said that he knew that this wasn’t why most of us weren’t singing. He said that the cause of many not joining in singing was because we didn’t have a real testimony of the hymns yet.
He said that after much prayer he was inspired to hold a musical testimony meeting. He told us that for the rest of our sacrament block, he would open the floor for any of us to come forth and share a hymn (and a specific verse), testify why that hymn had great meaning to us, and then the congregation (and he meant all of us) would sing that verse.
As we did so, the spirit of the Lord came so powerfully into the chapel where we sang that no one left unaffected. There were tears in many a person’s eyes as hearts were touched, minds were taught, and spirits were edified.
Though I had always enjoyed the hymns before, I grew to love them that day. Now whenever I have to opportunity to sing the hymns I pay close attention to the words as well as the music. As I do so, I feel the spirit rush over me confirming the truthfulness of the message that hymn bears. I am humbled, and softened, and find that I am then ready to receive.
Note By Note
A few years ago while serving a full-time Mission in North Carolina, I received a phone call. We were having a mission conference in a week. Elder Hilbig a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy was coming with his wife to speak to us. The phone call was from another sister missionary serving on the other side of our mission.
We had never served together, though we had been in the same zone before. I was shocked when she told me why she was calling. Our mission President’s wife requested this other sister and me to give a musical number in the upcoming conference.
I had heard this sister sing before, so I knew our voices would harmonize. However, since we were serving so far apart, we were told that we would have to practice on our own, and then make sure to arrive at the mission conference early and run through it once or twice together before we started.
When I was told what hymn we were to sing (requested by my Mission President’s wife) I didn’t recognize the name. So after finishing the call I went in search of my personal hymn book. I was hoping that once I saw it that I would remember how it went, for I knew most of the hymns. When I found the hymn mentioned, I had to accept the fact that I had never heard it before.
Even worse, I had no access to a piano to learn the hymn which I was to sing before my entire mission in a week’s time. I started panicking, not knowing what to do, when my companion suggested I pray. As I poured my heart out to the Lord, I received my answer.
Over the next week I learned the hymn note by note. I did this by looking at the given note in the hymn and finding another hymn I knew by heart that had that corresponding note. It was a painstaking process that took up every spare moment of my time. I worked on it and prayed morning to night, as I went about my regular mission work. During that time I came to love that hymn; for as I leaned it note by note, I came to know it word by word. Together the words and music touched my soul, as the spirit testified that the message was true.
In the end I did learn the hymn. I was able to arrive at the church early enough to run through the duet twice, before the meeting began, with my fellow missionary. When the time finally came, and we began to sing, I was aware of how our voices perfectly harmonized. At the same time I was caught up in feeling the spirit carry and confirm the message we sang to the hearts of all who were in attendance.
Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire Hymn # 145
“Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast…”Text: James Montgomery, 1771–1854
Music: George Careless, 1839–1932