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.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized in April 1830. The Book of Mormon had been printed and the gospel was being to travel faster than ever. As the church grew, Joseph Smith continued to receive revelations to help him make sure the church he organized, was the one Jesus Christ wanted it to be: His church. Many of these revelations were written down and would later be compiled into what is now the Doctrine and Covenants. One of my favorite revelations was specifically given for Joseph’s wife, Emma Smith.

It’s a beautiful message from a loving Heavenly Father. It also contains an assignment just for her

“11 And it shall be given thee, also, to make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my church.
12 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.” D&C 25:11–12

I find it wonderful that even in its infant stages; the Lord thought it was important for His restored church to have music. I’m grateful that He loves music as much as I do. It’s a part of me that recognizes the love and beauty of God’s promises.

Emma Smith worked for the next five years gathering a collection of hymns. It wasn’t easy, not because there was a lack of good music available, but because her life over the next few years would be very difficult. Above all else, Emma was a devoted wife, homemaker, and mother. She let nothing take the place of her first and most important duties. However, just in fulfilling these roles her life would be filled with many trials. In the spring of 1831 Emma gave birth to twins who would live only a few short hours. To help ease her grief, Emma and Joseph adopted two orphaned twins. While this was a great blessing, it was also the source of a new trial. Shortly after a malicious attack on their home, one of these sweet infants would die from exposure.

I like to think that the Lord gave her this commission not because she needed something to do, but because He knew and loved her. I imagine that part of the reason Emma received this assignment was because she would need it. At least for me, music is a sustaining and uplifting element that can bring comfort and express joy as needed. Perhaps it was a way for the Lord to reach out to her in the coming years, when her heart would need Him most.

She did have a lot of help along the way and eventually the first LDS hymnal was published in August, 1835. This tiny book measuring 3 by 4 ½ inches and containing 90 hymn texts was entitled “A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of the Latter Day Saints”. More than 30 of these hymns would be original works specifically for and by LDS members such as Parley P. Pratt, Eliza R. Snow and William W. Phelps. This volume of hymns contained only words, because it was the practice at the time to sing the hymns to already familiar tunes rather than assigning their own melodies. This would not happen for the LDS hymnal until 1857.

Our hymnal today is very different from Emma’s first labor of love on our behalf, but it still touches on this history. Twenty-five of the hymns currently within our hymnal were part of Emma’s original selections. Among these are:

Redeemer of Israel
How Firm a Foundation
The Spirit of God
Gently Raise the Sacred Strain

Emma was an amazing woman but if for nothing else, I’m truly grateful for her work collecting music that the saints could sing praises to God with.

Of all the places I could find myself on Sunday, one of my favorites is the children’s Primary. Now, don’t get me wrong. Primary is not exactly the most relaxing way to spend the Sabbath, but for all their energy and antics there is something pure and beautiful about a child learning the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You see, the times I spend in the Primary are the times that I hear the gospel in its simplest and pure form. They don’t question, they just see Jesus Christ and love Him. Before all of our analytical brains of adulthood get to it, the gospel is actually very simple and straight forward. It’s all about loving and being good.

If you want to hear the clearest testimonies of what the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is all about listen to the songs those sweet children sing. When children sing it comes from the heart, they don’t worry about whether they’re singing the right note (which means they usually do), or even if they know all the words, they simply look for the joy in the experience and show their love of the gospel in their energetic voices. When the Savior asks each of us to become like a little child I think of Primary children singing. Becoming like a little child means humility, love and the pure faith to sing with all your heart.

Many years ago I had a poster. It was one among many that followed the then popular “All I Ever Needed to Know” theme. This one talked about the Primary Songs. Now I can’t recall all of the titles it listed. But I still carry the testimonies I’ve gained through my own experiences in Primary as a child and those that have been flown into the deepest parts of my heart and soul on the wings of children singing.

Here are some of my favorites.

I Am a Child of God
My Heavenly Father Loves Me
I Feel My Savior’s Love
I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus
Dare to Do Right
Kindness Begins with Me
“Give”, Said the Little Stream
Families Can Be Together Forever