I wrote this for my family to sing/play for our Primary program in November. We have a tiny Primary, so our ward typically has families participate in the Primary program. Feel free to use this arrangement. I only ask that you do not sell it.
My husband travels a lot for his job. All around the world. It isn’t too bad, he’s usually only gone for a few weeks at a time, but that means that when he’s home all he wants to do is… 
Last week we got news that his most recent assignment that was going to start on Monday and would last two months fell through and he wouldn’t be going anywhere – except when he goes to Germany in September. I had already made plans to drive across the country to visit my home town and my parents for a few weeks after he left for his two month assignment, so instead of canceling my trip, we just added another traveler!
I don’t know how much time I’ll have for blogging while I’m driving across the country and catching up with friends – don’t worry, the giveaway is still on, and there will be another one next week! But I was going back through some of my old posts that I wrote when I first started this blog, and some of them were pretty good, if I do say so myself! And so I’ll be reposting a lot of those older posts, because I just can’t stand all these posts in hiding with no comments and no views! Blame it on my pride.
Also, just to show you that I am a little bit humble and I don’t think I’m the only one with good things to say, I would love to have some guest posts on the blog while I’m away. So email them to me at mysouldelighteth (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll put them up in the next few weeks while I’m gone.
And guess what!? General Conference is only two months away!! Can you believe it!? I’m a Conference junkie… seriously. I just can’t get enough. It’s like Christmas comes twice a year! Who else is excited!? If you haven’t been participating in General Conference Book Club, you should really come check it out. I will definitely be keeping up on General Conference Book Club. Don’t you worry about that!
I am really excited for the next few weeks on this blog. I hope we can have some great discussions about the scriptures and the gospel – and I hope you all enjoy the giveaways planned! Two CD giveaways, and at the beginning of September I will have another book review with a giveaway – and I’m really excited about that one because it is a collaboration with my husband – I always love working with that hunk of handsomeness.
(can you tell I’m in a really good mood!? Vacations are really good for me!)
What have you been doing this summer? Are you vacationing? Getting ready for back-to-school? How do you keep up on your gospel study while you’re vacationing?
*photo credit: breahn
YourLDSRadio is an online streaming radio station that provides constant uplifting music, mostly from LDS composers and artists, although I was just listening and they played I Hope You Dance by LeAnn Womack, so it looks like they throw in some other stuff every now and then. If you’re looking for some nice background music you know is safe to listen to with the kids around, this would probably be it.
“Here’s to courageous women out there in shiny shoes and business suitsThe story behind, and in, “What’s Mine is Yours” is about infertility, pregnancy and infant loss, and giving up children for adoption. I’ve never personally been in that situation, and I honestly don’t know if I would be able to survive such a trial. My heart feels like breaking when I hear of the heartache of others who lose children, and I just can’t imagine going through it myself. I am positive I would die of a broken heart.
Good for you
But hats off to the women in the kitchen who run the world
Raising boys and girls.”
“What’s mine is yoursI think about Emma Smith and how everything she had she gave to the Lord – what’s hers was his, and she understood that. I want to have faith to be able to truly say to God “What’s mine is yours”. That is definitely a brave thing to do.
It’s always been
What slips through my hands has your fingerprints on it
I’m letting go
Remembering
Though Heaven’s doors feel shut they’re wide open
What’s mine is yours”
especially because I was going through a particularly hard time in my life when I felt like I “couldn’t let the world see [me] cry”, and “Every time your life turned a page, It seemed like your heart might break.” Now I don’t want to compare my trials to those of Emma, but we all have times in our lives when that is true – when each turn of life’s pages seems like it brings more heartache and sorrow, and we wonder, when will be our joy? I’m the ward choir director in my ward, and I have thought about writing an arrangement for a while, but it never happened – until my husband said to me the other night, “You should arrange music.”
Little did he know just how motivating his encouragement would be. I spent all afternoon Sunday writing this arrangement for Teach Me to Walk in the Light (LDS Hymn no. 304). I let it sit for a few days, and then I revisited it today and tweaked a few things. It’s my first arrangement ever, and I’m not really a composer/arranger, so it’s not amazing, but if you’re looking for an easy children’s chorus/SATB arrangement of Teach Me to Walk in the Light, this might be able to fill your needs.
Feel free to download the music, share this post, or link to the PDF here – please link to this post or the original PDF, rather than downloading the music and uploading it yourself.
(click on the image above to be redirected to the printable PDF)
I’m ahead today! I might have something to do with the fact that my husband is off playing soldier today, and the kids are still asleep. Either way, I am excited for GCBC this week.
Image Credit: BFS Man
I am a musician. I was raised to be a musician (my mother is one of the most sought-after piano teachers in central Arkansas). So I feel like I understand what Elder Quentin L. Cook is saying when he talks about “the music of faith.” I think we had the discussion a few weeks ago that the way an apostle speaks doesn’t always resonate with every person, so don’t be worried if Elder Cook’s “music of faith” metaphor doesn’t do the trick for you. There are 14 other prophets and apostles who probably said something just the way you needed it!
Incidentally, at our Stake Conference a few weeks ago, one of the counselors in our Stake Presidency used a musical metaphor that I thought I would share because it was just so good. If you have ever been to a symphony performance, you know that a symphony tunes their instruments to the same A (440 Hz) usually given by an oboe before the concert begins. If you’ve heard this “tuning” you know that it is not in any way comparable to the beauty of the music that will follow. In fact, most of the time for the average listener it’s pretty annoying to listen to. The counselor then commented on how, after the intermission, the orchestra tunes again. He thought, “These people are professionals. Why do they need to tune again?” And then he realized that they are professionals, and they want to make sure that even the slightest error is corrected before they move on to the actual masterpieces they are there to perform.
Repentance for us should be like that – we should “tune” (repent) even when it seems like there is no fault or no error. Because even the slightest error can damage the sound of a beautiful symphony.
Obsessive focus on things not yet fully revealed, such as how the virgin birth or the Resurrection of the Savior could have occurred or exactly how Joseph Smith translated our scriptures, will not be efficacious or yield spiritual progress. These are matters of faith.
… when we inculcate into our lives scriptural imperatives and live the gospel, we are blessed with the Spirit and taste of His goodness with feelings of joy, happiness, and especially peace.
These quotes really stuck out to me because I have been concerned about this attitude among those members who would pretend to be “intellectuals”. There is that “obsessive focus” on those things for which there is no official revelation or doctrine. I do not mean to say that there is no place for thoughtful, faithful inquiry on such subjects, but in my experience, personal revelation on “fringe” subjects comes when I “inculcate into [my life] scriptural imperatives and live the gospel”. Ironically, it is when I focus on the basics that my understanding of complex ideas and doctrines is increased.
I guess that isn’t quite so ironic when you consider the scripture Elder Pieper shared in his talk:
“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24)
What thoughts did you have while studying Elder Cook’s talk from conference?
If you are new to General Conference Book Club check out the About GCBC page and join in the discussion!
I was looking for an arrangement of Love is Spoken Here for our Youth to sing in sacrament meeting (I’m the choir director in our ward and I’m trying to get more people involved in the music in the ward) and thought “I wonder if there is a song for the Mutual Theme for this year.”
Sure enough, there is! I don’t think it’s appropriate for sacrament meeting – more for a fireside or youth activity – so we won’t be using it to sing in sacrament meeting, but it was really a neat video, so I had to share. I hope you enjoy it. The tune is really catchy, and the young man’s voice is really beautiful (or handsome? not sure if that rule applies for voices…). If you have youth in your family you should download the song for them. You can download it free here. I am going to download it for myself. I love the seminary video soundtracks. Some of those songs are my favorite to listen to. This one is just as inspiring. I hope you will listen and enjoy and share!
What are your favorite songs for youth? Do you have youth in your home? Do they listen to the seminary music?
Well, I got a new calling (two actually, but that’s another story) a few weeks before Christmas – choir director! Which wasn’t a huge surprise – what was mostly surprising was that it took them so long. That was probably because when we started attending this ward I complained (only a little!) about having had so many music callings, and I kind of just wanted to try out something else, you know?
Well, it turns out that callings are actually from Heavenly Father and we don’t get to pick, and I will probably be a choir director for the rest of my life (or in some other music calling) and I have finally realized that I don’t mind that one bit! I love music. Love it. I am passionate about music, especially music in the Church.
So, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting several years ago when I was the choir director for a different ward (I posted an edited version of that talk here). One of the talks I read in preparation for that talk was Elder Dallin H. Oaks’ talk in November 1994 General Conference titled “Worship through Music.”
Last week I was talking with one of the counselors in the bishopric and he mentioned that the Bishop was thinking about spending some time during Ward Conference (in two weeks) talking about singing during Sacrament meeting, because he had noticed that a lot of the members of our ward don’t even pick up the hymnbook during the hymns. I mentioned that I had given that talk on the importance of music and had read that amazing talk by Elder Oaks addressing the exact topic!
That’s where I should’ve kept my mouth shut.
Because now I am giving that talk (well, another edit of it, since the other talk was actually about teaching children music) in Sacrament meeting next week.
And leading the choir in a special musical number.
Good thing I already taught today in Relief Society (oh yeah, I have three callings – but they call the RS teacher and ward organist “part time” callings…). I wonder how long until my ward gets sick of seeing me? (my husband and I gave talks in October, the same day that I gave the lesson in Relief Society. It was great).
In other news, my two year old came down from bed a little while ago with my economy Book of Mormon clutched to her chest. She loves the Book of Mormon, and she can’t even read yet! She mostly just loves carrying it around with her – but she doesn’t carry around any other book – just the Book of Mormon. In fact, she just fell asleep on the couch beside me snuggling it like a teddy bear.
All I know is seeing her hugging the Book of Mormon made my heart swell. I love my kids. Being a mother is the greatest thing I have ever done, and I love it. Absolutely love it. I try to remind myself how much I love it every day – especially when I am tempted to complain about how hard it is. It is hard! But what good things aren’t?
Note: This is an edited version of a talk I was asked to give in Sacrament meeting in 2008 when I was the ward choir director in a ward in Springville, UT. I tried to shorten in a bit, but it’s still pretty long (it was a 10-15 minute talk…) I have been enjoying the Mormon Channel’s new Music Stream, and it made me think of this talk and all the wonderful principles I learned while studying for it.
I have a great testimony of the power of music. I have played and sung many pieces of musical importance, and performed in various venues throughout my life. I have several favorite pieces among the great composers of Debussy, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Bach, and others. But by far my favorite music to experience, whether by listening or performing, are the hymns.
There have been times when I have been able to share my testimony through the hymns, and those are the times when my testimony feels the strongest – unbreakable, unshakeable, and immoveable. In a way, I feel that the hymns, especially those in the Children’s Songbook, have provided the foundation for my gospel knowledge.
But the hymns didn’t provide that foundation on their own. I credit that foundation to the exposure my parents gave me to the hymns from an early age.
Ever since I can remember, there has been music in our home. The earliest of those memories has to do with the hymns. When my mother was a member of the Stake Relief Society Presidency, our family would travel to the different wards in our stake, often an hour or more away from our home. It would have been a lot easier for my mother to simply take the trip herself, but she would make us go with her, and our family would sing in the ward’s sacrament meeting. Often, the song was “Love is Spoken Here.”
My father has worked in family therapy for years, and once as a young child, our family went with him to a family retreat sponsored by his agency. One evening, while all the families were gathered after dinner, our family sang “Love at Home.” Our parents loved sharing truth through music, and so experiences like these were common for us.
President Boyd K. Packer said, “Parents ought to foster good music in the home and cultivate a desire to have their children learn the hymns of inspiration.” It is hard to cultivate that desire to learn the hymns if we ourselves, as their parents, do not cultivate the desire in us to learn the hymns.
Several years ago, Elder Oaks shared the following experience,
“I had finished a special assignment on a Sunday morning in Salt Lake City and desired to attend a sacrament meeting. I stopped at a convenient ward meetinghouse and slipped unnoticed into the overflow area just as the congregation was beginning to sing these sacred words of the sacrament song:
’Tis sweet to sing the matchless love
Of Him who left his home above
And came to earth—oh, wondrous plan—
To suffer, bleed, and die for man!
(Hymns, 1985, no. 177)My heart swelled as we sang this worshipful hymn and contemplated renewing our covenants by partaking of the sacrament. Our voices raised the concluding strains:
For Jesus died on Calvary,
That all thru him might ransomed be.
Then sing hosannas to his name;
Let heav’n and earth his love proclaim.As we sang these words, I glanced around at members of the congregation and was stunned to observe that about a third of them were not singing. How could this be? Were those who did not even mouth the words suggesting that for them it was not “sweet to sing the matchless love” or to “sing hosannas to his name”? What are we saying, what are we thinking, when we fail to join in singing in our worship services?
I believe some of us in North America are getting neglectful in our worship, including the singing of hymns. I have observed that the Saints elsewhere are more diligent in doing this. We in the center stakes of Zion should renew our fervent participation in the singing of our hymns.” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Worship through Music,” Ensign, Nov 1994)
I witnessed this myself when our family was attending a Portuguese ward here in Utah. The Brazilians in our Portuguese ward sang the hymns with such vigor and testimony I was almost moved to tears each Sunday during Sacrament meeting. Contrast that with our English speaking ward we recently started attending. The hymns during sacrament meeting are barely whispered, and there are many who do not sing or even mouth the words. We must sing the hymns. There is no other way to gain a testimony of their significance and importance.
You can download almost all the hymns of the Church, including the hymns from the Children’s Songbook, from the Church website. There are a few hymns that are not available for download due to copyright restrictions, but for the most part, you can download (for free) and listen to and learn any hymn that might be sung in Sacrament meeting.
The First Presidency Preface to the Hymnbook says, “Teach your children to love the hymns. Sing them on the Sabbath, in home evening, during scripture study, at prayer time. Sing as you work, as you play, and as you travel together. Sing hymns as lullabies to build faith and testimony in your young ones.” These are simple suggestions that make an eternal impact of the testimonies of your children. There is nothing more special than rocking my children to sleep singing “I am a Child of God.”
My husband often comments that I have a song for everything (almost any phrase or topic can get me singing something). This is especially true for gospel topics. The songs found in the Children’s Songbook teach very deep and significant doctrinal truths in a simple, joyous manner. If our children learn the songs of the Children’s Songbook, their gospel understanding will be much more advanced by the time they graduate from primary. There are songs in Primary that teach about the Plan of Salvation, as so eloquently and simply stated in the song “I Lived in Heaven.” Children learn of baptism through dozens of simple songs. They learn of the life of the Savior, the Savior’s love for them and for all His children. They learn about the importance of helping at home, of service, of love, of scripture study, and prayer by the words of a song. There is no basic gospel principle left out of the Children’s Songbook. Do you understand what a significant blessing that music is to your children?
Elder Packer encouraged all families to make sure that music lessons are a part of their children’s upbringing, and especially that parents provide the opportunity for children to learn to play the hymns of the Church. He said,
“The time for music lessons seems to come along when there are so many other expenses for the family with little children. But we encourage parents to include musical training in the lives of their children.
Somehow Andrew and Olive Kimball did, and Spencer learned to play. Somehow Samuel and Louisa Lee managed to do it, and Harold learned to play. And now, as the leaders of the Church assemble for our sacred meetings in the upper room of the temple, we always sing a hymn. At the organ is President Spencer W. Kimball or President Harold B. Lee.
How wonderful is the music instructor who will teach children and youth to play and will acquaint them with good music in their formative years, including the music of worship. To have such music as a part of one’s life is a great blessing.” (Boyd K. Packer, “Inspiring Music—Worthy Thoughts,” Ensign, Jan 1974)
My mother is a piano teacher, and she makes sure that her LDS students learn how to play the hymns. That didn’t start with her students, however. My brothers and sister and I have always been required to learn to play the hymns. It started with learning from the Hymns Made Easy book, and as our ability to play the hymns increased, if it increased, we moved on to the regular hymnbook. Some of my siblings still play from the Hymns Made Easy. Nevertheless, for each of us, it has been a great blessing in our lives, as we have been able to provide the service of accompanying any kind of meeting. It has helped us learn the importance of music, of service, and of the gospel.
You do not need to force your child to become a great performance musician. It can be as simple as teaching them to play a few simple hymns, or having someone you know teach them how to read music and play from the Hymns Made Easy book. That simple ability to play the hymns will bless them throughout their lives. Maybe you will even be inspired to learn to play the hymns as well.
I encourage each of you to ponder the words of the prophets on this subject. Think about President Packer’s admonition to give our children music lessons. I hope you take to heart Elder Oak’s counsel to sing the hymns in our worship services, to be an active participant in the music of the gospel. Cultivate the desire to understand and gain a testimony of the significance of music in the gospel. Please come to Sister Taylor or myself for help with increasing your musical abilities.
I pray that we will use the gift of music to bring the Spirit of God into our homes, into our meetings, and into our lives, and let that Spirit testify to us of the truthfulness of the gospel and the reality of our Savior.
How have you made good music a part of your life? Do you worship through song with the hymns and songs from the Children’s Songbook? Do your children learn how to play the hymns? Sing the hymns? How do you study the gospel through music?
So our Primary Presidency asked me to play a violin obbligato with the primary for the primary program in a few weeks. First, they asked me to play something with If I Listen With My Heart. The conversation went something like this:
Primary Gal: Hey, Becca, could you play your violin with the primary for If I Listen with My Heart?
Me: Sure! (I never turn down an opportunity to play the violin. Love love love my violin!)
Primary Secretary: Great. So… do you need us to get you some music…? (I knew where this was going)
Me: I could just make something up.
Primary Secretary (voice dripping with relief): That is exactly what we wanted to hear! Thank you so much!
About a week later
Primary Secretary: Hey, Becca, so could you play with To Think About Jesus instead?
Me (thinking how great it is that I am a procrastinator and haven’t even pulled out my violin since she first asked): Sure! No problem.
So this morning I was frantically scratching out an obligato part on MuseScore (a fabulous free, open source music composition program) because we were supposed to have practice for the Primary program at 10am. Around ten o’clock I finally print off the finished product (thankful that we live around the block from the chapel), load my violin and my Sunbeam (V) into the car, and off we go. I get to the church parking lot and it is completely empty. Oh snap, practice isn’t until next weekend.
Well, at least now I am prepared a week in advance!
And I thought perhaps I would share my arrangement in case any one else wants to use it (either for this year’s program or for whatever – family home evening, you know, or something).
Please feel free to share a link to this page (please don’t copy and distribute the actual image on your own blog). And if you use the music, please print it in it’s entirety with the copyright tag in place.
If you would like a PDF copy (better quality for printing) don’t hesitate to email me at mysouldelighteth (at) gmail.com and I’ll send one right your way!
