MTC #222 - Mission Accomplished

In the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Handbook, a mission statement is included. It says: 

The mission of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, Temple Square Chorale, Bells on Temple Square and Staff is to serve as goodwill ambassadors for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and, through music, prepare the hearts of members and non-members throughout the world to actively follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I've had the grand opportunity to sing with the Choir for a little over four years now, and during that time, I've participated in nine General Conferences. I feel that for this conference, more than any other, the songs we sang highlighted and enhanced the messages given, and prepared the hearts of church members and church leaders to more fully understand and support the significant announcements that were made. This was most evident during the last session, as we sang "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy", "Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd", "Love One Another", and "Let Us All Press On". The first three of that set perfectly complemented, and spiritually supported, the announcement that home teaching and visiting teaching were now to be replaced with ministering--"a 'new and holier approach' to Christlike caring for others and helping meet their spiritual and temporal needs." (lds.org) The last song, "Let Us All Press On" was a perfect ending to the five sessions of conference as members of the Church now press forward in faith, accepting the announcements and incorporating all of the messages given during the past two days. Singing that song was my personal highlight of conference-- and I found myself wishing I could bottle up all the feelings I was experiencing so I could let them out later in the week as needed!

The men singing "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet"

Other songs complemented other themes, including sustaining a new prophet ("We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet", "Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice"), Easter ("On This Day of Joy and Gladness", "Christ the Lord is Risen Today", "He Sent His Son", "He is Risen", "Jesus Has Risen", "Since by Man Came Death", "Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise"), and increasing testimony of Christ ("Tell Me The Stories of Jesus", "Sweet is the Work", "My Redeemer Lives", "Hallelujah"). 

Through it all, I just felt really grateful, again, that I got to participate in these sessions of conference by singing such beautiful music and helping to prepare hearts (including my own). 

Until next time, God be with you.

 

MTC #221 - The Payoff

There are payoffs for everything.
The payoff for completing a project at work is receiving a "job well done!" (and maybe monetary compensation if you work for a really great company).
The payoff for being a parent is seeing one of your kids succeed at something and remember what you taught them.
The payoff for diligent exercise is more energy and a healthier body.
The list goes on.

The payoff for hours and hours of extra choir rehearsals is performing in a concert. And this time, specifically, The Messiah concert. 

The choir and orchestra, along with four soloists, performed The Messiah this past week and though I wasn't able to enjoy the payoff myself, everyone that I talked to (performers and audience members) said it was a remarkable experience. Congregations all over the world were invited to not only watch the concert via live stream, but to sing along as well. To that end, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided a downloadable PDF of the score along with instructions for how best to learn the chorus parts. At the time of this writing, the Concert has been viewed over 52K times and the accompanying chat shows people sharing their comments and appreciation from Australia, Chile, Peru, Mexico and various other countries. I think it was a success!

Tyler Nelson, on today's MSW broadcast

The tenor soloist who sang at the concerts, Tyler Nelson, joined the choir and orchestra on the Music & the Spoken Word broadcast today. What an amazing voice! As I wasn't able to participate in the concerts, it really meant a lot to me that I could see him perform today, and could participate in singing "Worthy is the Lamb Who Was Slain"--the powerful grand finale of The Messiah, which was the closing song on the broadcast. I'm thankful for such wonderful music that testifies of Jesus Christ, and particularly thankful for it during this time of the  year that we get to celebrate Easter.

Until next time, God be with you.

 

MTC #220 - Noticing

My View Today

It's been a very long week. I missed choir last Sunday, and then missed it again on Thursday due to a lung infection-- which zapped all my energy and definitely zapped all of my lung capacity. The old familiar saying that goes something like "You don't know what you're missing until you don't have it anymore" rang true on several levels. I couldn't go jogging; going up the stairs or moving too quickly caused me to be out of breath; and almost worst of all was not being able to sing. All of those things were replaced with moving around s  l  o  w  l  y, taking lots of breaks, continually catching my breath, and watching my whirlwind family life just swirl around me and not being able to be a part of it. In fact, my wife had one of her busiest weeks, and all I could do is cheer from the sidelines and wish I could do more to lighten the load. 

Yes, it was frustrating. But in all of my "moving slow" moments, I became thankful for a lot of things that before, I had taken for granted. I mean who, really, thanks God for being able to go up stairs without being winded? I sure hadn't until this past week! 

I went to choir this morning and sat in the balcony observing the choir rehearse and perform. It was nice to just listen, but like always, my heart was wanting to be singing. After the broadcast, I moved over to occupy the last row in the loft ready to try and sing as we moved into rehearsing for our Messiah concert this week. I was partially successful and felt encouraged. But I just didn't have a lot of breath during the sustained notes and realized I'd have to just do my best and be OK with my limitations for now. At least I was able to sing some of the notes.

So I guess the take home message is to be grateful for the little things and the things that you may not notice. I'm thankful for breathing. I'm thankful for breathing deeply. I'm thankful for normally having energy. I'm thankful for exercise. I'm thankful to be a very involved dad who loves working hard at home and with family needs. I'm thankful for singing and for being able to sing with the Motab choir. And I'm thankful for all the many, many people out there who struggle with much harder physical challenges each and every day. My week, or two, or even three, is nothing in comparison with those whose struggles don't ever go away. 

What blessing that you're normally not consciously thankful for, can you think of, (and be thankful for) today?

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #218 - Lives on the Line

The choir was all abuzz about the weather, this morning. My carpool buddy Ben, and I, don't ever remember such a winter storm happening on a Sunday morning as long as we've been in the choir (4+ years). But happen it did. As we crawled along the freeway at 30-40 MPH, swerving this way and that, we felt deep relief as we finally pulled into the Conference Center parking lot. We only had 5 minutes or so to go get changed and up into the loft for rehearsal. But we thought that if there was any day that the choir leadership was going to waive the penalty for latecomers, it was going to be today.

With the weather the way it was, the Tabernacle wasn't too full, although there were more there than I thought there was going to be. The program went well and I think my most-loved song of the day was "The Morning Breaks." The comfort of knowing that Someone is guiding and leading us today--in a world where secular leadership does very little to help solve the ills of society--is a reality that I'm grateful for. And I'll be grateful for when I can finally go home.  " Jehovah speaks! Let earth give ear, and Gentile nations turn and live.
His mighty arm is making bare, his covenant people to receive."

After the broadcast, we continued rehearsing selections from The Messiah. Tickets for this upcoming concert "sold out" in about 15 minutes, though I hear there are still seats available at one of the watch-on-the-big-screen locations. 

Other than that, the speeding train continues moving forward for the Choir. There isn't too much to see out the train window for right now, but that always changes...often.

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #217 - Of Sunrises, Sunsets, and Sunflowers

As the years just continue to speed by, I find myself singing--almost defiantly yelling along--to an upbeat song by the 80s band called The Origin, in which they proclaim over and over and over again, "I'm not growing old!"  Alas, though, I realize that no matter how much I sing, or yell, or wish that phrase to be true, it is not. I AM growing old. At least, old-er. And this year I'm really feeling it. 

On the broadcast today, we sang the well-known song from Fiddler on the Roof, sung by the main character Tevye, called Sunrise, Sunset. To me, the music itself is very melancholy, and invokes a sentimental sadness that makes the lyrics all the more poignant. Lyrics that I can relate to, more than I would like: 

Is this the little girl i carried?
Is this the little boy at play?
I don't remember growing older,
When did they?
When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow to be so tall?
Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?

Sunrise sunset, sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly flow the days,
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers,
Blossoming even as they gaze...

Sunrise sunset, sunrise, sunset!
Swiftly fly the years,
One season following another,
Laden with happiness and tears... 

UG!

Rebekah & Josh then

To know why these lyrics tugged at my heartstrings today, is to understand my two oldest children. My oldest, Rebekah, just left home last September, for college, and she is now off serving a mission in London. My second oldest, Joshua, is currently in his senior year of high school and will be headed off to college in the Fall. So as I sang the first verse of this song today, I had all of these memories surface of

Rebekah & Josh now

when my two oldest were still little. And as the song continued, every single lyric ringed true. When did they grow older? Wasn't it just yesterday they were small? Why have the days gone by so quickly? And how is it they can suddenly transform into adults even as I continue to gaze upon them (i.e. transform right in front of my eyes)!

Even the reference to sunflowers is completely appropriate. Why did the author of the song choose sunflowers out of all the other kinds of flowers? Well, I don't for sure. But two unique attributes of sunflowers relate very well to kids. First, the flower grows very quickly. In fact, it can reach up to 12 feet in the matter of only six months. Second, the face of the flower follows the sun throughout the day. And for me, that relates to how kids quickly absorb light and knowledge ALL THE TIME. And before you know it, they take what you taught them and then they're off!

At any rate, while I did manage to keep my emotions in check, those emotions were there, nonetheless. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely and utterly proud of my kids (the two oldest and the three after them), but sometimes I just struggle with change and long to go back to the years when they wanted to held, cuddled, and reassured that everything would be OK. How about it? Could I do that for just a few minutes? My wife and I would take even 30 seconds.

I think I can now finally relate to Tevye. 

Until next time, God be with you.

 

MTC #216 - President's Day Special

 
Today we sung several patriotic songs in honor of President's Day. My favorite was God of Our Fathers, which caused me to feel an assurance that God is still at the helm of this great country--though I know there are plenty who would scoff at that statement. "How could He be at the helm as things continue to deteriorate from a moral and religious standpoint?" some might say. To that I would respond: There are plenty of examples throughout history of righteous leaders with few followers. God's hand is always extended and following Christ is always a path that's available. It's just that many people choose not to reach for that hand or follow Christ's path.

The two sentences of lyrics that I appreciated today were the following: 

Thy true religion in our hearts increase.
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace. 

While I tend to focus on the problems this country has, of it's lack of wholesome and effective leadership, and of people choosing to be divided rather than united, I need to remember that our basic freedoms are still in tact, and that there are still people who have good hearts and want to do the right thing. My hope is that God and Christ's true religion will, indeed, increase within our hearts so that we can receive the blessings of peace as we navigate this troubled nation.

So next time I get really frustrated with Congress or our President's decisions or the crime rate or the next school shooting or the rise of pornography and drug addiction or people showing less respect or a hundred other things, I need to trust in God, engage in actions that will help curb society's ills, and simply be kind and involved in others' lives. If we don't watch over each other, who will?

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #215 - Being a Champion

While the official Spoken Word today centered on the theme of LOVE, there's one song we sang ("Call of the Champions") that paid honor to the Winter Olympics that just began this weekend. And it's about the Olympics I wanted to say a few words. 

The Olympics, of course, is a time to celebrate both physical and mental achievement. It's a time when athletes from all around the world can come together, compete, and become a gold, silver, or bronze champion. I find it fascinating that these athletes train for years and years to perfect their skills and talents, and then have one chance--one moment--to prove that the thousands of hours of hard work and discipline have made them worthy to wear a winning medal. As we watch them compete, we cheer when they flawlessly spin on the ice or speed down the slopes without crashing. We also cringe and feel terrible when we do see them crash or endure imperfect landings. We marvel when the difference between a gold and silver medal may be just a tenth of a second, or one-hundreth of a point. So close, so close! 

What we may fail to think about, though (at least I do), is that just being in the Olympics is an incredible accomplishment. Heck, even finishing last is nothing to be sad about. Placing 20th in some event, one could still say, "Hey, I'm the 20th best snowboarder in the entire world!" Yet, such individuals don't get much attention from the media. In some degree, we are a "winner-mentality" society and our focus is typically on the three top slots when it comes to the Olympics. 

As I was thinking about all of this, I thought about how we are all, each one of us, in the Olympics of life. EACH DAY is our opportunity to perform, do our best, and choose to be happy with the results. Sure, we'll have times we fall, crash, or under-perform. We may even have days where we feel like we didn't deserve any sort of medal. But that's OK because at least we're a part of this thing called life and are trying. And as we try, we strive to attach hope and optimism to our efforts, and, in the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "pursue personal improvement in a way that doesn’t include...feeling depressed or demolishing our self-esteem." 

I don't know what the non-medal achieving Olympic athletes think of themselves as they finish the games and head back home. But they are certainly champions in my book. They are, and all of the rest of us are, in our efforts to move forward and make it our best performance every day.

Until next time, God be with you.