TCATS #496 - Messages from the Moutains

Today's MSW theme was all about mountains--including not only some of the songs we sang, but the spoken message itself. I thought it would be fun to do a little critical analysis of all of the messages we received today about mountains. 

First off, let's tackle the three songs about mountains:

ANYONE CAN MOVE A MOUNTAIN 

Anyone can move a mountain if he really tries.
Anyone can move a mountain, [but] you must realize it will take a little time, [and] a lot of faith. [So] make up your mind and you'll arrive at where you strive to go.

So never be afraid to dream for that's what you must do.
If you never dream at all then your dreams can't come true.
Anyone can move a mountain, everyone should know. Just believe it and you'll find it's so.

Analysis: At a very high level, I appreciate what this song is telling us. It's attempting to bolster our confidence in the notion that we can move the mountains in our lives. We can conquer hardships and come out on top. But honestly, this isn't always the case. There are some mountains we cannot move. The song's lyrics are implying that mountains (trials) absolutely can be moved (overcome) if we have enough faith, if we just believe, and if we strive hard enough. I don't agree. And I know many people in my life whose mental health would suffer if they put their belief in this song's message. Should we try to overcome trials? Sure. And there are many we will overcome. But we need to remember that this song's formula doesn't ALWAYS work. (As an aside, there's a logical fallacy in saying that dreams can't come true if you never dream. Because if you don't dream at all, then there are no dreams to come true or not come true...)

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN

Climb every mountain, search high and low.
Follow every byway, every path you know.

Climb every mountain, ford every stream.
Follow every rainbow,‘till you find your dream.

A dream that will need all the love you can give,
Every day of your life for as long as you live.

Analysis: For me, this is a song about figuring out life. It's about taking opportunities (and proactively making opportunities) to gain experiences and figure out what you really want. Such a course of action will include ups and downs, a lot of dedication and love, and a lot of hope and luck as well. So no doubt this song is inspiring (and I usually get a few chills when I sing it). However, on the flip side, using the word "every" repeatedly in this song can sometimes cause me to feel sad and frustrated and critical of myself. If I don't climb every mountain and every byway and every path and every rainbow each and every day, I'm not going to find what I'm looking for--I'm not going to be happy. It's a lot of pressure! Don't mess up! Don't let opportunities pass you by or else! (As an aside, the lyric "every path you know" doesn't quite seem to fit with the rest of the song since it's likely we'd be trying paths we don't know on our journey to find our end goal.)

ON GREAT LONE HILLS 

On great, lone hills, where tempests brood and gather
Primeval Earth, against primeval sky,
We, faring forth, possessed by fervent longing,
Have found a throne, eternal and high.
Have knelt at last in wordless adoration,
Till fire and whirlwind have both gone by.

With ardent song we greet the golden morning.
By faith upborne, remember not the night.
The whole wide world, triumphant hails the dawning.
God walks abroad in garments of might,
The hills, behold, are now a path of splendor,
Transfigured all, and all crowned with light.

Analysis: Ok, ok. So "hills" are not "mountains". I agree. But let's just go with it, shall we? It's difficult to analyze this song because I'm not entirely sure what it's talking about. But I'll do my best. The first set of lyrics seems to paint a very bleak picture about life. It's like we start our life's journey without God and encounter a lot of difficult realities and trials. But because of our intense longing to find a higher power, we end up accomplishing that and kneel in humility before the God who loves us.

The next set of lyrics paints a much happier picture now that we have God in our lives. We see the world around us for what it is--evidence of God's love. In fact, we see God everywhere. And the lone hills are now hills that if crossed, lead to light, truth, and goodness. 

Anyway, I'm on board with the lyrics, although I find myself wishing for two things. First, whereas I've had the time to study these lyrics and ponder on the meanings of various words used here, most listeners don't have that luxury. So using less-common words (brood, primeval, faring, ardent, upborne, etc) makes it difficult (for some, at least) to understand the overall message. Second, I take issue with "remember not the night." I may be way off base here with interpreting that line, but often "night" is associated with negative emotions like confusion, pain, and hardship. But let's not forget that pain leads to growth and further understanding. The "nights" in our lives are not something to forget.

Well, this is turning into a very long post. So I'll just end with a sentence or two from the spoken word I liked the most. 

"Maybe it’s not the elevation of the peak but the work it took to get there that brings us closer to God. It’s our willingness to climb the mountain—-not just the mountain-—that’s sacred to the Lord." (Derrick Porter, 6/30/24)

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #495 - Hello Derrick Porter

Derrick Porter.
He's the new guy in town. 

For at least a few loyal fans of Music & the Spoken Word, I'm sure the transition from Lloyd to Derrick has been met with a little hesitancy and trepidation. After all, 34 years is a long time. Lloyd's style, his voice, his smile, his insights, and his convictions have all given way to a certain brand of familiarity and trust. And that's hard for loyalists to let go of. 

But, as they say, all good things must come to an end.

Derrick started things out by greeting the audience members this morning. Shortly thereafter, the program started. His spoken word message was all about the transition, as well addressing topics of connection, joy, and focusing on Christ. Personally, I think he did a nice job and look forward to hearing more from him. I especially appreciated his message today about connection.

Having Derrick as the Spoken Word host wasn't the only thing that changed today. Elements of the program itself also changed. Instead of Derrick introducing the program like Lloyd Newell did during the first 30 seconds, there is now a woman's voice that does that. The same woman also closes out the program at the end. Some guys next to me today, after hearing the voice, said it sounded AI-generated. While I hope that's not the case, I can see why it might be. Since she only speaks less than probably 20 seconds total, using AI for timing and convenience purposes might have been why they chose to go with that option. I'll see if I can find out for sure.

For me personally, today's experience with the Tabernacle Choir was okay. I seemed to be plagued with fighting off some voices in my head telling me I shouldn't be there and nobody wanted me there. Also for some reason, I was in a very reclusive mood and didn't really say all that much to anyone. I did add one change of my own to the program though. It's the first time I wore glasses. The words on the teleprompter were becoming increasingly hard to see, so I thought it was about time. I've had glasses for years but just rarely wear them. Now though, with words becoming blurry, I had a definite need for increased clarity. And I very much enjoyed the change.

Looking to the future, I only have about 15-20 Sundays left in my choir service. It's a strange thought, but the time has come. The voices in my head are winning, my views about the Church are changing, and to be honest, I just really miss my friend Wes. 

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #494 - Personal Guests & Farewell to Lloyd

I had the privilege of having my mother and my great aunt join me for rehearsal this past Thursday. As choir members, we can invite people we know to come on Thursday nights and have them enjoy a "Tabernacle Choir experience". They sit in the loft next to all of us, they are given music to read from, and then near the end of rehearsal they are introduced to the Choir by Mack himself. Mack bases these introductions off of a short biography each guest is asked to write up and submit beforehand.

At any rate, it was fun to see both of them have such a good experience. And it was fun riding home with them afterwards to hear their perspective on what they thought about it all. Their comments centered on how much they enjoyed the music, the people sitting next to them (who were all very kind and accommodating), and getting to testify of Christ as they sang the music. They were also struck on how "get down to business" Mack was and how carefully they had to listen to make sure they were understanding all of the instructions being given. 

Around 9:05 or so and after the introductions, the guests were excused from the loft while the rest of the choir continued rehearsing. I left with the guest group and once we were down near the front of the audience seats, one of the Choir photographers took a picture of my mom and aunt Winnie and then a picture of all of us (including my brother Jordan who had come). We talked a bit with the Pres. and Sis. Porter (who my mom knew from years ago) and then we left! 

Personally, along with seeing my mom and aunt so happy, it was nice to have something "new" as part of my Thursday Choir experience. It also made me a little more grateful for having the opportunity to sing with the Choir in the first place.

Switching gears, today was Lloyd Newell's last broadcast. For the past 34 years, he's been the voice of Music & the Spoken Word and as you can imagine, he and his wife were a bit emotional today as they said goodbye to this very significant part of their lives. Lloyd had hand-picked the song selections today and the spoken word appropriately focused on CHANGE. 

Several choir members around me got a little emotional as we sang "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again" to Bro. & Sis. Newell as a final farewell. While I was thankful for his service and consider him a brilliant writer and speaker (he composed over 1700 spoken word messages or mini-sermons during his tenure), I didn't find myself getting too emotional. I acknowledge I have been touched on numerous occasions from his spoken word messages, but I also look forward to seeing how Derrick Porter (his replacement) will fill his shoes. Maybe he'll walk in the same style as Lloyd. Or maybe, just maybe, he'll do things a little differently. 

Oh, and before I end this entry, it was announced on Thursday that the Choir's next tour destination (next Feb) is Lima, Peru. I won't be around for that one, but I'm glad the Choir gets to go to such a beautiful destination and mingle with/sing to the people there. 

Until next time, God be with you.

L to R: brother Jordan, my mom Linda, Aunt Winnie, and me!

TCATS #493 - Of Holst and Parades

There are two thoughts I wanted to share today regarding my experience this week in the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

First, out of all of the songs we sang, my favorite was titled "O God Beyond All Praising", by Gustav Holst. The song is based on the THAXTED tune, which Gustav came up with himself (and which tune has been used for several other songs over the years). Thaxted is actually the name of an English village where Holst grew up. At any rate, it's a very pretty song and one that found a way into my soul this morning. The lyrics that Michael Perry came up with for the song are certainly praiseworthy, but for some reason just the tune itself is what impacted me the most. It seemed to strengthen my tether to the Divine.

Second, one of our Choir presidency members stood before us this morning and informed us that music turn-in was canceled (which is rare if one has been scheduled) and that we were encouraged not to go over to the Tabernacle because of the Pride parade that was happening fairly close by. We were also told that if we really did need to go over there, that we weren't to take any pictures. 

Without any further background or context or explanation given, I was left to try and figure out the reasons behind this request. From a risk management perspective, perhaps the Choir presidency was trying to avoid the unlikely possibility of one of the parade-watchers being unkind to a choir member (or vice versa)? That somehow choir members wouldn't be welcome to view the festivities? That, because of our large numbers, we'd get in the way of others wanting to participate? Or was it to avoid a potential PR issue in the which choir members were photographed or videoed by the media as they watched the parade--thereby implicitly showing their support of the LGBTQ+ community? I don't know. I wish some additional details had been provided because it felt a little like we were being asked not to support the parade and thus the community it represents. 

Funny thing is, since the west gate of Temple Square was closed (which was nearest the parade), if we had returned our music, we would have had to go through the north gate which would have kept us quite a bit away from the parade. And speaking of the parade, it was actually taking place on 1st south--a block away from Temple Square (blocks in SLC are quite large). Anyway, it was just one of those times I was confused and in the absence of an explanation, was left to feel a bit offended. 

If I'm wrong in my interpretation of what was said, I'll be the first to apologize. Just trying to make sense of it all.

After the parking garage at the Conference Center was mostly cleared out and Choir members had gone home, I walked over to the parade to show support generally, but also to support someone I knew who was participating in it. Along with the excitement and energy, my friend in the parade summed it up best with a text he sent me: "Today I experienced a community of love and support well beyond anything I've ever experienced [elsewhere]. Most of all, there [was] no judgment here."

Until next time, God be with you.