So is this past week what they'd call a "normal" week with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? I dare say it was. I'm not sure any of us who just joined back in January have ever known a normal week! At any rate, we met for rehearsal Thursday night and, as mentioned in my blog last week, the folks from the ACDA leadership were there in the audience listening and observing. Thankfully the rehearsal itself went "very well" (in the words of Bro. Wilberg) and the only hitch was that the orchestra was missing one of the pieces we'd be performing on Sunday. Thankfully they are a very bright orchestra and picked it up just fine as we rehearsed Sunday morning.
The theme for Sunday's Music & the Spoken Word was "The Root of Good Manners". I thought that was an interesting title and tried to think, offhand, what the root of good manners would actually be. Surely it's more than just being polite or being kind, though I'm sure those would fit in there somewhere.
Bro. Newell, who gives the spoken word each Sunday, said the following about this topic:
Actor John Rhys-Davies says that it is quite natural to feel shy, to be uncomfortable in a room of strangers. His advice? "Turn it the other way around and think, 'I'm walking into a room full of very shy people, and my job is to make them feel at ease and comfortable in their situation.' That is really the root of good manners: making the people around you feel comfortable."
It's easy to assume that some people are just naturally outgoing-that it comes easily to them-and the rest of us simply aren't that way. But the fact is that with a little effort and practice, anyone can choose to be open, loving, and warm. That might mean we attentively listen, or we think, "What can I learn from this person?" For others, it might mean we speak up a little more or make the effort to meet someone new.
The skill of good manners is not beyond anyone's reach-at its roots, it's simply a matter of forgetting ourselves and helping others feel comfortable.
My sister-in-law Jenny is an expert at this and my wife and I are amazed at her ability to make others around her feel comfortable. We try ourselves to do this but it doesn't quite come as naturally as she makes it look! What's interesting to think about though, is sure...you can walk into a room of people you may not not know and be content to just "lay low." And I suppose there are times when that's OK. But think about what you're missing out on. There are all of these people, each with a story, each with a personality, and each probably willing to get to know you if you take the initiative. Who knows how your life might be impacted or blessed just because of a conversation? In the eternal sense, we're all God's children so perhaps if we look at it as just getting to know one of your brothers or sisters, that might make it easier.
Go ahead...give it a try!
The song that touched me the most on the broadcast Sunday was the one we always close with: God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again. For some reason, I felt as though it was really impacting someone in the audience as we sang it. Check out the background of this hymn, and also a wonderful conversion story regarding the Torgersens of Norway. One excerpt from that story: "They concluded the tour in the Tabernacle and were about to leave when a choir recording of “God Be with You Till We Meet Again” began to play. “I sat down and started crying,” recalls Solvor. “I couldn’t stop. Thor attributed my strange behavior to being overcome by beautiful music, but I didn’t tell him what really happened, because I couldn’t speak.”
Until next time, God be with you...
