WHAT IS A HYMN?...new music wednesday

CODY F MILLER

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 25, through a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Savior commissions Emma Smith to compile a hymn book. I have often wondered what songs she chose. 

Doctrine & Covenants 25:11-1211 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 delights 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.

In verse 12 the Savior reveals something personal to him, that makes him so much more real and accessible. He reveals to Emma, that he loves music or rather that his soul delights in the song of the heart, and more than that the "songs of the righteous" are received as prayers to Him. Awesome, doesn't that just give you goosebumps.

In light of this do you think that the Savior has a favorite song? Does he like a gospel hymn, or a beautiful classically rendered hymn? I have grown to love various genres, but I really love it when a person sings a song  in the way the "Spirit" moves them to sing.
So here it is for "New Music (to me) Wednesday  Justin Cash and Calee Reed sing "Come Thou Fount" in their own special way.
   

NEW MUSIC: BRANDON FLOWERS

THE KILLERS

Has anyone else heard of these guys? Sure you have, I know that I have definitely been living under a rock. So I love reading those testimonies of  fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.(One day soon, I am going to put my testimony out there). I am always surprised to find out the diversity. So I remember a fleeting mention of a group called "The Killers", and there was a song that was used as a sound track on a movie I missed. So last year, I think the lead singer "came out" as a Mormon. So there has been a lot of buzz in You Tube Land.

So I have been obsessed, like I usually am over "new to me" things. I have been listening to a lot of their music and I have to say, that it has to grow on you. These guys were born in the 80's and their early music sounds like the 80's. But the lead singer has a solo effort from 2010 called "Flamingo". So I bought it and it's good, and moody. It reminds me of U2; particularly on a song called "Crossfire". There's a really funky bass line, and Brandon has a really strong voice that reminds me of a younger "Bono" of U2.
Don't take my word for it
Check this out:

NEW CAR SMELL

Alma 26:12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

My husband and I have been car shopping, and it’s a brave new world since we last bought a new car about 13 years ago. I have been driving that 1998 Rodeo, precariously up and down the beltway. Lately she has been having some serious problems; flat tires at work, massive oil spills, exhaust needs replacing, no air conditioner (for at least 5 years), the sun visors fell off and I have felt like I have been traveling across the surface of Mars. But the Lord has been good, and I daresay has a sense of humor where his children are concerned. The Rodeo has set a deadline for me; it’s time for Emissions and registration renewal. I was impressed to delay the emissions for a third and last time, but times up. So we have been praying for a new car. It doesn’t matter Lord what kind it is, or make or model, but we do require air conditioning, sun visors and a radio that plays. So after this prayer, days go by, turning to months and I remember asking: “Lord where is the car? It’s getting late, and the Bus Man is waiting for me to Ride On soon”.

The Lord is good and his mercy endures forever.

I was impressed to write these instructions from Him:

1 Exercise a measure of Faith

Alma 32: 27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

2 Organize yourself and prepare for every needful thing.

Doctrine and Covenants 88: 119 organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God

3 Press toward the mark; don’t give up

Philippians 3: 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

4. Go get your blessing!!!

I thought, wow, this is deep, this could really happen. I know most people can just go out and buy something, maybe a car, or a house or a trip to Paris. I am sure I could too, but I tend to drag my feet and not trust in God enough, not believe in myself enough.

So my husband and I went on a go-see. My husband exhibited great restraint and patience with me, God bless him. We bravely walked into a Nissan dealer ship and walked out with a new car. We are still in a daze.

I know this is irreverent, but this song by the late Janis Joplin has been playing in my head for a while:

Mercedes Benz

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

My friends all drive Porsche's, I must make amends

Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends

So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man; availeth much.     

NEW MUSIC WEDNESDAY

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION:

I have been really inspired lately and I think it may be an running theme in both of my blogs.But I want to share with you, (in case you haven't already seen it) an awesome video by our brethren Alex Boye'

My husband and I and some of our friends had an opportunity to attend a "Why I Believe" Fireside presented at the Washington DC Mormon Temple Visitors Center back in May.

What an unusual day it started out to be, but it was full of possibilities. I posed a wish, a desire to meet Brother Boye. We had all seen him perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in concert last year.

So a funny thing happened while we were waiting for the start of the concert. My husband and I picked up tickets early and we decided to take a walk in the Temple garden. They are so lovely, and the garden encircles the width of the Temple. As we walked along the path we said "hello" to a person we had never met. It was funny, he said "Hello, are you visiting here? I am. We told him that we were waiting for a concert to start. He was so personable, he immediately started to tell us about his day. He was from York, Pa. ( The Temple in Philadelphia is not completed yet). He came down here  to do some Temple Work for his family. He said that he realized that he would need some help but he didn't know anyone, so while he was in the dressing room, he met a very nice "black man" with a peculiar accent. So he asked the man where he was from, the man said, "I was born in England", and he told him that he was a singer. So our new friend invited this man to help him with his Temple work, and they sat together, and afterwards, he said the man hugged him and told him his name, Alex Boye'. He asked us if we knew him?   

(push play)

CALLING AMERICA: Alex Boye  ( A Song of Patriotism and tapestry from an immigrant)

So Alex sang this song for us that night. He shared the inspiration for this song as a part of his "Why I Believe" testimony. 
He said that about 10 or 11 years ago,on Sept 11 2001, he was watching the news and saw the devastation that was happening here, in New York and in Washington DC and Pa. He said that everyone in England, stopped in their tracks and left their jobs and went home. He said that people stopped in the streets to pray and weep.
His reaction was: "What are they doing to my country!!!" He knew that one day he would come here to America, and he was inspired to write the bulk of that song at that time, but he couldn't finish it. Now fast forward, 11 years into the present. In Feb 2012, he was "naturalized" an American Citizen. After he received his certificate of Naturalization, he felt the words to the rest of the song come "flowing" out of his heart. So he sang it for us.


After the concert, we were told that Alex would be available to shake hands, meet and greet.
So my husband decided that I was going to meet him and have my picture taken. I am a very shy person, so my husband literally pushed me forward, while another friend dragged me along, LOL. I got to shake hands with him and have a 5 second conversation, but in that 5 seconds, I had the sense that he was a genuine son of God and a nice person.

SUNDAY

1 Music

JAMES CONLEE: SUNDAY

Does anyone have this CD? It is lovely. I was listening to an episode of the Cricket and Seagull (streaming radio) and the host was interviewing this man, James Conlee. He also played selections from the Cd. So I had to have it. It is lovely, and spare. Most of the songs are from the Hymn book. Brother Conlee has a lovely tenor and clear falsetto voice that blends well with the instrumentation. My three favorites are "More Holiness Give Me" and Pie Jesu, in which he sings accompaniment with a "boy" soprano. I also love "Abide with Me" which is interwoven with Pachelbel's Canon in D major.All of the songs are song so spare, and sweet, LOVE this CD.

2 . A psalm for Nephi

" I love You, O Lord, my strength." Psalm 18:1

3. Quote 

FAMILY HISTORY

BATMAN & ROBIN

So last night I re-launched my "Family History" quest. I started this process about 2 years ago and I was able to complete ordinances for my grandparents, some cousins and uncles and aunts and some in-laws.So then I stopped, mainly because I didn't have a computer.( Another story, another time). But the Lord has seen fit to bless me with a really nice Laptop and a printer and just to keep my husband happy a "NEW TV!!". You know the ones, the "man size", just right for football games, fishing and hunting shows,etc.
So last evening my best friend "Thelma" asked me to meet her at the Family History center, because Stake Temple Day is coming soon.
She asked me if I had any pending ordinance requests. I couldn't remember any, so we left. We logged in on my new computer and I remembered an Aunt, whose requests were ready, but when I submitted them at the Temple, I was not able to get the "pink" card. No explanation, just no pink card. Two years later, I am going to try again because there was no plausibe explanation given why I could not continue with my Aunts work. I looked at a record of my dads older brother. His work is done for him, but I realized that he had a wife in his mortal life, my Aunt. Maybe I should look her up, and I did. There she was, she appeared and with all of her info. So now I have 2 Aunts waiting to have their work done, one Aunt who can be sealed to her husband. Wow.!!
So why the picture of Batman and Robin? Well I remember one evening when I was at least 5 and my Dad and I were taking an evening walk. We were discussing the Batman and Robin show and I asked him who was his favorite? He liked Batman, I loved Robin. I told him that I wanted an autographed picture of BM&R. He asked me how was I going to get them. Gleem toothpaste had a offer, send in 1 toothpaste box or label with 1.00 and in 6-8 weeks we could get an 8x10 black and white glossy. This is the picture. What a great memory of my dad.           

BE THE SPARK

LIFE LESSON #10

Start creating your own happiness.

If you are waiting for someone else to make you happy, you're missing out. Smile because you can. Choose happiness. Be the change you want to see in the world. Be happy with who you are now, and let your positivity inspire your journey into tomorrow. Happiness is often found when and where you decide to seek it. If you look for happiness within the opportunities your have, you will eventually find it. But if you constantly look for something else, unfortunately, you'll find that too. 30 things to start doing for yourself

Need to Breathe...."More Heart and less AttacK

Why is happiness so elusive? Or rather, why do we think that it is? I can't find a concrete definition of happiness, but I can find what you can do to attain it. Can you list something that made you happy today? I can

1. My dog's smile. You didn't know that dogs could smile. If you give them a big meaty bone, they will grin from ear to ear an then try to share it with you.