Meliss.org » music http://meliss.org Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:06:43 +0000 en hourly 1 Music Moment http://meliss.org/19/music-moment http://meliss.org/19/music-moment#comments Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:42:36 +0000 admin http://meliss.org/?p=19 Continue reading →]]> In Relief Society we begin and end the meeting with a hymn. Most church meetings follow that same pattern. As part of the meeting we are asked to include a music moment. A music moment is an opportunity for a hymn to be practiced, a sister(s) to perform a piece of music, one might share the history/personal experience about a hymn or something of this nature. In our ward I’m responsible to make sure we have one each Sunday. For months I was casual about it. Partially because I worried sisters never “got into it” or with all the initial hellos of the day, announcements, and a gospel lesson, it sort of felt like a waste of time. I recently realized I was wrong. In the most sacred meetings I attend: General Conference, BYU Devotionals, funerals, & Sacrament Meeting there is almost always a special musical number. And if not one, there are two. Relief Society should be one of the most sacred meetings we attend and by taking time to hold a music moment we have an added opportunity to invite the Spirit of the Lord.

 

Last Sunday we sang God Is Love & the 3rd verse really touched me:

All the hopes that sweetly start

From the fountain of the heart,

All the bliss that ever comes 

To our earthly human homes,

All the voices from above

Sweetly whisper: God is love.

]]> http://meliss.org/19/music-moment/feed 0 The Choir http://meliss.org/4/the-choir http://meliss.org/4/the-choir#comments Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:53:33 +0000 admin http://meliss.org/?p=4 Continue reading →]]> I wish everything in life felt the way I do about ward choir. Here are a few reasons why:

  • On any given day of practice or a performance, I always feel better when I leave then when I came.
  • I’m exposed to great talent; I wonder if there will ever be another ward anywhere in the world with so much genius. I believe this is to the point that after practice I sometimes take notes on the terms used or how the music was discussed.
  • Even though we stand in front of the chapel when we perform, I somehow feel more apart of the congregation.
  • The last few years some of the more treasured words that showed up on Christmas cards I received came from the choir director/music coordinator, this is despite not only a lack of talent, but I may actually hinder the collective sound of the choir. Yet, they speak as if they miss me when I’m not there.
I recently heard someone speak about things that are not in their native capacity; standing up and singing in front of a group of people feels beyond my native capacity. But I read long ago the message in the front of the hymn book which talks about music in church meetings. It states: “Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end.”  The one thing that may not be conveyed in those words is that as part of the choir I don’t feel as if I’m the one preaching the sermon, rather I am the one who is consoled, moved to repentance and found that my testimony and faith are fortified. 
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