2 Nephi 31:3 (emphasis added) For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding. When I was a teenager, I had an angry, liberal, bisexual friend whom I loved. Not in a romantic sense, but in a sense that I truly understood her. She was incredibly creative and I wanted her to be successful in her musical and artistic endeavors. We once had a conversation that completely...
music
The Sunstone Report
I attended the Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium on Friday, August 8th. I hadn’t been to Sunstone in ten years. The last time I came, I was a young, single, childless university student. The world was my oyster, and Mormon Studies was, for me, a new phenomenon. I went to celebrity-gaze. Whether I would continue to be involved with the Church was an open question for me.
In Defense of Sad Songs
I was recently asked by someone dear to me to join the fray here at mormonmatters.org, and I looked forward to the challenge. I must admit, due to my “distance” growing up from any major LDS hubs (I have mentioned elsewhere that I grew up in a small branch Western Kentucky), I have been somewhat insulated from some of the issues that effect the posters that post here, and never gave them much thought. It wasn’t that these issues didn’t exist, but, being that I was one of three Latter-day Saints in my high school, when asked about the...
A Chapel Entrance Plaque
Recently, I was in a meetinghouse in our area for the first time. On the wall directly above the entrance to the chapel, there is a small plaque.
“From the crossroads of the West”
Years ago, my wife and I skipped our ward meetings to attend Music and the Spoken Word and thoroughly enjoyed it.
New Rules for Church Music
My favorite part of any church service is the music. Even when the music is poorly done — which all too often it is — it has power to inspire, teach, and heal. That said, I would like some changes to the music section of the handbook. If I were in charge, here are the rules I’d implement:
Album Review: First Light—Scenes from the Restoration
I count my enjoyment of film scores as my eccentric musical hobby. While others examine the credits of movie posters looking for actors or directors, I almost without fail look for the “Music By:” line. Some find instrumental or orchestral music terribly boring to listen to, but I feel that it grasps my imagination and makes me a part of the music in a way that typical radio tunes simply can’t. I suppose that’s why I took such a liking to Brett Raymond’s album entitled “First Light: Scenes From the Restoration.” He explains that the album is is much...
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