The Importance and Power of Good Music & Gospel Worship
HUMBLE. PRAYERFUL GRATEFUL.
Intro:
Good Morning. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kenzie Hall. I am Aaron and Dawn’s daughter. I have two little brothers Mackay and Hayden. Some of you may already know that music has been a huge part of my life. I am much more comfortable singing for you than I am speaking to you, but I have been asked to speak on the Importance and Power of Music. For those who may not know me very well, I thought I would quickly introduce myself.
I grew up in a dance studio with my mom. All the girls in my family, aunts, cousins, grandmas, they all danced. I was surrounded with music daily, and I like to think thats where I really learned to love music.
I have a grandpa and two uncles who played guitar and I decided there needed to be a little girl power in that. So at 10 years old, I broke my mother’s heart, quit dance and started guitar lessons. I played and sang constantly- but also secretly. It wasn’t until I was a sophomore in High School that I started performing and recording music professionally.
Since then, I have had the privilege to be apart of many different musical projects. I have shared the stage with many well known artists, I have written and recorded songs for my own albums, EFY albums, movies, and television. Yes, I have even been on reality TV.
Music has been a blessing in my life but is has also been my job. So I guess I can say, I understand music, which is probably why I was given this topic to speak about today.
I know that not all of us enjoy singing. Maybe we haven’t spent much time thinking about the power of music. Today, I want to share some personal experiences of how GOOD music has strengthen my testimony and how it truly can change the way we worship each week.
MUSIC
When we come to church each Sunday, we come to renew our baptism covenants, to listen and learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ. We come to be spiritually fed. And we come to worship together.
In the preface to our hymnbook, the First Presidency has provided this statement:
“Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.
Did you know that only THREE months after the Church was organized, the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, instructed Joseph's wife, Emma, to make a selection of sacred hymns for the Church.
In this one-hour meeting alone, we will sing at least three, maybe four songs. Hymns provide a pattern of worship that is pleasing to God. So how many of us really rise to the occasion to worship through song?
Our dear prophet, President Russell M Nelson loves music. He’s sung in many choirs, he plays the piano and the organ, and has perfect pitch. Yeah, he loves music. In May of 2008 he was speaking at BYU and said;
“Worthy music has the power to make us humble, prayerful, and grateful.”
I hope to touch on these three things today. Humility, Prayer, and Gratitude through music.
II. HUMBLE
When we are baptized we learn the importance of the covenants we are making. We also learn that each week, we get to partake of the sacrament to renew those covenants. We reverently bow our heads and right before the sacrament is blessed, humbly... we sing.
I KNOW we take the sacrament seriously. We know it’s importance. But we sing to invite the spirit and prepare us for the sacrament. I love the hymn on page 172 that says:
In Humility, our Savior, Grant thy Spirit here, we pray.
The purpose of music in our Church services is not about the performance. It isn’t about how great our voice sounds or how well we harmonize. It isn’t ABOUT US at all. It is about inviting the Spirit. Music has the power to humbly connect us to Christ.
III. PRAYERFUL
President J. Reuben Clark Jr. said,
“we get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps any other thing, except prayer.”
In Doctrine and Covenants 25:12, it states,
“For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me.”
I learned the truth of this scripture at a very young age. My mom used to send me out the door with the reassurance that if ever I was sad or scared to say a little prayer in my mind or to hum my favorite primary song. I would reassure her I would and out the door I went.
Until I found my 7 year old self with my cousins watching a really scary movie. I remember acting brave but being so scared. Then I recalled my mom’s words. I quietly started to hummed “I am a Child of God”. Soon my cousins joined in. Without having to get on my knees, fold my arms and bow my head, my prayer was heard and then it was answered.... And we got brave enough to turn the movie off.
Humming our favorite primary songs or singing hymns of worship is an outlet for the comfort of the spirit.
I love the song Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I love the melody and the lyrics always intrigued me. I am a history buff and wanted to know more about this hymn.
It was written by a 22 year old, coincidentally the same age as me, named Robert Robinson. He lost his parents when he was young and was now running with the wrong crowd, doing things he wasn’t proud of. One day, while he and his friends were harassing a gypsy to tell them their futures. She turned to Robert and said that he would live a long life and his children would grow up looking up to him.
This would be a great fortune to receive but in that moment, it caused him to stop and think about his actions and the life he was living. Immediately he made a choice to change and to follow Christ.
This song is basically his prayer of thanks to his Heavenly Father for being forgiving and loving.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor, Daily I'm constrained to be
Let that goodness like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above
Each of us can relate to having times in our lives when we need our Heavenly Father’s love and forgiveness. As we sing the message of these lyrics it also becomes our prayer to “bind our wandering hearts to thee”. Music has the power connect us to Christ and to make us prayerful.
IV. GRATEFUL
In Doctrine & Covenants 136:28, Joseph Smith taught that we should:
“praise the Lord with singing, with music, … and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving”.
Gratitude comes not only when we sing the songs but when we sing the WORDS, when we sing the message with the spirit of enthusiasm. Contrast that with scenes we may see at church when we sing only passively and without a spirit of joy.
I have had the opportunity to sing How Great Thou Art many, many times. In fact, I think I recently sang it here in our war. It isn’t the easiest song to sing. But, it is one of my favorites.
The first time I ever performed it was for my seminary graduation. I was so nervous to do it perfectly in front of all my peers. But afterward, someone approached my mom and said she noticed that I wiggled and held on to the podium... she said “it was like I was ready to burst.” So the next time I sang that hymn, I paid more attention to “my wiggling”. I found she was right. It doesn’t matter where I am - in my car, in a rehearsal, during a church meeting, at this podium, or alone in my room, it is hard to hold back and not feel like I’m going to burst while singing How Great Thou Art.
Old Testament scripture in Psalm 98:4 encourages us to
“make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise”
In the Hebrew language, the meaning of this verse is to literally burst forth into song and to shout for joy. Who can’t help but be moved by the lyrics:
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
The next line is one that I struggle to sing without tears and I immediately soften,
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!
How can we not sing that last line without a “joyful noise”. Jesus suffered so much because of His love for you and me. I know it and I feel it when I sing. My heart is filled with joy.
President Nelson said:
“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.”
I know without a doubt that as we lift up our voices & sing, we will be filled with joy and gratitude. Music has the power connect us to Christ and to make us grateful.
CONCLUSION:
I hope we will renew our commitment to sing. Worthy Music enhances worship. Music has boundless powers for moving families toward greater spirituality and devotion to the gospel. Whether we are musically inclined or not, I pray that we will open our hymnbooks and then open our mouths and JOYOUSLY SING - not just in our church meetings but in our homes, our cars, with our friends and families, that we may become more humble, prayerful, and grateful.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen
