Since November, I have been studying Elder Wilford W. Andersen’s
talk, The Music of the Gospel, from the April 2015 General Conference. Now, I’ll be honest, and admit that when this
talk was given, I really stopped paying attention. Once I heard the word, “music”,
my Mommy-Tune-Out powers went to work.
My husband would be the first to tell you that I am not a music person. I listen to Talk Radio, and have completely disavowed American Idol and The Voice (which are big hits in my home). It’s not that I hate music. I just find most music distracting,
not up to my standards, or performed by poor role models who don’t deserve my
time of day. I do love the Beatles, and for almost every mood and occasion in my life, I
have certain “theme songs”, which are constantly running through my head (I tend to keep this to myself, although my poor kids have definitely heard me belt it out occasionally).
When
I go to work, Donny Osmond sings “Let Get Down to Business... to defeat the Huns” in my head... And when I’m
feeling really happy- I feel like I have to sing “Something Good” from
the Sound of Music. Likewise, when I'm feeling down Nat King Cole’s “Smile” gets me
through the day.
Anyhow, I was a little surprised when I pulled this talk up,
and read through it, because it really isn’t about music at all- at least not
in the traditional sense.
In Elder Andersen’s talk, he begins with a story of a medicine
man who asked a doctor if he can dance. The doctor replied that he could not, and
asked the medicine man to teach him. The medicine man retorted, “I
can teach you to dance, but you have to hear the music”.
If truth be told, my life has felt out of sync for the last
couple months, and I've felt prompted to take a step back and re-evaluate. Recognizing this, I remembered Elder Andersen saying, “Dancing without music is awkward and
unfulfilling- even embarrassing”. That was exactly how I felt.
One day at work, my friend told me about “Dirty Dishes” by
Scotty McCreery (Apparently, this guy is from American Idol- maybe I should pay
more attention, huh?). In the song, the difficulties in life are acknowledged as blessings in disguise. Dirty dishes and a tired husband represent employment
and food to eat, and noisy, messy, busy children are symbols of a home full of
love. The words stirred something in my soul. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QJyMq6UN48
Elder Andersen related, “The dance steps of the gospel are
the things we do; the music of the gospel is the joyful spiritual feeling that
comes from the Holy Ghost… The dance steps require discipline, but the joy of
the dance will be experienced only when we come to hear the music.”
This was literally the music of the Spirit I had been trying
to hear. For the entire month of November, this became my new theme song. For
the first time since high school I put a song on “REPEAT”, and forced my family
to listen to it non-stop. Yay!- For Mommy always getting her own way!
By the end of the month, the “music” in my home got some
much needed tuning.... and in December, I started to practice my dancing. I took some
time to reconnect with loved ones that I hadn’t seen in a while, to cherish the
memories of those whom I missed, and teach my children the melody of the Holy
Spirit. I put my phone away for almost a month- which is an amazing experience that drives the world mad, but fills your life with peace. Then, I gathered my small family so we could dance to the
music.
And it was magic.
And it was magic.
I don’t know how else to describe our transformation. It was
a time of pure harmony, where the Spirit led us by the hand. It was so special and
sacred to me that I can’t put the feelings that existed in our home into words,
and I can’t relate one specific memory either.
It was just magic. Only those who have taken the time to hear the song of the Spirit, and step to the dance of the gospel can understand the experience we had in our home.
It was just magic. Only those who have taken the time to hear the song of the Spirit, and step to the dance of the gospel can understand the experience we had in our home.
I meant to write this post at the beginning of January, but
I wanted to take a couple of extra weeks to practice listening to the music, as
we gradually all returned to school, extra-curricular activities, and work. I
didn’t want to lose the magic we have all worked so hard to embrace.
This last week, we actually held a PLANNED Family Home
Evening! We focused on D &C 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.”
Together, we went through each part of that scripture, and
made suggestions on how we could keep and improve the dance in our home.
I know, most of our suggestions and ideas will take time,
but I know that if we focus on listening to the music, the dance will come
naturally continue to follow.
Ah! I absolutely love this and YOU! And it is amazing to me, because this exact topic moved me At a recent stake YW conference, they were inspired by this talk and implemented into an inspiring evening. One of the YW actually danced on stage a beautiful dance without music, and it was awkward. Then we learned that she had been told by a soft whisper when she was six that she would dance a solo to this dance one day. She continued to dance and was an amazing dancer by now and she always knew in the back of her mind that this dance was a dance she would perform one day. And that day was the day. We learned that day that living the gospel is also very similar to the dance without music. That we can go through the motions of going to church, doing our callings etc. but until we "feel" the music in our hearts, that's where the magic begins. We then got to watch her dance that same dance to a song she had heard when she was six and the song she created the dance to. And it was remarkable! So beautiful in fact, that my heart was filled and moved by the music. Thanks for letting me share my relatable experience.
ReplyDeleteYou are truly inspired my friend! I'm grateful for your example and courage.