Our Symphony

The highlight of my recent trip to the UK and France was attending the cultural celebration the night before the dedication of the Paris Temple.  Seeing all of those faithful youth participate in the celebration for the house of the Lord was a moving experience for me as I thought on my two years serving among them over a decade ago now.  My favorite moment from the evening was the finale when all of the youth came together and sang David Archuleta’s song Glorious (in French of course).  It was a moment of incredible unity as this “symphony” of voices joined together to express their faith in the Lord.  The song itself expresses the need for each of us to figure out our place in God’s plan:

It's like a symphony

Just keep listening

And pretty soon you'll start

To figure out your part

Everyone plays a piece

And there are melodies

In each one of us

Oh it's glorious

 

I love the message of the song because the symphony analogy is so fitting for our mortal journey here on earth.  We not only have to figure out the part that we play but also how we fit in with the rest of the "musicians" around us.  Life will tempt us with the pride of being a soloist, of trying to stand out and constantly comparing ourselves with those around us.  I’ve felt that temptation in particular lately, but as I’ve pondered this song and that experience in France I realize that the greatest joys comes from unity, not from personal excellence.  The best symphony will be one in which the focus of each musician is solely on success of the whole performance with no thought about individual acclaim.  

               The single gospel word that perhaps encapsulates these ideas is Zion.  From the beginning of the Restoration the Lord exhorted the Saints to build up Zion.  As we try to “figure out [our] part” in life, one of the answers that the Doctrine and Covenants gives us is this: “Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion” (D&C 6:6).  Whatever else we do, seeking to establish Zion should always be a part of our earthly mission.  And what is the “cause of Zion”; what is the ultimate purpose of Zion?  It seems to me that it can be nothing less than what Enoch and his people accomplished: entering into the presence of God.  As we read in the Pearl of Great Price: “And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled” (Moses 7:69).  They were a people who were righteous and cared for each other—there was so much love and selflessness and concern for each other that there was “no poor among them” at all (Moses 7:18).  That’s something that our modern society as a whole will never accomplish.  Building Zion means not only trying to find our individual part in the symphony of life but in helping others to do the same.  Its only as we are found “seeking the interest of [our] neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of god” that “the sounds that are in [our] hearts” will be found (D&C 82:19).