The Song of the Righteous

To my daughter, 

                This week in our Come, Follow Me study we learned about Emma Smith and the instructions from the Lord to her to compile the first hymnal of the church. The Lord said this: “And it shall be given thee, also, to make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my church. For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads” (Doctrine and Covenants 25:11-12). She followed this instruction, and in 1832 the hymns that she selected started to be published in the Church’s newspaper. In 1835 the first hymnal of the Church was published as a book in Kirtland. She selected the hymns and William W. Phelps helped to get them edited and published. You can see a picture of the hymnal here in the Joseph Smith Papers. These are the words in the preface to the book: “In order to sing by the Spirit, and with the understanding, it is necessary that the church of the Latter Day Saints should have a collection of ‘Sacred Hymns,’ adapted to their faith and belief in the gospel, and, as far as can be, holding forth the promises made to the fathers who died in the precious faith of a glorious resurrection, and a thousand years’ reign on earth with the Son of Man in his glory. Notwithstanding the church, as it were, is still in its infancy, yet, as the song of the righteous is a prayer unto God, it is sincerely hoped that the following collection, selected with an eye single to his glory, may answer every purpose till more are composed, or till we are blessed with a copious variety of the songs of Zion.” Since that date, we have been richly blessed with many more which have been composed, and we have so much incredible music, both in our official hymns and from others seeking to worship the Savior. These help us indeed to “sing by the Spirit.” For me, there are few things that can help me to feel connected with the Savior more powerfully than the songs of Zion. I know that you have felt that as well, and I hope you will always remember that the song of the righteous is indeed a prayer unto the Lord.

                Lately you and some of your siblings have been singing around the house a song by Leanna Crawford called This Is What They Meant. In fact, I just turned it on and your younger sister came running into the room and started dancing. Here are some of the lyrics: 

Jesus loves me, this I know

My momma and the Bible always told me so

Some seeds take more time to grow

And I guess that was me

I remember

Sunday school

All dressed up

I can still hear sweet Miss Sylvia saying

Ain't no love like Jesus’ love

Let's bow our heads and pray

And all at once it all just clicked

I heard your voice and that was it

Suddenly my black and white

Turn into brilliant colors

Suddenly my heartbeat

Found a brand new song to sing

I guess you never see until you see it for yourself and now I see

This is what they meant when they said love, la-la love

This is what they meant when they said love, la-la love

Love will change your life 

The song tells of how she came to feel the love of Jesus, how it finally “clicked” for her, and to me it is a symbol of what we hope for all of the sacred music we participate in. The ultimate goal is to worship the Lord and to feel His love for us in return. Music can figuratively bring “brilliant colors” into our lives and hearts when things seem to be “black and white.” We tend to enjoy the music we do because of how it makes us feel, and the best kind of feeling is that which brings us close to the Savior and His love. I love these words from the end of the dedicatory prayer to the Kirtland Temple: “And help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb!” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:79) I hope that you will continue to seek out good music and to express your prayers and hosannas to the Lord through sacred music, whether you are listening, singing, or playing an instrument.   

Love,

Dad