Sing Redeeming Love

In the most recent general conference, Elder Uchtdorf told a story about inviting a friend to church with him and his family. He was nervous about the quality of the talks and teachings, and by the end of the service he was uncomfortable that it hadn’t been better. He said, “All morning I worried about what our friend must think of this church we had taken her to. Afterward, as we drove home, I turned to talk to our friend. I wanted to explain that this was just one small branch and it didn’t really represent the Church as a whole. But before I could say a word, she spoke up. ‘That was beautiful,’ she said. I was speechless. She continued, ‘I’m so impressed with how people treat each other in your church. They all seem to come from different backgrounds, and yet it’s clear that they genuinely love each other. This is what I imagine Christ wanted His Church to be like.’” His friend was more concerned with how people interacted with one another than how powerful or doctrinally correct the teachings were. Elder Uchtdorf continued, “It’s important to remember that when most people experience the Church of Jesus Christ for the first time, they aren’t thinking about priesthood authority or ordinances or the gathering of Israel. What they’re likely to notice, above all else, is how they feel when they’re with us and how we treat each other. ‘Love one another,’ Jesus said. ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples.’ Very often, a person’s first testimony of Jesus Christ comes when he or she feels love among disciples of Jesus Christ.” Perhaps then the best way to do missionary work is to learn to love like He did, showing people that we not only speak of Christ but seek to live by His teachings. There is no more important symbol of our faith than how we love and treat others. According to the Savior, people will recognize His followers not because they wear a cross or attend the church or read the scriptures; His followers seek to love others, and that is perhaps the best way we can show the world our belief in Him.

                One of Elder Uchtdorf’s concerns as this friend attended church with him was that “the singing, for example, didn’t exactly sound like the Tabernacle Choir.” The music at our worship services certainly doesn’t have to be professional for someone to feel the Spirit, and Alma spoke of an even more important kind of “music” that we should be concerned about. To the people of Zarahemla he said, “And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved…. And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:9, 26) Of course this is a metaphor, but his words invite us to consider whether we can sing redeeming love in our own lives. This implies I think both that we feel the redeeming love of the Savior and we share that love with others around us. That is how it works in an actual choir—as you feel the power of the music yourself while singing others listening will more easily be able to feel their hearts touched by it as well. We strive to do that each Sunday as we sing a hymn focused on the atoning sacrifice of the Savior before partaking of the sacrament, in similitude of what He did on that fateful night: “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30). We have no reason to believe that these men, the apostles, had great musical voices, but certainly their hearts were full as they sang. They had just received the sacrament from the Son of God and were taught many powerful truths by Him. We do not know what hymn they sang, but I think we can safely say that it was a song of redeeming love.

                Elder Uchtdorf also taught, “In every session of general conference, we’re blessed with inspiring music from talented choirs. As you listen, you might notice that the singers don’t all sing the same notes. Sometimes one section carries the melody, sometimes another. But they all contribute to the beautiful sound, and they’re completely unified. Each choir member has the same central goal: to praise God and lift our hearts to Him. Each must have his or her mind and heart fixed on the same divine purpose. And when that happens, they truly become one voice. If you are not yet a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we invite you to join us as we rejoice in the Savior’s ‘song of redeeming love.’ We need you. We love you. The Church will be better with your efforts to serve the Lord and His children.” We certainly look forward to hearing that choir again this weekend with general conference once more, and their testimony through song can help inspire us to become more like the Savior. And even though our voices may not be as polished as theirs, we too can be ready to sing and feel the song of redeeming love turn our hearts to Him.