Music That's Made A Difference

I love music, and it has helped me immeasurably throughout my life.  Here are some of the Primary songs and Hymns that have made a difference for good in my life.

Jesus Once Was A Little Child by Lyle Hadlock has the words, "so little children, lets you and I, try to be like him, try, try, try."  This never made me feel like God was expecting too much, or that I was letting him down.  Instead it felt comforting, and encouraging.

I Am A Child of God by Naomi W. Randall was the song I sang to myself in the night as a child when I felt lonely.  It reminded me that, as God's child, I was never forgotten.

Count Your Blessings by Johnson Oatman, Jr. is the hymn I always started with when I was feeling sad or discouraged and I would sit down at the piano to play and sing until I felt better.  Doing this usually helped me gain a better perspective on life, and what is really important.  This song was my "go to" song for years and years.

Come, Come, Ye Saints by William Clayton:  I love this hymn, especially the second verse which helps stop the pity parties I am sometimes prone to.  It says, "Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?  'Tis not so; all is right.  Why should we think to earn a great reward If we now shun the fight?"  The pioneers didn't give up, and even though life really can be difficult, we can remember to find joy in the journey because God has not forsaken us.

I Stand All Amazed by Charles H. Gabriel:  Can we ever feel more loved than when we realize that someone loves us enough to not just be willing, but to actually suffer and die just so we could be with Him and our Father forever?

How Firm a Foundation attributed to Robert Keen:  And, though there are more hymns I could talk about, I'll end with this one.  I have sung this to myself when life has felt so heavy that I have started to panic.

"When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow, For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake!" 

 I am thankful for music, and those who have written and shared it.  I have found knowledge, and comfort in music!

*Photo by Michael Maasen on Unsplash

A Scripture For Me

"For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.  Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody."

2 Nephi 8:3

Sometimes when I am reading scriptures, I feel that a particular scripture is for me that day, and I can see how to put myself in it.  While reading this one, it struck me that I could put my name in the place of Zion.  Zion has more than one definition, and one is "the pure in heart".  While I am not saying that I am perfectly pure in heart, I do believe in Christ, and that He is helping me to become pure in heart through His grace, and His atonement.  So here's how I read it, and it felt hopeful, and comforting.

"For the Lord shall comfort [me], he will comfort all [my] waste places; and he will make [my] wilderness like Eden, and [my] desert like the garden of the Lord.  Joy and gladness shall be found [in me], thanksgiving and the voice of melody."

Reading it now it brings the same hope and comfort.  I sin, and let myself down often, and it creates "waste places" in my mind, and in my life.  Christ comforts me.  He doesn't condemn me, but is there to heal me.  Life often feels like a tangled wilderness that I can't see my way through, and yet, the Lord can make that wilderness like Eden.  When I lack knowledge, or direction, or I feel alone or worn out, it is as if I am lost in a desert.  But the Lord is the Living Water and can turn deserts into gardens. 

With the Lord in my life I have more joy and gladness, and more gratitude. I feel "the voice of melody" in my life when I turn to Christ, and it is not a discordant melody, but a harmonious, joyful one.

*Photo by Ben White on Unsplash