“And What is It We Shall Hope For?”

“And What is It We Shall Hope For?” April 21, 2019

 

Where the Boss and I were married
The 1978 Revelation on Priesthood was received in the Salt Lake City Utah Temple  (LDS.org)

 

This is, in its way, very, very big news:

 

“Plans Unveiled for Salt Lake Temple Renovation: Details and project renderings have been released regarding the upcoming closure and renovation of the historic Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

 

***

 

It has been a remarkably rough week, globally, for followers of Jesus Christ:

 

“Church Leaders Offer Words of Sorrow and Comfort Following Bombings in Sri Lanka”

 

“President Nelson Pens Personal Note of Sympathy to Pope Francis after Notre Dame Fire: Europe Area Presidency reaches out to Archbishop of Paris”

 

In a world significantly characterized by decay, cruelty, destruction, hatred, and death, how grateful we ought to be for the promise of Easter!

 

With that in mind, here’s a little bit of musical comfort for the soul, from Book of Mormon Central:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awhJYCkXpoI

 

But I’ll offer still more:

 

My wife and I were pleased, during last night’s Easter broadcast by the Tabernacle Choir, to hear Robert Cundick’s exquisitely beautiful choral piece “And What is It We Shall Hope For?” from his magnificent oratorio The Redeemer.  Here it is in a performance at the Central United Methodist Church of Phoenix, Arizona, by the University of Utah Singers under the direction of Dr. Brady R. Allred:

 

 

The lyrics set to music by Dr. Cundick are drawn quite closely from Moroni 7:41, 48, in the Book of Mormon:

 

41 And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise. . . .

48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.

 

We came to know and love Robert Cundick (1926-2016) and his wife, Cholly, while we and they were living in Jerusalem in 1993, and we were privileged to be involved with the production of a 24:36-minute 2017 documentary film about his life and work under the auspices of the Interpreter Foundation:

 

Robert Cundick: A Sacred Service of Music

 

Today, in connection with Easter and in memory of our dear friend, my wife and I watched a performance of the entire oratorio on the website of the Tabernacle Choir:

 

The Redeemer: A Sacred Service of Music by Former Tabernacle Organist Bob Cundick

 

 


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