A report from Thursday and Friday

On Thursday evening, my wife and I were privileged to participate in a dinner at the Relief Society Building in Salt Lake City.  It was an interesting group to be with.  Elder Matthew Holland of the Seventy conducted the event.  Sister Tracy Y. Browning, second counselor in the Primary General Presidency of the Church, spoke briefly, as did Sister Lesa Stevenson and her husband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Several officials of the Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis were there — they were interesting to talk with — as was Governor Michael Parson of Missouri.  And it was fun to run into Elder Ahmad Corbitt yet again; I first met him many years ago in New York City, and I was absolutely unsurprised when he was called to the Seventy in April 2023.  A high point for me was to chat briefly with Rev. Amos Brown and his wife.

Afterwards, we all headed over across the street to the Conference Center for the first of the three 2024 Christmas concerts performed by theTabernacle Choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells at Temple Square.  The special guests were Ruthie Ann Miles and Dennis Haysbert (plus a special surprise guest who is connected with the featured story told by Mr. Haysbert).  The first performance of the annual Christmas concert series can sometimes be just a tiny bit rough, and Thursday evening’s illustrated that with a few slightly muffed lines and an incorrect (but swiftly corrected) musical entrance.  I imagine that all of it was worked out for the Friday night performance and that it will be fine for tonight’s.

I was delighted that the Choir performed the Nigerian Christmas carol Betelehemu, by Via Olatunji and Wendell Whalum.  It has become one of my very favorite Christmas songs, and it is my Christmas musical piece for this post.  I first heard it performed by the BYU Men’s Chorus, so I’ve included here a link to their recording of it.  But that recording doesn’t provide video, so I’m also giving you a link to an earlier Tabernacle Choir performance of the carol that I don’t like quite as much, but that is still fun to watch.  And here are the lyrics, in the original Yoruba, with a pronunciation guide (in all caps) and a translation:

I often disagree with Jana Riess, but this article of hers is worth a look:  “What the new LDS hymns say about Mormon theology: Memo from the newest LDS hymns: We’re Christians, we’re Christians, we’re Christians.”  In passing, she shares an important insight regarding one of the very valuable roles played by the hymns of the Church and its children’s music.  (I judge it to be important not only because I agree with it but because I have thought the same thing for years.  From The Devil’s Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce:  “Admiration, n. Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves.”)  Here’s Sister Riess:

Many years ago, I was called to be my ward’s Primary chorister. Soon after, the Primary president took me aside and told me I had just been given the most important job in the entire Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It was rather stunning. We are not accustomed to thinking of the chorister job as a very important position. Basically, your role is to help the children learn the songs for their annual Primary program. It also helps if you can keep them from killing each other when they get bored. (This was particularly important back at that time, when we still had three hours of church, which meant nearly two hours of Primary.)

Her reasoning, the Primary president explained, was that these kids would likely forget almost every talk or sermon they heard growing up in the church — but the songs they learned by heart would stay with them for the rest of their lives.

I realized she was completely correct about this. I didn’t grow up in religion, but the Girl Scout songs, McDonald’s advertisements and pop music of my childhood are likely the only things I will remember verbatim when I’m in a nursing home and I’ve forgotten the names of all my beloved family members.

That wise Primary president recognized something we don’t tend to discuss in the church much: Hymns and children’s songs are the best teachers of theology. They have a liturgical function; we have repeated them so often that they become available to us in our hours of need – anytime, anywhere. Once we learn them, they lodge in our hearts and minds as the scaffolding of our future faith.

On Friday night, my wife and I sat in the seats of the Provo High School auditorium for a full rehearsal by the Intermountain Choral Artists and Symphony Orchestra.  (A friend has been deeply involved with them.). At 7 PM on Saturday night, 21 December, and only on Saturday night, they will be putting on a program of Christmas music titled “Wondrous Love.”  My wife and I won’t be able to attend the concert because of a conflicting obligation (or opportunity), but I think that some of you might enjoy it, especially if you were unable to land tickets to Saturday’s Tabernacle Choir concert.  (To me, Intermountain Choral Artists’ performance of Morten Lauridsen’s O magnum mysterium — which was my first selection here for this year’s Christmas music back on 1 December — was an absolute highlight of the program.)  Tickets for “Wondrous Love” are available — if they’re still available (which I don’t actually know) — here.