{"id":105696,"date":"2024-06-11T06:14:37","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T12:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=105696"},"modified":"2024-06-11T11:21:09","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T17:21:09","slug":"some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html","title":{"rendered":"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mozart's<\/a>
Getreidegasse, a street in the Salzburger Altstadt. \u00a0Mozart\u2019s birthplace is on Getreidegasse. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we\u2019ll be doing another conference there this coming Saturday. \u00a0The organizer for that previous event \u2014 which was extraordinarily well attended by members from Denmark, Norway, Finland, and even Germany, as well as from Sweden itself \u2014 was Louis Herrey<\/a>, a member of the G\u00f6teborg Ward. \u00a0He is also the organizer of the event that will take place on Saturday, though one never knows in advance whether it will be as well attended.<\/p>\n

Brother Herrey is a coordinator for Seminaries and Institutes in the Church Educational System. \u00a0Here is a twenty-minute interview with him (in English) on \u201cThe Many Resources of CES.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Interestingly, Brother Herrey and his two older brothers, Per and Richard, performing under the name of \u201cThe Herreys\u201d and representing Sweden, won the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest with a song called \u2014 brace yourself! \u2014 \u201cDiggi-Loo Diggi-Ley.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 It\u2019s an upbeat dance song, very much in the style of the 1980s. \u00a0(I am a child of the 1960s, and from California, no less.) \u00a0According to Wikipedia, Richard and Louis Herrey became the first teenage males ever to win in the Eurovision competition, and they remain the youngest-ever male winners, with Richard having been 19 years and 260 days old and Louis having been 17 years and 184 days of age.<\/p>\n

The Swedish group ABBA had already won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, ten years earlier. \u00a0They have a museum in Stockholm, and I\u2019m told that the golden shoes worn by The Herrey\u2019s in the 1984 Eurovision performance \u2014 the shoes are important for the story told in \u201cDiggi-Loo Diggi-Ley\u201d \u2014\u00a0are on display there.<\/p>\n

Here is a video recording of their winning 1984 Eurovision performance: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ySOCalwr6Yo<\/a> \u00a0(Louis is, I believe, the one in dark blue on the audience\u2019s left.)<\/p>\n

They performed the song again \u2014 in London and, this time, in English \u2014 at the end of March 2015, in a program of Eurovision\u2019s \u201cGreatest Hits\u201d: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WCV7L7Pwv70<\/a>\u00a0 Alas, though, you will notice that Louis has lost his hair.<\/p>\n

And they still perform sometimes to this very day. \u00a0Here they are about a month ago, singing their winning song forty years later to a large and very enthusiastic audience as the concluding act at the 2024<\/em> Eurovision Song Contest: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7W8awd9ur5g<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last night, I listened to their cover of \u201cYou\u2019ve Lost that Loving Feeling\u201d \u2014 one of my very favorite old-time pop songs \u2014 and, although the Righteous Brothers will always own that melody, I thought that they did a very respectable job of it. \u00a0I wanted to share it here but, for the life of me, I just haven\u2019t been able to find it this morning. \u00a0Quite the mystery.<\/p>\n

\"Africa<\/a>
A more or less current public domain political map of the continent of Africa from Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I now share another set of photographs just sent to me a few hours ago by Jeff Bradshaw, who is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, working on an Interpreter Foundation film project called Not by Bread Alone<\/em>. \u00a0\u201cYesterday,\u201d he writes, \u201camong other things, we visited with an artist and a historian. This morning we leave Kananga for Kinshasa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question that occurs to me, quite honestly, as I look at the photos that Jeff sends and read what he has to say about them, is this: \u00a0Am I worthy to be a member of the same church as Latter-day Saints such as these?<\/p>\n

\"Tres<\/a>
The Kananga Institute of Fine Arts (Beaux Arts) is located down the hill from an elementary school and a secondary school. As we left the car, we were literally mobbed by a crowd of perhaps 100 cheering children in their uniforms who must have thought we were celebrities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Doing<\/a>
Directly behind the institute is the home of a Latter-day Saint artist who has a unique approach to \u201cpainting.\u201d He collects discarded scraps of local fabric, cuts them into small pieces and glues them one by one onto a canvas to create a picture. He has been working on this image for a week so far.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"We<\/a>
This is an image of a \u201cpilgrim\u201d (representing all of the wanderers on earth seeking their heavenly home\u2014see Hebrews 11:13\u201316). This image also illustrates his frequent use of the symbolism of a \u201cvase\u201d as a marker of \u201cfragility\u201d\u2014easily broken into pieces. You can see the vase as part of the pilgrim\u2019s belly. The scriptures sometimes refer to our bodies as \u201cvessels of clay\u201d (e.g., Jeremiah 18, Romans 9) or \u201ctabernacles of clay\u201d (e.g., Moroni 9).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
If you look carefully at the blue image behind the seated woman, you will see that the background is in the shape of a map of the DR Congo. The colors of the flag are visible in the top right. She is being assailed from all sides by arrows seeking to destroy the soul of the country and to extract its precious resources.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More<\/a>
This painting is supposed to remind us to look steadfastly at our own personal star and to follow its light\u2014not to look elsewhere at the stars of other people.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Inside<\/a>
Inside his home was a picture of Jesus and this sketch of the temple\u2014not sure which temple. He spoke of how his faith informs his work and his life. He was introduced to the Church by the historian I will mention next\u2014who teaches \u201cnext door\u201d in the secondary school.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a<\/a>
This local church historian, Edouard Ngindu, and his wife Susannah (spelling?) gave us the story of their conversion. Soon after a small group of Latter-day Saints who discovered the Church in Kinshasa began meeting in a home, Edouard received a copy of the Book of Mormon from a friend. He brought it home and secretly began to read it, worrying that his wife would not approve of his interest in a new faith. That night she had a dream where she saw a book with a blue cover and gold lettering that had come from God. She woke up and told him of his dream. He took the book out from its hiding place and showed her, and she said it was the same book.
The next Sunday they went to the house meeting and, since most of those meeting were not able to read and understand the Book of Mormon in French (and it didn\u2019t exist in Tshiluba), he was appointed to be their Book of Mormon teacher\u2014a role he fulfilled for many years. He shared the gospel with his friend, Erick Kapanga, now the mission president in Kananga, and the latter became the Gospel Principles teacher the next week. It would be about nine years before anyone was authorized to be baptized.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Ngindus were worried that there were no Church members in this area of the city when they purchased an empty lot here. But they felt led here by the Lord. They and their children built this house brick-by-brick over a period of five years\u2014and at the same time built the Church in the area through their missionary work. Many members now live nearby.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Surveying<\/a>
Here Sister Ngindu and Jeremiah Machio are in Edouard\u2019s study. Brother Ngindu has many priceless stories and photos he has compiled over more than a decade as a church historian and leader. He promised to put them in order and scan them before the end of June so that they can be permanently preserved and made available in the Church History library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This<\/a>
Then we went to the swimming pool where the first baptisms took place\u2014at a hotel where they had to pay $50 for the use. We were glad to get a photo of some of those who had been baptized there at the very beginning in 1996. L to R: Mission President and Sister Kapanga, Sister Kasongo, and Sister Ngindu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sie<\/a>
Our final stop of the day was at the home of Brother Martin and his family, in a \u201csuburb\u201d of winding footpaths on the edge of a beautiful ravine. His wife spoke to us in Tshiluba as Edouard translated into French for us.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
Brother Martin received this copy of the Book of Mormon from the pastor of another Church. He read it and believed. Eventually, he learned that Church members had recently started meeting in Katoka. They would leave on foot (or, when the children were small, on a single bicycle) each Sunday morning at 4 or 5 AM to travel the distance to Church meetings.
They have raised faithful children, including some who have been called as full-time missionaries. Brother Martin is now serving as a counselor in the mission presidency. He was a chauffeur and mechanic in the last part of the reign of Mobutu (1980s-90s), but now struggles to find any kind of work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"How<\/a>
Very fittingly for the end of a sweet day and a sweet stay in Kananga, two of the daughters and three of the grandchildren joined to sing a heartfelt rendition of \u201cAbide with Me.\u201d Knowing the worthiness and the many needs and responsibilities of this family, we pray with all our hearts that the Lord will abide with and bless them with every blessing they so much deserve.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Posted from Salzburg, Austria<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we\u2019ll be doing another conference there this coming Saturday. \u00a0The organizer for that previous event \u2014 which was extraordinarily well attended by members from Denmark, Norway, Finland, and even Germany, as well as from Sweden itself \u2014 was Louis Herrey, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":105711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1616,4159,37659,37656,37662,4862],"class_list":["post-105696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-africa","tag-congo","tag-eurovision","tag-herrey","tag-kananga","tag-sweden"],"yoast_head":"\nSome art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we'll be doing another conference there this coming\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we'll be doing another conference there this coming\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-11T12:14:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-11T17:21:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2024\/06\/IMG_7353.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"472\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html\",\"name\":\"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-11T12:14:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-11T17:21:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"  I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we'll be doing another conference there this coming\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America","description":"  I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we'll be doing another conference there this coming","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America","og_description":"  I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we'll be doing another conference there this coming","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2024-06-11T12:14:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-11T17:21:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":472,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2024\/06\/IMG_7353.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html","name":"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-06-11T12:14:37+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-11T17:21:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"  I participated in a FAIR conference in G\u00f6teborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, several years ago, and we'll be doing another conference there this coming","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/06\/some-art-and-music-from-latter-day-saints-beyond-america.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Some art and music from Latter-day Saints beyond America"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}