#LIGHTtheWORLD Honoring the Sabbath

Day 18.  Honoring the Sabbath through Song,  No surprise, right?

Today was my last Sunday in the Twin Falls 10th Ward.  The choir sang, I will comment in a moment on that.  I wanted to focus first on the Sacrament Hymn that we sang.  It is  #185 in the LDS Hymnbook.  Reverently and Meekly Now, by Joseph Townsend.  In my experience, this song is not commonly sung, so I made a point of reviewing the words.  While I was doing that, it occurred to me that the song is not like most Sacrament hymns, singing of Jesus, and the Atonement.  It is sung as the voice of Christ preparing us to partake of the Sacrament.  The lyrics are so thoughtful, so feeling,  His love is apparent.  Read  them for yourself.

  1. 1. Rev'rently and meekly now,
    Let thy head most humbly bow.
    Think of me, thou ransomed one;
    Think what I for thee have done.
    With my blood that dripped like rain,
    Sweat in agony of pain,
    With my body on the tree
    I have ransomed even thee.
  2. 2. In this bread now blest for thee,
    Emblem of my body see;
    In this water or this wine,
    Emblem of my blood divine.
    Oh, remember what was done
    That the sinner might be won.
    On the cross of Calvary
    I have suffered death for thee.
  3. 3. Bid thine heart all strife to cease;
    With thy brethren be at peace.
    Oh, forgive as thou wouldst be
    E'en forgiven now by me.
    In the solemn faith of prayer
    Cast upon me all thy care,
    And my Spirit's grace shall be
    Like a fountain unto thee.
  4. 4. At the throne I intercede;
    For thee ever do I plead.
    I have loved thee as thy friend,
    With a love that cannot end.
    Be obedient, I implore,
    Prayerful, watchful evermore,
    And be constant unto me,
    That thy Savior I may be.
Do you feel the love.  The author really captured it, in my opinion.

The choir sang I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.  Most are familiar with the words, so I won't reprint the lyrics.  What made the song special, was the tune that we used. It is found in the LDS Hymnbook, #17 Awake Ye Saints of God Awake.  It truly was a spiritual experience.  The choir responded so well, and really made it work. 
I am a big believer in using hymns for choirs, and since I lack expertise in music theory, I just use the meter, find a tune that works, and go with that.  

This afternoon, I will go and make my last Home Teaching Visit in Twin.  I look forward to that, and to sending out Christmas cards to the letter list.

It really is that easy to #LIGHTtheWORLD  I don't post, for people to see what I am doing.  I post so people know that if Phil can do it, they can.  mormon.org so many ways to #LIGHTtheWORLD  try one!  share it with friends and family.

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