George Dyer -Bring Him Home

Rachmaninov - Fabio Luisi - Piano Concerto No.2 Mvt.1

This Is The Christ

This morning I woke up and listened to a bunch of Easter music in preparation for Sacrament meeting . . . until I looked at the clock and realized that I was almost late!  I was supposed to play the piano at our meeting so I needed to be early to play the prelude, and Hanna and I were doing a musical number as well which we needed to practice.
We did end up running in with a couple minutes to play prelude, and I tried to feel the spirit of this special Easter season.  The meeting was incredible and the speakers inspired.  I sang, "Jesus Lives" by Tammy Simmister Robins.  The Spirit was powerful and it lifted my voice in a magnificent way.  However, I felt truly comforted when another man stood up to sing "This Is The Christ."  He was a brain tumor survivor who had lost most of the movement in the right half of his body.  Even the corner of his mouth drooped a bit, but his physical limitations could inhibit neither his voice nor his spirit.  It was a powerful meeting, and I would just like to share a portion of that feeling that filled me.  I know that Christ suffered for our sins and pains in Gethsemane and then died on the cross.  I know that He lived again when he was raised on the third day. I also know that He loves all of the people in all parts of the world, and so He went to visit them, just like He did for the Nephites in ancient America.  I know that He still lives today and that He loves us.  May we ever rely on His atoning sacrifice for strength in all areas of our lives, and have faith that we too will live again.  

♬♪ This Is the Christ - Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra ♫♭

Dear To The Heart of the Shepherd

I might be on a MoTab kick, because general conference was so inspiring for me.  I looked up this recording because I remember when they sang it during my mission.  At the time, I was working as a full time shepherd, so I suppose that was one of the reasons why this song stood out to me (unfortunately for most of my life I had ignored it).  However, the real reason why it has become a favorite hymn of mine, is because I have experienced times where I feel that I am the lost sheep and I require assistance to deliver me from the cold, weary wilderness in which I so often find myself.  This past week was one of those hard times for me.  I felt overwhelmed, and then we sang this hymn in one of my classes; I felt the comfort of the Lord, and I knew that He would come to rescue me.  In gratitude, I post this song, hoping to inspire someone to go out as a shepherd and save a friend in need.

Dear to the Heart ot the Sheperd

Oh Ye People of Israel

How Oft Will I Gather You

This is a video I made for a project in my Old Testament class.  It is special to me because of the powerful message it presents.  Heavenly Father has always gathered His beloved children, since the days of Adam and Eve, until now.  No matter what the children of Israel did, or the Nephites, or the pioneers, He always reached out in love and took care of them.  This video is a representation of the span of the earth, and God's infinite love.

4 O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.

5 And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, who have fallen; yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem, as ye that have fallen; yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.

 6 O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart.

                                                                                                            (3 Nephi 10: 4-6)

How oft has my Heavenly Father gathered me as I've struggled against His will?  How Oft He gathers me, even when I don't listen?  And how oft will He gather me?  I know, that just as He gathers me in my life now, and as He has always gathered me in the past,  He will always gather me as long as I come unto Him with a pure heart and repent of my sins.  He will do this for you too. 

Peace Like A River

As most of you know, serving an LDS mission, is not a piece of cake.  I recall the first couple of months in Mozambique and the challenges that I faced.  I felt like I was drowning and couldn't stay afloat.  This was particularly discouraging for me because I felt that I, as a missionary, should be on top of the world and not have to struggle emotionally.  I started listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's CD, Peace Like A River  as I studied my scriptures in the morning, and I found another "piece of peace" that helped me to overcome some hard times.  That song inspired me, and I really love this version by Ronald Staheli because it tells his own story of the pain that he felt at the death of his son, but then the peace that still flowed into his heart.

I testify that Christ's atonement is real, and that it is the true source of peace that we all yearn for.  I know that He died and suffered for us.  This often times helps to alleviate our pains because it is comforting to know that someone has already suffered everything that we have felt.  And yet, we still go through trials and tribulations, not out of punishment, but because Heavenly Father wants us to be able to go through even a tiny portion of what Christ went through as He suffered on the cross.
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:17).
In this way, when we are crucified with Him (Romans 6:6), we are able to relate to Him and become more like Him.  I pray that despite our pains, we will be able to find pieces of peace to comfort us.

BYU Singers - Peace Like a River