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Shawn, I was Primary chorister the year that the kids learned ‘How Firm A Foundation,’ and I spent a LOT of time making sure that they actually understood it. (I literally handed the Sr. Primary a dictionary and said, “Find a word you don’t understand. Now let’s look it up.”) But then, making sure that kids and youth actually understandthe churchy-sounding terms we throw around all the time is a particular tic of mine. Joni wrote:I literally handed the Sr. Primary a dictionary and said, “Find a word you don’t understand. Now let’s look it up.”
Ha. What a fabulous idea. Well done.Individual words are easy to understand. It’s the sentence structure and meaning of the first verse that are tricky. I still don’t know why it says “What more can He say than to you He hath said”. Shawn wrote:Individual words are easy to understand. It’s the sentence structure and meaning of the first verse that is tricky. I still don’t know why it says “What more can He say than to you He hath said”.
Shawn, of course you know that the clumsiness has to do with the meter.As for that particular line, I take it to mean, “You already know everything you need, now it’s time to stop talking and get to work.”
On Own Now wrote:Shawn wrote:Individual words are easy to understand. It’s the sentence structure and meaning of the first verse that is tricky. I still don’t know why it says “What more can He say than to you He hath said”.
Shawn, of course you know that the clumsiness has to do with the meter.As for that particular line, I take it to mean, “You already know everything you need, now it’s time to stop talking and get to work.”
That’s the way I have always interpreted it, too. In other words, “You have the gospel, what else am I supposed to say?”
I don’t like how that song switches to God speaking in the third through seventh verses. Not that I mind it being from the point of view of God, I just think it should all be one way or the other.
Ones that I really love:A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief (Although it has too many verses, I love the message of all the verses as a whole.)
For the Strength of the Hills (only because it has personal meaning for my wife’s family ancestry)
The Wintry Day, Descending to Its Close (Words – meh; arrangement is gorgeous.)
All Creatures of Our God and King (I like a lot of the classics.)
God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand (I love playing it – and I really like rousing anthems that are not militaristic.)
How Great Thou Art (I really like the message.)
Hymns 98-105, all of them. (and I LOVE Master, the Tempest Is Raging. Played with interpretation and based on the message of each verse, it is stunning.)
The Lord Is My Shepherd
Hymns 113-131, almost all of them. (wonderful messages of grace and redemption)
Most of the sacrament songs, except the ones that teach an atonement theory I don’t like (for example, we need to earn his grace)
Because I Have Been Given Much (I like the message, and it’s fun to play.)
Lord, I Would Follow Thee
Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd
Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words
Called to Serve (I’m agnostic about the song, but I like to play it and to improvise parts when I sing it.)
If You Could Hie to Kolob (I like the focus on eternity.)
Oh, My Father (for the reference to Heavenly Mother)
Love One Another
Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy (I love the imagery of the lighthouse and the way it positions us in that imagery.)
Ones that I really dislike:Pretty much all the “we pray for the prophet” songs. (I get it, but there are too many of them, and some of them are over-the-top.)
Adam-ondi-Aman (I’m fine with that location as metaphor / myth, but literalized in a song? Um, no.)
Pretty much all the militant songs
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (I don’t like all of the classics.)
Did You Think to Pray?
Most of the smiley, sunshiny ones
Who’s on the Lord’s Side?
Most of the Sunday School and temple hymns
Love at Home – and many of the hymns focused on family perfection
I don’t like In Our Lovely Deseret neither. It’s got some cheesy verses. I Am A Child of God has a good message, but it does get irritating. Praise To The Man is overrated, I really like How Lovely Was The Morning and Follow The Prophet does rub me the wrong way too. Quote:Admittedly, the rest of the verses are a lot better.
I have always liked How Firm a Foundation but its the verses we never sing that are the most powerful.Quote:
4. When through the deep waters I call thee to go,The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
Quote:5. When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
Quote:
7. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for reposeI will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never, no never,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
I skipped verse 6 because I don’t like it as well. I like “An Angel from on High” because of the tune and “Though in the Outward Church Below” for the same reason. (It’s not in the most recent edition of the hymnal.)
I just don’t care for either “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” or “I Believe in Christ” Great messages, boring songs.
I used to love “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” I now find it a little weird for some reason. I guess the Jesus figure seems just a bit too pathetic and the narrator a bit too full of himself. Probably my own interpretation.
Great song for the Mormon Pantheists. Great tune as well. We sang this a lot on the mission. Sounds good when sung by guys in low voice. If You Could Hie to Kolob
1. If you could hie to Kolob
In the twinkling of an eye,
And then continue onward
With that same speed to fly,
Do you think that you could ever,
Through all eternity,
Find out the generation
Where Gods began to be?
2. Or see the grand beginning,
Where space did not extend?
Or view the last creation,
Where Gods and matter end?
Methinks the Spirit whispers,
“No man has found ‘pure space,’
Nor seen the outside curtains,
Where nothing has a place.”
3. The works of God continue,
And worlds and lives abound;
Improvement and progression
Have one eternal round.
There is no end to matter;
There is no end to space;
There is no end to spirit;
There is no end to race.
4. There is no end to virtue;
There is no end to might;
There is no end to wisdom;
There is no end to light.
There is no end to union;
There is no end to youth;
There is no end to priesthood;
There is no end to truth.
5. There is no end to glory;
There is no end to love;
There is no end to being;
There is no death above.
There is no end to glory;
There is no end to love;
There is no end to being;
There is no death above.
Text: William W. Phelps, 1792-1872
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I’ve always thought the melody to ‘If You Could Hie To Kolob’ should be a Christmas song. Turns out it is. ‘O Sing A Song Of Bethlehem.’ I’ve never been able to find it on YouTube but it pops up on my Pandora Christmas station from time to time. How about that. Here’s a few videos that include lyrics (never underestimate the google-fu of a stage 4): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vIoAwu-GlMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vIoAwu-GlM” class=”bbcode_url”> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=507dk53qcT4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=507dk53qcT4” class=”bbcode_url”> Thanks Joni.
nibbler wrote:How about that. Here’s a few videos that include lyrics (never underestimate the google-fu of a stage 4):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vIoAwu-GlMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vIoAwu-GlM” class=”bbcode_url”> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=507dk53qcT4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=507dk53qcT4” class=”bbcode_url”> Thanks Joni.
I like it! Thanks, both of you. It actually doesn’t seem like it has to actually be a Christmas song, it might work for Easter or sacrament as well. It seems to be in line with LDS doctrine.
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