The Song of the Heart

"I Love The Lord". The arrangement is by Ronald Staheli. The lyrics are a paraphrase of 2 Nephi 4.

I don't want to keep re-stating what I've learned in my religion class; but this video was so powerful, I had to share it. I would recommend reading 2 Nephi 4:12-35 before listening to this song, which will give you a background for the lyrics, and show you the power that comes from using a men's choir.

. . .

Nephi was an incredible man, who I believe understood the Savior more than many. But I think my favorite stories about incredible men and women are the ones that remind me of their mortality. In other words, they're just regular people. This week, I went to a poetry reading by the former U.S. Poet Laureate Mark Strand. Allow me to geek out for just a moment...it was awesome! My roommates can attest to the fact that I was stoked to go see this reading, and they probably didn't know why. I didn't even know who Mark Strand was before I heard about this event, but when I read the words "Poet Laureate," on the page of the event, the poem, "The Lanyard" passed through my consciousness--a poem written by another former poet laureate, Billy Collins. Just take a moment to listen to him read it.  This poem changed my view of poetry, solidified my love of it, and introduced me to what the poet laureate was. I knew this would be a big deal.

When I went to the reading, Mark Strand was introduced, and up walked a man who has served as the nation's official poet. I was just about ready to idolize him without even reading any of his poetry (of course, I know idolatry is wrong, so I refrained). I enjoyed the reading, and loved his poems! But my favorite part of the reading was at the end where he invited us to ask him questions. Someone asked him what he believed was the role of poetry in today's world, and he explained his opinion. He said two things that seemed to be highlighted in the air, just for me: that poetry has a humanizing influence, and we can read things with pleasure and recognize ourselves in them. 

To me, poetry is like a masterpiece constructed out of words, transforming them and allowing you to not only hear the words, but actually feel them resonate inside of you. I often read the scriptures too much like a textbook, trying hard to focus on lists of commandments, dates, family trees, good civilizations, wicked civilizations, wars, rumors of wars...and eventually falling asleep. But every once in a while, I am able to read it like poetry. The Psalm of Nephi is one of those pockets of poetry inside a great history, that shows you the man beneath the prophet--a man who feels his own inadequacy, who's just lost his father, who has all the responsibility of a prophet thrust upon him, whose oldest brothers are jerks, but who trusts in the Lord with everything he has. 

Life is hard, but if it weren't, I'm not sure we would be capable of understanding one another. Frankly, I don't think there would be such a thing as integrity, happiness, or love if we didn't struggle. And I think that one of the most beautiful things is to be able to see people the way we see ourselves, and truly relate with them, even if they lived thousands of years ago.