An Angel From on High

Happy New Year!

Each year, the Church of Jesus Christ studies a book of scripture during Sunday school class each week and are encouraged to study the lessons at home with their families as well. During 2023 we studied the New Testament. This year, 2024, we are studying the Book of Mormon; which members of this church believe to be another testament of Jesus Christ. During the early 1800’s, a young teen named Joseph Smith, after much pondering and prayer about his personal salvation and which church he should attend, was visited by an angel and taught about an ancient book of scripture that was buried in a hill not far from his home. After a yearly visit for the following four years from this angel Moroni, (one of the prophets with writings in the Book of Mormon who was now a resurrected being), Joseph Smith was now ready to receive the gold plates and begin to translate them. As an unlearned boy and within only a period of months, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. It led to the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and today the Book of Mormon is held as a sacred text by millions. You can find more information about this miraculous process here: joseph-smith-translates-the-gold-plates

Almost every week’s Come Follow Me lessons this year suggests two possible hymns or songs instead of just one like the previous years. An Angel from on High  was one of the suggested hymns for the Book of Mormon lesson Another Testament of Jesus Christ  studying the Introductory pages of the Book of Mormon. This is solo piano arrangement and the sheet music for it can be found here: http://marileekaymusic.com/sheet-music/

Some verses from the Introduction section in the Book of Mormon

• The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations.
• The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.
• After Mormon completed his writings, he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the Hill Cumorah. On September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, then a glorified, resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him relative to the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language.
• We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

The Come Follow Me manual introduces it this way: 

• Before you even get to 1 Nephi chapter 1, you will notice that the Book of Mormon is no ordinary book. Its introductory pages describe a backstory unlike any other—including visits from angels, an ancient record buried for centuries in a hillside, and a young man translating the record by the power of God. The Book of Mormon is not just a history of ancient American civilizations. It seeks to convince all “that Jesus is the Christ” (title page of the Book of Mormon), and God Himself directed how it was written, preserved, and made available to us. This year, as you read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, and apply its teachings, you will invite the Savior’s power into your life. And you may feel moved to say, as the Three Witnesses did in their testimony, “It is marvelous in [my] eyes.”

The scripture references for An Angel from on High  are:

• Joseph Smith—History 1:30–34, Doctrine and Covenants 128:20

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This video is published on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MarileeKayMusic/ and short reels of the video are posted throughout the week on Instagram & Facebook @comefollowmemusicbymarilee

Composers: Text: Parley P. Pratt, 1807–1857 Music: John E. Tullidge, 1806–1873

Select images and film used within this music video come from churchofjesuschrist.org (“How We Got the Book of Mormon”, “Book of Mormon Introduction”, “A Book of Mormon Story”, “What is the Book of Mormon About”) Marilee Leishman, Photos submitted by Lindsay Nicholas, Janeth Perez and nature videography/photography by Steve Pierce.