Experiment Upon His Word

Hello! “Experiment Upon His Word” is a song that I wrote more than three years ago; before I even thought about doing this Come Follow Me YouTube series. It is based on the story of Alma comparing the word of God to a seed and I knew it would be perfect for this week….if I could get it together in time. I had written it a while ago, but it wasn’t quite there yet. I knew it needed some better melodic work and polishing of the lyrics and it was just written with a lead sheet, so no piano accompaniment was figured out. I have had a few people ask me how long each video takes and it really depends on how many aspects I am doing for the production. This one I was doing everything except collaborating with someone else; I wrote it, filmed it, recorded the piano and recorded the vocals. This song took me about 30 hours to arrange the piano accompaniment, record the piano, record the vocals, balance the recording, film the video, create the scripture and cover images, select the images and film clips I would use in the video, create/edit the music videos (YouTube and vertical/shorts versions), write this post and do the uploading for YouTube and Facebook with descriptions etc. This does not include the time it took me to write the song (and re-write it after getting some feedback), which is hard to look back and quantify since it is a stop and go sort of creative process just fit in the margins of life! ha ha.

I will let the music speak for itself to express how deeply I feel about this topic.

It was written based off of the metaphor of the seed which Alma teaches in Chapter 32 in the book of Alma:

• 27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
• 28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
• 29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
• 30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.
• 31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.
• 32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.
• 33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.
• 41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
• 42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

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Media sources: ChurchofJesusChrist.org (Alma Compares the Word of God Unto a Seed, How to Draw a Plant Come Create with Me), Photo Donations Carrie Merrill, Steve Pierce & Lindsay Nicholas, also Steve Pierce – Nature Images and Videography.

*Reach out if you would like the sheet music for any of the arrangements I don’t have sheet music for yet and I will transcribe and post them. You can find the songs I already have sheet music for here: http://marileekaymusic.com/sheet-music/

Words and music by Marilee Kay Leishman

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 @MarileeKayMusic