Songwriting is the act of baring one's soul to another in the form of words and music.
“Baptism” is a song from the LDS Children’s Songbook – it speaks of the baptism of Jesus Christ and shares an invitation to follow in his example. Blake Roberts, a young man from my ward/church congregation here in Tucson, joined me for this song. His pure, innocent sound was perfect for it.
This week we are revisiting the Christmas story in our New Testament Come Follow Me lesson, titled “We Have Come to Worship Him.” What a privilege it is to take another look at this beautiful description of the Savior’s birth as it is found in Matthew 2 and Luke 2. “Stars Were Gleaming” is the recommended song for this lesson and comes from the LDS Primary Children’s songbook and, as is usually the case, the lyrics fit perfectly with the scripture passages in this section.
Happy New Year! We are officially diving into the New Testament Come Follow Me schedule for 2023. This week’s lesson is titled “Be It unto Me according to Thy Word” and covers Matthew 1 and Luke 1. “He Sent His Son” is the recommended song for this lesson and comes from the LDS Primary Children’s songbook. Four or so years ago, I wrote a second verse to this song (the original has only one verse), no rhyme or reason why, I just felt like doing it one day, ha ha.
Here is my vocal arrangement of “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus” The original song is found in the LDS Children’s Songbook; which is the suggested song for this week’s Come Follow Me lesson on Haggai & Zechariah 1-3; 7-14. The manual this week references Sister Carol F. McConkie when she said “Holiness is making the choices that will keep the Holy Ghost as our guide. Holiness is setting aside our natural tendencies and becoming ‘a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord’ [Mosiah 3:19]. … Our hope for holiness is centered in Christ, in His mercy and His grace” (“The Beauty of Holiness,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 9–10).
Here is my vocal arrangement of “Seek the Lord Early.” The original song is found in the LDS Children’s Songbook; which is the suggested song for this week’s Come Follow Me lesson on Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah. In regards to this study section, the manual says, “Reading the Old Testament often means reading prophecies about destruction. The Lord frequently called prophets to warn the wicked that His judgments were upon them. The ministries of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah are good examples. In dreadful detail, these prophets foretold the downfall of cities that, at the time, seemed strong and powerful—Nineveh, Babylon, and even Jerusalem. The descriptions of destruction are tempered by invitations to come unto Christ and receive His mercy: “Seek ye the Lord … ; seek righteousness, seek meekness” (Zephaniah 2:3). This was the Lord’s way anciently, and it is His way today. “His ways are everlasting” (Habakkuk 3:6).
This week, I am posting a vocal arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “I Want to Live the Gospel” found in the LDS Children’s Songbook. My arrangement may sound a bit different than the original, both rhythmically and melodically. I also wrote two short additional verses to add to the length and depth of the song. This week’s Come Follow Me Lesson is on the book of Daniel and there are quite a few examples of Daniel and other figures living gospel principles in the face of great adversity.
This week, I am posting a piano arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “I Feel My Savior’s Love” from the LDS Children’s Songbook. I used verses 1,2 and 4 for the lyrics and depiction in this video – so as to consider a lesser known verse, which expands on the idea of feeling the Savior’s love to carry that love to all around us. This lesson studies chapters 30-36 in the book of Jeremiah and chapters 1;3 in Lamentations.
This week, I am posting a vocal arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “I Wonder When He Comes Again” from the LDS Children’s Songbook. It is a beautiful song about the second coming of Jesus Christ. We are studying chapters 58-66 in the book of Isaiah, who speaks of “that day” when our Savior will come again.
This week I am posting a vocal arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “On a Golden Springtime”. We are studying chapters 13-35 in the book of Isaiah. On a Golden Springtime is a song from the LDS Children’s Songbook and is such a beautiful, sweet song with surprisingly meaningful lyrics. It discusses three springtime events – growing of new seeds in the earth, Jesus Christ’s resurrection and Joseph Smith’s first vision. Isaiah prophesied of events of his time and also future events. We believe some of the prophecies in this section have been partially fulfilled with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith’s vision of God and the Son, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
This week, I am posting a vocal arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “Where Love is”. We are studying Proverbs and Ecclesiastes which are books that have been called “wisdom literature”, presenting timeless advice or discussing deep,