Songwriting is the act of baring one's soul to another in the form of words and music.
The suggested song for April 10-16’s Come Follow Me lesson is “I Believe in Christ”. In my opinion, this is one of the more powerful hymns found in the LDS hymn book; I love it. The title of the lesson is “Thou Art the Christ” and studies Matthew 15-17 and Mark 7-9.
“The Lord Is My Light” is a very hopeful, joyful and fearless song which I could definitely feel as I began to arrange it. So I decided it would be fun to do this one as another piano solo. To be played “Resolutely” as it suggests at the top of the hymn, (which can be found in the LDS Hymnbook).
Merry Christmas! This song is coming out on Christmas Day, the day before the beginning of our new Come Follow Me schedule for 2023 which will be a study of the New Testament. This week is a broad lesson entitled “We are responsible for our own learning” and doesn’t have a set area of scripture, but acts as more of an introduction to the New Testament. “Peace in Christ” is a beautiful song by Nik Day which speaks of Jesus Christ as being our way toward lasting peace. Some of the ways it suggests to find peace in Christ is by learning of him, feeling his love, listening to his words and coming to know him; some of which can be accomplished in the sincere study of the New Testament.
This week, I am posting a vocal arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd” found in the LDS Hymnbook. This lesson studies portions of the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Ezekiel chapter 34 uses the symbolism of the “Shepherd” in a few different contexts. One of these contexts is “shepherds” or leaders during Ezekiel’s time who should have been caring for their flock or the people within their stewardship, but were not…. and the other being the ultimate “shepherd”, Jesus Christ, who seeks after his lost sheep.
Ezekiel 34:12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
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, “Israel, Israel, God is Calling” from the LDS Hymnbook. It is a strong song discussing the ongoing gathering of Israel. This lesson studies chapters 1-20
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 piano arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “I Stand All Amazed”. We are studying chapters 50-57 in the book of Isaiah. I Stand All Amazed, is a song in the LDS Hymn Book and is a favorite among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its message echoes the thoughts and prophecies expressed in this section of Isaiah.
This week, I am posting a vocal arrangement of our Come Follow Me suggested song, “How Firm a Foundation”. We are studying chapters 40-49 in the book of Isaiah. How Firm a Foundation, is a song from the LDS Hymn Book and has a strong and glorious message. There are 7 verses and I chose to present verses 1, 2, 3 and 7. Some of the verses referenced at the bottom of this hymn come from our section this week.
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.