Songwriting is the act of baring one's soul to another in the form of words and music.
Hello! As I Search the Holy Scriptures is a suggested hymn for the Book of Mormon lesson “I Will Go and Do” studying the 1 Nephi 1–5. This is a revamped version of a previous arrangement of this hymn I posted as the first video in this series back in July 2022.
Light of the World, is the song I chose for the New Testament lesson “He That Overcometh Shall Inherit All Things” studying Revelation 15–22. “Light of the World is a contemporary Christian song and was written by Lauren Daigle, Paul Duncan and Paul Mabury and performed by Lauren Daigle. You may have heard it on the Christian gospel radio stations. I was asked to sing this for our ward Christmas party at Church and decided that since I was already working on it, I could record it here as well. The suggested song for this lesson was “When He Comes Again” which I have already posted twice, so I felt this was the perfect week to publish “Light of the World” instead, especially since it is Christmas Eve!
What Child is This, is the hymn I chose for the New Testament lesson “Good Tidings of Great Joy” studying Christmas! “What Child is This” was written in 1865 with the text by William Chatterton Dix and set to the tune of “Greensleeves”, which is a traditional English Folk Song. The context of the carol centers around the Adoration of the Shepherds who visit during the Nativity of Jesus. The questions posed in the lyrics reflect what the shepherds were possibly pondering to themselves when they encountered Jesus, with the rest of the carol providing a response to their questions. This arrangement is a vocal duet with piano and violin. I have three lovely ladies who recorded this arrangement with me, Emily Clark on the Violin, Audrey Nelson on the piano and Tiffany Tolman singing vocals with me. We had a lot of fun with this song!
Where Love Is, is the suggested song for the New Testament lesson God is Love studying the books 1st–3rd John; Jude. This is a vocal arrangement of a song from the Children’s Songbook and was also published back in August 2022, for a lesson on “A soft answer turneth away wrath” studying Proverbs.
Have I Done Any Good?, is the suggested song for the New Testament lesson “Be Ye Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only” studying the book of James. This song was a really fun one to do! Kevin Forbush is our guest guitar player and vocalist for this vocal duet arrangement that we did together. He is an amazing guitar player, songwriter and singer. When we moved to our new area here in Layton, (he lives a few houses down the street) we discovered that he was my Aunt’s brother (my aunt by marriage) and had also been neighbors with my husband’s uncle. Just so many connections! ha ha. He and his family all love music and it was really great to be able to do this song with him. The sheet music for this arrangement can be found here: http://marileekaymusic.com/sheet-music/
I Need Thee Every Hour, is the suggested song for the New Testament lesson Jesus Christ, “the Author of Eternal Salvation” studying Hebrews 1–6. This is the second time I am posting this song. The first time was August 2022 for the Old Testament lesson in the middle section of Psalms. It was one of my earlier arrangements in this series. It is such a beautiful and personal hymn.
Upon the Cross of Calvary is the suggested song for the New Testament lesson “It Is Finished” studying the crucifixion of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19 and can be found in the LDS Hymnbook. It is one of the hymns that is sung by the congregation to prepare for the most sacred part of the Sunday meeting; the partaking of the sacrament in remembrance of Jesus Christ.
I Stand All Amazed is the “suggested song” for the New Testament lesson “Not My Will, but Thine, Be Done” studying Luke 22; John 18 and can be found in the LDS Hymnbook.
“When Jesus arrived at Jerusalem just days before He accomplished His Atonement, those who recognized Him as their King showed their devotion by anointing Him, putting clothes and palm branches along His path into Jerusalem, and shouting praises….How can you honor and receive the Savior as your Lord and King?”
The suggested song this week is “When Faith Endures” which can be found in the the LDS Hymn Book. This song has only one verse, so it one of the shortest hymns in the hymn book. One of the scripture references at the bottom of this hymn is the following: 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.