Songwriting is the act of baring one's soul to another in the form of words and music.
Gardner explained that the idea for the words came to him during a 1984 session of stake conference after a speaker quoted 2 Nephi 31:20. “I instantly recognized it as one of my favorite scriptures from my teenage years as a seminary student and also as a missionary. Something just kind of went through my mind like, ‘Wow, that’s the Book of Mormon verse that you’ve been looking for.'”
Hello! “High on the Mountain Top” is a suggested hymn to go along with the Book of Mormon lesson “His Name Shall Be Called … The Prince of Peace” studying 2 Nephi 11–19. This is a piano solo arrangement of an upbeat hymn centered around the blessings of the covenants God makes with his children through modern day temples. The song conveys the idea that God invites all to come unto him and receive the promises of old, today, in our day.
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.
For this week’s song I created a late intermediate (i.e. level of the piano skill required) arrangement of The Lord Gave Me a Temple that can be used as a piano solo or piano accompaniment for a soloist or group of singers. The Sheet Music for this Arrangement can be found here: http://marileekaymusic.com/sheet-music/
The suggested song for April 24-30’s Come Follow Me lesson is “The Lord Is My Shepherd”. If you have been following me since I began this project, you may remember that I had already done a video of this song for the old testament study of the book of Psalms. You can find it here: The Lord Is My Shepherd – Psalms Although the music is the same as last time, the video has been updated to include applications for these sections of scripture in John 7-10. I love that the Savior declares to the people, referring back to the writings of David in the book of psalms, that He is that good shepherd!
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.
“God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son” is a song from the LDS Hymnal and is one of the hymns that is usually sung right before the administration of the sacrament to prepare hearts and minds for that sacred ordinance. This hymn bases it’s text on one of the scriptures from our lesson, John 3:16 ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Here is a piano arrangement of “We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet” as found in the LDS Hymnbook; which is the suggested song for this week’s Come Follow Me lesson on Amos & Obadiah. One verse that stands out to me as going well with this hymn is: Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets”. I love the idea that God has always and will continue to speak to prophets to warn and preach to his children, to act as a “watchman on the tower”, and to give guidance for their specific struggles in the period in which they live.