How Influential, Actually, Is Music?

Heaven is always making music, with perfect harmony, created in accordance with its celestial motions, as it is said, The heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:2). Some say the source of this music is an orchestra of angels. Others say it is the rhythm and melody of the planets and stars as they circle the heavens.

If, by chance, this music should reach our ears, irrepressible cravings would emerge, frenzied longings, and insane passions. These longings would be so great, we would no longer take nourishment from food and drink in the manner of mortals, but as beings destined for immortality.

This happened to Moses when he ascended Mount Sinai. There, for forty days and nights, he touched neither bread nor water. Soon the strains of this heavenly music reached his ears, along with the words of the Torah as God recited them. It is said that for the rest of his life Moses heard this unearthly music, just as the light that shone from his face after Sinai always remained with him.

(Howard Schwartz, Tree of Souls, The Mythology of Judaism, p. 188)

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But as to Genun, Satan came into him in his childhood; and he made sundry trumpets and horns, and string instruments, cymbals and psalteries, and lyres and harps, and flutes; and he played on them at all times and at every hour. And when he played on them, Satan came into them, so that from among them were heard beautiful and sweet sounds, that ravished the heart. . .

Then when it was day, Genun blew the horns and beat the drums below the mountain, as he was wont. the children of Seth heard it, and came as they used to do . . .

Enoch at that time was already grown up, and in his zeal for God, he arose and said, "Hear me, O ye sons of Seth, small and great--when ye transgress the commandments of our fathers, and go down from this holy mountain--ye shall not come up hither again for ever." But they rose up against Enoch, and would not hearken to his words, but went down from the Holy Mountain.

(2 Adam and Eve 2-3, 20, 29-30)

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I was talking to people at dinner the other night and they'd heard about the show or seen it and we started talking about the significance of the Beatles politically. So many people, in America particularly, come up to me and say, "You changed my life." This whole idea of the significance of the Beatles is incredible. Someone mentioned the Russian thing—the bringing down of the Iron Curtain.

(Paul McCartney: the Billboard Q&A September 12, 2009)
　

Religious Freedom

Camilla emailed me the link below... It's a speech Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave at BYU-I yesterday, and well worth the read. I was just going to reply to her email, but thought this would be a great discussion to have on the blog.

click here to read or click here to listen (to listen, try the mp3 link if you don't want to worry about downloading software)

or click here for a summary of the article

Music and LDS sacrament meetings

When I saw this thread on one of my favorite (ish, depends on who's posting and on what topic) websites, my first thought was to post it here, but I feel like I've posted here, too much.

But... this is a discussion too wonderful to pass up with you folks. So read the post, and a lot of the comments, too! And tell me what you think. And Adelle and Cam, I won't mind if you copy-paste your comment from my other blog into this one. I might do the same.

Few and Far Between

There has been so much going on everywhere around us and I am sure that that IS the reason for the few and far between postings. I mean, we have been so busy and the world has been coming apart around us.

Me? I totally forgot all about this blog until I went to my blogs and this was at the top of the list. Now how in the heck did that happen? How did this blog worm its way to the top? Hmmm? It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Blame it on the Great Pumpkin!

Speaking of pumpkins, there was a news item on one of our Tulsa, OK stations that said we might not have pumpkin pie this holiday season. I'm not sure why but maybe all the squash that goes into Libby Pumpkin Pie Mix are grown near Fresno, CA and we should all be aware of what is going on there. If not, why don't you Google (or Bing) the following keywords: Fresno Farmers Water Federal Government. That should get you the results you need I think. I you have cans of the Libby pie mix perhaps you can sell them on Ebay for $100 a can.

If congratulations are in order please allow me to congratulate you. Congratulations!

See you all later.