03. Today...You Will Hear God

Note: This is one of a series of posts devoted to the study of D&C 93:1, and the third examining the phrase "cometh unto me".

The Other Restoration You've Probably Never Heard Of

The Prophet Joseph Smith was born on December 23, 1805.  He was assassinated on June 27, 1844.

During his lifetime, major composers by the names of Franz Schubert (1797-1828), Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) lived at the same time.  Others, like Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) lived and died shortly before Brother Joseph.

I believe -- and I think the facts demonstrate -- that during this time period, God was also speaking to others who heard God's voice and recorded what they heard for all generations of humanity to partake of.  True, they didn't have priesthood authority.  But they had something different: gifts and talents from God, which were used to bring us back to Him.

These composers received holy vibrations in ways others never did.  They transcribed those vibrations into the music they composed -- vibrations which you can listen to, now, anytime. 

Don't take my word for it. Here's what they said:

• Mozart, who composed in pen, said he wrote down the notes God gave him.  Beethoven, Schubert and Bach said the same thing.
• Bach would dedicate evey composition he wrote to Jesus Christ. At the beginning of his manuscripts, Bach would write I.N.J (In Nomine Jesu-"In the name of Jesus") or J.J. (Jesu Juva-"Jesus Help Me").  He would then end each composition with SDG (Soli Deo Gloria-"To God alone, be the glory") on the last page. (source)
• Beethoven is quoted as saying, "Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy" (makes sense, being as though inspired music is from God, and much of wisdom and philosophy are from man).
• In Arthur Abell's book "Talks with Great Composers", Johannes Brahms actually described what it was like for God to inspire his whole soul with music (read the last two quotes from Brahms here: http://www.icrcanada.org/research/literaryresearch/brahms).

The Healing Power of God's Vibrations

Clearly, "Music is part of the language of the Gods" (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, pp. 553-54).  The orderliness, mathematics, physics, psychology and more of music was used to herald the birth of His son, who healed mankind.  It has an equal power to help deliver you from darkness and heal you in the light.

In a previous post, I mentioned how music, composed by my friend Simon Daum, has helped heal me of Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I recently asked Simon about his composing:

Question (to Simon):    How do you get inspiration to write your songs?
Answer:    I think my greatest inspirations come from life itself.  There is so much beauty in nature, so much hope in the gospel, and so much peace in good relationships.  Writing music is the best way to express all such feelings, hopes and dreams.

Question:    How have your songs affected you, and your spirituality?
Answer:    Receiving inspiration feels like a gift given to me.  It helps me to remember who I am and where I truly belong.  It helps me to remember what life is really about.  It has blessed my life tremendously

Question:    Tell me about a song (or songs) in which you clearly felt the spirit was guiding your efforts.
Answer:    There are quiet a few.  One I can remember quite well is one of my older songs called "Be Still" (to hear this song, click here to go to Simon's website.  "Be Still" is song #26).  I just got the idea and couldn't stop composing.  I worked on it the entire night and after 8 hours the song was finished.  It felt like it just had to be written.  It was similar with my latest composition called "Longing for Home" (which you can listen to here).

Are You Ready to Hear God?

I'm willing to bet that you'd love to hear God, right?.  Well, why wait!  Therefore, I give you a challenge, and ask a favor:

My challenge to you: Sometime soon, listen to the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Bach and Brahms. Listen for the vibrations from God.  You can also hear my friend Simon's songs on my immediate previous post (here).

My favor I'd like to ask of you:  Next, please submit a comment to this post. Let others know what non-hymn music uplifts, motivates, inspires you (I ask for non-hymns because we already know hymns bring about such results; I am asking about music we may not know is also inspired of God).

My blog is dedicated to highlighting things you can do to return to God.  Above is a sure strategy to do just that.

Go forward in faith.  Be believing...

...and enjoy listening to God.