This weekend is General Conference week-end… where millions of people will have access to two days of talks from inspired leaders who will instruct, motivate and bless the lives of all who dedicate time to listen in a spirit of willingness to learn. The conference contains a total of five 2 hour sessions; three on Saturday, two on Sunday. They are broadcast over local TV in many western states, satellite, and now in HD over the Internet to the world. It is translated in dozens of languages. The distribution network itself is a marvel of inspired state of the art technology that addresses the time zone and language differences of over 15 million people in every corner of the globe. The sessions are held in the church’s conference center in Salt Lake City that can house over 22,000 live visitors. Tickets to these sessions are available to people across the planet and thousands travel to Salt Lake to participate in person for a session or two every six months… It is the LDS equivalent to the old time traditions of my youth of Revival and Camp Meeting all rolled into one big experience that we have the opportunity to commune together twice a year. There is a special spirit I’ve always felt in the sacred and hallowed camp meeting experiences of my entire life that is amplified every six months for us Mormons. Last night as I began my spiritual preparation with prayer and fasting for the experiences of this coming weekend, I came upon this performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (the Tabernacle being the historic location of conference for almost 150 years) accompanied by the Temple Square Orchestra as they sing an LDS anthem, “Redeemer of Israel”. It is an old hymn that stirs my spirit with a sense of anticipation for the coming day of the Lord that all Christians await with eagerness. I thought I would share this with all of my friends… On a personal note, one of the trumpeters in the very opening scenes of this video is from Alpharetta and was a schoolmate of my youngest daughter and a fellow Milton High School band and orchestra member… frequently a featured superior soloist of their high school performances from their youth. He, with hundreds of other young performers, compete for the coveted opportunity to be chosen to volunteer their time free of charge, as do the choir members, to perform in presentations of this caliber. Take a moment and listen to this hymn and you’ll understand why they seek after such an opportunity…. I’ve included these lyrics for those not familiar with the words of this hymn…. Enjoy! 1. Redeemer of Israel, Our only delight, On whom for a blessing we call; Our shadow by day, And our pillar by night, Our king, our companion, our all. 2. We know he is coming To gather his sheep, And plant them in Zion, in love, For why in the valley Of death should they weep, Or alone in the wilderness rove? 3. How long we have wandered As strangers in sin, And cried in the desert for thee! Our foes have rejoiced When our sorrows theyve seen; But Israel will shortly be free. 4. As children of Zion Good tidings for us: The tokens already appear; Fear not and be just, For the kingdom is ours, And the hour of redemption is near. youtu.be/BSrzmS2yuQQ?list=RDxaxrY1rxZKE
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 08:15:01 +0000
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