I am happy to say that I have no drama this week, so I can speak on more simple matters that do not have to do with transgressions. I want to write about music in this occasion of ease. The exact obedience that I have been pursuing has given me the courage to do things that I have always believed that I should do, but I didn't know how.
When I began the Mormon YSA Blog Spot, I wanted to do a collaborative article on music with my coauthors, but it didn't worked out. My friend thinks that my philosophy on music is odd, and how I have developed courage to arrive at my standard today is funny. I listened to Asian pop for a couple years because I don't like to deal with the lyrics of music, since I don't understand the languages, being spoken. I explored many Asian countries music. Here is a reason why I am careful of listening to awful lyrics. The soul, which is the union of spirit and body, is very sensitive to the words ingrained to the mind. I was impressed by a quote by George Albert Smith today that can more fully explain the doctrine. George Albert Smith is a Latter-day Prophet of the living Godhead; Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The quote is about thoughts, for the words ingrained in our soul heavily influences the thoughts of man.
“It was fortunate that part of my instruction came under Dr. Karl G. Maeser, that outstanding educator who was the first builder of our great Church schools. … I cannot remember much of what was said during the year that I was there, but there is one thing that I will probably never forget. I have repeated it many times. … Dr. Maeser one day stood up and said: Not only will you be held accountable for the things that you do, but you will be held responsible for the very thoughts that you think.’ Being a boy, not in the habit of controlling my thoughts very much, it was quite a puzzle to me what I was to do, and it worried me. In fact, it stuck to me just like a burr. About a week or ten days after that it suddenly came to me what he meant. I could see the philosophy of it then. All at once there came to me this interpretation of what he had said: Why, of course, you will be held accountable for your thoughts because when your life is complete in mortality, it will be the sum of your thoughts. That one suggestion has been a great blessing to me all my life, and it has enabled me upon many occasions to avoid thinking improperly because I realize that I will be, when my life’s labor is complete, the product of my thoughts.”
I have realized more fully recently that the great and abominable church, which is the only other church opposing the Church of God, is the philosophies of man mingled with scripture. This is a precept from first Nephi chapter 14. The verses are given below:
10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
The purity of the soul is compromised, when impure philosophies of man are stuck in the mind of man, which is often the root of the lyrics of music. The philosophies of man mingled with scripture are what Satan leads his church, which is not a single congregation, religion, or people, to be taught. So many means of communicating is ingraining the philosophies of the world contrary to the church of God into the international community. We need to be careful to not espouse the philosophies of man mingled with scriptures, so we are not deceived, leading us to forsake our relationship with God. This is why I listened to Asian pop; to avoid hearing the philosophies of men. You may think that I am ignorant to not learn these philosophies, but there are many ways and things in the world that are thought to be worthy of man, which are distracting for achieving the work of God within the lives of mankind.
When I began the Mormon YSA Blog Spot, I wanted to do a collaborative article on music with my coauthors, but it didn't worked out. My friend thinks that my philosophy on music is odd, and how I have developed courage to arrive at my standard today is funny. I listened to Asian pop for a couple years because I don't like to deal with the lyrics of music, since I don't understand the languages, being spoken. I explored many Asian countries music. Here is a reason why I am careful of listening to awful lyrics. The soul, which is the union of spirit and body, is very sensitive to the words ingrained to the mind. I was impressed by a quote by George Albert Smith today that can more fully explain the doctrine. George Albert Smith is a Latter-day Prophet of the living Godhead; Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The quote is about thoughts, for the words ingrained in our soul heavily influences the thoughts of man.
“It was fortunate that part of my instruction came under Dr. Karl G. Maeser, that outstanding educator who was the first builder of our great Church schools. … I cannot remember much of what was said during the year that I was there, but there is one thing that I will probably never forget. I have repeated it many times. … Dr. Maeser one day stood up and said: Not only will you be held accountable for the things that you do, but you will be held responsible for the very thoughts that you think.’ Being a boy, not in the habit of controlling my thoughts very much, it was quite a puzzle to me what I was to do, and it worried me. In fact, it stuck to me just like a burr. About a week or ten days after that it suddenly came to me what he meant. I could see the philosophy of it then. All at once there came to me this interpretation of what he had said: Why, of course, you will be held accountable for your thoughts because when your life is complete in mortality, it will be the sum of your thoughts. That one suggestion has been a great blessing to me all my life, and it has enabled me upon many occasions to avoid thinking improperly because I realize that I will be, when my life’s labor is complete, the product of my thoughts.”
I have realized more fully recently that the great and abominable church, which is the only other church opposing the Church of God, is the philosophies of man mingled with scripture. This is a precept from first Nephi chapter 14. The verses are given below:
10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
The purity of the soul is compromised, when impure philosophies of man are stuck in the mind of man, which is often the root of the lyrics of music. The philosophies of man mingled with scripture are what Satan leads his church, which is not a single congregation, religion, or people, to be taught. So many means of communicating is ingraining the philosophies of the world contrary to the church of God into the international community. We need to be careful to not espouse the philosophies of man mingled with scriptures, so we are not deceived, leading us to forsake our relationship with God. This is why I listened to Asian pop; to avoid hearing the philosophies of men. You may think that I am ignorant to not learn these philosophies, but there are many ways and things in the world that are thought to be worthy of man, which are distracting for achieving the work of God within the lives of mankind.
The next stage in my music development was to listen to music by Mormon musicians like the Osmonds, Bread, Imagine Dragons, Lindsey Stirling, David Archuleta, the Killers, the Aquabats, Mindy Gladhill, Peter Breinholt, Maddie Wilson, April Meservy, Catherine Papworth, Janice Kapp Perry, Beyond 5, BYU Men's Chorus, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Kalai, BYU Vocal Point, and Gladys Knight. These artists made it into my second draft of my Mormon Playlist. I did not even consider Alex Boye. I think that he is talented, but his music and style is satisfied, limiting the professionalism and greatness of his work. I think that it is good, but he can do better. I found more Mormon musicians, and I would have them in my playlist; however, Google Play music only allows me to have a thousand songs though. Spotify would let me have ten-thousand, which is still not enough room. Kalai is a very dynamic Hawaiian and Mormon musician that I recommend. Some of his songs sound like Jack Johnson, but he has more styles. The concerts that Trevor and I went to messed with my new standard, and not all of the Mormon music of my playlist was pure from the philosophies of man mingled with scripture; therefore, my newest standard is to listen to the music on the Mormon Channel. The possibilities are limited to church approved music there, and not to my thousand song playlist. My little brother has bought the Pure Heroine album of Ella Yelich-O'Conner, which is Lorde, but I don't like her stage name, and him, listening to the new Shakira album, has messed with my new standard too. I only listen to the Mormon Music Channel when I choose to listen to music, and I recommend that you listen to the Mormon Music Channel more too. I understand that not listening to your favorite music is hard to sacrifice, but I know that my philosophy is not outlandish. I expressed it to a co-worker, and she agreed with me, saying that the latest album of Lady Gaga is demonic. I have felt a greater purity in forsaking the music of the world, and I know that you will feel more happy, positive, and pure, when you listen to the Mormon Music Channel. You can feel the filth of the world, when you return to the music of pop culture, and I recommend that you don't do that.
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