Music

“God’s purpose for the artist is to inspire, to give us visions of ourselves that we might not otherwise see, to make us better than we would have been. The world is better for the arts and righteous artists in it. In the quest to achieve greatness in artistic pursuits—whether in painting, dance, music, drama, film, sculpture, or the written word—we should always seek first to achieve God’s purposes. …Today, a number of Latter-day Saint artists from all fields, from writers and musicians to painters and performers, are beginning to help fill the world with goodness and truth. Latter-day Saints are a special people.”

Elder M. Russell Ballard  |  “Filling the World with Goodness and Truth,” Ensign, July 1996, 10, 14.

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Image of Elizabeth Smart

“Music is the unspoken language that can convey feelings more accurately than talking ever could.”

Elizabeth Smart  |  My Story: Elizabeth Smart

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“The reason we have not yet produced a greater heritage in art and literature and music and drama is not … because we have not had talented people. … Some have reached great heights in their chosen fields. But few have captured the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the restoration of it in music, in art, in literature. They have not, therefore, even though they were gifted, made a lasting contribution to the onrolling of the Church and kingdom of God in the dispensation of the fulness of times. … They have missed being what they might have become.”

Boyd K. Packer  |  “The Arts and the Spirit of the Lord,” Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Aug. 1976, 61.

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The work of the Lord has been moved by the members in the wards and stakes and branches who have been blessed with special gifts and who use them unselfishly. Because of what they do, we are able to feel and learn very quickly through music, through art, through poetry some spiritual things that we would otherwise learn very slowly. All of us are indebted to them for their generous service. I am humbly grateful to those who render such service in the Church.

Boyd K. Packer  |  “The Arts and the Spirit of the Lord,” Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Aug. 1976, 61.

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“I mentioned earlier that the greatest hymns and anthems have not been composed, nor have the greatest illustrations been set down, nor the poems written, nor the paintings finished. When they are produced, who will produce them? Will it be the most talented and the most highly trained among us? I rather think it will not. They will be produced by those who are the most inspired among us. Inspiration can come to those whose talents are barely adequate, and their contribution will be felt for generations; and the Church and kingdom of God will move forward just a little more easily because they have been here.”

Boyd K. Packer  |  “The Arts and the Spirit of the Lord,” That All May Be Edified (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982), 285.

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Spencer W. Kimball Portrait

“Let us get our instruments tightly strung and our melodies sweetly sung. Let us not die with our music still in us. Let us rather use this precious mortal probation to move confidently and gloriously upward toward the eternal life which God our Father gives to those who keep His commandments.”

Spencer W. Kimball  |  The Miracle of Forgiveness (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969), 17.

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“As we sing in choirs, families and classes, and as we have listened together tonight, the carols of Christmas remind us of our shouts of joy when we learned that we could come to this world and be given a Savior to redeem us. Someday we will sing those songs with the hosts of heaven.”

Elder Henry B. Eyring  |  "The Perfect Gift"

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