LDS Music Lifts and Edifies

Latter-Day Saints cherish good hymns and music. Many have come to understand the impact that LDS music can have on the mind and the spirit. If it is uplifting and positive, it brings feelings of happiness, contentment and calm. These things are always welcome in the midst of our busy lives. The church hymns are a central part of LDS worship and help put people in the best position to experience the Spirit of the Lord. They are especially useful in helping to control the thoughts that cross our minds. On the other hand, music that is unwholesome or negative can actually encourage thoughts and actions that are not appropriate. This is why church leaders have encouraged members to take great care in the music they choose to listen to.

In For the Strength of Youth, a publication put out by the church for young men and young women, it gives some basic counsel about music in general: "Music is an important and powerful part of life. It can be an influence for good that helps you draw closer to Heavenly Father. However, it can also be used for wicked purposes. Unworthy music may seem harmless, but it can have evil effects on your mind and spirit." Many have either heard someone say, or have even said themselves, "Well, I don't listen to the words, I just listen to the beat." This may seem innocent enough until you consider the very real impact that a song's rhythm and beat have on us. You don't have to try very hard to think of scenes in your life where your mood was directly impacted by the tone and timbre of the music playing. LDS music invites the spirit because it is in tune with goodness and light, and is a welcome part of the world's great musical repertoire.

For the Strength of Youth gives further council, "Choose carefully the music you listen to. Pay attention to how you feel when you are listening. Don't listen to music that drives away the Spirit, encourages immorality, glorifies violence, uses foul or offensive language, or promotes Satanism or other evil practices." This direction to make wise choices about the music we listen to is so timely. In a world of violence, degradation, immorality and moral relativism, LDS music is a fresh, uplifting genre that promotes a spirit of wholesomeness and kindness. It invites good feelings and uplifts the soul.

In one of the hallmark talks from an LDS church leader about the role that music plays in our lives, Elder Boyd K. Packer talked about the impact that both good and bad music has on us. He warns, "In our day music itself has been corrupted. Music can, by its tempo, by its beat, by its intensity, dull the spiritual sensitivity of men." He also instructs, "Sacred music can help us even where there is no formal performance. For example, when temptation comes, we can neutralize its effect by humming or repeating the words of a favorite hymn." (Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Jan. 1974, pp. 25-28).

Thankfully, good LDS music exists that edifies and uplifts. In fact, the Lord has told us, "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." (Doctrine and Covenants 25:12.)