The Music & the Spoken Word broadcast airs live via TV, radio, and internet stream on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. mountain standard time. For information on other airtimes, visit “Airing Schedules” at musicandthespokenword.org.
Music
Conductor: Mack Wilberg
Organist: Richard Elliott
Announcer: Lloyd Newell
“Praise Ye the Lord”
Music: John Rutter
Lyrics: Psalm 150
“If the Savior Stood Beside Me”1
by Sally DeFord
Arrangement: Sam Cardon
“The Rejoicing” from Music for the Royal Fireworks (Organ solo)
Music: George Frideric Handel
Arrangement: Richard Elliott
“Let All the Angels of God Worship Him”2from Messiah
Music: George Frideric Handel
“In Heavenly Love Abiding”
Finnish melody
Lyrics: Psalm 23; with additional lyrics by Anna L. Waring
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg
“Love Is a Song”by Frank Churchill
Arrangement: Arthur Harris
“Call of the Champions”3,4 (The Official Theme of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games)
Music: John Williams
- On the CD Teach Me to Walk in the Light
- On the CDs Messiah—Complete Oratorio and Messiah—Highlights.
- On the CD Spirit of America.
- On the CD set Encore Collection.
The Spoken Word
“To Love Courageously”
Have you ever thought of love as an act of courage? It often seems safer to close one’s heart, to turn inward and avoid the possibility of heartache. As British writer C. S. Lewis wrote: “To love . . . is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.”1 It takes faith and hope to truly love another, because there’s always the risk of being hurt as we expose our weaknesses, our worries, and our dreams.
In the 1930s, young Gordon Hinckley and Marjorie Pay were engaged to be married. But Gordon was worried about the economic realities of marriage during the Great Depression. He opened his heart to his fiancée and, with some anxiety, told her, “I think you should know that I only have $150 to my name.”
Marjorie responded with optimism, “Oh, that will work out just fine.” She explained, “I had hoped for a husband and now I [am] getting $150 too!”2
It was a vulnerable moment, but instead of expressing fear and worry, Marjorie expressed courage, confidence, optimism, and even good humor. In other words, she expressed love. They did get married, and their marriage lasted nearly seven decades.
Love gives meaning to life. It’s what keeps us going when we feel like giving up; it remains when all else fails. Love never quits and never runs out; it simply endures and overcomes.3
We all have secret fears, insecurities, desires, and dreams that we guard. To share such things with someone else is a sacred act. So when someone is brave enough to give us their heart, we need to hold it gently—with both hands and with love, kindness, and respect. Yes, to open your heart in love is risky, but as all who have truly loved know, it’s well worth the risk.
- The Four Loves (1960), 121.
- In Virginia H. Pearce, ed., Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley (1999), 77–78.
- See 1 Corinthians 13:8; Moroni 7:46-47.