Videos

February 28, 2021 - #4772 Music & the Spoken Word

The Music & the Spoken Word broadcast airs live via TV, radio, and internet stream on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. mountain time. For information on other airtimes, visit “Airing Schedules” at musicandthespokenword.org. 

This encore performance of Music & the Spoken Word has been specially selected for airing while the Choir and Orchestra are practicing social distancing. It contains a new Spoken Word delivered by Lloyd Newell.

Music

Conductors: Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy
Organist: Andrew Unsworth
Announcer: Lloyd Newell

“Standing on the Promises”
Music and Lyrics: Russell K. Carter
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy

“The Lord My Pasture Will Prepare”1
Music: Dmitri Bortniansky
Lyrics: Joseph Addison
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“Final” from Symphony no.1 (organ solo)
Music: Louis Vierne

“Where Is Love?”2 from Oliver
Music and Lyrics: Lionel Bart
Arrangement: Michael Davis

“Love One Another”3
Music and Lyrics: Luacine Clark Fox
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“Glory”4
Music: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff; ed. Gregory Stone
Lyrics (English): Milton Pascal

“Benediction”5
Music: Mack Wilberg
Lyrics: David Warner

  1. On the CD This Is The Christ.
  2. On the CD Showtime! and in the CD set Encore Collection.
  3. On the CD Teach Me to Walk in the Light.
  4. On the CD Glory! Music of Rejoicing.
  5. On the CD Heavensong.

The Spoken Word

Courage to Carry On

Written by Heidi Swinton

On September 7, 1940, German bombers attacked London, England. They attacked again the next day. And the next. Over the following eight months, Londoners did their best to carry on normal lives, knowing that each day, “the odds that someone, somewhere in London would die were 100 percent.” Many of the air raids took place under the cover of darkness, making nightfall especially dreadful. In all, 2 million homes were destroyed, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed. During this frightening time, a young boy was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He answered, “Alive.”

Despite the damage the bombers caused, however, they failed in at least one of their missions: to demoralize the people. In fact, morale seemed to increase after each attack—people seemed more confident, more determined, and more willing to volunteer. When someone suggested to British prime minister Winston Churchill that he had given the people the courage to carry on, Churchill responded: “I never gave them courage. I was able to focus theirs.”

Sometimes we hear stories like these and doubt whether we would be so courageous in similar situations. But that’s the curious thing about courage—we never really know how much we have until the time comes to use it. And the fact is, our time calls for abundant courage. A deadly pandemic has swept across the globe. Wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes have wiped out neighborhoods. Many people have lost jobs, lost loved ones, or struggled with loneliness. Others feel bombarded with one challenging day after another.

And yet deep within each of us is the courage to face these challenges, to stand firm, to keep going. Signs of such courage are all around us. We see it in expressions of love and appreciation between friends. We see it in the encouraging smile of a neighbor. We see it when strangers choose to put differences aside and serve someone in need. We see it when people around the world, from a variety of faiths, unite in prayer.

Morale is not spent during perilous times—that is when it flourishes! Courage cannot be given or taken away. Courage comes from within. And once focused, it gives us the power to carry on, no matter what. 

  1. See Erik Larson, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz (2020), 241.
  2. In Larson, The Splendid and the Vile, 483.