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: Richard Elliott
Announcer: Lloyd Newell

“Rejoice, the Lord Is King!”¹
Music: Horatio Parker
Lyrics: Charles Wesley
Arrangement: Ryan Murphy

“I Will Follow God’s Plan”²
Music and Lyrics: Vanja Y. Watkins
Arrangement: Nathan L. Hofheins

“Fugue in G Major (“Gigue”) (organ solo)
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach

“When You Wish upon a Star,” from Pinocchio
Music: Leigh Harline
Lyrics: Ned Washington
Arrangement: Michael Davis

“Hallelujah,” from Christ on the Mount of Olives
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven
Lyrics: (original German lyrics) Franz Xaver Huber

“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”
Music and Lyrics: African-American spiritual
Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

1. On the CD Let Us All Press On.
2. On the CD Teach Me to Walk in the Light.

The Spoken Word

Resilience—a Choice

Written by Joni Hilton

Whenever we see a wildflower pushing through a crack in concrete, we marvel at its determination to thrive. A seed landed in a difficult spot, but it had the tenacity to grow and bloom anyway.

We feel the same rush of admiration for trees that spring up after a devastating fire. When everything seemed ruined, somehow nature won, and life continued.

Many of us are like those determined seeds, those persistent trees. We’ve found ourselves in a difficult spot, or we’ve experienced a devastating tragedy: financial or health losses, death of loved ones, lost opportunities. Can we possibly grow and bloom in such conditions?

Religious leader Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.”¹

Our attitude really can make all the difference. A woman who lost her restaurant during the pandemic immediately set up a takeout company. She made ends meet until she finally grew it into a catering business. She worked hard and refused to give up, and her determination paid off.

And we all know people whose early childhood seemed to set them up for failure, yet they defied the odds and joyfully built a happy, successful life. In their adversity, they learned to forgive, to take responsibility for their own growth, and to be resilient. As the expression goes, instead of cursing the rain, they built a boat.

Among the many things we can’t choose about our life, we can always choose our goals, our work ethic, and our attitude. Even setbacks, though we’d never choose them, can be blessings when they lead us to explore other avenues. In time, we feel grateful for the better job we found after we were laid off or the compassion we feel toward the grief-stricken after our own period of grieving.

Helen Keller is a remarkable example of someone who overcame the incredible disadvantages of being both blind and deaf. She not only learned to sign and speak; she also became a worldwide inspirational leader. From her unique perspective, she observed, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”²

1. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Your Happily Ever After,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 126.
2. Helen Keller, Optimism: An Essay (1903), 17.