Videos

Labor Day Special (September 3, 2017) - #4590 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 Daylight Time. For information on other airtimes, visit “Airing Schedules” at musicandthespokenword.org.

Music

Conductor: Mack Wilberg 
Organist: Clay Christiansen
Announcer: Lloyd Newell

“Hallelujah Chorus”1 from Christ on the Mount of Olives
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven

"Awake and Arise, All Ye Childreen of L
Welsh tune
Lyrics: David Warner                                                                                           Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“In Joyful Praise” (Organ solo)                                                                                     Music: A. Laurence Lyon

“My Song in the Night”2                                                                                          American folk hymn                                                                                           Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

“One Person” from Dear World                                                                                              by Jerry Herman                                                                                                     Arrangement: Ryan Murphy

“Arise, O God, and Shine”                                                                                            Music: John Darwell                                                                                                       Lyrics: William Hurn                                                                                             Arrangement: Mack Wilberg

  1.  On the CD America's Choir and in the CD set Anniversary Collection.
  2. On the CD Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing and in the CD set Bravo! The #1 Albums.


The Spoken Word

Work: The Best Medicine

Most of us spend a good portion of our day working. Whether in an office, classroom, or construction site; the garden, home, factory, or field, work is simply a part of life. Usually we are thankful to have work, though we may be anxious to finish it as quickly as possible. Work allows us to provide the necessities of life for ourselves and our loved ones. But have you ever thought of work as a cure for troubles and heartache?

Beloved religious leader President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “I believe that for most of us the best medicine for loneliness is work and service in behalf of others.”1 “The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired.”2

Because work, by definition, requires effort and exertion, we tend to see it as something that makes life harder. So how can it possibly help us through hard times? Maybe the answer lies in the fact that work gives purpose and meaning to life—especially when our work makes life better for someone in need. Such work lifts our spirits and puts our problems in perspective. A person may retire from a career, but we need never retire from serving others and seeking to improve the world.

Work is a mental, physical, and spiritual necessity. We need it not only to stay alive but to live well and to grow. When a single mother of young children was asked how she made it through difficult times, she explained that mundane tasks like laundry and cooking kept her going. Whenever she felt anxious or discouraged about her life, she would find something to do, and somehow, while organizing a closet or refinishing an old piece of furniture, she discovered the strength to carry on.

So the next time you feel worried or downhearted, try some work. Your honest efforts to bless others and contribute to the world will bring the wonderful—and sometimes unexpected—blessings of work.

  1. “A Conversation with Single Adults,” Ensign, Mar. 1997, 61.
  2. “To Single Adults,” Ensign, June 1989, 73–74.