5/15/10 Saturday at Oxford

Today I had the privilege of attending the New College evensong rehearsal.  I heard from the small group that attended their rehearsal yesterday that these children are incredible musicians.  Sister Hall asked who would like to attend the rehearsal and I shot up my hand.  She took the first six she saw and what a treat it was to watch these little boys working on such thick repertoire!  They practiced music for their evensong and some for their other concert engagements.  This rehearsal was conducted like a well oiled machine.  The boys quickly moved between pieces (silently), they helped each other, and they answered questions about theory.  I just went over the modes with Matt yesterday and I was blown away that these children were already well trained enough to know what mode they were singing in.  There was also a portion of rehearsal where the conductor pointed to each child in turn to check how well they knew the piece and how well they were singing it.  If one boy messed up the director would stop and ask "what happened there?" and the boy would answer with something like "I keep singing the fifth sharp" or something like that.  The director would say "what are you going to do?" and the boy would say "fix it".  What dedication from such a young musicians.  I learned a few things from this rehearsal but mostly that children are so capable!  If you set the standard high and encourage them in the proper ways, they will rise to the occasion.

We attended evensong there with them.  They sang an introit, Stanford's "ascendit", responses Howells "St. Paul's Service", and Finzi's "God is Gone Up".  It's been so fun to listen to the songs that we studied in culture class before coming to England being performed live and by some pretty incredible and well respected choirs.

-roam with Logan

-headshots

-covered market for Scott's man bag (he didn't purchase) and umbrella that he loved but didn't get, he says in his blog it's because he didn't want to spend the money and cart it home...the real reason is that it was blue and had accents that he felt were to feminine.  

-tour with Ruth, seeing where famous people went to school

-oxford time, thus us being on time to Christ's Church meant we were 5 minutes early

-sandwiches at Mortens, ate there 2x. :) sooo fresh and yummy, lovely courtyard

-Asmolean Museum

-New College evensong, scott experienced the choir the day before

-6 people at the rehearsal, very intimate setting, got to do all that with Scott

-not open to the public, just students

-sleeping on the bus back

5/14/10

Today was our first of three days at Oxford.  I've been looking forward to this experience as a highlight for the entire program.  We split into groups and headed off to different choir schools to observe these young singers and some students even got to tutor these children in music.  We followed Sister Hall to the Dragon School, a private school for boys and girls.  I really enjoyed observing these two choir classes.  These children are ages 8 to 12 and quite a well behaved but energetic group.  Their teacher was great at captivating their attention.  I felt like I was watching Marry Poppins directing music she was just such a ball of energy.  They did some simple warm ups.  It was intriguing that these kids pronounced the African text in the warm up as if it was french.  I was blown away that they all study English, French, Latin, and Greek.  Amazing.  It was fun to see music be taught in this way.  Such a contrast from what we have been hearing from the children at the Choir Schools associated with the cathedrals and abbeys.

That evening I attended evensong at Christ Church with the same group of students.  I was really impressed by the acoustics in their church and the warm tone created by the boys in the choir.  

-first day at Oxford

-split into groups

-dragon school

-Jess, Nick, me trying to get ahead and do our own thing

-market time: bought bread, jessica goes crazy over scarves

-gathering for evensong at Christ's Church College

-purchase stockings

-take off on busses

Parallels

There are many similarities between the exodus of Latter Day Saints across the plains to the west and the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt.  First, the leaders of each exibition were similar in faith and experience.  Moses learned his leadership skills through the time he spent in the military.  Similarly, Brigham Young learned under the stewardship of the prophet Joseph Smith and worked along side him during the difficult move from Missouri to Nauvoo.  There is no question that each of these leaders experienced trials and the Lord knew these trials would come.  We read in Exodus and in D&C 136 as the Lord promises that if his appointed leaders and his chosen people would endure these trials, they would be blessed for each of these groups were God's "chosen people".  Both leaders had the Lord's blessing and guidance upon beginning these journeys and believed from the beginning that it was the will of the Lord that they do so.

In D&C 136 we also read that the saints were promised they need not fear their enemies; that the Lord would "do (his) pleasure with them".  This was also the case with the Israelites who crossed through the parted Red Sea that came crashing down over the Egyptians, their enemies, who were chasing after them. Each of these groups witnessed miracles along the way.  The Lord promises, "marvel not at these things, for ye are not yet pure; ye can not yet bear my glory; but ye shall behold it if ye ae faithful in keeping all my words".  He would show them his glory after the trial of their faith which, since they were tried from the beginning, I think he showed them bits of His glory along the way, helping them keep hope and faith.  The Mississippi River even froze over for them to cross.  This parallel to the children of Israel is a pretty clear one to me!

At the end of their journeys, it is true to say that both groups suffered immeasurably.  Yet, for those who made it to the promised land, they could see the hand of the Lord in it.  The Lord does keep his promises.  In Exodus 13, Moses tells his people "remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by the strength of the hand of the Lord brought you out from this place".  The saints knew this was also true for them and they established a headquarters in Salt Lake.  

It's incredible to study and compare these two groups of the Lord's faithful.  Both suffered immeasurably but in the end were blessed immeasurably.  We read account after account of these miracles in the lives of the saints who crossed west.  The Lord keeps his promises.

The Crandall Printing Museum

Did you know that the WORLDS most complete Guggenheim printing "shop" is in Provo Utah?  Seems random doesn't it.  Well, that is what I thought before I visited this little gem of a museum last week.  Mr. Crandall started printing when he was 14 and learned that trade from his father.  It was this apprenticeship that fostered within him a love for printing.  After trying his hand at the business and other business ventures such as building a theme park (half the size of Disneyland) the mayor of Provo asked him to come and start a similar theme park project in Provo which never came to fruition and he started his printing museum instead.

     This museum takes you through the history of printing from Guggenheim's printing of the Bible to the printing of the Book of Mormon.  Through the tour it becomes evident in the discussion of history that printing played an important role in religious and secular history.  Words printed on the page were expressions of spirituality, a means of exchanging ideas, spreading messages, and leading us in our first steps toward globalization.

   I enjoyed this experience most of all as it related to the restoration of the Christ's church on the Earth.  We looked at how the development of printing lead so beautifully and in perfect time for the printing of the Book of Mormon which would allow missionaries and church leaders a tangible set of doctrine to differentiate them from other faiths but also to build on the truths in the Bible.  The most incredible part of the museum experience is the way Mr. Crandall explained how nearly impossible it would have been for so many books to be printed in such a short amount of time but, they had a goal of 5,000 copies to make in a very short amount of time and the men in that print shop made it happen miraculously and, for those of faith, we believe it happened by the hand of the Lord.  It's incredible to think about and watch how long it would have taken to go through each of the steps necessary to create a book, even with all the technological advancements since Guggenheim's first printing of the Bible.  It was truly a miracle.  Another facet of my testimony of the Book of Mormon being a true and wonderful book, there was so much effort put into providing these precious words for the world to read and it is truly a blessing.

Teachings Becoming Scripture

Modern and continuing revelation is a subject of controversy when it comes to Latter Day Saints in the Christian community.  It's easy to question how the teachings of modern church leaders can be accepted as not only doctrine but as being from the Lord himself and worthy of being cannonized.  As a member of the LDS church, I feel that this modern day revelation is necessary and truly from God.  I've never had a prophet lead me in a direction that didn't feel right.  I've only seen good things from following the revelation and guidance given through religious leaders today.  

During Joseph Smith's time, there was no radio, no Ensign (a church magazine that is published and distributed world wide), no internet for reading talks or hearing podcasts, no television for recording and re-broadcasting church meetings where revelations were given.  We rely heavily on what was recorded by individuals attending Joseph Smith's sermons and meetings where he taught and revealed to the saints what the Lord would have them do.  At the time the Doctrine & Covenants was compiled, some of Joseph Smith's sermons were added into this set of scripture.  I can see that these teachings often explained things he had counseled with the Lord about and received answers to his own questions.  He was also teaching about things that may not be explained in other places in scripture or expounds on doctrine found in the Book of Mormon and the Bible.  It's a blessing to have these teachings preserved in the Doctrine and Covenants.

The Joseph Smith Papers

It's been an interesting experience to look at the Joseph Smith papers, to read the text, to ponder all that they imply historically and doctrinally.  This book is one of many in a planned series.  A compilation of Joseph Smith's notes and the notes of others as they documented the revelation that Joseph was receiving.  Many of the documents recorded in the Joseph Smith Papers are not found anywhere else.  Certain revelations from these papers were used in the Doctrine and Covenants but not all.  Thus, through the Joseph Smith Papers, we get a more complete look at all the doctrine and organizing that was taking place in the early days of the church.

I've particularly enjoyed noticing the consistent manner of speech used in the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Joseph Smith Papers.  Part of that I'm sure is due to conformities from writer to writer and the way of speaking in those days.  I like to see that the consistency in language makes the works more tied together.  Not that the Joseph Smith Papers should be cannonized but, they are certainly a valuable supplement to scripture.

In the particular sections I've read through, there is one about creating a court of justice for religious matters.  In reading about the organizing of such a court, I naturally compare this court to state and federal courts of justice.  It seems fitting that a court for spiritual matters would have more clearly defined "rights and wrongs" but so much more forgiving and justice.  Then  I compare the organizing of such a court to that of courts in heaven.  God is merciful and he gives us a lifetime of opportunity to come unto him and receive all that he has.  When judgment day arrives, the only thing that will matter is if we tried, followed Christ, and endured.  

The BYU Museum of Art

The Brigham Young University Museum of Art, affectionately called the MOA, is a unique university museum.  It is one of the largest and most attended museums in the Mountain West, probably due to the fact that admission is free!  The focus of the museum's collections are religious and American art but it also exhibits several different touring collections throughout the year.   You might be inclined to wonder how "exciting" our art programs are at BYU thinking that perhaps our faith "limits" the boundaries we can break or lines we can cross as artists.  You may be surprised to find out that our student art shows are contemporary and thought provoking and yes, they certainly can be "edgy".  I think these ideas flow right over to the MOA also.  The art that tours through our campus museum is thought provoking, political, controversial, innovative, respected, and expressive.  Naturally, the museum does keep a ready supply of beautiful and inspiring works of religious art which became the main points of discussion for our D&C class last week. I really enjoyed taking the opportunity to see an exhibit of entirely religious art.  Loaded with allusions, symbolism, and innovation; these pieces inspired me to learn more about my religious history so that I can better understand these images.  My classmates inspired me to see each piece from a different perspective.  As we stood as a class in front of each piece and picked it apart searching for meaning part of me wondered if we were trying too hard.  What if the images were meant to be more simple.  We think, no that's impossible for doctrine is complex but, this is not always the case.  Sometimes doctrine can be so beautiful and simple like Christ's teaching to love one another.  I tried to see the paintings, drawings, and sculptures as a whole, simple and sacred and then dive in to analyze further. 

 I was most awe struck when looking at a painting of Christ carrying the cross.  Almost immediately the image struck me funny.  It was photo-realistic and dramatic. It felt very posed and studio-esque.  As if a model were playing the part of the Savior.  He was standing upright under the weight of the cross and his flesh was brilliant and perfect.  Wearing only cloth draped and the crown of thorns, there were no signs of the crucifixion anywhere on his body.  No wounds in his hands or side.  The cross was made of a well varnished wood but battered around the edges.  I hope you can see this image.  I thought, why would he be so perfect and be standing so upright under the weight of this cross?  Why was his cross varnished?  Then I thought perhaps he was carrying my cross, a far lighter burden than his own.  It took my breath away.