Of Ambulances and Organs
How both inspire deference to a higher cause
Andrew and I had only met once or twice before, but somehow I received an invitation to his senior organ recital. Because of the coronavirus, I hadn’t seen live music being performed in a long time, so I decided to go. (Also, being an overworked law student, I though that a midday Saturday concert would be a refreshing break from my usual weekend study session.)
A few friends and I drove up to the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. Since Andrew is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and most of the guests at his recital were also Latter-day Saints, we held a typical Latter-day Saint prayer right there in the cathedral before the show, and then he began.
Andrew played some of the finest classical organ music I have ever heard. The pieces were extremely challenging, the melodies infinitely intricate, and the crescendos soaringly majestic. It was no surprise that after the big finish, we all stood up, turned around to face Andrew in the organ loft, and offered him a standing ovation.
But I was picking up my jacket to leave when the organ started again. This time, however, the music coming out wasn’t anything classical. It was modern. I heard simple chords starting to pervade the cathedral, and after a few measures, I realized what was happening.
Andrew was offering an encore—of a familiar Latter-day Saint hymn.
A hush fell over the crowd and the entire audience sat back down to listen to the final piece. The verse began, and I was filled with emotion when I recognized the hymn to be “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” As Andrew played, he slowly added stops until the song crescendoed in the middle of the last verse. At the climax, the walls were rattling, our seats were shaking, and the juiciest chords were pricking our hearts and making the hair on our arms rise.
Suddenly, the crescendo ceased.
There was a pause.
And then final phrases of the hymn rang out sweetly and gently across the cathedral.
For some reason, my eyes watered.
It’s not often that, in our contentious world, a large group of people unites to show deference to a single person or cause. There are rare exceptions. For example, when an ambulance comes wailing down the road, drivers nearby will unanimously agree that the emergency vehicle’s errand immediately outranks their own. If you’re running late for a multi-billion dollar business meeting? You still move aside for the ambulance.
That type of cooperativeness is always touching to me. The instant and unquestioning submissiveness of it all is so unusual and delightful.
While we don’t agree on everything, I have to say that the members of my global church are likewise united when it comes to giving deference to our leaders. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a centralized religion, with global leaders headquartered in the United States who travel frequently across the world. And almost every time the president of the Church or one of the Apostles is going to address a large crowd, it’s customary for the members to stand when that presiding authority enters the room. I have attended countless events where these Brethren have spoken, and the instant, unquestioning, and universal deference given to these men of God—demonstrated by standing up from one’s seat—is a rare and impressive gesture.
There are a few patterns in our Church which are universal and yet unwritten. One is that, before a meeting of the type I’ve just described, someone will usually be playing prelude music to foster a contemplative and worshipful environment. This music is played most often on a piano, or, in certain areas of the Church like the United States, on an organ. I, myself, have played the organ many times for meetings in which an Apostle has been present (although I’m an amateur organist when compared to Andrew).
Before the start of almost every meeting of this nature, the crowd will be bustling, people will be greeting their friends and finding their seats, the organist will be playing the prelude music, and a general energy and excitement to see one of God’s messengers will pervade the air.
But when the Apostle enters the room a minute or two before the designated start time, the members will suddenly fall silent. As I described, everyone will stand up in an act of humility and submissiveness. And the only thing you’ll hear in that sudden stillness is… you guessed it: the sound of the organ, still playing the prelude music.
And so when my eyes watered at the end of Andrew’s recital, it was because the sweet sound of a Latter-day Saint hymn, echoing across a large and still cathedral, brought back all the warm feelings of every time I’ve seen members of the Church show deference to one of God’s mouthpieces.
The impressive way that the good members of my Church practice humility before the Lord melts my heart and inspires me to be more cooperative, reverent, and submissive. As a community of believers, we take to heart the Old Testament scripture that “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”1
Whenever I’m assigned to play the organ where an Apostle will be present, I like to time my set of prelude songs so that I’m playing the following hymn2 when he enters the room:
We thank thee, O God, for a prophet
To guide us in these latter days.
We thank thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.We thank thee for every blessing
Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.
We feel it a pleasure to serve thee
And love to obey thy command.
Indeed, it’s a pleasure for me and for all of God’s children to serve the Lord and obey His commands. And what better way to know what the Lord wants us to do than by listening to the voice of his servants, the prophets.
May the gentle sound of the organ in future occasions of worship inspire in you a spirit of cooperativeness, deference, and submissiveness to the will of the Lord.
Enjoy this recording I made of part of Andrew’s encore. Several months after his recital, Andrew became my classmate at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet, Hymns, 19
Beautiful, Cris. I’ve been in that cathedral once; the architecture and acoustics are stunning. (I’m glad you included the audio snippet. It was nice to hear and simultaneously imagine your experience and testimony.)