Two years ago, our Stake President visited our ward on Easter Sunday. He gave (I believe) closing remarks, and he talked about how beautiful it was coming into church. He heard bells ringing everywhere. Some churches were holding outside morning services.
In my area, if I wake up early enough, I can catch the sounds of a distant Moravian brass quintet playing. I heard it one year when we camped in our backyard one Easter Eve. It woke me up, and it was beautiful. Here's one video showing a typical Moravian Easter morning ...
Our Stake President kept going on, talking about how united our churches were in praising Jesus and his triumph over death. It is indeed an event worthy of much praise. Jesus had risen. It is the greatest news of all that Jesus died for our sins, and made it possible for us to return to heaven.
After his talk, I was to finish with "He Is Risen" on the organ, and I did my best, using trumpet stops and other reeds, and swelling to a praise-filled crescendo. The singing was ... okay.
And I couldn't help thinking during the remarks -- if all the other churches were ringing bells, playing brass outside -- making a joyful noise -- then why weren't we? The best we could muster was a relatively timid rendition of "He Is Risen"?
Does not Psalms 150 state the following?
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
If one were to drive by our church on Easter, they might think, "Where are the church bells? Where is the brass? Where are the morning services? Do Mormons believe in Easter?" As far as I know, our standard church buildings don't come with a church bell -- I think mainly because of costs more than any doctrinal issue. We don't as a rule do outside morning services, but there's nothing stopping us from doing so (wouldn't be surprised to hear if this does occur in some areas).
But brass in our sacrament meetings? Oh boy -- if you ever want to ruffle feathers, just ask that question in church, and watch the fireworks. I can't tell you how many times I've heard music chairpersons talk about wanting to do a rousing Easter musical sacrament meeting only to have the bishop veto the idea.
I was pleasantly surprised a few years ago, when I went with the music chairperson to ask the bishop if we could do a French horn and trumpet duet for Christmas, and the bishop actually allowed me to audition. However, when I played my trumpet for him in an empty chapel (shortly after we had removed the absorbing burlap off the walls), the sound reverberated throughout the room. It was beautiful, but I knew what was coming next ... it was too much sound. And it ended up being a French horn, flute, piano trio. But getting a French horn to play was a major concession on its own!
Anyway, the church handbook, since 2002, has said: "Instruments with a prominent or less worshipful sound, such as most brass and percussion, are not appropriate for sacrament meeting." This is actually a little more lenient than the pre-2002 era where all brass was expressly forbidden. Some wards in my church today are taking advantage of the purposefully vague wording to allow trumpets to play at Easter and Christmas. Basically -- it's all up to the local bishoprics as to what instruments and what music is played in sacrament meeting. And ultimately, that's the way it ought to be. But overall, the sense is that brass and percussion is typically not allowed in sacrament meeting because they aren't "reverent."
Just this morning, there was a cymbal roll in a rendition of "I Am a Child of God" in our Easter General Conference broadcast -- hardly noticeable at all, but we musicians caught it. One person asked, "Does this mean we can use percussion now in sacrament meeting?" Another person responded, "The rules are different when the sacrament [Eucharist] is involved." This whole sentiment is ingrained within the majority of the membership of the Church. Brass and percussion = bad.
I do know exactly where this ban comes from. In earlier talks, 40-50 years ago, church leaders talked about their experiences in their travels where they would hear a brass band playing raucous music at functions they were attending. They would note how distracting the music was -- how the beat caught your attention and brought attention to the music itself. They would also notice that it wasn't uplifting -- nothing "worshipful" about it. And being the non-musicians they were, they associated this non-uplifting feeling to the instruments rather than the music itself. So, it was decided -- no brass or percussion in our weekly church services.
I fully understand -- if you ban these instruments, then they can't be misused in sacrament meetings. It's like a "Law of Moses" type thing for people who can't handle the "Higher Law." Perhaps these church leaders visited different wards and heard some really bad trumpet playing, and nixed it for everyone.
Here, it's appropriate to bring back Psalms 150: "Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals." The Bible itself identifies the trumpet, psaltery, harp, timbrel, stringed instruments, organs, and cymbals as all being capable of praising the Lord. In other words, they have a worshipful sound. That one cymbal roll we heard in General Conference? It looks like it's covered. If it's okay with the scriptures, it should be okay in our sacrament meetings (occasionally).
If you need any further evidence, just watch this rendition of "He Is Risen" that I saw the same exact Easter Day I heard my Stake President talk.
As you listen to this music, can any of you tell me that the trumpets, drums, cymbals, and bells did not have a worshipful sound? Rather, these instruments enhanced the whole experience as the congregation joined in singing. In other words, they increased the amount of praise and worship. They helped to bring it to a much higher level.
Likewise, I have a trumpet, and I'm not afraid to use it. I believe that I could use it to enhance worship -- to bring a joyful sound and invite the Spirit into our weekly services in a way others can't. I have a testimony, and I feel like I'm not allowed to share it because of the medium. If it's reverence one is concerned about -- I can achieve that as well with a trumpet -- it can make a beautiful reverent sound if played correctly.
I am enheartened to hear reports of more and more brass instruments being used in sacrament meetings. I also hear rumblings that changes coming shortly may give us more of a "Higher Law" in the area of music (in which we would be given more leeway with less restrictive "Law of Moses" rules, but the bishop would still be in charge) -- but we'll see.
As the Tabernacle Choir video shows, we, as a church, are very capable in our ability to praise the Lord during the Easter season. And these capable musicians are not restricted to Temple Square alone. We are all spread out among the world, and we are ready and more than willing to share our musical testimonies and help to raise up the level of worship in our services. One Easter Sunday, I was invited to play trumpet at a friend's church (of another denomination), which was a fun experience. I'm not sure if I agreed with the sermon, but the music was fantastic and full of praise.
What my Stake President heard on his way to church two years ago would sound ever so much sweeter if he had heard our church joining in as well. We do as well as we can in the confines imposed on us, but there is so much more, and this I believe would be a major improvement to the better.
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