Nearer My God to Thee

For as long as I can remember, there has always music in our home. Someone was always practicing an instrument for school, jamming with friends, or preparing to play in sacrament meeting. There were rarely long periods of science. The music came in many forms from classical, hymns, and primary songs, to rock and roll, ska, and punk.

This being said, music became the way that I would express myself. I feel very much like Mormon in that I am not mighty in writing. In my spare time I love to play the guitar and occasionally a song or two will end up coming out of me. The music part is always the easiest for me, but it is the lyrics that are harder to get out of myself.

Growing up my dad would always have us play in church, and it probably could have been a great spiritually strengthening experience for me had I been a bit more mature. At the time it was more of a chore for me. It wasn't until I was on my mission that I finally began to enjoy and appreciate the hymns and music as a way to not only express myself but also to connect with my Father in Heaven.

I served in the Philippines and learned the dialect called Visiyan which is not a written language. Thus we only had a few things that were printed, which was the Book of Mormon, and a select number of hymns. One of which was Nearer My God to Thee. This hymn has strengthen my testimony and my personal relationship with my Savior and my Father in Heaven, in a way that only music could. Music has basically shaped me and everything about me.