#97 Lead Kindly Light

This is a very important hymn for me because of the role it played in the weeks and months leading up to the moment I asked Amy to marry me.

Amy and I had been dating for a year (after being on and off for about three years before that) and I was waffling on whether or not I really felt confident that we could live happily together forever. With marriage being such a significant decision, I was doing my very best and all I knew how to do to put myself in a position where I could receive revelation. I said to the Lord, "If I've ever needed guidance, I need it now!" I was working in the Salt Lake Temple as a veil worker every Tuesday night. I was fasting frequently. And I had applied to business schools in a variety of locations outside of Utah knowing that if I attended BYU or the University of Utah, I wouldn't have the courage to make a decision. 

One evening I asked my father to give me a priesthood blessing in my apartment, which he gratefully did. In the blessing he voiced words from this hymn. Not long after that, we sang this hymn in a sacrament meeting in my singles ward. These lyrics stayed with me:

Lead kindly Light, 

Amid the encircling gloom;

Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark and I am far from home;

Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; 

I do not ask to see the distance seen. One step enough for me. 

The Holy Ghost touched my heart and let me know that the decision to marry Amy was my own. The Holy Ghost would not give me a directive in this matter or make a promise that all would be well forever more. But I felt a great sense of peace that if I decided to show some maturity and decided to pursue principles that lead to a happy marriage, I could trust Amy to be a celestial companion and all would be well.

We sang his hymn today in Sacrament Meeting and it continues to be a favorite. The Holy Ghost through it's message has sustained me through many times of uncertainty. 

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

Thumbing through the August 2015 edition of the Ensign magazine I stumbled onto this simplified rendition of a very special hymn. 

As a recently returned missionary I attended Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho in the fall of 1996. While on my mission I had discovered the power of music and made a commitment that I would audition for one of the choirs at school. By some miracle I ended up in the Collegiate Singers (an elite 40-voice chamber choir) under the direction of Dr. Kevin Brower. I had never been in an organized choir before and I felt like my audition was not very impressive, but somehow I was invited to be a part of this very talented group. 

Early in the semester we went on a weekend retreat to a Ricks College camp not far from the Grand Tetons. Here we bonded as a group and had a chance to learn some of the music that we would be singing. This song was among the first. I still remember standing in that main cabin in that rehearsal and coming to understand the message of this hymn for the first time. I was overcome with emotion as we sang and felt renewed in my testimony that the Savior of the world is my shepherd. 

The arrangement by Mac Wilberg has a beautiful flute descant that makes this music a little piece of heaven. Words fail to describe the feeling I have in my mind and in my heart as I contemplate the meaning of these words and the reality of their realization. 

If I'm not mistaken this beautiful song was sung at the funeral of President Gordon B Hinckley. And if I may be so presumptuous, it is a song that I would like sung at my own funeral. 

An Introduction

The hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other inspired music have played an indispensable role for good in my life. I expect they will continue to do that for many years to come. So I wanted to create a dynamic record that would share with my posterity the stories that have made this music special and momentous for me. Perhaps within these accounts and in reliving memorable musical moments, my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren may draw strength, be comforted, find inspiration and develop testimony for the turning points of their lives.

I pray this music will touch you in perhaps a similar way that it has me.

This is the soundtrack of my life...

Greg P. Giauque