This is one of my submissions for the 2023 Church Music Competition. It is in the Contemporary Youth Category. I was working on this song for over a year and I think it pulled together well in the end.

The inspiration for this is from Jeffery R. Holland’s April 2012 talk, Laborers in the Vineyard. His phrase “It’s getting late,” hit me with the spirit so strong that I knew I wanted that line in my song. After I first played the finished work for my husband (he didn’t hear much of it before then) he said he liked it and even felt the spirit. I asked him what part he felt the spirit. He said when I sang the line, “It’s getting late.” That made my day! Also note that in the bridge I use the name “Master” as in Master of the Vineyard. He is who we hearken to.

I also used a few phrases that come from the prophet, Russel M. Nelson, like, “let God prevail.” In his most recent talk we learned to “think celestial.” Using that phrase would be way too cheesy so I came up with the phrase, “live for the gift of that celestial crown.” Same thought but less obvious.

Lastly, I wanted to thank my good friend Surjani for reviewing this song with me. I was totally stuck on how to transition from the chorus to the bridge. She gave me a list of 4 chords to use to get there and it worked! The magic of theory 🙂

Awake and Arise (PDF)

Awake and Arise
Verse 1
Am I the person the Savior needs me to be?
Does my hope in Him shine for all to see?
Sometimes distractions shift my gaze
But I’ll repent and do better today.

Chorus:
It’s time to wake and arise.
Do all it takes to come to Christ.
I’ll make covenants and fulfill,
Give my heart to let God prevail.
Now is the time. Awake and Arise.

Verse 2:
As I make choices, am I looking to Christ?
When yoked with Him, His power is mine.
So I’ll press forward, cast fear down,
Live for the gift of that celestial crown.

Bridge:
The words of the Master speak to my heart
Revealing the place that I should start.
Each step will take great faith
But I will join the ranks. It’s getting late.

When two brothers in my ward wanted me accompany them while they sang this song, I first looked for an arrangement. I found a great one by Nathan Howe but the song needed a violin for the 2nd and 3rd verses. We currently don’t have a violinist in our ward so I used Natan’s first verse (isn’t it a thing of perfection?!) and then I came up with the rest. Thanks Nathan for letting me post this!

The first verse and transition from 2nd to 3rd verse are written by Nathan Howe. The sheet music to a piano/violin/vocal version by Nathan can be found here: https://nathanhowemusic.com/brightly-beams-our-fathers-mercy/

Note about performance: I only added two of the four parts to the music, I did arrange it so that you should be able to sing any of the four parts in the hymn book. My arrangement is in the key of the hymn book to make it easier to use if you want it.

Lastly, the song is for men to sing and I’m sorry you have to listen to my struggling female voice if you want a glimpse to what it sounds like!

Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy (PDF)

Just last week I posted an arrangement that took me about 5 years to complete. I wrote this in less than 24 hours.

The annual music competition at church has a November 1 deadline. I felt really prompted to write a primary song after struggling with a youth song for the last month. On October 30th, late at night I jotted down the words to this chorus and I had a tune going in my head. That’s it.

The next Halloween morning after dropping my kids off at school, I set to work. Four hours later (and just as it was time to get my kindergardner), it was pretty much done. I just made a few minor adjustments as I played it over and over until that night when I submitted it.

Never before have I felt Heavenly Father so closely leading me along in writing a song. The tune and chords seemed to spill out onto my paper. And these lyrics really needed a special feeling. They needed something hopefully yet sensitive.

When I had verse 1, I felt I needed inspiration for verse 2. I knew my time was short and I was worried about studying time (I often pour over General Conference talks). I was quickly led to this Ensign Article. Three short paragraphs. It gave me the exact concept I needed. When I play and sing this verse, the spirit touches me every time because of the inspiring message. I truly was guided.

If anyone ever taught this song to children, I would use the 3 key words in the chorus as a foundation: strength, hope, and knowledge. I love that the restored gospel does provide us with knowledge of the resurrection. It absolutely brings peace and joy to our souls. The soul is made up of our body and spirit, so of course our whole souls would rejoice in this knowledge.

Resurrection Day (pdf)

Resurrection Day Lyrics:

1. When trials appear on my path 
You'll find me down on my knees.
For my loving Father gave His own Son
Who knows my adversity.

Chorus:
The Savior give strength when burdens are heavy,
Hope that I'll be made whole,
And knowledge of Resurrection Day
Bringing peace and joy to my soul.

2. When loved ones go down to the grave 
I'll feel God‘s loving embrace 
As the spirit whispers it’s not the end
But only a resting place.

Chorus

This is the 6th year I’ve entered a song in the annual music competition. Every year I’ve gotten the same result:

Although your work, *such and such* was not among the recognized entries, we are gratified to find so many Latter-day Saints that are contributing their talents to the Church.

This year I entered my violin/piano arrangement of “When I Am Baptized.” It still was not a winner but for the first time I saw this new line:

Although your work, “When I Am Baptized,” was not among the recognized entries, we wanted you to know that it was among the finalists. This is an accomplishment worthy of note considering the quantity of submissions.

I was a finalist!

If you are entering and not winning…don’t give up hope! I’ve noticed myself improve in my skills every year. Looking back to my first entry, it was a wreck. I’ve learned a lot. Ask for editing from a musical friend. I’ve improved my knowledge a lot from doing that. Also, look at the songs that are winners. They will show you what the judges are looking for. Hopefully this is helpful for you who are also entering!

On March 12th I had this little angel:

She is number 3 in our family and I have my hands full. I never stop composing but I just don’t have quite as much time. You will still see new stuff but it may be less frequent…or maybe not, you never know 🙂

If you haven’t heard of Free LDS Sheet Music I have to recommend it. It’s nice because it is a collection from multiple LDS composer’s website’s–all the ones that give out their music for free.

I just got my own page on their site and it was really fun for me to see all the music I’ve arranged. It’s a lot of work but it feels really good to see how much I’ve accomplished.

Thanks to all my family and friends voting, some everyday for two weeks, I came out winner in the Sacred Sheet Music Competition. Check out their page with this announcement!

I’ve submitted my piece, Once in Royal David’s City, for an online competition. Voting is now going on and each person can get a vote once a day until March 8th. I’d love to get your vote! Follow this link, scroll down a little and on the left side you will see where to cast your vote. Thanks!

I know the site has been down for a month or so. My husband is the one who deals with technical issues and he has been very busy. Last night, he finally had some time to fix it. Hurray! Get ready for more music!

My old site was, quite frankly, old fashioned. I wanted to get it looking better. So, I will be working on this new site for a while. I will post all the songs from my old site and add a few new ones I’ve created in the past few months. Wish me luck!