Catch Up

We have moved to Joplin and have had a scary week with Tornados. I would not be too far off to say that i've felt a portion of Hell this week. Tuesday was the worst. We had warnings all day and then later at night the town sirens went off (meaning that a tornado was really close-that it was the real thing). The news also gives you a beeping personalized message for your town. It said WARNING: A Tornado Alert has been detected for your area. I felt as though a gun was pointed straight at my head. Fear ran throughout my body and I couldn't find a way to calm down. I called my dad and told him I loved him and that this might be the end. A lot of my group was outside looking at the scary dark clouds. Cassie is such a friend to me. She was freaking out as much as I was. I couldn't comprehend that at one moment the building could be demolished. The rest of my group ran in the hotel and said "Let's go Swimming!!!" They were all splashing in the pool while the tornado could hit at any time. We were all safe and the peace that came into my heart was so amazing. I was so glad we all survived.

I have a new roomate named Kyle who is so awesome. He is 24 and is an RM. He is easy to get along with and is very interesting. I've been putting one sale in each day this week except Monday and Saturday. I am so grateful for this job and for meeting all the people I have. Alisha, Cassie, JerBear, Spencer, Patrick, Brett,   T.J., Ian, and Anthony are awesome people. Yesterday I had two sales cancel and had a dog steal my shoes and I had to chase him to get them back. He was just wandering around and followed me door to door. He was like a baby pit bull.

Dad picked me up around 9:30 and took me to Steak and Shake. Its pretty nice. We listened to classical for the 2 and a half hours down. It was refreshing.

Enjoying my first week with DTV!

Still working hard every day trying to get a sale. My roomate is Jamal and is from California. He is also African-American. He loves Jesus and God, and knows his bible very well. He is really respectful and I make him laugh all the time. We came up with a secret handshake together. I don't know what the name of it is, but its cool. I've knocked a lot of doors this week and am still trying to improve myself little by little. I have learned a lot of information in one week. I went out with Jared Danis and he taught me a lot. He also shared with us a motivational video that inspired me a lot. I said it was the "best thing I have ever heard in my entire life!!!!" Ian thought that was hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV63DbQ_qSc I am loving my experiences and what i'm learning. My roomate loves Christian Rap and tries to teach me that the music that talks about Jesus and God is good music no matter what genre or form it is in. If it is not talking about them, it is of the devil. Even though rap sounds like christian rap, it's the words that make the difference. Jamal is helping me see that many people without realizing it are brought up racist. He is a member of the church and is going on 8 years since he was baptized. He can sing really well, and he writes his own Christian rap. Even though it is not evil, rap doesn't make a good blend with holy words in my opinion. Even though it can inspire people to think and live better, I think softer genres can pull out and enhance the message even more. I was a little confused a bit between his opinion verses mine, and a scripture came to my mind "That which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness." Also the thought of Christ coming again descending in the clouds with rap seemed to contradict itself. I think i've been taught right, and I want to stick with how I feel about things. People often judge it as close minded and racist. But I've been listening to rap in the apartment and in the car every day this week and I've had enough. I think it sounds ugly and there is no beauty in the tones or the melody (if there is one). I compare it with music and the spoken word. There is no Christian rap or rock there in the conference center. The spirit is so soft and gentle that loud noises drive it away even if it is talking about Christ. That is just my opinion. I am really missing my classical. I'll have to buy it at Walmart or something. Anyway, i'm working really hard to learn everything well and improving. My goal is 150 sales. That's about $22,000. I feel the Lord is watching out for me. Im doing a lot better with keeping the commandments. This week I have been a few inches away from using Tobacco, Smoking an e-cig, having starbucks coffee, swearing, breaking the law of Chastity, slacking on scriptures and prayers, or shopping on Sunday. These aren't tempting, but to fit in the group, i could have easily done any of these things. I remembered the Savior in times of standing for what's right and followed His example in all of my situations. I have not given in to one of them. I feel so good and so grateful that I didnt bend on my morals. My roomate was talking to his girlfriend or his mom on the phone and said he appreciates my morals. That I dont drink or smoke. He is against all sin also. Now i just need to convert him from the rap to the classical. Really enjoying my week and hope to get a sale soon!

Day two in Missouri

Today was full of joy! We worked outside in the best weather, visited with a nice lady named Patt, helped her and talked with her. I just found lots of joy in driving on the highway, going up and down the streets, and watching people coming out of their ghetto houses with a cigarette in their mouth. It brought back all the good memories of my mission. I'd say Missouri looks so much like New York in the Utica area. Jeremy and I were watching the kids come home from school and one kid said hi and said "Have a nice day!" I thought it was precious. Another young woman stood up in the passengers seat while the car was driving and greeted us with a "Happy Sinco De Mayo!" The weather was perfect. I am trying to understand people so much with love. We cant judge them. Don't know who they were raised by or how, don't know the, emotional, physical, or financial burdens they carry. I just went with Jeremy today to the Justice Center in Springfield to clear an offense. I watched so many people come in and out of that place. I talked with a guy named Ed and shared a pass along card with him and talked about Jesus Christ and how he can free us from burdens through the gospel. I handed him the temple card and he asked if it was the church. I told him about the temple, forever families, and so on. The back of the card has the missionaries number and mormon.org. I encouraged him to check it out. His wife was a minister and they both helped the needy and the hungry. Today has so many precious moments and joy. So glad I chose to come out here. In a way it is like being on my mission again, knocking doors and giving service. Jeremy and I talked about love and sacrifice. He made a goal to donate a kidney for somebody he doesn't know. He would give you the shirt off his back for people. He bought lots of gas and snacks and said not to worry about it. He has such a golden heart. We didn't make any sales, but we wont give up. We are going to the singles ward activity to play volleyball!

First Day in Missouri

Jeremy, Ian, and I finally arrived in Springfield Missouri after a 19 hour drive in the car! We went to the singles ward. It was so spiritual and amazing. Drew Bradley bore a powerful testimony about how the gospel has helped him through his trail of losing his dad at a young age. He talked about how obedience has been a strength in seeing the blessings. I felt so much power and wanted to be as spiritual as him. I have goals to read the scriptures daily, strengthen my relationship with Heavenly Father. Be exactly obedient to the commandments and treat everyone with love and charity. This summer should be successful.

An Embellishing Discovery

                                                              An Embellishing Discovery
            I would like to write about an event that has deeply connected and affected me since the discovery of it. The event is something that plays an important part of who I am, as well as who I want to become. It is something that has contributed to my creative and artistic talents, as well as futuristic goals. This is something that I now love and cannot put aside, avoid, or ignore. It is a subject that gets reflection on a weekly basis. The subject important to me is about a time when I discovered the amazing and talented singer Amy Lee. I would like to spend time in this essay explaining the history of Amy Lee as well as why she connects to me more than any other musician. I don’t remember what inspired me to search more into Amy Lee when I discovered her, but I am very grateful that I didn’t treat the matter lightly or spend time with other groups. I did in fact become so interested in this that I have spent over five years studying and analyzing in depth the life and music of Amy Lee. Do note that this paper does cover a specific point in time that is meaningful, but is saturated in the facts that will help the reader understand the compliments and infatuations.
            The encounter was simply by accident. I remember my sister was in a school lip-sync and was looking into using a song from the Daredevil soundtrack with a few friends. The song they chose was the “Daredevil Theme.” The song was by Graeme Revell, and I don’t know why I became interested in what they were considering other than this was probably around the time frame of when I started liking louder songs with screamo. I bought my own copy of the CD and would listen to it in my room. I loved rocking in a chair with a set of headphones while soaking in the moment, enjoying my loneliness. I love CDs, and just have to open it and look at all the details inside whenever I buy one. While looking down the list on the back, I noticed two songs I enjoyed were by a group called Evanescence.
Amy Lee, the front band lead singer from Little Rock, Arkansas, grew up with a musical family. The family was greatly influenced by piano and classical music. (Amy lee & Ben Moody interviewhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uDuQ_ivxpk) Amy took piano lessons for many years of her life and was involved in High School choir. She was not the popular person in high school, or the center of attention. She categorizes herself asan art nerd that enjoyed being creative and alone. This completely relates tome because I, like her, grew up with nine years of piano study, along with classical music, high school choir, art, and being alone with not much friends or attention. I was completely fine with that. I enjoyed being the loner. Amy Lee enjoys classical influences such as Mozart and Beethoven, wrote her first song when she was eleven, and wanted to be a classical music composer. Her goal was to be a score composer and she wrote this very dramatic funeral music and wanted to become Mozart. (Amy Lee on MTV Guik 16/03/12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLAEDXzKQHg)She wrote a chorale for fun titled “Listen to the Rain,” and presented it to the high school choir teacher for the class to sing. Amy Lee was not expecting to step up and lead the project; the teacher insisted that she direct her piece and that they perform it for graduation. The audience gave her a standingovation and everyone in her school admired her talent. (Amy Lee ''When I Was 17''. (Full Version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e5X1fITDvA). This also connects with me because I had a similar experience in my high school choir. In our class I was singing along and listening to the class rehearse “The Banks of Doon.” I could hear a cello part in my head and really wanted to write an accompaniment to go along with it. After class I told my choir director my idea and asked if it could be done. I was granted my wish and wrote the piece for our foundation concert with a guest clinician conductor. I was grateful to be able to perform that number, and am happy that I followed my idea. Amy Lee connects with me because I have had a strong passion for music my whole life, and I’ve wanted to become a movie soundtrack composer like Alan Menken, Hans Zimmer, or Danny Elfman. Her example has inspired me to write my own music. I have arranged and composed pieces such as:“The Coventry Carol Variations,” “Raquella,” “Breathtaking Scenery,” “Silent Night,”“Farewell,” “Reminiscing with Grandma,” “I’ll Never See Him Again,” “Meg’s Garden,” “Out There,” and “Be Still My Soul.” I am studying music and still working to achieve my goals. I feel that this would make me happiest, and that money,fame, or getting my name on the high charts should never be the reason to become a composer. Creating something and making it beautiful so others can be permanently touched is my motivation.
            Amy Lee was thirteen when she met Ben Moody at a youth camp in Little rock, and was playing a song by Meatloaf on the piano singing: “I Would Do Anything for Love,” when he convinced her to form a band. (Amy Lee Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndiD6t0r814) The band wrote the first song: “Solitude” and kept on going. Many of the beginning songs didn’t make it to the albums and is in a collection titled Origin. They looked in the dictionary and found interest in the name Evanescent, but later changed it to Evanescence (which means to dissipate or vaporize). The name sounded as mysterious as the music. (Interview Evanescence at Pepsi Smash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8GEZypKC-k) It isn’t up on radio play and in your face like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, or Katy Perry,but the music is something you have to work for and find on your own. It is truly unique. Best music isn’t what’s being played on the radio. Searching for music can lead to the very best. Something Amy Lee really likes about the band is that the people can’t find a specific label to categorize them. She has described the beginning process as difficult because she was noticed earlier as a chick on the piano. It was also different seeing a woman fronting a band for the first time. “Bring me to life” was the first hit single on the wind-up record Fallen. Sometime after my experience with the Daredevil album,I was driving to my cello lesson and heard a new song on the radio titled“Lithium.” I thought it was so beautiful and put the song on my iPod. I would go outside at night and swing on the swing set in my backyard and capture all the great sounds. I bought the second album The Open Door on eBay and fell in love with it. I came in one night and just wanted to see what the band was like in person. I went to YouTube and typed in an interview with Evanescence and found them to be different than I expected. I imagined Amy Lee to be from some foreign country with a heavy accent because of the way she sings deeper notes. I mistook her to be uninteresting, but was very surprised to see that she was a very charismatic, outgoing person, with lots of jokes, laughter, and optimism. An individual can’t not love her when they watch her personality bloom with excitement in an interview. She is filled with enthusiasm, and overflows with happiness when she talks about the fans, the connection, the writing process, and her feelings. She is such a breath of fresh air and such a great role model for musicians today. I admire Amy for her humility and her desire to learn new things. For example, the band took a break between the second and third album after the tour, and Amy started taking private harp lessons and dedicated herself to the instrument. The third album self-titled Evanescence includes songs with harp. I can relate to this also because I was involved with the piano for most of my life and decided it was time to try a new instrument. Music accompanies my life in ways that other things can’t.
            I want to share the depth of her music, my connection with it, and what it can provide to the audience. Amy Lee keeps her morals and standards high while being in the lime light. She stated in an interview: “I have definitely seen it go to people’s heads, and it changes them completely. Like you see them on tour, and they’re awesome, and down to earth, and new.  Then a couple years later you see them, and they’ve just changed completely because it’s like they have forgotten who they really are, and have become something new, and something horrible. It’s weird. I think it’s really important to just be friends, keep your friends around you, stay grounded, and remember this is all really silly, and there’s no reason for me to be like on some huge high stage on top of everyone else, like I’m better or something. It’s just my job, I love my music, I work really hard, and that’s it. A lot of its watching behind the music and seeing the glory of fallen rock stars who go through their drug and alcohol abuse and they almost threw their lives away, and they O.D.’d, and then made a new life, and all this drama that I just don’t really want in my life. I think a lot of people see their idols either party way too hard or just live this entire life that’s impossible to live without really hurting yourself and hurting the people around you and then they lose it all and they’re like why did I lose it all? It’s like well cause you can’t do that. Well you can, but you could also die. I’d rather play music and I don’t know, see the fans again!” (EvanescenceInterview @ Much Part Three https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sycJmCFVjyk) She feels that the celebrity life drags you down, and is artificial. She feels the sex icon is not for her, and that she clearly wants to make sure people understand that she is a musician first before anything else. She stated that she “highly encouragespeople to write music because it feels good, and not because of money or fame,but for the artistic value.” (MTV Firstladies Amy Lee Interviewwww.youtube.com/watch?v=9qA0k8hAHkk) Her albums include clean language, and talks about subconscious feelings in her life that just come out. She has had some relationship errors, but mostly talks about the darkness that has clouded her life. She lost a sister at a young age, and her other brother has epilepsy.She has tried to push out the negative by writing music and getting it all out.She calls it her therapy. The music is what connects her to the fans. She often talks about being the blame for negative results, speaks boldly to the person that has hurt her, and feels trapped or stuck wanting to get out. I think many people share these similar feelings around the world today. They can relate when they hear lyrics like: “And I’m a liar by your side. I’m about to lose my mind.” (The Change) Or “Someday you’ll know the pain. Someday the light will break through. And nothing you tell yourself will save us from the truth.Screaming out sick of it all sick of it all…” (Sick) One more example include:“Darling I forgive you after all. Anything is better than to be alone. And in the end I guess I had to fall. Always find my place among the ashes. I can’t hold on to me, wonder what’s wrong with me…” (Lithium) I feel that she has a talent for writing musical melodies as well as the lyrics that go along with it. If I could describe the music it would be strong, powerful, dark, emotional,and beautiful. Music often follows a pattern. It starts with an intro or a first verse, and then goes to the melody. Next it goes to the second verse and repeats the melody again afterward. A middle part bridges the second and third repeat of the melody together and then goes back to the melody. I think that Amy Lee does the best job making those bridges in her songs so passionate,interesting, and haunting. It is filled up well. Before I heard her sing, I remember trying to find the most beautiful parts of my voice in first grade as I sang “We will rock you” by Queen. I have a hard time describing sounds on paper, but I will attempt. Some people can slide and shift their voice so delicately between notes that you want to rewind and listen to it again and again because it gives you an awesome chill.  Amy Lee does that so well. An example is in the song “Bring me to life” with lyrics: “How can you see into my eyes like open doors?” The way she sings it is admirable. Most people would sing it with a regular beautiful tone and would do a fine job, but she adds the slur that makes your body feel good. That is the best way I know how to describe that. My point is that my style of sound was Evanescence before I found Evanescence. I was singing passionately and enjoyed dark visuals and sounds as a child.
After investigating this band, I cannot find a more suitable, uplifting, and respectable group of musicians that satisfies all the yearnings of my heart. I admire Amy Lee for her talent, hard work,humility, morals, and perspective. This band can provide an outlet for negative feelings and can help cope with bottled up emotions. Discovering and analyzing Evanescence has brought great happiness into my life as well as a greater motivation,inspiration, and dedication to music. I connect to Amy Lee and her music because I feel we share a strong similar interest in dark tones, vocal style,rock, and classical instruments. We both want to put music as our priority and work hard to achieve the goals that will make us happy.

The Corruption of Music

My Views on Music...

Intro: Music has always interested many since the beginning. It was created to inspire, lift, and motivate all who participate. It is all about divinity, talent, perseverance, passion, and art. People admired accomplished artists who could call down the powers of heaven and change the hearts of many. Music is for the glorification of God. Today, music is not viewed for its talent, but for the outrageous stories, scandalous outfits, and reckless behavior that arises from the individual(s). Music has shifted from dignity, passion, and talent, to whatever goes. What makes you feel good must be excellent. The media shows us that fame, money, sex, and drugs is the way to a happy and prosperous life. Most of us have felt inspired while attending or participating in something divine. We have deep respect for those with exceptional talent, and want to become like them. There is little respect for the drug abusers, the strippers, the DUI victims, and auto-tune over-doers. Even though many confuse shallow quality with real talent and inspiration, there is still hope for the future generation to revolutionize the crass, vulgar trends that exist today.
                                               Music’s Corruption in Today’s Society

   Mainstream contemporary music is a cheap knock off of what it has been, and what it can be once again. Today in society, many people accept all different types of music without any filtering. What is played on the radio, or what is played in businesses, homes, or even on T.V. is usually unquestioned, and easily accepted.  There are two groups of musicians in the world. The first group of musicians is motivated by passion, hard work, expressing themselves, sharing their talents, inspiring others, and connecting with fans. The second group is motivated by fame, carnal indulgence, money, and selfishness.  To be more specific, the hard working verses the lazy. Music has changed in many ways over a period of time. It primary purpose is to invite others to do good. But throughout history, time and music have changed leading people to confuse noise as music and to misunderstand its purpose as well as its divine purpose. There is still hope today for future generations and composers to bring back the quality that was lost in music. As we understand the importance of music and how “good music” is essential in our society, we wouldn’t want it any other way.

What is the purpose of music? What was it designed for? “Music is rightly called the universal language; it is successful in communicating ideas to the masses with minimum resistance. A tool as powerful as music should come with instructions. This is the endeavor of Music and its Purpose: to educate artists in the music & arts arena concerning the power and influence that comes along with the craft. The abuse and misuse of music has left a negative impact on society that has left a trail of destruction for future generations” (Purposeofmusic) http://www.purposeofmusic.com/ Back in time, music was never associated with sex, or drugs. Bach said “Music is an agreeable harmony for the honor of God and the permissible delights of the soul.” http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/115200.Johann_Sebastian_Bach?auto_login_attempted=true Few songs today (played on the radio, on T.V. or in public places) glorify and give honor to God. It is all about themselves, and the carnal man or woman. Back in the ancient days when music was studied and revolutionized, it was viewed as professional, clean, appropriate, and entertaining or relaxing. Even though technology wasn’t quite what it is today, there was dignity with the association of musicians including hard work. Today music is viewed as lustful material, also vulgar, desensitizing, casual, and harmful.

 Music today is acceptable in any way, shape, or form. You don’t even have to be a good singer to be in the lime light. You can think, say, or do anything you’d like as long as it feels good, and is likeable to the crowd. And for a bonus feature we’ll even have you sing into a machine that will do all the work for you and match the pitch perfectly. We will even make sure that you sound good on stage while you lip-sync to recordings. While searching online, the following question and answer arose: “Why does music today suck so bad? Because Pop and R&B artists like Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Drake, Jason Derulo, LMFAO, Selena Gomez and other lame autotune artists are taking all over the music industry. Their music is about teen love, sex, violence, dancing. It's just full of dance beats and auto tune. I agree that music today sucks real bad and I have no clue how we're gonna get the good music back!” http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_does_music_today_suck_so_bad Luckily, another person expresses the same opinion about today’s music by saying: “Music is a powerful thing. It evokes feelings and has the power to bring people together. Music is also a way for people to express themselves and share ideas, whether through poetic lyrics or throbbing anthems. But today, artists are not known for their music, but for how extravagant their outfits are and how many times their wealthy relatives can get them out of jail. And thus music is lost. Pop and rap music has evolved into a shallow, image-obsessed industry that conforms to what the public wants to hear and see, eliminating the focus on the actual music. Mainstream music is no longer composed of emotion, but instead themes of money, sex, and fame. Pop and rap performers are notorious for their run-ins with police, their latest diet, or their most recent affair. Photos and rumors fly while the music is ignored. Not all musical groups or soloists begin like this. Many of these artists are original and talented, but they may feel the stress of being underappreciated and turn to the money side for support. Often their songs are written by experts who know what is appealing to a certain age group, and the musicians' faces are plastered on as many magazine covers as possible. Soon their supposedly new and improved songs can be heard blasting out of car windows. But these songs are empty shells, devoid of creativity and the original thirst of the artist to make an impact or convey a message. Countless pop and rap songs today fit into a very slim mold -- not just the music, but those who perform it. Some female musicians struggle with eating disorders because of the increased attention of the media and the public on their looks instead of their musical talent. Most popular songs follow the same pattern -- singable, with a catchy beat and a flashy band. These songs teach listeners that what's on the outside is important, and money matters. These messages are also shown through music videos containing sexual themes, as well as people wearing ‘grills’ and other decorations meant to show their wealth. Many rap videos promote the ‘gangsta’ image, encouraging people to act tough, embrace violence, and swear. These videos can propagate false views of African-Americans. MTV is not helping. It has become increasingly racy and plays only what the public wants to hear. And unfortunately, the majority seems interested in either sickly sweet, generic pop or stereotypical, bleeped-out rap. Kids and teens everywhere are swimming in these songs, which are often degrading to women and minorities, and inappropriate…None of this is to say that all pop and rap music today fits this mold…A lot of high-quality pop music exists as well. Although some talented musicians thrive, the entire music industry has devolved into something that's almost unrecognizable. Music is no longer just for pleasure, but instead is a huge part of the economy. It is valued for its power to influence people everywhere. Not only does the music business make money from songs, but lots of useless products carry rap and pop stars' names and faces. Why do most teenagers exclusively listen to pop and rap music when so many other genres exist? Maybe it's because everywhere we look, we are bombarded with the same music: on the radio, on TV, on the computer. At school, pop and rap are discussed religiously. Perhaps they have never listened to anything else. Or maybe peer pressure is part of it. Another reason some people listen to popular music is because it is easy listening, with no abnormalities, since anything unique is considered weird. There is no solution to the ‘pop problem.’ It's called popular for a reason -- many people enjoy it. People who like pop and rap music are the same as people who like rock and punk music -- they are just fond of a particular genre of music. It's not a heinous crime, and there's no easy way to sway their views. Still, many artists are ruined because of the increased focus on money and image. My suggestion is not to buy into music like this when you can explore something new. Expand your horizons. Dig up your parents' old records and CDs. You never know what you might find.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/mainstream-music-is-about_n_1069230.html “In today’s entertainment, sex is not the melting embrace of two lovers, forever sharing their hearts, lives, and selves. It’s not even ordinary lust. It’s lust on steroids, and its raging. The new sexual norm, messaged in music and video, is sex as a personal entitlement.  Instead of connecting two persons in mutual, fruitful, and self-giving love, sex is a solo act. The narcissist takes center stage, gratifying him or herself sexually with any number or combination of males, females, and even animals. Nothing’s ‘perverted’ anymore, because sex is just a thing you do to feel good. So if you ‘wanna,’ then do anything you ‘wanna.’ Teens immersed in the music culture sit for a daily tutorial—through lyrics and images—in narcissistic, abusive relationships. For boys, the sexual script is self-obsessed, aggressive, impersonal and demanding. It throbs with lust, contempt, and, often, sheer brutality.  No love, tenderness, or kindness in sight. Women—whether flesh and blood, or virtual on the pornographic screen, serve male pleasure. The model for girls is no better. How to relate to men? Taunt, flaunt, and spar. Physical aggression—often girl-initiated--only ups the sexual tension. Pain tangles with desire, retaliation, and sexual conquest. The big lie: a sex object is ‘wanted,’ so sex means power…. The music industry is “on message,” without a doubt. Sex is a solo act—enjoy it whatever way you want. It’s a message that ushers in sexual perversion, violence, and death. And it's dominating the culture.” http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/cw/post.php?id=517

             Even though the world is in a corrupted state, there is still room for hope. We can hope that future generations will recognize the imperfections and make a change to our society. It has been said by many that one person can make a difference. In many instances, good music has existed during the noise and corruption. Douglas R. Callister said: “Some have grown up on a steady diet of musical french fries…‘There is no music in hell, for all good music belongs to heaven.’ It would be punishment enough to go to hell and not hear a note of music for all eternity.” Neal A. Maxwell said: “We … live in a world that is too prone to the tasteless and we need to provide an opportunity to cultivate a taste for the finest music. And likewise, we’re in a world that’s so attuned to the now. We need to permit people to be more attuned to the best music of all the ages.” http://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/06/our-refined-heavenly-home?lang=eng#footnote10-04206_000_017

The future can be brighter for all of us if we take a stand to crass, vulgar, and distasteful music. As we focus on the good, we can override the influences of evil. We can choose the best of many things and be examples to others and share our good music with others. The music will speak for itself and touch the hearts who listen. We never know the impact one inspired song can have on many.

It has been proven that music was originally used for the praising of God, as well as inspiring and motivating good. Music has changed and gone the opposite direction and has been abused for several years. Subliminal messages like sex, drugs, profanity, racism, prejudices, disrespect, and dishonor bombard our minds as we drive in the car, watch T.V., attend entertainment attractions, and use the internet. However the mess in this miserable world, we can always shine our light and inspire by sharing our good music with others. Anything with substance is light, the things that are shallow are of darkness. May we develop our talents to do good, and enlighten this darkened world with light and make a change in society to create more peace, happiness, and safety.