In which I tune to the music of faith

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks of England, speaking to Roman Catholic leaders last December at the Pontifical Gregorian University, noted how secular some parts of the world have become. He stated that one culprit is “an aggressive scientific atheism tone deaf to the music of faith.”

Today in Relief Society, the lesson was based on this talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook. Although I quite enjoyed the lesson, I got stuck on this phrase: "tone deaf to the music of faith." As one who enjoys making and listening to music, I really connected to the idea of faith=music, and a couple comments from other lovely ladies just got me thinking about a few things that I want to record. 


One girl commented about how music brings such joy to those who really love it in a way that is often difficult to explain. I would add that for those who don't have a connection to music (or even to a specific kind of music), it probably sounds like unwanted noise. The music of faith can go either way as well: there are those who take joy in believing things that cannot be proven simply because such belief gives hope, and there are those who refuse to listen because they cannot make a connection with something that isn't concrete.


Then another girl (a music major) commented that people who are literally tone deaf can still hear and appreciate music; they just have difficulty reproducing it. Applying that to faith, then, meant that although one may feel or believe or even know things of a spiritual nature, they do not allow that belief to transfer to others. Because of a lack of scientific proof, they keep their beliefs private, which action has the potential to gradually turn belief to doubt. 


Another comment came from our bishop's wife, who responded to a question about how we can become "tuners" of our faith. She compared this to tuning a piano: a piano tuner learns how to listen so intently that they know when a note is right and they know when a note is just slightly off. The best tuners have sort of an extra sense that just cries with joy when everything finally lines up. So then, to apply this to tuning faith, she said we should hone our own skills in listening for things that ring true and forever be tuning ourselves to that music of faith. 


While hearing all this, I thought to myself about how much music means in my life, and how empty certain aspects of my life would seem if it were suddenly taken away. Similarly, if my faith--in my church, my relationships, my future--were taken away, I would feel empty, but it would touch every aspect of my life. Keeping in tune with the music of faith is what allows me to continue if/when times get tough. It is something that I delight in, and it's something I wish to share. I love learning things of a scientific nature, and I love the using the scientific process, and I believe in many scientific theories that may not correlate exactly with scriptures I learned growing up. But I also believe in a loving Heavenly Father, and I have felt the support and influence of Jesus Christ in my life, and I know that my faith in these unseen beings is far more lasting than fallible theories and formulas. In my life, science is sure cool, but the music of faith is necessary. 


So back to Elder Cook... I hope that I can forever keep my life faith-based and secularly-enriched, rather than the other way around. Please, let's all tune to that beautiful music of faith. Happy Sunday, folks! And good night.