Process VS Purpose

I'm only writing this post because I still feel annoyed.

You know how some hymns have extra verses written under the music? And how some of those extra verses are not specifically vital, but maybe traditional, so they included them? But some of the extra verses include the entire point of the song? Such as certain Sacrament hymns in which the ordinance isn't mentioned until verse 5? Or perhaps the three verses written within the staff of the music only tell the story of the Savior's death and the two verses written below go on to include the Resurrection---the point of the story?

I have always chaffed at the concept that we're singing the songs in church to kill time while something else is happening. I am particularly irked when that is done with the Sacrament song. The music director is watching the priests and as soon as they look done, she'll stop the song, but at least we normally sing all the verses with the words written inside the music. Occasionally, I'll point out before church that the song we're scheduled to sing has two more verses that include the message, or complete the thought of the song. I'll say, "We ought to sing all the verses of this song as a result." She'll agree, but then she stops me if the boys sit down. Once, as a rebellious organist, I just kept playing as though I didn't see her, because she attempted to stop me after singing ONE of the extra verses, but not BOTH! (Completely ridiculous...) Of course the congregation assumed that since we'd begun the extra verses, we would sing them both. So they kept singing with me as I continued to play the organ, and she caught up. I pretended to apologize later and said I didn't see her.

But, on Sunday, July 4th, there was an incident that has really, really annoyed me. So, of course, we scheduled The Star Spangled Banner as the closing song. We sang America, The Beautiful for the opening song. I had gone over to the church to practice the national anthem because, not only it is challenging to sing, but it is difficult to play. I like that we can occasionally sing it in church because three verses are included, and God is mentioned, and it has a religious overtone.

It was Fast Sunday, which includes people bearing testimony, and a number of people included their thoughts about our nation having religious freedom and that this enabled the whole restoration of the gospel and the founding of the church, etc. etc. So, singing about the "heaven rescued land prais [ing] the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation" is a fitting close to the meeting.

However, there was an outpouring of people who wished to express their feelings. The clock approached the time the bishop's counselor had named as the end of testimony time, and two more people came up off their benches and walked up to the stand. Finally, everyone was finished, and people stood with their hymnbooks and I played the introduction. With great enthusiasm people began to sing. I'd fiddled around and found some really stirring settings for the organ and we were all really into it. As we got to "...o'er the la-and of the free, and the home of the brave..." I looked back at the beginning of the song and readied my fingers to switch to those notes for verse two. I could feel people inhale for the next words, and suddenly the conductor was hissing at me, "Stop, stop---we're not singing any more of it," and she waved her hands into the conclusion gesture.

I was so startled, that I hesitated and so that let her sit down and, of course, I had to stop playing. The congregation stood there for a heartbeat, with their books poised--they were stunned too. It took a noticeable moment for everyone to sit down. The person who was to give the closing prayer took a little extra time to walk up to the podium. I'm sure she thought she'd have time to do that during the second half of the third verse.

When the prayer concluded, I started to play something for postlude, I don't know what. I was exclaiming in a loud whisper to my conductor, "What was that???" She said she'd gotten the stop sign (finger across the throat) from the stake presidency counselor who was seated on the stand and she didn't dare not obey him. "We could have done that at a ball game!" I whisper-yelled at her. I was so furious I couldn't even play the right notes. After one and half songs, I just stopped playing. I don't even know if anyone noticed. I intended to go over and ask that guy why he'd stopped us.

But he'd left immediately after the prayer. Maybe he had a meeting at some other ward, I don't know. But the ward following us still had 40 minutes before they needed to start their meeting. We couldn't have spend 3 more minutes singing the rest of the national anthem on July 4th????

I explained to our bishop's counselor what I felt so upset about (actually I was still spitting mad and I apologized for frothing at him). But he concurred. He was as puzzled as I was at the decision. I asked him to pass on my unhappiness and the reasons for it; he said he would. I probably won't ever say anything about it to the man. It's probably not appropriate. But, come on....JULY 4th???

I realize that I have a special relationship with the national anthem, having taken school children to Fort McHenry for field trips. And I realize that many people do not like the song especially because it is difficult to sing and the words are all about war. But when you've studied the history, and you know the story, and you've stood on the actual ramparts and seen the banner streaming so gallantly, and listened to your fellow teacher sing the song right at the base of the historic flag pole, then this song is special. CoolGuy told me once about singing it with the Marines, after they'd hoisted the flag up a pole at their primitive campsite in the desert of a foreign country, and how moved he felt.

So, my point is: when you're in charge at church, please consider the purpose of the hymns, not just the process of the meeting. Or to quote the Authority from the forward to the official hymn book:

"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads" (Doc. and Cov. 25:12).