Dedication

I'll admit I'm easily touched by beautiful music, and the music at our temple dedication was beautiful. Although I wasn't involved in the planning, I'm guessing the choir directors were given the instruction to choose music from either the hymnbook or The Choirbook, because everything fit in one of those two categories.

It's been a while since I've looked at The Choirbook, but I decided to pull it out the week of the dedication, because I figured we'd be singing the "Hosanna Anthem" and I wanted to become familiar with it. It was a real treat to hear the choirs practice the Friday before. And I was right - they did practice the "Hosanna Anthem." It was kind of neat knowing what to expect as the music progressed. It was also a special experience singing "The Spirit of God" along with them (although in the hallway) with just a few of the other ushers as they practiced.

But this post is about another hymn - "Dedication" by Willie Reske. This was sung by the choir from Fort Myers in the third dedicatory session. I just love the words, and the spirit with which they sang it was incredible. This will be one of my favorite memories of our unforgettable weekend, and I wanted to be sure to record it. Here are the words:

Father, I come to thee,

Calmly and rev'rently,

That I may do my part,

Serving with all my heart.

Place thou thy hands on me,

That I thy light may see;

Make me as I should be.

I'll follow thee!

Give me a list'ning ear,

That I thy voice may hear;

Give me a ready mind, 

That I thy truth may find.

Give me a contrite heart;

Help me to do my part.

I feel thy love for me.

I'll follow thee!

And if you want to hear the music, you can go to this site and search under Dedication. It's really beautiful music.

As President Uchtdorf mentioned in the dedicatory prayer*, not only were we dedicating a temple, we were also re-dedicating ourselves. This hymn is a beautiful reminder to me of what that entails.

*Here are the last two paragraphs of the prayer, the entire thing can be found here.

Our Father in heaven, we love Thee and Thy Beloved Son. We thank Thee for His atoning sacrifice. All the blessings of this temple rest upon that great divine act of love given by Thy Son, the Savior of all mankind.

Accept our thanks and love, dear Father. We dedicate this temple and its surroundings unto Thee, and we rededicate ourselves to Thee and Thy service, in the name of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.