Let’s talk about the Book of Mormon musical.
Love it?
Hate it?
Somewhere in between?
The Book of Mormon Musical became a smash hit on Broadway when it first debuted in 2011.
And who can blame them?
It's got catchy music, big laughs, fun choreography,
racial overtones, a little blasphemy,
persecution of a religious minority
but hey,
only at the expense…of this book.
As the playbill ads say, “You’ve seen the show, now read the book.”
Not only that, but you don’t have to miss out on the music by reading the Book of Mormon.
Because as it turns out,
the Book of Mormon is a MUSICAL book.
Sure the Book of Mormon does not have a chorus of doorbells with missionaries singing “hello”,
and it does not have Josh Gad.
And thats the real bummer!
But!
The Book of Mormon is a witness of Jesus Christ and has a LOT to say about music,
whether you are in the strait and narrow path or the broad way.
What do I mean by music in the Book of Mormon?
Well the Book of Mormon has got singing, musical instruments, and even song lyrics.
The Book of Mormon mentions singing a couple dozen times.
For example at the beginning of the Bok of Mormon, Lehi describes seeing a vision with concourses of angels
singing praises to God
And then at the end of the Book of Mormon
Moroni describes how Nephites would use hymns as part of their worship services
Nephites also would sing praises to God after battle.
And if you still don’t think the Book of Mormon is at all like the musical,
then you’re forgetting that on the boat to the Promised Land, Laman, Lemuel, and some of Ishmael’s family
were singing and dancing on the ship “with much rudeness”
Sound familiar?
The characters in the Book of Mormon don’t just sing, they also play musical instruments.
The Book of Mormon talks about horns and trumpets, like the ones Ancient Israelites
would use on special holidays like the Day of Atonement or coronations like King Benjamin and Mosiah.
The Jaredites sound a trumpet to commence the epic final battle between Shiz and Coriantumr.
And then Alma preaches that he wishes he were an angel so that he could “speak with the trump of God”
The Book of Mormon has another really cool musical element kind of hidden in the text.
It turns out there are actual song lyrics in the Book of Mormon.
Crazy right?
Well Scholars have identified pieces of poetry within the Book of Mormon
by looking for poetic literary structures called parallelism.
Now Hebrew poetry was not about rhyming, or formal meter, or any formula you might be familiar with,
from Shakespeare, or limericks, or haikus, or raps, or whatever poetry you’re familiar with.
Hebrew poetry used parallelisms to create thematic pairings between lines;
you can think of it as “thought rhyming”.
but we don't have time to go into that so if you want to learn more about parallelisms or Hebrew poetry
check out the video below in the description.
In fact, Psalms in the Bible were used by Ancient Israelites as songs in temple worship.
In fact, the word “Psalm” literally means “song” in Greek.
So we've got Psalms in the Bible which are actually Songs for temple worship.
And then those same Psalms show up in the Book of Mormon, and are probably songs for temple worship
While biblical Psalms pop up here and there throughout the Book of Mormon,
there are also some original compositions.
Scholars point to 2 Nephi 4 as “Nephi’s Psalm”
and for good reason,
because it is structured just like, and has all the elements of, a biblical Psalm.
You can also learn more about this one in the description below.
But why is music in the Book of Mormon and why is it important?
Well it’s in there because Nephites brought their ancient Israelite traditions
with them to the New World, and they had lots of music.
But it's important because music is a super powerful way to convey meaning.
I mean that's part of what makes the Book of Mormon musical so popular.
It's got catchy music and witty lyrics
that portrays this entire religion and its culture as complete satire and farce.
But what it misses is the most important message of the Book of Mormon.
That message is believing in Jesus Christ,
that message is often portrayed through music.
Take 2 Nephi 4, Nephi’s Psalm.
Nephi's father Lehi just died,
his brothers are going astray, and he feels like hes failed on just about every account.
What's his coping mechanism?
Music.
Nephi’s Psalm.
Despite his gut-wrenching pain,
music is ultimately what helps him recognize God’s hand
and God’s power to deliver him.
And the most important song in the entire Book of Mormon
is articulated by Alma as “the song of redeeming love.”
Wow.
Even Alma compares the power of forgiveness and redemption
to the beauty of music.
So even if you can’t sing like Josh Gad,
EVERYONE,
can access the atonement of Jesus Christ
and sing the song of redeeming love,
especially by reading the Book of Mormon.