Mar 9, 2008

Mormon Tabernacle Choir-- I Believe in Christ




This is my favorite piece by the MOTAB. I love it for the words, which hold such a message of hope. They were written by Bruce R McConkie, who bore an amazing testimony of Christ right before his death... this famous quotable:

"And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way."




The words to the hymn:

I Believe in Christ
by Elder Bruce R. McConkie

1. I believe in Christ; he is my King!
With all my heart to him I’ll sing;
I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,
In grand amens my tongue employ.
I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son.
On earth to dwell his soul did come.
He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
Good works were his; his name be praised.

2. I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
As Mary’s Son he came to reign
’Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
To save them from the woes of sin.
I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
Who did gain all his Father hath,
Who said to men: “Come, follow me,
That ye, my friends, with God may be.”

3. I believe in Christ—my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I’ll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.

4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: “Ye shall obtain.”
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I’ll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Confession:
"I Believe In Christ" is my least favorite hymn. Am I a bad person?

Of course I have nothing against the lyrics. They are uplifting and inspiring. It's the arrangement I take issue with. I love hymns and singing, but every time this hymn begins I feel like I'm running a marathon (that's not a good thing). The song never ends. As great as the lyrics may be, the monotony of the verses (and the sheer number and length of them) gets old fast. I really do not enjoy the melody at all. I just cannot get into it. It can never end soon enough for me.

Like I said, I am a lover of the hymns and sing in choirs quite often. This hymn however, does nothing for me. It is frustrating to me that it is so popular because I will end up singing it many, many times throughout the course of a year, while many superior hymns get overlooked and are never played or sung. It makes me sad.

Anyway, confession over.

Unknown said...

I generally found this hymn boring until this version by the MOTAB came out... and yet, I bet you're right in that even MOTAB members probably feel like they're running a marathon, singing it. :) Though I did notice in the last conference that a few of the women became tearful while singing it, which isn't common, I don't think....

I think that my least favorite hymn (for similar reasons) is a poor wayfaring man of grief. wierd, huh? Becuase tons of people love that one.

Anonymous said...

Unlike James, I like it (8 on a scale of 1-10). I've always LOVED "Thy Spirit Lord Has Stirred Our Souls." Interestingly, one of my least favorites (dare I say it??) is "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet," and yet that's the one I was listening to when it hit me that the Church was true. I was walking a colick baby up and down the halls when I heard the men in their Priesthood session singing it. That was about 25 years ago, and I can still recall that moment in vivid detail.

Anonymous said...

Make that a "colicky" baby. One of these days I'll learn to proofread.

Unknown said...

LOL I LOVE these "least favorite Hymn confessions!"

Lucy Stern said...

This is one of my favorite hymns too. Bro. McKonkie had a strong testimony of Christ and it beamed on his face and in his voice....I'll bet he has seen the nail holes in Christ's hands and feet. Thanks for posting this.

Pirate Princess said...

It's not my LEAST favorite (not sure if I have one of those), but it's definitely not one of my favorites. The one that I love the most is "The Daydawn is Breaking". My soul soars when we sing that one. :)

Shell said...

One of my favorites is Sunshine in my Soul Today. Here is why

http://www.our-beehive.com/Jesus,%20Listening,%20Can%20Hear.htm

This story is about my bosses daughter. There are many other great stories about their family on their website also.

KalikoB said...

It was made to seem so long because they wanted to make eight verses into four so they would all be printed in the music and not just listed below where they would seldom be sung. So, yes, 8 verses in longer than the attention spans of most congregations.