Dancing and the Music of the Gospel

I was a dancer in college. When we were learning a new dance, the choreographer or teacher would start by teaching us the steps, counting out the rhythm. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. She or he would demonstrate, and we would follow, stumbling over our feet, trying to get the sequence straight. First we would just “mark” the sequence, just move through the steps at half effort, not really jumping or gliding. Once we got the sequence in our mind (or in our feet, really), we would start doing the steps “full out,” jumping, twirling, focusing on the technique required of each step. Jete, tendu, pas de chat, battement.

But when we quit counting and added the music-- that is when we started to dance. In the music we could hear how the steps came together in phrases, the joy or the longing or the sweetness of the dance. As we continued to dance, the individual steps ceased to matter so much—what mattered was embodying the spirit of the music. We would still be corrected, of course, when we didn’t master the steps as the director wanted, and sometimes we needed to take a phrase and work it through, counting out the rhythm, making sure we were unified and on the beat and kicking to the same level.

But then, finally, the performance. I would stand in the wings of the stage, just behind one of the big black side curtains, listening to the music, waiting for my cue. At that moment, I wasn’t thinking of the individual steps. I would think of the music, the message of the music and the dance, and that now I could share that message with others. I would lift my chest and spread my arms and dance out to share the love I felt in the music.

This all came back to me as I read again Elder Wilford W. Andersen’s talk, “The Music of the Gospel” . He explains, “The dance steps of the gospel are the things we do; the music of the gospel is the joyful spiritual feeling that comes from the Holy Ghost.”

Just like learning the ballet, first we may need to do the steps without the music. We may come to church, do our visiting teaching, even read scriptures because we know we should or because we feel compelled by others. But then the music of the spirit will be heard. Maybe in a Sunday School class, or as you teach the Sunbeams, or when you take a casserole to a new mom, or as you take the Sacrament or especially as you pray or study the scriptures, in that moment what you are doing will make sense. You will see it as part of a larger, more meaningful whole. 

And eventually, as you continue to pray and study and serve, you will come to see that it is all part of one joyous symphony, and you will not be so worried about each step, because the steps will come naturally. You will study and pray and serve because that is what the music leads you to do, and you will only want to dance along to that glorious music.

“Even when performed well, the music will not solve all of our problems. There will still be crescendos and decrescendos in our lives, staccatos and legatos. Such is the nature of life on planet earth. But when we add music to the dance steps, the sometimes complicated rhythms of marriage and family life tend to move toward a harmonious balance” (Wilford W. Andersen, “The Music of the Gospel,” April LDS Conference, 2015).