{"chapter_no":"8","chapter_title":"Hymn of Zion - Gratias agimus tibi and Propter magnam gloriam","book_id":"4","book_name":"Beauty the World Has Never Seen","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"682","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":3,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 8<\/p>

Hymn of Zion - Gratias agimus tibi <\/h1><\/p>

and Propter magnam gloriam<\/p>

 <\/p>

The message of Zion <\/i>proclaimed through music <\/i>continues<\/i>—<\/i>The <\/i>fourth<\/i> <\/i>and fifth <\/i>movement<\/i>s<\/i>: <\/i>
Gratias agimus tibi and Propter magnam gloriam<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"The next two movements are short, but dramatic. Gratias agimus<\/i> tibi<\/i> <\/i>is a prelude, a
sudden strike of love and passion causing all that follows. It's like the onset of a great storm,
such as the one described in 3rd Nephi 8:<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of
the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land. And
there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did
shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder. And there were exceedingly sharp
lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Beth Hancock, the wife of President James Hancock of the North Ogden 2nd Stake, who
is with us today in the audience, shared with me an experience from her youth that well
illustrates this kind of event. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"She described it as follows:<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"'The day my young sister Audrey died from leukemia, the pain was more than I could
bear. It was like I was standing along a shoreline as a powerful hurricane hit, with strong winds,
rain, and high ocean waves all crashing down upon me. Alone in the house for several hours on
that day, I screamed at God at the top of my lungs, so angry and hurt was I that He had not
answered my prayers like I wanted Him to. Lying atop my bed, I cast angry glances at Him
through the ceiling and uttered hateful words. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"'To strike a final blow against Him, I reached over and grabbed my scriptures from off
the nightstand, intending to throw them down hard upon the floor. Before I could do that,
however, something stopped me. I took them in my hands and just squeezed them—a moment of
indecision on my part. Then I somehow garnered the strength to face up to these powerful winds
of emotion that had engulfed me and abruptly changed my course of action. As a child of God, I <\/p>

looked upon the evil acts I was doing, and of which I was about to do more, and stopped myself.
Having the ability to choose my own destiny at that pivotal moment, I chose to do good rather
than to continue in evil. And today, I'm so glad that I made that decision!'<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Powerful forces of good and evil are constantly there inside of us trying to gain control.
But we are the ones who decide our own fates, as well as the fates of the others around us who
are often impacted by our decisions. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"In the music that will be performed next, you may almost be able to hear a youthful Beth
raising her voice in anger to the Lord. The tumult then ends, she is humbled, and she goes about
the work of rebuilding the damage in her life brought on by the storm.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"We see something like this also in the great Psalm of Nephi, although his frustration is
directed inwardly at his own soul:<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Do not anger again because of mine enemies. <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Nephi, he being a holy and righteous prophet of God, took a look at himself in a spiritual
mirror and saw things he didn't like. Seeing through vision the example of Jesus Christ and His
perfect life on earth that would come centuries later, and then developing a personal relationship
with Him each day through prayer, can humble a person. In this case, it was a pivotal moment,
motivating Nephi to improve upon his performance before God. Blinded by the light of Jesus
Christ, he saw himself for who he was––small and insignificant<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Following Gratias agimus tibi<\/i> is Propter magnam gloriam<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"As I mentioned earlier, Gratias agimus tibi<\/i> is like a strike of love and passion that
causes all that follows. Propter magnam gloriam<\/i>, in contrast, is what Carolyn describes to me as
'a crippled fugue.' It starts off as a classic fugue, but very soon falls apart. It's common practice to
have a fugue combined with or accompanied by a prelude, so that they practically come as one.
They're both reduced in content and kind of summarized, which makes their relationship
balanced. They may not be independently fit for what they each strive to be, but when linked
together, they function wonderfully as a kind of diptych. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"And that is the broader point that I wish to make here in regard to these two movements.
We need to first face up to the fierce winds of the storm and gird up our loins, but then we need
to try to begin anew and do something special in our lives afterward. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"There might be a pivotal, life-changing event that helps get us started, thereby remaking
us into a catalyst for good, and we may, in fact, need many such events on a regular basis to keep <\/p>

us energized in the gospel. Nevertheless, our goal is not just to become energized at our current
level. We must continue to grow and expand. <\/p>

 <\/p>

\"In music, the most essential part of a fugue is the theme. In fact, the whole structure is
built around it—it being repeated, or to be more precise, imitated over and over through different
voices. You will hear the theme right at the beginning of this movement, representatively sung
by the sopranos. You will then hear the other voices follow with a rephrasing of the theme—first
the altos, then the tenors, and finally the basses. Notice near the end how the words \"propter\" all
come fast one after another. As soon as you hear the first \"propter,\" you then instantly hear
another and another. In music, this is called a stretto. It means that the imitation of the theme
appears earlier than expected. This creates a sort of 'tight packed' sound. It is very common for a
rephrasing of the theme to employ a stretto form. It's a means of summarizing the content, and it
brings drama to the piece––as if the singers are talking fast with excitement.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"This action and reaction scenario might be likened to the way in which we as
individuals, we as wards and stakes, and we as a Church interact daily with the Spirit of God.
The musical theme is dramatic and passionate, like the emotional fire that burns through our
souls during times of adversity, or like the fulness of joy we experience when long sought-after
blessings are finally realized in our lives. In both cases, they are life-changing events. The
resulting humility or gratitude in each case causes us to pray with greater fervor. Through our
prayers, we blow air through a bellows upon the fire of our spirits, causing the flames to become
stronger. The Spirit, seeing our efforts, then blows upon the fire with a bellows of His own. A
game of leapfrog then occurs, in which we strive to do more and more, growing stronger in faith
and love, and further stoking the fire. In this manner, the movement towards Zion begins<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

\"The continuous repetitions [imitations/polyphony] of the theme are the leapfrog play.
They speed up in the reprise [stretto] which stirs our emotions, until finally, they reach full
enlightenment at the end of the movement. The vibrant, overwhelming sound of the Picardy
third, as Carolyn describes it, is a symbol of light and enlightenment! The power of Zion filling
our hearts is like that.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Control of the meeting was again passed to the conductor. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Unfortunately, the two movements played back to back were so short that the audience
scarcely had a chance to enjoy them. The men and women in the audience were still hungry and
longing for more.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Are not these last two movements <\/i>as good as <\/i>the other fine<\/i> pieces<\/i> that came before<\/i>? <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

There have been now five movements, and each one of them was amazing! <\/i>Beautiful
music is so<\/i>...<\/i> <\/i>beautiful<\/i>!<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>"}