Turn Your Heart
TURN YOUR HEART:
This song comes from Jacob 2-3 when Jacob condemns the Nephites for breaking the hearts of their wives and children. This is the first sermon that Jacob himself shares in his book. In the first chapter, he states that Nephi had appointed a king over the people and died. After Nephi's death, the people began to indulge in wicked practices and began to search after riches. In this sermon, Jacob says, "But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God." He also talks about chastity and commands them to have no more than one wife.
I decided at this point in the project that I wasn't going to shy away from heavy topics. I wanted the messages of my songs to always be positive and point people toward Christ, but I wasn't going to hide from difficult teachings in the Book of Mormon. I love how this song turned out.
With this project, I have intentionally modernized and generalized the messages so they can be accepted by modern Christian audiences. At the same time, I have been careful to retain the teachings and doctrine to be as pure as possible. Instead of breaking the hearts of your wives and children, this song talks about the tender weeping in pain. And instead of having no more than one wife, this song talks about fading pleasures and the chains of immorality.
I stuck with Philip Philips as the musical basis for this song. The problem is that Philip Philips always sounds happy and innocent. This sermon was the opposite of innocent. It was a call for the people to return to God from their wickedness. To show Jacob's heart in this piece, I asked for a cello to be included in the instrumentation. This really added depth to the song and gave it the positive call to light with the heaviness and weight that Jacob felt in having to deliver this message to his people.
