Thank Goodness for Divine Intervention!

I have always read and loved the stories in the scriptures about the Lord helping Moses free the children of Israel, giving Ammon the strength to cut off the wicked Lamanite’s arms and of helping Nephi get the plates from Laban. But I had never completely believed that the Lord would help me achieve the seemingly impossible in my church callings until I was called to be the stake primary chorister.

When the high councilman extended the calling to me to serve in the stake primary I laughed. I honestly thought he was joking. I didn’t lead music, I didn’t know the primary songs and I couldn’t sing. When I realized he was serious, I expressed my concerns to him. All he did was lean forward in his chair, look me in the eyes and say, “Don’t worry, Sister. The Lord will bless you with all the talents you need to fulfill your calling.” With that he stood and left, assuming I guess, that I had accepted.

I decided that learning the songs wouldn’t be too difficult, and I could teach myself how to lead music, but I knew there was no way getting around my bad singing voice. The highest note I could hit was a B flat and most of the primary songs are written for soprano voices. I learned to work around my lack of talent, however. Whenever I needed to present a new song at a leadership meeting, I enlisted the help of others who could sing.

Then one day, the primary president asked me to teach a song by singing a line of it and having the teachers repeat it. This meant that I would have to sing alone in front of all those in attendance. What made me even more terrified was the knowledge that many of those attending the meeting were well known in the stake for their musical talents. I immediately began praying fervently for help in fulfilling this assignment, even though I had no idea how the Lord would help me.

After practicing the song many times, I reached the conclusion that I would only be able to sing it if the pianist played it in a lower key. She agreed to do that which helped calm my fears. When the dreaded day arrived I stood to teach the song. I was amazed at how clear my voice sounded. Instead of the customary breathy squeaks, I heard clear strong notes. Afterwards I had several people come and tell me what a nice singing voice I had.

Following the meeting I went to thank the pianist for playing the song in a key low enough for me to sing. She looked surprised and then said, “I'm so sorry. I forgot. I played the song in the key it was written.” It was only then that I began to realize just how much of a miracle I had witnessed. Never in my life had I been able to sing notes that high.

The next morning I was still thinking about what happened. I decided that I would try singing the song again and taping it this time so I could hear my voice. I turned on the tape and began to sing. When I played the tape back, however, it was very apparent that my old voice had returned. Now, several years later, even though I have never again been able to sing as well as I did that night, I will always be thankful for the time when I found out for myself that the Lord really will bless us with all the talents we need to fulfill our church callings. And that knowledge has brought great . . . joy to my journey