A Glorious Light, A Glorious Testimony
By Jen Mabray
As I played the piano, my ear listened carefully to the cadence of the vocalist who performed as Joseph Smith in a production that commemorated the 200th year anniversary of his birth. Moving towards my right, down the aisles and among the audience, the tenor sang. The conductor and I, wrote music and designed a full-scale-movement of the soloists, choir, and small-part orchestra, through the audience, complete with moving lights. At one point, a single beam of light illuminated Emma as she sang a melancholic tune mourning the loss of her child. In another marvelous arrangement, the choir entered the room singing from behind. As they moved towards the front, they beckoned for willing audience members to join them in song to “Come, Come Ye Saints.”
As the pianist, I sought for the symmetry between my accompaniment and the tenor’s voice, as he moved through the audience, singing a solo arrangement detailing the events of Carthage. I could make out expressions of joy in the faces of the audience as Joseph came to their sides and offered his hand to shake. Men and women stood to greet Joseph. Many clasped both of their hands over his, and openly wept. His booming tenor voice never once broke its rhythm.
I had never worked so hard on a performance as I did that season, and never have since. One particular piece was especially difficult for me. I found myself literally pawing at the piano in a hand-over-hand sweeping motion as I moved up and down the keys. Certain measures were so intense that my hands were a blur of motion. The arrangements were magnificent, and Joseph and Emma frequently had the audience leaping from their seats in thunderous applause!
The last night of our performance season, we had a special guest invited to our venue. She ended our program by pulling a violin from its case and began to tell its story. For a long time, the violin was concealed away in the floorboards of a barn and rescued by her grandmother just before the barn was torn down. The violin was the same violin that was played for the Prophet Joseph Smith before his martyrdom, played by her ancestral grandfather. Just as Joseph went into the grave after Carthage, so too did the violin that played Joseph’s favorite hymn, “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” Decades passed and the violin remained hidden, its beautiful sound locked away beneath the floorboards and choked to death by dust and straw. Encouraged by her grandmother, the woman became a violinist through years of lessons and practice. The rescued violin was pulled from the grave, cleaned, refinished, and refined. In its new and resurrected state, it was ready to sing as it once had so long ago.
My mind caught hold of an image of the man who personally played for Joseph. I felt connected to him. I too had played for Joseph. In that contemplative moment, in my mind’s eye, I stood in the past with the Prophet. I felt the violinists’ attempt to console the Prophet and his companions, in their last days preceding the martyrdom at Carthage. Just then, my mind was brought back to the present as she began to play, “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.”
Majestic imagery resonated from those strings! My heart and mind caught hold of each note that accompanied the famous poetic stanzas:
A poor, wayfaring Man of grief
Hath often crossed me on my way,
Who sued so humbly for relief
That I could never answer nay.
I had no pow’r to ask his name,
Where-to he went, or whence he came;
Yet there was something in his eye
That won my love; I knew not why.
Emotion gripped my soul and a profound sense of admiration and love for the man I believed to be a prophet of God swept through me! Tears flowed in a steady stream down my face as I watched her refined movement produce sound from the strings. A feeling of warmth, like a glorious light, entered my soul. I understood it to be the light of testimony and the confirmation of truth. My heart overflowed with gratitude and love for my God to the point that I thought my chest would burst. I began to pray from behind my curtain of tears and found myself expressing gratitude to Heavenly Father for the experience!
The combination of many long hours of practice, watching Joseph emotionally move the audience, and finally listening to the melody of Joseph’s favorite hymn performed on the same violin that played for him, solidified in me a fervent testimony of Joseph’s divine calling and ministry. Suddenly, I gained a greater understanding of the magnitude of the First Vision as the violinist began the last verse. Memorized words pierced my mind:
Then in a moment to my view
The stranger started from disguise.
The tokens in his hands I knew;
The Savior stood before my eyes…! (emphasis added)
Joseph is the prophet of the Restoration. He is my Prophet, and my Prophet spoke face-to-face with my God, and my Savior. I connected with Joseph’s burning testimony of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. He testified that he saw a glorious light from above that descended gradually until it rested upon him. In the light, he saw two personages who spoke to him. One of them said pointing to the other, “Joseph, —This is my Beloved Son, Hear Him!” (JSH 1:16-17).
God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and many heavenly messengers restored the priesthood and priesthood blessings, the gift of the Holy Ghost, living ordinances, and the blessings of the temple through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Through the combined efforts of Joseph, Emma, and others, Joseph translated a record containing the most in-depth account of the Savior’s visit among the children of men. Joseph was often in danger for his testimony, however, he refused to deny his vision of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. At the age of thirty-eight, Joseph finally suffered the sealing fate of Carthage and her angry mobs, anchored upon that same burning testimony.
For many years now, I have wondered about my experience as I listened to the violinist play “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” I have wrestled to find words that poignantly describe the solidifying transformation of scriptural and historical knowledge into an unshakable testimony that Joseph was prophet. The glorious light of the restoration has the potential to transform our testimony through study, faith, and experience. That light can illuminate our minds and hearts to the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I recall the words of President John Taylor regarding Joseph, “I know that he was a good man; that he was a prophet of the Lord; that he lived in that capacity and died in that capacity and maintained his integrity to the end” Joseph’s legacy personally helped me to come unto Christ and “…believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6, emphasis added).