Kyle's Story; Uniting Gospel and Music for Powerful Connections

Have you ever pondered the transformative power of music? How it can stir emotions, soften hearts, and even bring centuries-old scriptures to life? Join us as we step into the world of Kyle, a gifted songwriter who's found a unique way to share the gospel through his music, sparking connections between people and the scriptures in the process.

Kyle's journey is one filled with passion, dedication, and discovery. From a childhood enveloped in diverse musical genres to forming a band with his brothers, his love for music has been a constant. Yet, it's his enchanting experience of stepping away from his band to write a song for a Maroni's Quest—a youth activity that reenacts scenes from the Book of Mormon—that truly underscores his ability to invoke a profound connection with the scriptures through the medium of music. We hear about his inspiration, the challenges he faced, and the impact his music had on a hesitant participant. 

From the power of storytelling in the Chosen series and Hamilton to the vital role music has in softening hearts and making the gospel relatable, join us for a captivating conversation with Kyle. We reflect on his visit to the Nauvoo Temple, the significance of his music as a form of worship, and how he uses social media to share his passion for music and the word of God. This is more than just a chat about music—it's an exploration of faith, resilience and the incredible power of musical storytelling. Tune in to experience the transformative journey of a songwriter in the music industry.

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You can find Kyles music on nearly any streaming platform;
-Brother Jacobs Jams

The Inspiration by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:21

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Remember podcast. I'm your host, Dalyne Butler, and joined here with my wonderful co-host, Mikaela.

Speaker 2: 0:29

Hey guys, today we have a special guest on here. His name is Kyle. He is a songwriter. He writes music, LES music, gospel music. He loves sharing the word through his songs and through his work. We're really excited to have him on here and share kind of his story and how he got to where he is and what inspired him to do such things. So, Kyle, let's turn the time over to you and you can share your story.

Speaker 3: 1:00

Thanks, appreciate you guys. Thanks so much for having me on. Yeah, as far as my story is concerned, it's funny. I sometimes tell people that I'm a recovering rock star and that's probably a little inflammatory because I never made it to rock star status, but a little bit of a background for me. I grew up in a really really musical home. My parents introduced us to music. My dad really introduced us to a lot of rock like Led Zeppelin and things like that and some good jazz as well. So I got a really good mix of music there. And my mom she had musicals on all the time and the Beatles and the Monkeys, motown and so really from all sides lots of different genres of music were in my home and it was really neat to grow up in that environment.

Speaker 3: 1:56

And the funny thing is, when I was about seven or eight years old I saw Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and he's playing the piano in that. If you've seen that movie, he was day in, day out and he learns how to play the piano and he rocks and so when I saw that and I played the piano, I was like, oh my gosh, I want to learn how to play the piano and I was super fortunate that I had a great piano teacher just right down the road from me, and so my mom signed me up and the rest is history. I developed this huge passion for music and for playing the piano and discovered that I had a talent for it. And my teacher was so great because he also knew that I liked rock and blues and jazz and so he like as he was teaching me these classical pieces, he was also showing me like. He gave me things that he knew that I would like, and so it really helped me to love the piano and to love music and learn how to express myself through music. And around 11 or 12 years old I was listening to a lot of music and decided I was like man, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. And so it's the age old thing where you grow up wanting to be a rock star, and I never grew out of that. So you know I that was my plan.

Speaker 3: 3:19

I started the band that I was in before my mission, so throughout high school, and you know that's when I started writing songs a little bit and trying to develop those talents, and then I left on my mission, served in the Nevada, las Vegas West mission. So which was? Which was wonderful, but I always knew, you know, I was going to come back and we're going to make it big. You know, me and my brothers are going to be in this band. My older brother ends up now, he's our bass player, my younger brother was the drummer, and so that was always the plan and dang it, we were going to stick to it.

Speaker 3: 3:55

And so after my mission, I went to a school in Texas that was all about recording music and so, like you know, when I went to high schools, I don't need to go to school. I had seen the right as when I was a sophomore in high schools, I get me here. I don't need school to be a rock star, like I got good grades just because it was the right thing to do. But man, I couldn't get out fast enough. And I heard about the school in Texas. I was like my goodness, this would be awesome. So I go to that school called South Plains College and it was super neat because my classroom was a recording studio, so the big giant board and the speakers and all that. So I learned how to record music and mix it and you know, it's kind of a dream come true.

Speaker 3: 4:41

And then after that I moved over to Arizona right now and met up with my brothers you know again, my older brother he's our bass player younger brothers my drummer and we started our band and started gigging. We would go to shows and, man, we were ready to put in a lot of effort and we did. We put in a ton of effort, recorded a couple of albums and really paying our dues, playing bars and playing clubs, and, you know, with varying degrees of success. I can't tell you how many, how many shows that we played where the only people we were playing to were the bar band and the sound man and I was like there's nobody here, we're just going to make this into a practice session and we would jam for those guys. And then there were some shows that were like hey, this is, we got some good energy here, good good people here. So and things started to escalate and eventually we we played this show in in Hollywood and it was kind of a big deal.

Speaker 3: 5:38

And I've got to tell you a little bit about the music industry here in in the Phoenix Valley. It's not as good as you would hope from a major city because, because the Valley is so spread out. You know, if you've ever been to Phoenix, we don't build up, we build out. And so there wasn't a centralized hub like in Austin where, like, hey, you go down, I think it's sixth street, and it's like this is where all the music is. You know, you go to Nashville and they've got a couple of, a couple of streets where it's like this is where all the music is, so people congregate here in Phoenix, man, you got to drive an hour to get to Glendale where I'm at we'd have a show there. Come all the way back, it's three in the morning and you got to go to work the next morning, and so it was tough. But we, you know, we got this opportunity to play in Hollywood at the music awards show and we're like, oh, this is this, is it Like? This is a big opportunity and this is like the real industry here? And so we played it and and the whole experience really opened our eyes.

Speaker 3: 6:43

You know, our thought and our intention was always to be like okay, you know, the music industry is notorious. There's a lot of worldly influence there, a lot of things there that are, you know, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, a lot of these saints. We, you know we would. That's not what we're about. And our thought was like, you know we're going to be kind of like this light in the darkness, you know we're going to stand out by not thinking about sex, drugs and rock and roll. But you know we were.

Speaker 3: 7:12

The plan was always to kind of stick with our guns and stick with our morals there and and that was one reason why, you know, building up a following here in Phoenix was tough, because you know you play these shows and a part of building your audience is really getting to know them and really mingling with them after the show and so, but we wouldn't do that because we were in a bar and everyone wanted to drink. Right, we got a split. This isn't our scene, and then the people from the YSA or we're trying to get them to come to a bar to play, and so, like, on both sides it just wasn't right, man, this it felt a little bit at a disadvantage, but but we were still going forward with it. And you're like, okay, we just need to have a couple of huge shows. And this Hollywood show really represented that for us and we played it and we really got our first taste of what the actual, real music industry would be. And this wasn't like this high level. It's not like we were playing the Grammys or anything like that, but we were finally dealing with people who were in the business and and we walked away from that show and we just felt kind of slimy. It just did not feel good for us. You know the atmosphere that we were in, some of the people there. You know I don't want to cast judgment or anything like that, but it's like man, this does not feel right.

Speaker 3: 8:35

And shortly after that show we decided you know as much as this has been our dream like this is dangerous territory, like we don't, we don't want to be swimming with sharks here and this is really not for us. Not that it's not for everybody, but we knew for us that this wasn't the right thing and so we quit, we disbanded the band and you know and it sounds funny Like a lot of people kind of roll their eyes like Okay, sorry, you had a band and a broke up. But you got to remember this was my lifelong dream since I was 12. And I was like no, there is no reason, this shouldn't work and there's no reason why Lord wouldn't want me to be a good example in this type of atmosphere and, you know, really kind of be someone that that people can look up to. And so, despite it being the right thing to do, like it left me really confused and kind of dazed a little bit Because, again, like I purposely never made a backup plan. It's not like, oh, you know, I'll go to law school and if the band doesn't work out, you know, it was like no, I'm cutting all ties to everything and the band is going to work out until it didn't, and and so for a couple of years it was really tough.

Speaker 3: 9:48

And you know, and in this time, you know, I met my future wife in the recording studio while we were at a band, and you know, we got married and I've got two beautiful kids, and so it's not like I was like void of happiness, you know, like life was going well, but I was a little bit just lost and wayward without this dream that I had had and that I'd build my whole life around, you know. So I did a few things and what was interesting is it was during this time that the Lord really was schooling me of just like, look, you've got every step planned out in your whole life. And I just I tell people this, I'm like I can just still hear him laughing at me for that, because once the band was over, it was like well, what? And you know, and I had very frequent conversations with the Lord of, like, what is my purpose? Like, what do you want me to do here? And what was interesting is he started giving me little inspirations of just one step at a time, like now, go here. And I'd be like, okay, well, why. And he'd say, doesn't matter, I just need you to go around here. And it was this hard, it was this really crucible of higher here for me, because I'm like, I want to know what this is for. Like, what do you want me to do? Why am I doing this? And he's like no, I'm not going to tell you, you know, like. And so we were having this battle, you know, and a good example of that is he told me to go back to school and I was like, yeah, I got it All right, I do not want to go back to school, but he made it very, very clear to me that that was the next step and and for no reason that I was aware of. I'm still at peace out why why he had me do that, you know, and went through the pathway program which is just wonderful, and get my degree. And you know, as I have trusted him step by step, it's been really neat to like, gain that skill. I'm still very much imperfect at that, but like I've been able to gain that skill of like okay, don't freak out that you don't know why you have to go here, just do it, and the Lord has got you, he's got your back, you know. And so through all that, as I was trying to figure it out, I was like, all right, I'll go to school, I'm raising my family and doing the best I can.

Speaker 3: 12:16

There was a really neat opportunity, like, and like I had stepped back from music, you know, like I was playing the piano and I would accompany people at church and you know, and I would sit down and jam a little bit. But it wasn't like when I was in the band and when I had that mindset where I would be practicing for hours and, like, totally excited about a new song I was writing, like I didn't have that anymore. It was just kind of blinking around and keeping my chops up, and so that joy of music was just was, you know, just dormant at the time. And we had this really neat opportunity a couple of years back where our stake was putting on this big youth activity. You know, the big summer activity, whether it's Trek or FSY or something like that. This year it was what you call a Maronais Quest and I don't know if you guys have ever heard of that before, but the whole purpose of it is that the youth, they reenact Book of Mormon scenes. So you know, and you cast them, you cast Ammon and Alma and Maronais, and you know the whole stake is involved. Like you've got costumes, you've got directors, like it's this, it's this huge thing.

Speaker 3: 13:31

And the organizer of it it was in our stake end up being my bishop. He wanted me to do a musical number for kind of this big kickoff that the stake president wanted to have with the stake, because it was going to be all hands on deck, like, even if you didn't have a youth or you weren't in the youth program or anything like, we will still need your help. And so this was this big, huge stake fireside to kind of kick this thing off. And they wanted me to do a musical number. I'm like, all right, yeah, I can do that.

Speaker 3: 13:57

And so I was trying to like put together a few songs, you know, mash them up and make a medley of music. That would be, that would be inspiring. And it just was not working out. I was like this you know, something is just not clicking here.

Speaker 3: 14:11

And so I talked to him and I said, hey, what would you think if I wrote a song, and which was interesting, because I wasn't interested in writing songs, because I'll tell you, you know, this sounds dramatic and it is dramatic, but like, when you write songs, like that's your baby, you know, and like my, my, my musical journey, you know, I always viewed music as something that was a part of me and during this time I kind of referred to it as my like music divorced years, like I'm, like that was the emotional toll that it took on me, where I'm like I, I wanted this so bad and it didn't want me back, you know, and so, like that's, it was a really emotional thing. And so here I am offering to write a song and that's kind of like opening myself up again. I was like, why did I just why? Did? I just say that.

Speaker 3: 15:05

He's like, yeah, let's do it. I'm like, all right, let's do this. And so I sat down at the piano and I and just kind of keeping in in the, the, the, the vein of what Maronite's quest is, where you're reenacting these scenes, I was like, you know, let me sing a song as if I am one of these characters and let's just see how that works. And so I decided to write the song as if I were Maronite burying the plates, and and I really wanted to kind of get inside of his head, like, ok, hold on, what would this have felt like? You know, we've all seen the picture in the back of the Book of Mormon and he's, you know, written like, ok, that's Maronite bearing the plates. But I'm like, let's think about this here. If I'm Maronite, what am I doing? You know, and I and I thought of myself as Maronite and just being like these plates are everything, like this is my father's life's work. This is the fate of the Nephite nation. You know, prophecy is, you know, being fulfilled with the preservation of these plates. You know, prophets way before me, as Maronite, have been promised that the Nephite story will be told, you know, and I'm like man that's heavy, like that's all weighing on Maronite, a single person. Meanwhile he's getting chased by the Lamanites, you know, and and these plates are a constant reminder to him, and so he's got to protect that with his life, and now he's just going to bury him and walk away from him. I'm like, what would that have felt like?

Speaker 3: 16:38

And then I took it even deeper and a more emotional step and said these plates were more than that to him, like as much as the Book of Mormon helps me to feel hope and peace. Why wouldn't that have helped Maronite, you know? And so I imagined him like sitting back in campfire and reading through the plates and like and getting the hope and the peace that this record would give him, you know, and the words of the Savior and all the prophets, and I'm like these plates were his last friend on earth, like everyone else is dead, and these plates are the only thing that can give him comfort. What did it feel like for him to bury those Right, looking at it from that way, and I just thought that had to have been crushing. It had been just emotionally, just draining. And you know, certainly, you know, I'm sure he knew a big portion of the plan, but his human side had to have been like man, is this the right move? Like I've been charged to protect these and now I got I'm leaving them behind. Who's who's going to find them, you know? And so I tapped into that and and when I put my fingers on the piano, a song just came out and it was the greatest songwriting experience that I had ever had up to that point, and it was so heartfelt and I still trying to tap into humor on, I was and I'm writing these lyrics and everything is just falling into place like it never had before and I'm like getting emotional and I'm crying as I'm writing these things. I'm like, oh. And so I finished up the song and performed it a couple of weeks later to the stake and it was a really good experience and I was like man. That was amazing.

Speaker 3: 18:32

But the true impact of it didn't really happen until a few weeks later when, as we're preparing for Maronite's Quest and all the youth are getting together to practice their lines and practice the reenactments, a girl came up to me and said, hey, you're brother Jacobs. I'm like, yeah, and she's like I wanna thank you right in that song. She's like I didn't wanna go to Maronite's Quest. I was gonna totally ditch out on this. My parents have been trying to drag me to this and she's like I did not wanna spend a week up in the mountains dressing up like a knee fight, like it does not sound fun to me at all. And she's like and then I heard your song and she's like it changed everything and now I cannot wait to go to this.

Speaker 3: 19:13

And for me that like I had to take a few moments after said that, because I was like this is that purpose. I haven't had it for a couple of years since the band ended. I was like it all came to me in this huge flood and I was like, oh my gosh, I can't abandon this music, I've gotta keep doing stuff like this. And so I had the thought I need a whole album like this where I am trying to get inside the minds of all of these Book of Mormon heroes. And so I just went on a writing spree and it's just been the greatest thing ever. And so from that experience was born the album Speaking From the Dust, and that's what I've been working on for the number of months and I've got a few songs.

Speaker 3: 20:02

I'm releasing a new song every month from that album and they're all about for people. You know, the opening song is the only song about a modern who's actually picking up the Book of Mormon reading for themselves. But the second song which is out and available, it's from the perspective of Sam the brother of Nephi, Because I also wanted to highlight people who you don't think about too much, right so, sam the brother of Nephi. The third song is all about America and the vision Nephi has of the founding of America. The fourth one's about Enos, and on and on, and each one of these songs has been such a joy to write and I really have loved highlighting people you don't think about. So I've got a song coming on Tuesday, this coming Tuesday, about Abish.

Speaker 3: 20:51

And then the next song is about the blacksmith who makes all the armor and the swords for Captain Moroni. Like we all know Captain Moroni, but there's gotta be a blacksmith in that camp somewhere, that who was just as important to the Nephite nation and to the victory in that battle as Moroni. Because without that, in one of those first battles, blame it on us. It's like, oh man, these guys have armor we are done for, and so it's all scriptural based, it's all has allowed me to dive into these scriptures and really really relate to them in a way like I haven't had, because I have put myself in their mindset and have written the songs about them. I feel like I understand them a little bit better and like the benefits of that all have really kind of set me on this mission of helping people find their courage to stand faithful, and doing that by relating to the people in the Book of Mormon Cause we hear like oh, it's written for our day and we know that right.

Speaker 3: 21:58

But like it's so hard, like these are 2000 years ago, like this is not, like it's so hard to relate to that. And so this music that I've written, I hope, can help bridge that gap. One of the songs is from the perspective of the angel who helps Alma the Younger. Alma, he's converted now. He goes to Ammonion and gets kicked out, and that same angel who, like, shook him to his core, is the same angel who comes back to him and says hey, you're doing fine, you're doing great, go on back and you're gonna meet Amulet. And I was like again, I was like that would be so neat. And we need the youth, especially, to understand like Alma the Younger is a victim of bullying, like we can relate to that I know I can. In high school that wasn't the better roses, you know. And so, like that, there's somebody out there, there's some teacher or priest or deacon who's getting picked on, who doesn't even know that Alma the Younger got picked on too. And so what did he do? Well, he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and went back. He found friends, and the song explores the need to back each other up and the idea that there's more people who are on your side than who are against you here, excuse me. And so it's those type of experiences that I really hope the youth and young adults can really latch onto to say, look, the Book of Mormon really was written for our day, because those problems that they all faced, we faced too, and that means the solution is also there, which is the gospel, you know. So that's where I know, you know, releasing a song every month until the album is out, got a big show here in Arizona in November that's gonna perform the entire show in one spot, which we're really excited about. You know, the music is a little bit old school. I've got a horn section. It's rock. You know, like, when you think of LDS music, sometimes you're like, okay, really good for a Sunday afternoon, if holy, very reverent, and like we're gonna kind of blow the roof off, like it's gonna be fun, it's gonna be exciting, and we're just really excited to kind of share that there. So you know, and finally, it's so funny Again, the Lord is leading me just one step at a time.

Speaker 3: 24:27

The next step here was like, look, these songs are three or four minutes long. I'm like there's so much more to say. And so I wrote a book about each one of these songs. That's gonna. You know, I'm announcing this week coming up the release date of that book. That goes into the lessons that I learned writing each song and really making those gospel connections there. So, which I never intended to do, that you know, again, it was the Lord who's just like all right now, do this. Okay, when that's done, you're gonna do this. I'm like it's a really exciting place to be. It's also nerve-wracking because I'm like, okay, it's back to that rockstar type of thing where I'm like, okay, who knows when the next paycheck is coming. I love that.

Speaker 3: 25:15

Right, but the Lord's gonna keep us going. So that's my story in a nutshell.

Speaker 1: 25:22

That's so cool. Oh my goodness, that is so cool. Isn't that so cool, my kid?

Speaker 2: 25:28

Yeah, I love that. I love it's like what you're doing, like bringing these people from pages to life and bringing up their imperfections, bringing up the struggles that they had and getting into the mind of them and their shoes. Like I know, you read through the scriptures and like you know, it takes a couple of times to really, you know, get to know these people. You know, and the fact that you are bringing them to life and through music. Music touches me. Like ever since I was little, like I've always loved music.

Speaker 2: 26:03

Like that's how I feel the spirit, that's how, like I love playing the piano, I love doing all that stuff too, and that's like the one place that I can like play in the piano. That's where I feel the most peace, like just out of this world, like in my own world, like just away from everything. That's how I can escape. And the fact, like that you are using your talents, you know, not in the way that you probably imagined, but doing it to share the gospel and really help people who you know, needs, like, should and need to get to know. These prophets, these very important people who brought the scriptures that we're reading, are today, like, what is our religion? What are we studying? Well, these people sacrificed and they struggled, and the fact that you know, you're taking your time, your talents and really, really diving deep and learning who these people are to share them to others is amazing, and I bet you've learned so much too like about oh man.

Speaker 2: 27:07

Yeah, who these prophets are. Like you know I, like from just listening to you, I'm like man. I need to read the scriptures more, I need to get to know these people more. Like who really are these people on these pages? And one of the things that I also loved is I don't know if you've seen the series, but the chosen, like I, have learned the original, like the 12 apostles or whatever disciples and Jesus, like I, I got to know them even more just by visually seeing, like. Of course, some of it's kind of like probably not all the way, true, but the fact that his work and making a film and doing all that to bring these people to life and to help people who are struggling, like the world, is like what you said. The music industry is kind of going wacky like, and so is the world, and so the fact that you can bring your talents and allow the Lord to inspire them and do them for good, to help the youth and help other people, is just so awesome and it's exciting.

Speaker 3: 28:11

Yeah, well, thanks. Well, you really hit on something really good there with the chosen, because you know, yeah, we know there's a lot of artistic liberties taken in that show. We're like, okay, but the point of the show is that it humanizes them. And so you know, I've always said this to you and it kind of sounds prickly at first, but the gospel is worthless unless you're applying it. Like the gospel isn't, isn't meant to be just this theoretical thing, like okay, well, jesus lived and these prophets did this, and it's like, oh, you have to apply it. And so I love those efforts to humanize these people. And you know and.

Speaker 3: 28:51

I would say even the same thing. If you've seen Hamilton, you know Hamilton just exploded, you know, on Broadway. But it was the same type of thing where, like, it humanizes these, these historical figures, and so with that, it allows you and helps you to apply things a little bit better. You know, and that's just kind of how we learn, especially in our generation. You know, you know what you were saying there, mikhail, with music, that's a universal language, you know, it really is.

Speaker 3: 29:23

And you know my first taste of the spirit as a teenager anyways, was was during a musical number. Someone was playing this beautiful piece of piano and I felt the spirit for the first time where it was tangible, where I'm like, oh, my goodness, that was the spirit just there. You know it like. And you know, as someone who's grown up in the church, I'm like I've taken it for granted so much that I've had the gospel in my home. But that moment it was during a musical number that really, really highlighted, like, hit me over the head, and I think music has that power and and the arts, I think we're given to us for that purpose.

Speaker 3: 30:03

So you think of something like the chosen and you see, you know the first episode where you know the savior comes to marry and and you know, cast the devil's out, and it's like it melts you because like, oh, it felt a little bit of what she's feeling in. You know, in one circumstance or another, you know and so it. What it does, it's a, it's a great softening of the heart. It allows scriptures to be not just cerebral, it's not just getting in your mind like okay, I know the facts, but it's like it's got to get into your heart as well and you know you've got to have both there. But if your heart isn't soft or open to that you know a lot of these it's just like rock skimming across the water, like, okay, I know it, I know it, that's fine, but you've got to apply, it's got to get deep.

Speaker 1: 30:54

Definitely, I think, and I love what both of you have said, what, what you're doing, especially digging deep into those stories, into the lives of these people, and, just like the chosen, I cry every time I watch the chosen. I'm seeing it like like four or five times and then, like you know, when Jesus comes to marriage, like, oh, my goodness, the water works, you know. Yeah, oh, I love it.

Speaker 3: 31:19

So much Well, and think too oh sorry, just real quick, like, have you have you ever, like, invited somebody over? Like, hey, have you seen the chosen yet? No, come on over, let's watch that first episode. Like, and I think, like I don't know, this is just. I think people have an easier time saying, hey, come watch the chosen. Then they do, like, hey, read the Book of Mormon, right. Because like, oh, the chosen, you're going to be able to latch on to this, so come on over, you're going to feel the spirit. That's what that feels like. We have that same thing. Like the Book of Mormon, like, read this. It's going to do that, you know. But it's easier sometimes to say come watch the chosen, right.

Speaker 1: 31:58

So I don't know if that's been your experience, it's been mine, Definitely, Absolutely, the chosen's binge, worthy for sure, 100%, Absolutely. But I love, I remember the first time I ever like thought of the scripture or thought of people in the, in the stories of the scriptures, really like deeply, and it was on my mission. I listened to. It wasn't like a conference talk or anything, it was like a, a BYU devotional, but like forever ago. It was by Elder Cleon Scousen and it's really it's forever ago.

Speaker 1: 32:34

Yeah, I'm a deep doctor, but the Cleon Scousen, he, what he did is he talked about his search for, like I think the title was a personal search for the meaning of the Atonement and he talked about all of these questions that he had about how the Atonement applied to him and and why, what, what, what was it for? Like Amulix says that one cannot die for the sins of another, Like like that's impossible. So how did this work? How does the Atonement work? And and for anybody that wants to list to that, like it's, you know, by Elder Cleon Scousen, a personal search for the meaning of the Atonement. I'm not going to go into two big details of it, but he he talks about in one portion of it. He talks very rear, real, about the Atonement. And when Jesus, you know, falls upon an olive tree and begins to sweat, you know, drops of blood, and he talked about the angel coming to support him and he talks about the conversation that they might have had, and it's just blowing my mind, you know, I'm just like wait, we can do that. Yeah Right, I didn't know we're allowed to do that. And then, you know, since then I realized, you know, we're allowed to do whatever we want.

Speaker 1: 34:03

But this, this moment on my mission, just like it opened up the Atonement for me in such a personal way. And to be able to do that with each of the characters and I say characters, but like those were real people it's just such a beautiful experience to be able to have. And it when people went on my mission, when I was going and sharing the Book of Mormon with people, and I'm like, yeah, it's like it's got a great story, Like come on, read it. But it's more than just a story. It's like these people's lives. It is a history, an actual history. It tells the story of a thousand years of people being born, living and then dying and passing their knowledge onto the next generation and their knowledge of the gospel and or maybe they didn't, which is why the you know the plates were buried and nobody knew about the gospel after that. But really beautiful, Absolutely Well you think about this too.

Speaker 3: 35:12

Like you know, I've just got done reading. Really I'm stepping right into the war chapters right now in my personal scripture studies and but as you have read, like the story of Alma the younger and the things that he taught, like Alma, chapter seven tells us more about the atonement than the entire New Testament put together. Like when you read Alma's words, like that dude was, he was a rock star, because the things that he says in Ammulok as well in their teachings, you're like oh my word, like this just blew my mind because there were so many things that I don't want to say that don't make sense but feel incomplete. You know, and because we know the translation history of the Bible, it makes sense as to why it's incomplete. And then just one chapter in the Book of Mormon clarifies just so much and Alma is full of that.

Speaker 3: 36:11

Alma talks about the atonement and and you know, a couple of years back President Nelson gave this talk about like where would we be without the Book of Mormon? And I think about Emma's words. Or in like Nephi, second Nephi, chapter two and three, like these groundbreaking doctrines that shine a light on the plan of salvation like nothing has before, I'm like I don't know who this savior, I would not know who the savior is without the Book of Mormon, like you know, and I could, I could dive as deep as I could in the New Testament, which obviously is scripture, it's the word of God, but, like the personal relationship I could not have built that with the savior without the Book of Mormon, you know, and, again, that's one reason why why I wrote this music as well. And the need to be able to apply and to relate is because, like, oh, this is a personal thing to me and to all of us. It's not just, it's like it is that history.

Speaker 3: 37:11

But it's not just that history, it is. It expands our understanding of everything. So yeah, I'm with you there. The atonement we wouldn't know hardly anything about the depth and the breadth of the atonement without the Book of Mormon.

Speaker 1: 37:26

Absolutely, and I love what you were saying earlier about kind of exactly where all of this came from, when you were talking about understanding Moroni and his experience of putting the plates and into the ground, and I can only just imagine how much faith and trust he was putting in the Lord, because it's like this is his entire world and his father's entire world and, like many prophets and historians before them, and he's burying the holy smokes.

Speaker 1: 38:06

And it made me think of Enes when he went into the woods, he went hunting, and he finds himself praying to the Lord. And first he was praying because of his own mistakes and he wanted to find forgiveness. And the Lord came and forgave him. He spoke to Enos and blessed him in that way and then, when Enos found himself forgiven and he felt comfort, he felt peace, his mind turned to his brothers and he prayed for the Nephites and God was like well, if they're righteous, I'll keep them around, but if they don't, then it's their fault. And naturally it was a lot nicer than that.

Speaker 1: 38:56

But then I love what he says. Or when he begins to pray for his other brothers, the Lamanites, the wicked and ferocious people, and he says that he did cry unto him continually. And then it says in verse 16 of the book of Enos it says and I had faith and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time. And I, enos, knew it, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made, wherefore my soul did rest. And so, like I'm sure, all of the prophets and historians that the following Enos have made that same prayer and gotten the same confirmation. And just to think of Moroni laying those in like oh you'd be so nervous, but the man and children that would come with you.

Speaker 3: 39:59

It makes it real. It really does. And in the opening song of the show. The song is called Speaking from the Dust, and that's what the album and the show is, but some of the lyrics in that I write how many oh, shoot, now I'm losing it how many tears have been shed so that we can hold these words in our hands? And I thought about that. That idea came to me on my mission as well, where I'm like if I could just see, like the prophets, like crying over these, like drops of sweat and tears and blood, just so that we could hold the Book of Mormon in our hands, you know. And then that extends like Joseph Smith and the Saints, like what they had to do to get this into our hands, like if we could just see that and we could see the tear stains on those sheets of paper, how would we view the Book of Mormon? Would we treat it any differently? And I think we would. You know, we would see like there were sacrifices made here that we can't even comprehend, like the things that people went through, just so that I could hold this and read it. And I'm like, oh, let's toss it on the nightstand. I'm like no, like do you realize what this is?

Speaker 3: 41:27

You know, the last song on the show is really fun actually, because you know the song of Maron I Bearing the Plates is a very somber song and I didn't want the show to end that way, like it was great, I was like OK, and my thought was like, oh, the show could end right here and it's like very reflective, and you know you think really deeply about this. But I'm like you know it doesn't end there, like it doesn't end with him burying it in the ground. And so the final song is from the perspective of Maron I again, but this time as the angel Maron I and he's going down and he finally gets a chance to talk to Joseph Smith and tell them where they're buried and give them all the information that he gave him. And the song is so fun, Like the horns are blazing and like it's a barn burner is what I call it Like the whole piece is going to bring the house down, because it's high energy, really joyful, and it's the idea of like again, you know, when we see art and it's, you know, angel Maron I talking to Joseph Smith in his bedroom and is very stern and severe, and I'm like could it be that, maron, I was just so pumped that he finally gets to say, like these were protected, just like Heavenly Father said they would be, now go get them.

Speaker 3: 42:47

I cannot wait, you know. And so that song kind of embodies all of that, because, yeah, all of that history and all of the promises that were made to his forefathers, like they all rested on him and like finally they get to come to life or come to light, and, and you know the prophet Joseph, you know, again, my love for him grew, like you are the ultimate hero of the Nephite nation, because because he gets them and translates them, you know. And so I really tried to capture that joy and that energy, because, you know, burying the plates was not the end of it.

Speaker 1: 43:23

Absolutely, and I think when Maron I came as an angel like there's probably a reason he came three times is because he was so excited you forgot to say something.

Speaker 3: 43:36

You know with the obligatory like don't mess this up, kid, Exactly. So he had to throw that in there too, and a lot of this, a lot of his writing on you.

Speaker 1: 43:46

And I wonder, when it like occurred to Joseph just how much history, or like the magnitude of the history that he had in his hands yeah, as he was, you know, translating I wonder if he read some of those scriptures that we have now, some of those verses, and they just like blew him away. Yeah, oh, I'm sure. Oh, what an experience that would be. So we're here smiling.

Speaker 2: 44:14

I'm just so excited Like you bring so much excitement and like it's like, wow, like I just love the scriptures and I'm learning even more just by you talking about all this stuff and like bringing it to life. It's just, I just love the scriptures and I wanted to touch base on music again. But the fact that God speaks through music and the spirit like dwells in music and how that is a crucial part of the gospel and hearing him and I've had so many instances just because, like I love music and I've already mentioned that. But like I just want to like I don't know the fact that you're doing this through music though, like and how are ready and church, you know we sing, we rejoice, we every time it's music is how we can remember him and I have some scriptures and verses from the talk. It's caught by down H Oaks. It's called worship through music. It's an older one and I just looked it up and I was like, oh, I wonder if there's anything. But like he just talks about the importance of music and how God finds the importance of music. You know, angels, when angels came and the nuts that Jesus was born, they were just singing, rejoicing and all I bet the feeling of that and I've had like an experience of that too and what it would feel like, like a glimpse of what it would feel like to be in heaven, to hear there's that actual rejoicing.

Speaker 2: 45:56

I was in the Navu temple. Oh my gosh, navu amazing like history, awesome, like the best trip ever. I want to go back. But it was for a youth trip and we went and they encouraged us to bring family names, they encouraged us to know, prepare for this and really take it in and really learn about what actually happened. And everywhere I went, every place, all the historical spots like boom, boom, boom, like just spirit, like oh, I learned so much. But I feel like my, of course, dead giveaway, like my favorite place was the temple, not just because of the beauty of it, the historic like parts of it, but what I experienced in there. And there's multiple experiences, but I want to highlight one that I had in there Before.

Speaker 2: 46:46

Like we sat in the chapel area before doing baptisms and stuff and I had my family names and I remember my grandma talking to me about how she baptized her grandma and how it was such an intimate moment for her and so tender, and how she prayed, hoping that she would accept it on the other side, and how she felt peace and like she started crying, like she's like I don't know why I'm crying, but I know that she's rejoicing. And so I was like you know what? These are my family names. I worked hard in getting these, but again, I want to know if they really accept them because, like a lot of them were from back then too, like the same time when the restoration was going on, and so I was staying there in the chapel, you know praying and you know hoping that you know I could feel that they accepted her, that they're, that they can, that I don't know that stuff.

Speaker 2: 47:39

And when we went into like the baptismal area it's kind of cool because the baptismal font is above ground and so you're sitting below it, and I was the oldest one out of the youth, that group that I was in, and there was a bunch of like first time, like super young woman, like first time, like going to the back, like doing back sins too, and so I was like the older kid and I was, like you know, helping them. They're all crying and excited and just like we're all holding hands and all of a sudden, like I just it was like quiet and I heard like singing, like angel voices, like, of course in the baptismal font you wouldn't hear. Like it's quiet, Like in the chapel they have hymns going on but it's a separate area and I just heard rejoicing, like singing and like I don't know, but I felt angels there, I felt the excitement and like I don't know, but I started crying and like we're all holding hands there. I don't know if they were just about the spirit, but I don't know. If anyone heard it, I'll turn it, but I did and I knew that what I was doing was important and that we should rejoice and that rejoicing and really worshiping him is through music, through singing, through praising, and it's just so intimate, so beautiful, and I love all the hymns that we sing and how there's so much truth in them and power and how much you can learn through hymns if you really study them, if you really listen to the lyrics.

Speaker 2: 49:22

But President Oaks said that inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the spirit of the Lord, creating a feeling of reverence, unify us as members and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord. Some of the greatest sermons are preached by singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning and inspire us to endure to the end, which is just. It's so true Like I felt it every time, sometimes in Sacramento, and you're like, don't worry about singing, but I just sometimes just love sitting there and just listening, listening to everyone's singing and how.

Speaker 2: 50:04

That is one thing that unifies us all being all there and just singing the same hymn and rejoicing in one thing that unifies us as Christ, you know. And in Colossians 3.16 it says let the word of the Christ dwell in you richly and always, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And I don't know, I just love, love, love, love, music and love. How I feel when we really really listen.

Speaker 2: 50:40

And one of the things that I really love about this podcast is, yes, you sharing your story, and that is another way that we can unify ourselves is the similarities that we can feel if we really turn to him and the fact that he will never change and that he will always be there and he will help us, and the fact that you are using your talents to bring that to other people and help people be unified in the idea that you know these people were real and this is how you can really really get to know our Savior and the mercy that he has in the Atonement and how you really can be saved and gain a relationship with him and who he really is, and even who the prophets are and the importance of them is just so wonderful and it's so exciting and I know I just went on a big sphero but I just been holding it all and just getting excited because you guys are just talking All these thoughts, but it's just beautiful and I love what you're doing.

Speaker 2: 51:35

I downloaded all your songs and I'm gonna be listening to them tonight. All right, it's exciting.

Speaker 1: 51:41

Well, thanks, we are going a little bit long, we're getting towards the end, but, yeah, thank you. Thank you so much for everything that you're doing, for coming on here. We our last recording session. We recorded with a or we had a music artist on and we had him do something really cool. He sang us one of his songs, and so I thought I would extend to you the same invitation, if you would like to.

Speaker 3: 52:13

Well, I'll tell you what's funny is my voice is not the greatest thing in the world I shouldn't say that if I'm wanting to try to promote music but what's funny to me is like the piano itself, like that's my main instrument and that is what has, like, pushed me through and that's where I get the most expression there. But what I'll do is I'll sing the first, the opening line of that Maronais song for you. So I was totally back out of this challenge but I'm like no, let's do this here. So this is called Maronais farewell and I'll just sing the first little bit of it. But it'll give you a taste of just kind of the almost, the melancholy of it all and the spiritual side of it, and it's again.

Speaker 3: 53:11

This song is just a special one to me because it's what started it all and it is something that I can really hold onto you to say. Like this song, it's almost like you didn't write it, it was given to you Because I Micaela what you were saying, like we know that there's music in heaven and I feel that the Lord has guided me to be able to put some things together that he has wanted out here, because the writing experience for all of these songs has been such that I'm like, oh my gosh, I would have never thought of this. You know, back in the days, that I was trying to be a rock star, you know so. All right, so, maronais, farewell. You ready for this. I'm gonna crack my voice and that's just gonna be the end of it, but it starts off.

Speaker 5: 54:11

I'll bury you in a box of my own making and I don't think I'll see you again. I've carried you through the mountains and the rivers. You've been my only friend. You've carried the words of my people gone before me and I've shed my blood and tears to keep you safe so that you can tell our story. And yet I leave you alone right here. But we saved you for them, so you can show. If they ask in faith, then they will know.

Speaker 3: 55:21

Oh, voice didn't crack. I'm very grateful for that.

Speaker 2: 55:24

I love that so good.

Speaker 1: 55:27

What do you mean? You don't have a voice, yeah.

Speaker 3: 55:30

Well, I appreciate that, thank you, but I'll tell you what you know. That song comes out. Oh, that's one of the last songs on the album, so it probably won't be until early next year, but I've got five songs out already as of this recording. So if you go to brotherjacobjamscom, that's the website there and that's the artist name for Spotify, itunes and all of that is Brother Jacob's Jams. And you know, on Instagram, things like that, I always feel awkward trying to push that, but my wife is like you've gotta push that. If you want people to hear this, they've gotta know where to find you. So, but, yeah, follow me there. And, like I said, three months, the new song's coming out. You know, on Tuesday, abish. So the song called the Blinding Rush is coming out. That's gonna be really fun. So, yeah, I'm excited and I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to talk about all this. It's meant so much to me and I hope it can move others the way that this experience has moved me.

Speaker 1: 56:32

That's very awesome. Yeah, it's been so awesome to have you on here and thank you so much for giving yourself a shout out. We were gonna ask you to do that as well. Okay, good Cause we love this music that you've been talking about and what you've sang, and so I'm really excited for that song to come out. That's gonna be great, but I'm gonna listen to all of that. I think Micaela's gonna beat me too.

Speaker 2: 56:55

I'm gonna listen to it once you got out tonight.

Speaker 3: 56:58

All right, good to hear.

Speaker 1: 57:00

Yeah, so thank you so much for joining us today. And yeah, for our listeners, we have an Instagram. We've only talked about it several times, so make sure you're new here. Give us a follow at rememberpodcast. And yeah, we love to hear people's stories. We have a calendar. Is that calendar still on?

Speaker 2: 57:28

Yeah, yeah. So if you want to share a story, just message us, fill out a form. It's on our Instagram and you can go from there. But we just love having people on and we know the importance of sharing stories and sharing the gospel and if you want to do that, help those who are silently struggling. This is your opportunity. We appreciate it and we've learned a lot from it. So just let us know if you wanna be on here and we can go from there.

Speaker 1: 57:56

But yeah, absolutely, and thank you everybody for listening and remember him. That's the story on all of our Live on Snapchat.