Experience of Sister Margaret (Heaps) Henderson, Pacific Coast District
On October 10, 1974, I had the following dream: I saw a very large building and I saw multitudes of people in the building. Within the multitudes of people were many of the saints’ children. I knew and felt that the saints’ children should not be among them.
I thought to myself, “What can I do to get our children out of this condition and out of this group?” Then I said, “I know what I’ll do; I’ll sing them a song.” I began to sing a hymn and pretty soon all of the people of the world that were there picked up on the hymn because they knew it, and they started singing the song just like everyone else. The children of the saints, not seeing the difference did not move.
Then these people of the world started serving beautifully prepared meats and sweet fruit, but I would not partake of it. I pondered in my mind, “What can I do? I’ll sing them another song.”
I began singing another hymn, singing it loud and clear. Soon all of those that were in the building picked up that song and our young people knew not the difference. I began to sorrow in my heart and wondered what I could do to draw our people from among them. The Lord spoke to me and said, “Sing them The Songs of Zion. The world does not know these songs.”
This experiences is found in the introduction of The Songs of Zion hymnbook. No part may be reproduced without permission.
Love reading the experiences!
My Dear, Precious Sister Arlene,
You may remember how I told you how I first encountered “The Songs of Zion.” I was a graduate student in music at West Virginia University, studying and singing music of Bach and Mozart and Verdi and all the “great” music of the world, and I loved every minute of it. So in the summer of 1972 or 1973 or thereabouts, my cousin, John Griffith, and his wife, Carolyn, were hosting a young people’s get-together at their home in Bentleyville, PA on a Saturday evening. So I drove up to their home in the afternoon and walked in their back door. They greeted me something like this: “Hey, Dave! Nice to see you. Say, have you heard about this Sister from the Imperial Branch, Arlene Huffington, (she’s Brother Bob Huffington’s wife) has been given a gift of songs from the Lord. Brother Eugene Amormino is helping her to get them down on paper, but she says that voices from heaven sing to her and recite the words, so that she can write them down. Have you heard about this?” And I said, “Nope.” They handed me a small collection of them – on mimeographed sheets in one of those old three-pronged folders. They said, “Go sit down at our piano in the living room and try some of them out, and tell us what you think of them.” I did just that. I sat at the piano, opened the folder to the first song I saw and sang the song through while I played the piano. When I finished that song, I looked at that music, dumbfounded, and I said to myself (out loud), “That is the greatest song I have every seen.” I sang the next song. After I finished it, I looked at that music and I said, “That is the greatest song I have ever seen.” I tuned to the next one and sang it. I said, “That is the greatest song I have ever seen.” I sang several more and with each one I said, “That is the greatest song I have ever seen.” I picked up that folder and gave it back to John and Carolyn. They asked me, “What did you think?” I told them, “John & Carolyn,I’m telling you, these are the greatest songs I have ever seen!”
Sister Arlene, a few months ago you sent me the latest 3-ring binder collection of “The Songs of Zion” along with two CD’s. Today I sat down with a CD player and played a couple of the songs, sung by Jason, Lisa & Sarah, while I watched the music. The tears collected in the backs of my eyeballs as I sat there.
Sister Arlene, if a typical musician would look at these songs, they would probably say something like, “Oh, these are very nice, little songs, with nice melodies and simple harmonies.” And this is true. BUT the “thing” that these songs have that no other songs in the world have is The Holy-Holy-Holy Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is in the heart and structure and blood and meat and bones of these songs. These songs are alive with the Spirit of God. They are living, breathing songs from the mind and heart and throat and mouth of God. Oh, what a marvelous, marvelous, unspeakably marvelous gift God has given us!
I am your Brother in Christ,
David Majoros