Know that ye must come to the knowledge your fathers once had, "that Jesus is the Christ, that He is the Son of God, and that He was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father. He hath risen again, whereby He hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in Him is the sting of death swallowed up.")1 (v. 5)
The foregoing is a brief, but consistent statement of Gospel truths. In a concise form, these are the requirements of the Gospel Plan and every believer in the divinity of Christ must have faith that they mare true. Believing so, in him is made manifest the power of God unto Salvation. To Mormon's mind he recalled the history of those times of the Nephites (there were no Lamanites) when the knowledge of God and His marvelous ways was had by even the humblest among the people. He remembered reading the words of Jesus as recorded by Nephi, the Disciple who kept the records: "And now, behold, My joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost." (III Nephi 27:30) Now, to Mormon, all seemed lost. But he also remembered the promises of the Lord to his fathers that the remnant of this people would some day have the Gospel preached unto them, and they should become a white and a delightsome people. Mormon rejoiced in the promises of the Lord, and the thought that at some future time when righteousness again prevailed, he with them would dwell in the presence of God in His Kingdom, and there sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above,King Benjamin also expresses a desire to be fully prepared to "join the choirs above."
Does it seem improbable that there are choirs in the realm inhabited by the Redeemed? The ability to sing and compose music is a divine gift. The very purpose of it is to enable man to praise the Lord and to glorify His name.
We know that John the Beloved, on several occasions in his Apocalyptic visions, became aware of singing and music of heavenly origin. (Luke 2:13-14)
And here, let me, Janne M. Sjodahl (co-author of this commentary), in all humility, place on record that to my own personal knowledge, singing and music were heard in the Manti Temple at the time of its dedication. On two separate occasions I had the privilege of hearing the super-earthly harmonies. The first was just before the beginning of the services on the day I artended. It sounded as a very distant organ music, for a brief moment, as if a door had been suddenly opened, and then almost immediately closed. The second occasion was a few days later, when I was preparing to do some ordinance work for some of my friends on the other side. It sounded as the singing of male voices, also for a brief moment, and came as from far distance. There were other manifestations during those days, never to be forgotten. During the service I noticed that some of the Twelve, notably Elder Heber J. Grant, and also John W. Taylor, were surrounded by rays of light, resembling the colors of a rainbow, only softer.
Yes, there are choirs on the other side, and bands, and John describes their performances as "the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder ... and the voice of harpers harping with their harps." (Revelation 14:2)2 unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end." (v. 7)