Hank Smith: 00:05 Hello, everyone. Welcome to another FollowHIM Favorites. If you’ve been following us this year, you know that for FollowHIM Favorites, we’ve been taking one question from each week’s lesson. John, this week’s lesson is on Psalms 50 through 100, basically those center 50 of Psalms. The question this week comes from a teenager in my own home, who says, “It doesn’t matter the music I listen to.” John, does the music I listen to matter?

John Bytheway: 00:36 Let me say it like this. Do the books I read matter?

Hank Smith: 00:40 Yes.

John Bytheway: 00:40 Of course. Well, music is a message. It’s a message, and sometimes it conveys a feeling. So can a book. Do the books I read matter? Are some books better than other books? Are some books more inspiring than other books? Do some books bring the Spirit more than other books? Yes. Well, there you go. Music will have a message, and there’s even some evidence that some music can bring out the best in people. I think it’s true that some music can bring out not the best in people.

John Bytheway: 01:07 My daughter did a science fair experiment where she had four mice in one place and four mice in another. One was listening to Mozart 24/7. The other were listening to just heavy metal 24/7. Then she ran them through a maze at the end of every day and timed them. Hank, it was crazy.

Hank Smith: 01:25 Wow.

John Bytheway: 01:25 Have I ever showed you the pictures of this?

John Bytheway: 01:27 But that’s not why Ashley won the science fair. You know why she won? At the end of the experiment, she put a long, hollow tube and gave the mice a choice. I was so curious. I thought maybe, for variety, they will just swap. “I’ve been hearing Mozart all week. I want to go to heavy metal,” or vice versa.

John Bytheway: 01:48 I came down the stairs that morning, I lifted up the cage of the Mozart mice, and counted, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.” All of them were in there. I said to the mice… I asked them why, and they said, “Well, we objected to the lyrics.” No, they couldn’t hear the lyrics.

John Bytheway: 02:08 Do what you want with that. That fascinated me. Why would they choose one over the other? Because it’s more than just the message. There is something else. There is a spirit in music.

John Bytheway: 02:17 That’s why I think For the Strength of Youth talks about that. You’ve got to pay attention to how you feel with certain music. Isn’t that right?

Hank Smith: 02:26 I’m glad you bring that up. The Strength of Youth pamphlet says, “Music can enrich your life. It can edify and inspire you and help you draw closer to Heavenly Father. It has a profound effect on your mind, spirit, and behavior, so choose carefully the music you listen to.”

Hank Smith: 02:43 John, I once wrote a book on happiness that sold dozens of copies, mostly to my mother, but I learned something. It was about music. They had two groups of people. One group of people, randomly chosen, got an hour-long massage every day for 90 days. The other randomly chosen group of people had to listen to one hour of what they said was uplifting music every day for 90 days. Then they came back and they took a happiness survey.

Hank Smith: 03:11 Now, who do you think would be happier? You would think an hour-long massage every day, but it was the music that showed decreased anxiety, decreased depression, and increased happiness, all because they deliberately chose their music to be uplifting. I’m with the mice on this one, John, that there is a powerful influence that comes from the music we choose to listen to.

John Bytheway: 03:34 Yeah. I think if you’re going to say, “The music I listen to doesn’t matter,” you probably also have to say, “The books I read don’t matter” or “The movies I watch don’t matter.” No, it all matters. It all matters.

John Bytheway: 03:44 We have a wonderful little phrase at the end of the 13th Article of Faith, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, we seek after these things.” Well, why do we do that? Because it blesses our life. It’s uplifting. Ultimately, I like the advice in For the Strength of Youth. Pay attention, because you’ll be able to see what is lifting your spirit and what isn’t, just like movies and books.

Hank Smith: 04:09 Choose carefully. Our challenge to you this week is to choose more carefully and deliberately the music you listen to, and see if it doesn’t have an effect on the way you feel spiritually and how close you feel to God.

Hank Smith: 04:20 Well, we hope you’ll join us next week for another FollowHIM Favorites. Come join us on our full podcast. It’s called FollowHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. This week, we’re with Dr. Eric Huntsman, who is walking us through some of these Psalms. You’re going to love it, so come join us there, and join us next week for another FollowHIM Favorites.