Songs on Mutual Album Convey Theme That Everyone Matters
Contributed By Lauren Hanson, Church News staff writer
Youth composed and sang songs on the 2017 Mutual theme album based on their personal experiences. Many of the songs reflect the message that everyone matters.
Article Highlights
- The songs on the 2017 Mutual theme album were inspired by youth and their personal experiences.
- Many of the songs are centered around the message that everyone matters.
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Every single person on the entire earth matters. That’s what Jake Garvin, 18, was trying to communicate when he wrote his song, “One by One,” on the 2017 Mutual theme album.
Youth created all the songs on the youth album, inspired by their personal experiences, and many of the songs on this year’s album feature music with a similar message to Jake’s.
“We are His hands,” Jake’s song says. “We’ll help those we can, one at a time; if we all help each other,” Jake said, “then great things can happen.”
Jake led one such effort last year when he was serving as the first assistant in his priests quorum. The quorum members took turns visiting the home of a widow in their ward each week to brighten her spirits. In addition to these weekly visits, about once a month the whole quorum would go to her home to weed the yard or help out in whatever way they could. “It was an awesome way to show her we love and care about her,” Jake said.
Jake’s brother, Justin Garvin, also wrote a song to remind listeners that they are part of a bigger picture and that they matter more than they realize.
“Choose to Stay,” a song that focuses on suicide prevention, is also the name of Justin’s school’s suicide-awareness motto and was written after two of his friends from school took their own lives. “If I can only help one person with this song, then it’s all worth it,” says Justin. One person he has helped is himself.
During the summer of 2016, Justin’s best friend, Beau, passed away in an ATV accident.
“After, I kinda just wanted to give up and not do anything,” Justin said. “But I’ve listened to my song a lot, and I realize that I shouldn’t give up. I should keep going.”
Dylan Manzanares, 18, felt inspired to write “Priceless” because he feels it’s important for every child of God to remember that no matter what anyone else thinks of them, the only opinion that matters is God’s.
“And He loves everyone,” Dylan says. “We are all priceless in His eyes.”
Dylan is now serving in the Montevideo Uruguay Mission, and remembering to focus on how God sees him continues to help him.
“When we always remember that we are priceless in the sight of Heavenly Father, it’s much easier to keep a good attitude about serving others, especially out here in the mission field where many people reject you,” he said.
Listen to these songs and other inspired music by downloading the MP3 tracks, lyrics, and sheet music for each song directly from the LDS Youth theme page, or by listening to the 2017 Mutual album on Spotify.
