By Richard M. Romney Church Magazines
Richard M. Romney, “Sing Praise to Him,” NewEra, Dec 2010, 16–21
South African teens use music to honor Christ at Christmas—and all year long.
Zintle Vuyiswa Njoli, 16, remembers when she was 12 years old and drifting away from the Church. "I was a recent convert, brand new in Young Women. I felt uncomfortable and a bit kept out," she recalls. "I started backsliding. I was discouraged and I didn't want to come anymore." Then music came to her rescue.
"A Relief Society sister came to my house. She knew I loved music, and she gave my mother a stack of CDs with Church music for me to listen to. I couldn't resist. When I came to a hymn called 'Be Still, My Soul' [Hymns, no. 124], I cried and cried. The words said exactly what I needed to hear. After that, anytime I felt upset or disheartened, I would sing those words to remind me to be patient and trust in the Lord. That song brought me back and kept me in the Church."
Today Zintle is an active, happy member of the Kagiso Ward, Soweto South Africa Stake, joining other youth singing sacred Christmas hymns during seminary. She says music should play an important role in the life of all teenage Latter-day Saints, not only at Christmas but always.
"We read in the scriptures that the Lord is there for us, that when we do what is right, He'll always be on our side," she says. "The Christmas hymns reassure us of the same things, and so do the other hymns we sing throughout the year."
And Zintle isn't singing a solo when it comes to praising the Lord through music.