LDS Musicians Put New Spin On Beauty And The Beast
What happens when you combine extreme musical talent and an extreme love for Disney?
Covers: covers galore.
Thanks to the live action Beauty and the Beast on the horizon, musical Mormons everywhere have taken to recording, performing, and sharing their interpretations of tunes from the Disney classic.
First up, BYU’s Vocal Point teams up with 14-year-old Lexi Walker for an a cappella medley of all your Beauty and the Beast favorites. The medley bounces from “Bonjour” to “Be Our Guest”, ending with the classic “Beauty and the Beast” title track, underscored by Lexi’s vocal prowess and Vocal points modern a cappella stylings. This magical medley is complemented by its equally magical music video, featuring a performance from the world renowned BYU Ballroom Dance team.
4-year-old Claire Ryann Crosby is best known for her precious father-daughter pop-song covers, cute enough to even snag Ellen’s attention. Now, Crosby is back with a beautifully produced video filmed in the historic Davenport Hotel in Spokane, WA. Claire stars as Mrs. Potts, her sweet voice filling the air as her mother and father waltz across the ballroom floor. Claire’s brother, Carson, also makes an appearance in the video as Chip.
Stirling plays the part of Belle as she walks through the market, electric violin in hand, only instead of a market she’s traipsing through sound equipment. With her backup dancers as “silly girls” and her stage crew as a host of Gastons, Stirling eventually dons a gown, walking out on stage as Mrs. Potts as she plays the film’s theme “Beauty and the Beast.”
Multi-award winning pianist, violist, composer, and Latter-day Saint, Jennifer Thomas joined Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra cellist, Armen Ksajikian, for a stunning arrangement of “Theme from Beauty and the Beast” you need to hear to believe.
Eight LDS Women Speaking At UN Feminism Conference
Repppin’ the Mormon faith, eight LDS women will be speaking at a UN Conference on Maternal Feminism today, Tuesday, March 14. Ranging in age from 16 to 19, the eight speakers are ambassadors for Big Ocean Women, an organization founded on women for faith, family and motherhood.
This is the third year the program has come to UN Headquarters, according to Jeannette Bennett, Youth Delegation Director at Big Ocean Women.
“This is the first time we’ve had youth at the UN,” Bennett told the Daily Universe.
The eight girls who will be speaking were selected from over 70 applicants. Each girl will be speaking on one of Big Ocean’s eight values, which correspond to the eight Young Women’s values.
- We believe in God and are women of faith.
- We are empowered by our feminine nature and biology, and we honor our procreative power.
- We are each unique and innately worthy of respect.
- We seek after knowledge and wisdom.
- We are free to choose and willingly accept responsibility for our choices.
- We reach out and serve in our homes, communities and the world.
- We follow our conscience in speaking and acting with integrity.
- We value the irreplaceable role of fathers and build interdependent relationships with men.
The conference, held today at 4 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. MST will be streamable on the Big Ocean Women Facebook Page.
Church Comments On Missionary Mugging Video
A recently surfaced video depicting two unnamed LDS missionaries coming face-to-face with an armed gunman is making waves across social media.
In the video, two men ride up on a motorcycle, stopping alongside two LDS missionaries and two by-standers. The man riding on the back of the motorcycle dismounts, pulling a gun on the bystanders. After a moment, he turns the gun on the LDS missionaries — big mistake.
One missionary disarms him, turning the gun on the assailant. The man began to back away, but his partner rushed the missionary in hopes of retrieving the gun. The armed missionary holds him off, then tosses the gun over the fence. Throwing quick punches, the missionary takes the second assailant down the street. Eventually the attackers flee.
The missionary throwing the punches is reported to be an American, according to the Facebook page the video was uploaded to.
LDS Church Spokesman, Eric Hawkins commented on the incident, saying missionaries are generally instructed to avoid conflict in situations like these.
“The guidance given to missionaries is to avoid conflict,” he said. “Every situation is unique, and as adults, missionaries must make decisions about their safety. In this case, the assailant had a weapon and the missionary reacted in the moment to protect his life and that of his companion.”
“We are grateful that this incident did not end tragically,” Hawkins continued, “either for the missionaries or the other individuals involved.”
Read more at Deseret News.
