I want to live where soul meets body[1]Core to LDS doctrine, at both a folk and official level, is the idea that we came to this Earth specifically to gain a body–that we in fact leapt for joy in the Pre-Mortal Councils at the news … Continue reading
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing[2]It hardly need be stated that this line is also a yearning for baptism.
And feel, feel what it’s like to be new[3]And the purpose of baptism, of course, is to be born again–to become new: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the … Continue reading
‘Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
Where they’re far more suited than here[4]Hebrews 11:13 reads, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were … Continue reading
I cannot guess what we’ll discover
When we turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hands can wash one another’s
And not one speck will remain[5]The Mexican poet Octavio Paz in The Labyrinth of Solitude offered the idea that the fundamental tension between the Aztecs and the Spanish was that the former believed that salvation comes … Continue reading
I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too[6]Frontman Ben Gibbard here is of course most likely referring to the silence of death; but then, we also often describe the Holy Spirit as a “still small voice,” something that can also … Continue reading
So brown eyes[7]Possible allusion to Van Morrison’s most famous song “Brown Eyed Girl.”, I hold you near
‘Cause you’re the only song I want to hear[8]It’s the only song that any of us should want to hear: “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of … Continue reading
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere[9]A line so good–so sibilant, so assonant–that singer Ben Gibbard made sure to close out the song with it. But then, as we have already discussed, it is no sin for a lyric to create … Continue reading
Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body
And I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
But if the silence takes you[10]“And should we die before our journey’s through/Happy day, all is well/We then are free from toil and sorrow, too/With the just we shall dwell…”
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes, I hold you near
‘Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere[11]Lead single from their 2005 album Plans—as in, the one thing we can’t make, because we know not on what night our souls will be required of us.
References
| ↑1 | Core to LDS doctrine, at both a folk and official level, is the idea that we came to this Earth specifically to gain a body–that we in fact leapt for joy in the Pre-Mortal Councils at the news that we would finally gain physical bodies of our own. In fact, Mormon theology maintains that the infiltration of Neo-Platonic philosophy into the primitive Church–with its emphasis upon the intrinsic superiority of the spirit over matter and flesh–was a sure sign of the Great Apostasy. As Hugh Nibley argued in his lecture series Time Validates the Prophets, the influence of Neo-Platanism via theologians like St. Augustine is what led to the centuries-long assumption throughout Christendom that God the Father is a disembodied spirit, that sex is inherently filthy and shameful and should at best only be used for procreation within the bonds of marriage, that our sinful and degraded bodies–especially women’s bodies–must be constricted, punished, and modestly covered-up, that our bodies in general are prisons which must ultimately be escaped and punished if we are to return to God, and so on and so forth.
Ironically, despite Neo-Platonism’s definite origins in polytheistic ancient Greece, the idea that God might have a human body and that our own bodies are no less capable of apotheosis and exaltation, came to be perceived as distinctly pagan ideas, ones inherently hostile to orthodox Christianity. Indeed, one of the many heresies for which Joseph Smith was lambasted was his insistence upon a literally embodied God, one with a physical human body made perfect, as well as the idea that our physical bodies are not cages to be escaped, but that the union between soul and body is absolutely essential for our eternal salvation. Yet as this popular, platinum-selling single by Death Cab for Cutie reminds us, the default assumption for most people, without having been told so, is not that our souls must transcend our bodies, but rather that our souls and bodies must be united to achieve transcendence. We have to be taught to hate our bodies; hence, we must regularly be reminded to love them. That is, this song was so popular because we all want to live where soul meets body. |
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| ↑2 | It hardly need be stated that this line is also a yearning for baptism. |
| ↑3 | And the purpose of baptism, of course, is to be born again–to become new: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3-5). |
| ↑4 | Hebrews 11:13 reads, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Such indicates that we all intuitively understand that this Earth is not where we are originally from, that we came from somewhere else, that all our yearning for Heaven is really just a yearning for home.
These are cliches, but they are cliches because they are true; we are appalled by the suffering of the world, but why? Haven’t we been here long enough to know that this is just how things are supposed to be? Why not just give in to cynicism and pessimism and be done with it? Because our endless disgust with the gross injustice of the world is not an indication that these are the way things are supposed to be, but rather that this is not the way things are supposed to be at all. We yearn for Heaven because that is the place where we are far more suited than here. |
| ↑5 | The Mexican poet Octavio Paz in The Labyrinth of Solitude offered the idea that the fundamental tension between the Aztecs and the Spanish was that the former believed that salvation comes communally, while the latter believed that salvation comes individually. Paradoxically, both are right: per LDS doctrine, “They without us cannot be saved” (D&C 128:15), and vice-versa. It’s why we do so much work for the dead; it’s also why we are supposed to do equal amounts of work for the living. Someone who monastically withdraws from the world and locks themselves up to avoid sinning is ironically still sinning, because you can only be saved by loving and serving others: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40). That is, it is our filthy hands washing one another’s that ensure that “not one speck will remain.” |
| ↑6 | Frontman Ben Gibbard here is of course most likely referring to the silence of death; but then, we also often describe the Holy Spirit as a “still small voice,” something that can also only be experienced in the silence. That is, I hope the silence takes us both as well. |
| ↑7 | Possible allusion to Van Morrison’s most famous song “Brown Eyed Girl.” |
| ↑8 | It’s the only song that any of us should want to hear: “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26). |
| ↑9 | A line so good–so sibilant, so assonant–that singer Ben Gibbard made sure to close out the song with it. But then, as we have already discussed, it is no sin for a lyric to create pleasure on your own bodily tongue, since our bodies are necessary for our soul’s salvation. Again: We have to be taught to hate our bodies; we must be reminded to love them. |
| ↑10 | “And should we die before our journey’s through/Happy day, all is well/We then are free from toil and sorrow, too/With the just we shall dwell…” |
| ↑11 | Lead single from their 2005 album Plans—as in, the one thing we can’t make, because we know not on what night our souls will be required of us. |