A Fire Still Burning

With all the bad things happening in the world today, I was so happy to see this video that I am going to post on here momentarily. Since mostly only close family and friends view this blog (and since I never post much, probably even they have dwindled to a number hovering somewhere around zero), I am going to open up a little bit about myself. Most of you know that I am a musician. Music has been a huge part of my life. Most of you also know I have struggled with my faith in recent years. I have continued to attend church, and sometimes I enjoy it, but sometimes I hate it. I have unresolved issues of anger and resentment that have caused my faith to dwindle. I have long been a fan of the band "The Killers", and more specifically of front man Brandon Flowers. As a musician, I enjoy listening to the subtle things in recordings, such as certain guitar tracks that most people would not notice, or keyboard lines, bass lines, vocal harmonies, etc., that bring emotion and layers to the listening experience. The Killers music moves me, and has even brought me to tears on occasion. It isn't just pop or rock music. It has substance to it. Imagine my surprise years ago when I found out that Brandon Flowers was raised Mormon. This only made me more interested in his music. As I started following his career more closely, I noticed that I had a lot in common with him. As a performer, you are constantly in situations where it is easy to be tempted, and it is easy to be drawn towards that temptation, especially when you have to get on stage and perform night after night. It is hard to explain to someone who doesn't know what it's like to have that pressure to perform night after night, and especially when you don't really feel like entertaining people sometimes. So I wasn't surprised that Brandon Flowers had issues with the Word of Wisdom. As a faithful member of the church, it is easy to think that the Word of Wisdom is an easy principle to follow, you just don't break it. Well for some it just isn't that easy. We all have our problems in this life and our own trials to overcome. The part I always found intriguing about Brandon Flowers, was that he never talked bad about the church, he never shied away from saying, "yes, I'm a member of the church." Even when a reporter said to him that he had personally seen him drinking alcohol, he replied, "I try not to." Reporters have tried and tried to make him do like so many other famous members of the church who have fallen away and taken the stand that, "yeah I USED to be Mormon, but not anymore." Well even though he had his problems, he never insulted the church, never denied being a member, and always said only positive things about the church. Brandon lost his mother to brain cancer in February 2010. He always spoke of her taking him to church and being a positive example in his life. When I saw the video that I have linked to this post, I was so proud of him for his courage to do what is right that at the end of the video I was brought to tears. Thank you for your valiant example of strength Brandon Flowers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PF0h7oqUEQ