One can only imagine what it would have been like to be cooped up in one of those Jaredite barges for 344 days with furious winds, terrible tempests, and mountain waves which buried them in the deep (v. 5-7). The reader gets seasick just thinking about it! Yet their difficult journey was not marred by murmuring and mayhem as it was with Laman and Lemuel (1 Nephi 18:9-13). In retrospect, this is truly amazing! The Jaredite journey was no pleasure cruise but it lacked nothing for joy and gratitude for they did thank and praise the Lord all the day long. By comparison, we often complain if our plane-ride or car-ride lasts longer than 344 minutes, let alone 344 days.
Music has the power to lift people in the most trying of circumstances. Michael F. Moody said, "Music has the power to transport us from the hard realities of day-to-day living, to a peaceful, beautiful realm in which we can find a renewed perspective of life." (Church News, 11/16/91) It was this peaceful, beautiful realm to which the Jaredites were transported by their songs of praise. Furthermore, the Lord has declared, my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me (DC 25:12). The parallelism between the song of the righteous and the prayer of the righteous is seen in the language used by Moroni and Enos. The Jaredites did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord. Enos records, all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. (Enos 1:4)
Gordon B. Hinckley
"We recognize the universal power of music to touch the hearts of men and women everywhere and in all generations--to inspire and encourage, to sustain and lift, to comfort and bring peace." (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, "Music")
Neal A. Maxwell
"I'm continually impressed with the power of music to comfort and counsel in a way that often exceeds the power of the spoken word." (Church News, 11/16/91)