Michael F. Moody
Encyclopedia
Michael F. Moody was the Chairman of the General Music Committee of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1977 to 2005.
, Utah
and grew up in Spanish Fork
, Utah
. As a young man he served as a Mormon missionary
in the French
East Mission
. Moody's wife, Maria Ann Toronto, is the great-granddaughter of Joseph Toronto
.
Moody received a doctorate in church music from the University of Southern California.
Moody was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the General Church Music Committee under coordinator Robert M. Cundick
. This was a subdivision of the Church Music Department under O. Leslie Stone
.
Moody became the chair of the General Church Music Committee in 1977. He served as Chair of the Hymnbook Executive Committee for the Church’s hymnal, Hymns, 1985. At the time of his retirement, the church had hymnbooks of varying sizes published in 98 languages.
Moody has written the music to a number of songs. A number of his compositions came through a tradition of sending out a Christmas songs in lieu of Christmas cards because he was "a frugal zealot" He frequently relied on Mabel Jones Gabbott and Penny Moody Allen for lyrics. He has songs included in the 1985 LDS Church hymnal
and Children's Songbook. His songs have also been published in various outlets and recorded by many artists, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Prior to this, he had been bishop of the Woods Cross 3rd Ward.
Moody served as president
of the Haiti
Port-au-Prince
Mission of the church from 2000 to 2003.
He also filled a volunteer service assignment, with his wife, in Jerusalem as organist at the Brigham Young University Center for Near Eastern Studies from 2005-2007.
In 2009 Moody was called to serve as president of the Papeete Tahiti Temple
.
Biography
Moody was born in PaysonPayson, Utah
Payson is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,716 at the 2000 census. The current mayor is Rick Moore, who in the 2009 election was the first write-in candidate ever to defeat an incumbent mayor in...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and grew up in Spanish Fork
Spanish Fork, Utah
Spanish Fork is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 31,497 as of the 2008 census estimate.-History:Spanish Fork was settled by LDS pioneers in 1851...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. As a young man he served as a Mormon missionary
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
East Mission
Mission (LDS Church)
A mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not Mormon missionaries live or proselytize in the area...
. Moody's wife, Maria Ann Toronto, is the great-granddaughter of Joseph Toronto
Joseph Toronto
-Biography:Toronto was born in Sardinia and was a sailor in the Mediterranean Merchant Marines and on trans-Atlantic freighters. While in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843, Toronto met Latter Day Saint missionaries, read the Book of Mormon , and was baptized by George B...
.
Moody received a doctorate in church music from the University of Southern California.
Moody was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the General Church Music Committee under coordinator Robert M. Cundick
Robert M. Cundick
Robert Milton Cundick Sr. is a Latter-day Saint composer. He was also for many years one of the organists of the Mormon Tabernacle and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir....
. This was a subdivision of the Church Music Department under O. Leslie Stone
O. Leslie Stone
Oscar Leslie Stone was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972 until his death. He was also the president of the LDS Church's Salt Lake Temple from 1968 to 1972....
.
Moody became the chair of the General Church Music Committee in 1977. He served as Chair of the Hymnbook Executive Committee for the Church’s hymnal, Hymns, 1985. At the time of his retirement, the church had hymnbooks of varying sizes published in 98 languages.
Moody has written the music to a number of songs. A number of his compositions came through a tradition of sending out a Christmas songs in lieu of Christmas cards because he was "a frugal zealot" He frequently relied on Mabel Jones Gabbott and Penny Moody Allen for lyrics. He has songs included in the 1985 LDS Church hymnal
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985 book)
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official hymn book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
and Children's Songbook. His songs have also been published in various outlets and recorded by many artists, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Church Service
In 1990, Moody was called to serve as president of the Woods Cross Utah East Stake of the LDS Church in Salt Lake City.Prior to this, he had been bishop of the Woods Cross 3rd Ward.
Moody served as president
Mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . A mission president presides over a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission...
of the Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
Mission of the church from 2000 to 2003.
He also filled a volunteer service assignment, with his wife, in Jerusalem as organist at the Brigham Young University Center for Near Eastern Studies from 2005-2007.
In 2009 Moody was called to serve as president of the Papeete Tahiti Temple
Papeete Tahiti Temple
The Papeete Tahiti Temple is the 27th constructed and 25th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Papeete on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, it was built with a modern single-spire design....
.
List of Compositions and Arrangements
- A Child’s Prayer Written under the pseudonym John Wyatt
- A Christmas Hymn
- Away in a Manger
- The Babe of Bethlehem
- Easter Day Written under the pseudonym George Finlinson
- Faith
- Gentle Jesus
- Have a Very Happy Birthday
- Have a Very Merry Christmas!
- He Sent His Son
- I Am My Heavenly Father's Child Written under the pseudonym Edward Trimble
- I Heard the Prophet Speak
- Let It Come Quietly
- Lullaby for Jesus
- My Father Taught Me
- Sleep, Little Jesus
- Teacher, Do You Love Me?
- Testimony
- There Was Starlight on the Hillside also published as Christmas Song
- This Is Christmas
- This Is the Christ
- To Bethlehem
- Today I Must Prepare
- We Thank Thee
- When Love Came Down
- Who Is the Child?