We know and love Christmas songs that testify of Christ, teach us of His birth, or celebrate beloved Christmas traditions. But have you heard the Christmas song that teaches us it’s okay to wrestle with questions of belief during this magical, snowy time of year?
Truman Brothers new Christmas song, “God Blessed Us Everyone” deals with the idea that we won’t necessarily have everything figured out with our faith just because its Christmas—and that’s okay. In this week’s episode of All In, the brothers and host Morgan Pearson talk discuss having questions about your faith.
Some of the lyrics to Truman Brother’s new original song, “God Blessed Us Everyone” go like this,
Not everyone saw the star,
not everyone traveled far,
not everyone has it figured out or knows just what they believe right now.
Not everyone is in the pew,
not everyone knows it's true,
not everyone has heard his name, but he was born for them just the same.
While writing the lyrics to “God Blessed Us Everyone,” Chad Truman was thinking about a couple in his life who had experienced questions with their faith. When the couple met with their local bishop, he called their experience a faith crisis, but that didn’t quite sit right with them. Reflecting on it later with Chad, the group determined that people could have a high level of belief, but still have questions. Good members seeking genuine answers to their questions actually display faith, rather than a crisis with it.
“That is one thing that I would love to see go away—that term “faith crisis” because I think it just suggests that people are in a panic, that you can’t have questions without feeling panic,” podcast host Morgan says. “Personally, am a believer that that feeling of panic is a tool of the adversary. He’s the one that wants us to feel like you got to make a decision right now. That you don’t have time to figure it out. [But] God is a God of eternal progression. … I think if we could eliminate that idea that people are in a crisis and rather allow space for figuring things out, taking time, asking questions, we’d all be in a much better place.”
Chad hopes that this song will be helpful those who have been knocked off course by questions, misconceptions, or the actions of a fellow member, because we all get thrown off once in a while.
“I don’t want to push people away when they have questions. We all have our version of that. Not everyone knows what they believe right now—[and] that’s beautiful,” Chad says. “That’s life, to mourn with those who mourn instead of pushing those people away … I’m in the trenches trying to figure this out [too]. That is faith action, figuring it out. That is faith.”
For his brother Ben, this song is meant to showcase the universality of Christ’s love.
“The thing is, Christmas is a blessing unto all. In the scriptures God says peace on earth, goodwill to men, it’s to all men,” Ben says. “We just wanted the song to be representative of how universally beautiful the birth of the Savior was and what that meant for everybody. Because no matter where you are at on your faith journey, there are blessings that you receive because of what happened and what we celebrate at Christmas. This is a song for everybody because Christmas is for everybody.”
Like all their music, this song pulls from both brothers’ testimonies. Chad explains that he started with what he calls a “general testimony” that he gained from attending church with his parents. As he had spiritual experiences he gained “specific testimony” for individual gospel principles.
“The coolest part is that as I continue to add more and more things, [my testimony] can have more and more specifics,” Chad says. So when questions, misinformation, or doubts arise, Chad knows that he can continue learning and understanding the gospel to add to his testimony in new ways, while still being anchored with God on what he already knows.
“I’m no perfect member of the Church but I’m committed,” Ben adds. “I will ebb and flow on opinions, I will ebb and flow on confidence in certain pieces of testimony, but the rod is going to remain in my hands. … I will go through this experience committed, and I will respond to things as I do but nothing will row the boat enough to toss me.”
For everyone with questions, struggles, or who may want to feel more of the Spirit this Christmas, go check out “God Blessed Us Everyone,” and the rest of Truman Brothers new album, The Sounding Joy. Or listen to the rest of their conversation with Morgan on the All In podcast.
