Dedicating Your Talents to Building God’s Kingdom: Jenny Oaks Baker's Story - Latter-Day Lights

Could God do more with your talents than you ever could on your own?

From concert halls around the world to Christ-centered productions that have touched thousands, Jenny Oaks Baker has learned that the Lord often leads us in ways we never expect.

In this week’s uplifting episode of Latter-Day Lights, Jenny shares how following quiet promptings transformed her career from simply performing music to creating productions that testify of Jesus Christ, including her self-produced shows such as “Redeemer,” “Joy to the World,” and “American Mosaic.”

Along the way, she opens up about relying on the Lord through uncertainty, building the SoulFill Music Foundation, and learning to trust Him one step at a time. Jenny also reflects on the faithful example of her parents, the importance of consecrating our talents to God's work, and the unexpected blessings that come when we're willing to let go of our own plans.

Her testimony is a beautiful reminder that as we seek the Savior first, He not only magnifies our gifts but also leads us to a life richer, more purposeful, and more joyful than we could have imagined.

*** Please hit SUBSCRIBE to get our latest episodes, and hit the SHARE button to help us share Jenny's story and light with others. ***

To WATCH this episode on YouTube, visit: https://youtu.be/jHoI75p15L8

-----

To LEARN MORE about Jenny’s non-profit organization, The SoulFill Music Foundation, visit: https://soulfillmusic.org/

To LEARN MORE about Jenny’s work and The Jenny Oaks Baker Performance Workshop, visit: https://www.jennyoaksbaker.com/workshop

To WATCH Jenny on tour, get tickets at: https://www.jennyoaksbaker.com/upcoming-events

To FOLLOW Jenny on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/jennyoaksbaker/

To FOLLOW Jenny on Facebook, visit: https://www.facebook.com/jennyoaksbaker/

-----

To READ Scott’s new book “Faith to Stay” for free, visit: https://www.faithtostay.com/

-----

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latterdaylights

Also, if you have a faith-promoting or inspiring story, or know someone who does, please let us know by going to https://www.latterdaylights.com and reaching out to us.

Transcript

“Faith to Stay” by Scott Brandley

Scott Brandley 0:00

Hey there, as a Latter Day Lights listener, I want to give you a very special gift today. My brand new book, Faith to Stay. This book is filled with inspiring stories, powerful discoveries, and even fresh insights to help strengthen your faith during the storms of life. So if you're looking to be inspired, uplifted, and spiritually recharged, just visit faithtostay.com. Now, let's get back to the show. Hey everyone, I'm Scott

Intro

Scott Brandley 0:30

Brandley.

Darla Brandley 0:31

And I'm Darla Brandley. Every member of the church has a story to share, one that can instill faith, invite hope, and inspire others.

Scott Brandley 0:39

On today's episode, we're going to hear how concert violinist, show producer, and soul fill music foundation founder, Jenny Oaks Baker, has tried to turn her life over to the Lord and how he has enabled her to use her talents to try and build his kingdom. Welcome to Latter Day Lights.

Welcoming Jenny Oaks Baker to the show

Scott Brandley 1:14

We've got Jenny Oaks Baker on the show. Welcome, Jenny.

Jenny Oaks Baker 1:17

Thank you. It's great to be here.

Scott Brandley 1:19

Yeah, we're so excited to have you. This is this is definitely um something that we've been looking forward to ever since we knew you were going to be on the show.

Jenny in a nutshell

Scott Brandley 1:30

So um before we kick things off, why don't you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?

Jenny Oaks Baker 1:35

Well, I'm a I'm a violinist and I've had the privilege of performing all over the world. Um I perform quite often with my four children, um musical group Family Four. Um and I last year we founded Soul Phil Music Foundation to help bring Christ-centered um programs to all of God's children around the world.

Scott Brandley 1:59

That is so cool. So I'm yeah, I'm I'm looking forward for you to tell us a little bit about that and some of your adventures. Um, something people might not know is that the prophet is actually your dad.

Jenny Oaks Baker 2:14

He is. I'm very I feel very privileged and blessed to be able to have been raised by such a man of God.

Scott Brandley 2:22

Yeah, that that's incredible. So we we definitely wanted to ask you some questions about that. Um but before we jump into that, um, other than the violin, do you have any other any other hobbies or anything that you like to do?

Jenny Oaks Baker 2:39

Oh, I it keeps me pretty busy. My husband, our family loves to travel. So um, and very often we travel to shows and it's really fun to travel together. So we really enjoy traveling. We enjoy cooking together. Um, movies, and that that takes all the time between show producing and performing that doesn't leave a lot of extra time.

How Jenny found her musical talent

Scott Brandley 3:00

Yeah, I get that. Awesome. Well, um, let's kind of jump right in. So, Jenny, tell us a little bit about your shows. I mean, I know you've been doing the violin since you were little. How did how did you get into that? What was your family musically inclined?

Jenny Oaks Baker 3:18

Or my mother appreciated the arts and and my father did as well. Um, but my mom, my mom really was so integral to all of her children and developing their talents. And um my a few of my older sisters had a couple of my older sisters had played violin. And so she asked me if I wanted to play violin when I was four years old, and I said yes. And she'd kind of encountered the Suzuki method, which is um has a lot of parent parental involvement. And so she practiced with me daily from the time I was four until I was probably about 12 years old. And then I kind of was on my own, but she still took me to lessons and reminded me to practice and really made sure that I had all the opportunities and um available and just was really behind me developing my talents. I'm so grateful to her. And my father was very supportive, he was the one that helped pay for those lessons, of course, and um was would come to all my concerts. And so my parents were very, very, very heavily um invested in me developing my talents. And at the same time, they would always teach me to rely on the Lord before every performance, and we would pray together. I would ask for priesthood blessings before every scary performance opportunity, and then they'd they'd remind me to go thank Heavenly Father every time I had been blessed on stage. And my mom would quote scriptures like, if ye are prepared, ye need not fear. Um and, you know, she she they both really helped me to develop my testimony as I developed my musical talents. So it was really a privilege to be raised in such a faithful home. And it really centered my music around my testimony and faith in God and gratitude for his blessings. And I'm I'm just so grateful and I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for then helping me to find a man and be Mary the Temple to a man that has been so supportive. Everything I've been able to do in my career, really um since being married, has been because I have such a wonderfully supportive husband, and he's supported me in my career and performances and has supported us helping our children develop their talents and continues to support, you know, Soul Fill Music Foundation. He helps helps run some of the shows. And um, I'm just I'm so grateful for for all the wonderful people that Heavenly Fathers put in my life that enabled me to do what I've done musically.

About Jenny’s non-profit organization, The SoulFill Music Foundation and The Jenny Oaks Baker Performance Workshop

Darla Brandley 6:01

Tell us more about the Soul Filled Foundation. What exactly is it and and what it does?

Jenny Oaks Baker 6:07

So a number of years ago, I felt kind of called by God to take Christ-centered programs throughout the world. And in that effort, I formed a production company and figured out how to be a production company. And it was so hard. It continues to be difficult because I was raised to play violin and training to be a violinist. Um, I have my master's in music, but there wasn't any business involved in that um that training. Happily, my husband's a business guy, so he he he understands how business works. I do not. But um a number of years ago, I I started Hemly Father kind of line by line, helped me to understand how to form, like how to how to produce shows and take tours throughout the world. And he the fact that I was able to kind of do it without any, without a lot of help from those that know what they're doing is just such a testimony to me that Heavenly Father does help us step by step to to accomplish his purposes. Um so I was able to to you know form Jenny Oak S Baker Music. And then last year, uh, well, two years ago, I felt prompted and a number of things kind of lined up where I felt like I was supposed to create a nonprofit. I knew what the name was. I knew it was supposed to be called the Soul Phil Music Foundation. Um, the woman, a very talented woman named Katie Larson, who'd been helping me with Gen X Baker music productions, like phenomenal administrator and great at marketing and all kinds of wonderful business things that I am not great at. Um, I said to her, she was running my Gen X Baker performance workshop because I'd put her as director of that. And I said, Katie, I think we're supposed to form a foundation. And she said, I don't know how to do that, but I'm happy to try. And so we formed the Soul Phil Music Foundation. Um, we were blessed to be able to have it go through. It kind of came into being last year. And the Soul Phil Music Foundation is now the entity that presents our shows. We have a Christmas show called Joy to the World. We have an Easter show called The Redeemer, and we have an Americana show called American Mosaic that's all about all the different people that came to this country, why they came, and the beautiful mosaic that ensued from all these different people with diversity and knowing that we're children of God and God wants us to love each other and come together in unity. Um, so we have these three shows, and soulful music presents the three shows plus the Jenny Oak Baker performance workshop. So there's the educational element, and that workshop is for all ages, all levels to come and get world-class training from me and other instructors in violin, violet, cello, and piano. And um, soulful music, there's also a faith element where it's I mean, I can't talk about music without talking about God and faith and blessings. And so the Gen Ericks Baker and Performance Workshop, everyone comes together and we play music. We play hymns and popular favorites, like doing a Phantom of the Opera medley this year. Um, but there's this faith element, and it has seminars and performances. And so Soul Phil Music Foundation also presents the Gen EX Baker Workshop. And then we also try to do a lot of bridge building between faith groups. So there's a lot of interfaith efforts and just bringing communities together in worshiping Jesus Christ. So that's the Soul Phil Music Foundation, and I've seen God's hand in helping that become formed and helping us to help um enable it to be successful and do God's work and building his kingdom.

Darla Brandley 9:48

Awesome.

Scott Brandley 9:48

Wow. I mean, that's a lot. I'm I run a business, right? And I I just know how much work it takes and how you need to have really good people.

Jenny Oaks Baker 9:59

Yeah. For sure. Absolutely. And when I was starting the production company, I was just, I would wake up every morning and I'd pray to Heavenly Father, like, what do I do today? Like I had just no idea what I was doing at all. Like from ticket pricing and performer show insurance and marketing and like renting venues. I like had no idea how to do any of it. And it's so hard. Like it's it's just so hard. This was also before AI. Like, I think I could have, you know, plugged it into AI and gotten a blueprint, but it wasn't even a thing then. Like it was like five years ago, five or six years ago. And um, I should have used AI. Not but I wouldn't have learned the life lessons where I just wake up every morning and ask Hemily Father, what do I do? And I would know exactly the top, top few things to do, and then he'd help me do them. And but at one point I was like, Hell my father, I need help. Like, this is overwhelming. This is hard. I don't know what I'm doing. Like, I'm crying all the time. This is so hard. And the spirit told me that, like, as soon as you know what you need, like you, as soon as you know the help that you need, I'll send you help. I didn't even know what help I needed. I didn't even know what roles I needed to fill. So he couldn't send me, he couldn't just like randomly place people. I didn't even know what I needed. So as soon as I kind of got a handle on what I needed, individuals kind of came to the surface. And um, it was it was pretty, it just continues to be miraculous. Same thing with the foundation. We have a, we have like our executive director, we have a marketing director, we have a production coordinator, we have a tour direct, well, we have a show director, we have like someone that helps us with grant writing and development, and like it, it's it's a big staff. And I could never ever do it on my own. So I'm super grateful to Heavenly Father for he does definitely provide what we need when we ask him to help us.

Darla Brandley 11:50

So wonderful. I I believe that's so true that Heavenly Father does send us the exact people that we need.

Jenny Oaks Baker 11:56

He just he needs to send me more, he needs to send me more funding. Like we were constantly he does, he does send it when we when we like he does send it, but that's something that a nonprofit is continuously needing to be fed. Like it is it is a hungry beast. He does provide, and we need him to continue to provide funding.

Scott Brandley 12:18

Yeah, that's funny because you're talking about all these people, and I'm like, how does she fund this thing?

Jenny Oaks Baker 12:24

Yeah, because we also, as part of the purpose of Soul Phone Music, is to make these programs affordable for families. I don't want I and yet they're very expensive. Like I we pay professional dancers and we pay professional soloists, and there's travel involved, and yet people want it to be free, and it's it's not a free show. It's an expensive show because it's world class and we pay graphic designers and we pay projection artists and we pay expensive venue rentals and marketing is so expensive. And um, yeah, so it's a very expensive world-class show, and yet people want it to be free or very inexpensive, and so that's where the donations come in, where with donations we can make it affordable for families. Without donations, we just can't. And so, but happily, you know, it's a 501c3, so we have, you know, people can get a tax deduction, and that's that's helpful.

Scott Brandley 13:21

Yeah. Well, my next question was gonna be about hard acts of faith that the the Lord has challenged you with, but I think you just kind of answered that one.

Jenny Oaks Baker 13:29

Well, there's there's I mean, I pick it, pick a day. I can I can tell you an experience that Heavenly Father

Staying grounded in the Gospel while being a world-class performer

Jenny Oaks Baker 13:35

has helped me through.

Scott Brandley 13:36

Yeah, wow. Okay, so so you've had this incredible career. Um, you've been on some of the world's biggest stages, worked with some of the best performers, won tons of awards. So you kind of play in this in two world, right? Like in a way, right? I mean, because as a member of the church, like you you have the gospel path, and then and then you're also you know, because of like being on these stages and and knowing the people you you know, there's kind of like that worldly side too, right? So how do you stay grounded in the gospel living living your life?

Jenny Oaks Baker 14:16

Well, I know that I need the Lord's help in order to be successful and to play my best. And so that that keeps you grounded because I know I'm I'm nothing without the Lord, and yeah, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. And so that keeps me grounded. Just the the difficulties I encounter. Heavenly Father also likes effort and he likes us to not be comfortable. And so, even though it'd be really nice if I just played violin all day, because I'm can do that, and that's not that challenging for me. He wants me to do more with my gifts than just being a violinist. And there's nothing wrong with just being a violinist, but the Lord likes us to stretch. And so that's why, you know, church callings, we don't just always do what we're very best at, and we don't get to just do what we're best at the rest of our life, right? It's not like, well, you know, I get to be, you know, ward music director the rest of the rest of my life. No, I I've actually never been the ward music director since college. So I anyway, the Lord likes us to stretch and that enables us to rely on him more and ask him for help. And so, because I'm involved in so many stretching experiences, like it definitely keeps me grounded. And I'm I'm just every time I have an incredible musical experience or spiritual experience, I'm just so filled with gratitude to the Lord. Like we were just performing last week in, you know, in Washington, DC with our American Mosaic show. And as I performed Amazing Grace, I just almost every time I play it now, I just start to cry because I'm just so grateful to Heavenly Father, not only for providing his son and enabling us through the atonement to return to him. That of course is what we're all so grateful for. But in addition to that, I'm just so grateful that Heavenly Father has given me these tremendous opportunities to use my talents to bring help people feel the spirit and hopefully grow closer to him. And it's such a privilege. And I'm just so grateful. And so I think relying on the Lord, doing hard things, and just remembering to be grateful keep you grounded.

Scott Brandley 16:23

Yeah. Wow.

Jenny on Heavenly Father instilling musical talent into her children

Scott Brandley 16:25

Okay. So you mentioned earlier that you've kind of taught your kids and brought them into the music world, right? Well, I wasn't experienced like yeah.

Jenny Oaks Baker 16:35

So they all had their own individual phenomenal teachers, which I'm really grateful for. Um, but I did for sure when they were younger, force them to practice and take them to lessons and encourage them. Yeah, it's a full-time job. Um so encouraged them to develop their gifts and not let them out of their practicing. So I definitely was very involved that way. And I also taught them to practice slowly and carefully and just not learn mistakes if possible. And and to, I demanded excellence because they were born with lots of talents and gifts, and I could see it. And so I wasn't gonna let them just kind of be mediocre. You can't force excellence on people, but I did everything I could as a mother to like encourage excellence and encourage them to reach their potential. And that's the way my parents were. They didn't, they never demanded that I be the best, but they did encourage me to reach my potential and to work my hardest. And if you work your very hardest and are slow and careful and then rely on the Lord, like you can truly become excellent in whatever you work at. So when and I'm I'm just grateful that Heavenly Father also gave us opportunities to perform together. When I was younger, I always wondered how I could be a concert violinist and a stay-at-home mom. And I never figured it out because it doesn't really go together. But I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father, in focusing on my children and helping them develop their gifts, eventually they were good enough to start performing with me. And I would be invited to perform at something. And I think how that'd be really sweet if I just put them on one song. And then I, of course, was blessed to work with Kurt Bester. So he'd write a little arrangement for me to perform with the kids or them to perform on their own. And we work on it for like six months to put it together because they were just little. And then we started performing two songs together on my shows and then three songs together on my shows and four songs, and pretty soon they were performing half the show, and then all of a sudden I'm performing entire shows with them. And one, like, I one day I woke up and I was like, oh my goodness, I'm with my children as a concert violinist. Like Heavenly Father figured out this problem that I never figured out, and I should have figured it out. It makes a lot of sense. I never figured it out, but Heavenly Father did. And so I'm I'm grateful that Heavenly Father, even, you know, he leads us along. And if we try to turn our lives over to him, he can do so much more for with our lives than we can ever do on our own. And that doesn't mean that every opportunity I've chased down or every dream I've had I've accomplished. I certainly have not, but I've worked my hardest and I've tried to follow every opportunity that the spirit seems to be enlightening my mind to go after. And most of them don't turn out, but some of them do. And then once in a while, Hemly Father will just like gift me something I could never accomplish on my own. Just like he'll just gift me these performances that I never could have made happen. Like I was just invited to come perform with Baltimore Symphony in September. Like I couldn't make that happen. Like, I would love to make that happen with every major symphony orchestra in the world. That would be amazing. I wish I could call him up and say, hey, invite me to perform with you. It just doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way. Many years ago, I performed on a lot of interfaith events when we lived in Washington, D.C. I performed with a lot of different pastors and ministers and faith leaders in Baltimore. And one of them from Baltimore is this wonderful African-American minister or reverend. And um, he has a relationship with this venue as well as the Baltimore Symphony. And he, I guess, had seen that I have this American Mosaic show, and he interested the Baltimore Symphony and inviting me to perform it with them. And so they would, I mean, it started with service like 15 years ago. I did a good deed, and all of a sudden Baltimore Symphony calls me. So those kind of not fluky things, but just out of the blue things, like that's directly Heavenly Father making that happen. And I I wish it would happen every week. I wish I could perform with that caliber of orchestra every week. But I think Heavenly Father is just as happy when I'm able to go to Santa Quin and do a women's conference as when I go to Baltimore and perform with Baltimore Symphony. And so I try when I'm invited, I try to, you know, say yes to the service, things that maybe aren't as prestigious, but yet are just as impactful, if not maybe more so, in lives of bringing people closer to Christ. So um I'm just grateful for the beautiful life that my father's blessed me with. That's amazing. Yeah.

Scott Brandley 21:06

I love that you're willing to do to, you know, to do things that aren't necessarily like a big jump up in your career, right? Like to go to just to go and help people. Like that's so cool that you that you're grounded like that.

Jenny Oaks Baker 21:20

Well, I like blessings and I know where they come from. I like I like the blessings of the random Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert. That it also like I've worked really hard. I know that I'm worthy of performing with Baltimore Symphony. So like you have to also be good enough.

Darla Brandley 21:38

Prepared for that. You have to be prepared for that blessing.

Jenny Oaks Baker 21:41

Right. I love blessings. And I understand that when you make covenants in the temple, you need to then serve when you're asked and be willing to dedicate your life and your talents and everything you've been blessed with to the Lord. And so that's That's what I try to do, and what I try to involve my children in doing. And happily there are wonderful children that know how to serve and are happy to serve um when we're invited and we have opportunities. So it's it's been a beautiful way to help sanctify our family in the process.

Scott Brandley 22:19

So you've you've

Where Jenny gets inspiration

Scott Brandley 22:20

uplifted and inspired a lot of people in your career, right? So what happens in your life when you need inspiration? Where do you go to when things are hard?

Jenny Oaks Baker 22:30

Oh, you just get down on your knees and you ask for help. Heavenly Father. I just I I mean, I don't have a whole lot of time to wallow in stress or wallow in any kind of sadness. I have too much to do to ever just think my life is too hard. I've been blessed to know to just get up and you ask for help and then you get up and you start working. And I've just seen, I'm grateful Heavenly Father is very patient with me. He knows I don't have the patience to sit and wait to see blessings happen or sometimes even wait for inspiration to to come. He inspires me when I'm on my feet working and he just gives me direction one step at a time. And I'm so grateful for that. And I'm grateful he's given me the understanding and the faith to be able to just do my best until I I see the direction that he wants me to go. I love that.

What surprised Jenny the most about her life so far

Scott Brandley 23:25

So, you know, if when you look back on your on your life this far, what surprised you the most?

Jenny Oaks Baker 23:33

I honestly am just surprised at everything I've been able to do because I never dreamed. I never dreamed of the kind of career I've had. And I'm just, I'm so grateful for it. I I ne I hated being bored. Like boredom is like death to me. And I've had a few moments in my life when I felt bored and it, it's it was like the worst. Like I remember like I was bored when I was like 13 on a Sunday afternoon. It was awful. So I'm really grateful that my life is not boring. And I'm just, I'm just so grateful with the richness of the life I've been able to lead. I know that that's because I've tried to center it on the savior. And I'm just so grateful he is gracious and wonderful enough to let me try and partner with him the best way I can. So just all that I've been able to accomplish through the Lord's help really fills me with wonder and awe because I never envisioned it. And people ask me, like, what's your five or 10-year plan? I don't really like to do that. I mean, of course, it's good to have goals, but I know I just know that anything I come up with, the Lord has such a better idea. Like He He just knows so much more. So I'm I'm just not gonna waste a lot of time figuring out my five-year plan because the Lord's five-year plan for me is just so much better and more glorious. And so I'm just gonna try to follow the spirit one step at a time and just trust in him.

Darla Brandley 24:55

Yeah, isn't it amazing where we can go with him in our lives? Like it's it is, it's you're in it's much better place than you ever would have thought you would be, or in a different, like totally different area than you would think that that's the direction you would be sent. I didn't think about that, but he did, and he knew you were gonna be there. Completely I love that.

Jenny Oaks Baker 25:13

And it's best for you, and it's also best for your family. I mean, there's so many times when I would try to have make something happen. I joked that this was more like I I'm kind of over trying to be world famous and I'm kind of over that. But a 10 or 15 years ago, I joked that I could write an autobiography called Almost Famous, with all the times when I should have hit it really big and I just didn't. But looking back on that, I'm so, so grateful that a lot of those things that I went for and really tried to make happen didn't happen because I was able to be home with our children during some really, really pivotal times. And had I become, you know, successful in the way that I was trying to make happen, I would have been out of the home a lot more. I wouldn't have been performing with our children and I wouldn't, our family wouldn't have some of the blessings that we're now um enjoying. And I'm I'm just so grateful it happened the way the Lord, you know, designed it to happen. And I'm I'm grateful for those glass ceiling experiences that I just kept trying to make happen and just didn't. And I was trying to kind of climb the worldly ladder, like my not worldly as in like doing bad things, but worldly as in like the path of the world that I'd seen my peers, you know, their careers went in this way. And I was trying to make my career go in that way. And my career has never gone in that way. And I see now that it was in the Lord's way. And I'm so grateful that I was able, I'm able to be in the middle of or behind producing the Redeemer show, for instance, at Easter time. That show is so powerful, and it is so incredibly enriching spiritually and musically. And I'm just so grateful to be a part of it. Like there's nothing I'd rather perform than the Redeemer. So I'm I'm just so grateful that I get to be a part of that. I'm so grateful for a Christmas show that's about becoming a bolder witness of Jesus Christ. It's a beautiful Christmas show that's also celebratory, but it really is centered on the savior in a really powerful way. And then American Mosaic is just so fulfilling. It was so sweet as we performed it last week on the on the National Mall, kind of at the base of the Washington Monument, we performed Come Come Me Saints. And I felt like the presence of pioneer angels who were rejoicing that, you know, almost 200 years ago, they were so persecuted in this country. And yet, you know, now we're paying a tribute to them and the nation's capital and this big, huge celebration of our country. And they were just so thrilled to be there and rejoice in the religious freedom that we have and the fact that we made it through the persecutions for the most part, and we're able to move forward and and and bring people closer to Christ at this time. And um, it was that was incredible to be there and be part of that and feel the joy of those pioneer saints who are departed and we're just set the legacy of faith, you know, set that up for us. And so those kind of experiences are unmatched, and I'm just so grateful to be able to have a career that's has those experiences as as such a big part of it.

Scott Brandley 28:16

When you get to influence so many people for good, right? Isn't that just do you ever like kids yourself sometimes?

Jenny Oaks Baker 28:23

I just get to be an instrument in the Lord's hands and influencing them. It's the spirit, but I'm grateful I get to be that instrument.

Scott Brandley 28:29

But you know, you know what I mean. Yeah.

Darla Brandley 28:32

Well, I think that music is that it's almost like a pure conduit to the spirit. Music just makes it so much easier to feel that spirit, especially good music in a group. Yes, and in a in a group, right? Like like that part the person next to you is feeling that spirit too, because of that conduit is so pure, I feel.

Jenny Oaks Baker 28:51

Yeah, you know, yeah. And I I get to be that vessel through which the spirit goes out to to God's children, and it's it's a privilege. Yeah,

How Jenny’s shows came to life

Jenny Oaks Baker 29:00

that's amazing.

Scott Brandley 29:01

So um, what inspired you to come up with this show?

Jenny Oaks Baker 29:05

So all three, all three shows honestly were just, I mean, they've they've evolved over the years and they're better than they've ever been. But this spirit absolutely inspired each of the shows line by line. They each began in different ways. The Christmas show, I was invited to come do a Christmas show at TwoCon in southern Utah. Um, I didn't have a Christmas show. I had a lot of Christmas music. I didn't have a Christmas show. And I called up Jason F. Wright, who wrote Christmas jars. And this was in 2020. And I just, and COVID had just was in the, you know, in the in the middle of everything. And I just said, Jason, I want a Christmas show, but I want it to be like a primary program, but a lot better. And so he came up with this beautiful script about becoming a bolder witness of Jesus Christ. And the script has very much stayed very similar because it's so powerful and it it's true. And that's what Christmas should be about is witnessing of Jesus Christ. And so we've changed the music over the years. We've added dancers, we've tweaked the choreography, we've added costumes and soloists and narrators, and so every year we I change about a third of the music to make it fresh. And we're changing the projections this year and some of the dance costumes, but we use local choir and orchestras so that it can really impact the community. I want the experience to be for the performers. Like, so we've got like over a hundred local performers generally on every single show. And that kind of impact really stays with the community.

Darla Brandley 30:35

It does.

Jenny Oaks Baker 30:35

And so over the years, that show has gotten better and better. That's the show I learned to be a tour producer on. Like to take, I took it the first year when the spirit was like, become a tour producer. I took it the first year to 10 cities and it didn't, you know, fall on its face, which is amazing. Because I just made up ticket prices. I had no idea what a profit and loss sheet is. I still kind of don't, but um, I just made up ticket prices and I was able to find funding and just it was crazy. I mean, it's not because the Lord is behind it. So that show, that's how that show came to be. Redeemer, because I never just sit down and go, what should I do? You know, to be, you know, it's just the spirit telling me what to do, and then I do it. But it takes a long time because it's little by little. With Redeemer, I was supposed to record an album for Deseret Book back in, I don't know, 2021. And I had an idea for an album. It got approved. We were about to start, Kurt was right about to start arranging it. We'd spent months coming up with this concept and all the songs and how he was going to arrange them, and it was great. And I was sitting at a conference and all of a sudden I knew that I wasn't supposed to record that album next. And I was like, uh exactly. I didn't know what I was supposed to record. I just knew that was not what I was supposed to record. I just had the sinking feeling this is wrong. Not that it was bad, it just wasn't the right album. And so I called Kurt the next day and I said, Kurt, I'm not supposed to record that album. It's not the right album. And he said, Well, what's the right album? And I said, I don't know. I just know that's wrong. That's not the right one. And he said, Well, what if we did an album entirely about the savior? And I said, That's it. And so that album, we we fleshed out about like a different episode of the savior's life. And we came up with 10 different episodes, 10 for 10 songs, 10 episodes of the savior's life, and the different songs that might represent that, like God loves us, so we sent his son, was the chosen with like pre-existence. And then um Kurt's idea was to do Four and Just the Child is Born from Messiah. This is the one to represent the birth. And then we had a woman at the well represented by I Stand All Amazed, and The Last Supper, represented by In Humility, Our Savior, and the Triumphal Entry, represented by and the glory of the Lord from Messiah. Um, he wrote an original for Gethsemane called From Every Poor, which is so beautiful and so powerful. And the crucifixion we have Upon the Cross of Calvary, which is so exquisitely beautiful. And then He Lives is the resurrection theme that takes Kurt Bester's Lamb of God theme from the 1990s, that film that all of us that went to seminary in the 90s, um, we all saw Lamb of God and that theme. Da It's so beautiful, and that's the resurrection theme. Anyway, so we took these 10 songs and recorded an album. But then I wanted to do like a I wanted to do like an album premiere, and I was like, we should have a narrator. And so BYU Idaho invited me to do the album premiere. I was like, we should have a narrator. And album had violin solo with orchestras, a little bit of choir and cello solos. And so, you know, we performed this, and I thought at the end we should have an encore. And I was like, I feel like it should be I know that my redeemer lives, which is off my awakenings album. And so I just put together this show and I was like, we should have Bible videos because they're so beautiful. And so I got permission from the church to have Bible videos behind the narrations. And so we performed this show that was the album premiere, and it was so powerful that in the middle of the show, I knew Henley Father wanted me to make it into like a longer show with more movements. He wanted me to add more choir, he wanted me to add more like vocal soloists and flesh it out. And so that summer, I didn't have anywhere to perform it, but I had Kirk write additional movements and created like more of a show. And then I started figuring out how to perform it. We performed it at BYU Education Week the next year, and it was in the Marriott Center, which is kind of a cave. She's like, you should add projections. So we added these gorgeous projections of this like different savior symbols, and it became this incredibly powerful two-hour show. That's how Redeemer came to be. I was just recording, and but the Lord had more in store. American Mosaic. For the past few years, I've wanted to record an Americana album with my kids. And at the same time, I kind of thought this should be a show. And I just sat down and I knew I was supposed to have a show, some kind of Americana show. And I I kind of wanted Americana music. I just kind of sat down and all of a sudden I came across this quote by Jimmy Carter that said, America's not a melting pot, it's a mosaic. And I was like, that's the show. And I sat down and I was like, well, it I feel like it should be about the people who came to America, why they came, and the mosaic that ensued. And I just w jotted down a few songs that might represent the people that came, you know, religious freedom, you know, who they were, why they came. And then kind of like things like I don't know, Gershwin or Joplin, the kind of the mixture of cultures that came out of this with some music that demonstrated that. And um, I sent that over to Jason Wright to write the script. And what he sent back was so beautiful and so powerful that when I read it, I sobbed my way through that script. It was so beautiful. And then we've added phenomenal choreography with dance professional dancers and ballroom dancers and choir, and we're adding vocal soloists, oh yo-yo Bonner, this summer is gonna perform from the Bonner family. It's a phenomenal show. And we're performing it in like, well, we we've already done it at the Nation's Capitol. We did it to O'Connor the spring. We're doing it at Zion's on September 5th, Mount Rushmore on August 22nd. I do it with Baltimore Symphony, a kind of pared down version in September. So, and I did it with Utah Symphony a couple weeks ago. Like Heavenly Father is blessing us to be able to share it with the world. So that's how those three shows came to be. But it I never sat down and went, so I want a show. Let me create a show. Like I've just been like practicing and an idea will come. Or the way for Redeemer, one of the most powerful moments is at the end during the encore of I Know That My Redeemer Lives, the audience, we have the audience join in so they too can declare that they know that their Redeemer lives. And the way that happened is I was conducting my word choir, singing, I Know That My Redeemer Lives. I was just, we were just in the really study room. I was conducting word choir. And all of a sudden I knew, oh, the audience is supposed to sing, I know that my redeemer lives at the end of Redeemer. And I was like, okay. So we added it to the show. And in the music, the audience, they sang like the final verse, but they didn't sing, I know that my redeemer lives. That was just the violin line. So the next year I knew that we were supposed to add the audience singing and the choir singing, I know that my redeemer lives. Like everybody wants to declare their testimony. So, like little by little, it's just come and I've made changes. Oh, cool. So that would be different because right now we're using Bible video footage. So we're trying to make it happen to use the chosen footage next year. We'll see if we can pull that off. So that's the only change I see coming for Redeemer. But the Lord probably has other things in store. I just have to listen to the spirit and wait and be willing to

Future plans for the shows

Jenny Oaks Baker 37:35

roll with whatever the spirit tells you.

Darla Brandley 37:37

Right.

Scott Brandley 37:37

So do you see these shows like being like recurring every year type of things? Or how do you see it playing out?

Jenny Oaks Baker 37:44

I think so, for sure. Like we have had a Christmas tour for the past, I guess, five years. Um, we've done 10 cities from we've done anywhere this year. We're doing non-stop. So from 10 to 20 cities over the past few years, depending on kind of the venues we're able to rent. Um, our Redeemer show every spring performs about eight to 10 performances every spring. We've been able to do it at the MTC the last couple of years just as a gift to the missionaries, which has been really special. Um, that of course is just there's no tickets, it's a private event, but we've been able to do about, you know, eight to ten shows at Redeemer. And we'll we'll do that again in spring of 2027. And then American Mosaic, we've had a lot of shows this summer for the 2050th, but we have a lot of Americana anniversaries coming up in the next 10 years. So um, and this show is timeless, it's not just an America 250 event. It we can always celebrate the different cultures and peoples in our communities, and it's it really is is a beautiful show of appreciating each other's differences and rejoicing in our in our similarities.

Scott Brandley 38:51

Love it.

Jenny Oaks Baker 38:52

Amazing.

Scott Brandley 38:52

Wow. So I just

Final thoughts

Scott Brandley 38:55

want to thank you for coming on and talking to us about some of your experiences. One of the things I love about doing this podcast, and I've done it for five years now, right? But I love just hearing people's stories, right? And the testimonies. Yeah, and testimonies, because we're all children of Family Father. We all have an incredible story of faith or trials that we've overcome in our life, things that have made us better and inspired us, and we can share those stories to inspire other people. So I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your story with us.

Jenny Oaks Baker 39:27

Well, it's it's been a joy. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Scott Brandley 39:31

So as we kind of wrap things up, if someone was listening to this podcast and wondering whether God really knows them or is listening to them, what would you say?

Jenny Oaks Baker 39:43

Well, I know that we are all children of God, and I know that he loves each of us. I know that he wants to be a part of our lives and is just waiting for us to knock and he'll open the door to us. And we may have to knock a few times if we're not able to hear him, but he's there. And I'm so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that helps us to grow closer to him so we can hear his voice and see him working miracles in our lives. And it is one of the great joys in life to grow closer to Jesus Christ and to see him working in your lives and to see feel his love and to just be able to experience the joy of trying to grow closer to him. And so if anyone's not feeling it, I think they just need to get down on their knees and plead to be able to see it because it's there. And I know that we're surrounded by miracles and we can feel God's love for us if we grow closer to him and and take away anything that might be keeping us from him, because he is there and he is there for each of us and we are his children. And I'm I'm so grateful for that knowledge. It's really paradigm shifting, it's truly empowering, and it is life-changing. And I'm I'm just so grateful for that.

Scott Brandley 40:58

Well, thanks again, Jenny, for coming

Where to find Jenny

Scott Brandley 41:00

on. It's been a total treat. Thank you. If anybody wants to go to see American Mosaic, that's playing right now, right? It is. How would they find how would they find out more information about it? How would they get tickets or more information?

Jenny Oaks Baker 41:15

So Matt Rushmore Show is free. The Zion's show is very, very inexpensive. And we also have doing Christmas in July, so our our Christmas dates are already on the website, and you can purchase your tickets now for Christmas. We'll be announcing our redeemer show dates soon as well. So the best place to go is jennyoaksbaker.com. You'll see all the show dates, and um, there's ticket links there. Um, you can also follow me on Facebook. Instagram, I guess I have a little bit of a TikTok. Um but Facebook and Instagram, I'm very, very active there. Bands in town, that's a way to follow different artists. But my website has got it all. So, and Facebook and Instagram.

Outro

Scott Brandley 41:55

Awesome. Okay, well, thanks again for coming on, and thanks everyone for tuning in to another episode of Latterday Lights. If you have a story that you'd like to share, like Jenny, go to latterdaylights.com and let us know, and we'll have you on the show. Go ahead and hit that share button so we can get Jenny's story out there so we can share her light, share her testimony with as many people as possible. So thanks again, Jenny, for coming on.

Jenny Oaks Baker 42:20

Thank you.

Scott Brandley 42:20

And thanks everyone for tuning in, and we'll talk to you next week with another episode of Latterday Lights. Till then, take care. Bye bye.