“Between Me and the Lord”

Why is it that, whenever David is being interviewed or featured in a Utah article, his faith has to be mentioned?  One of the things that have made David very endearing to me as a public figure is not that he’s devout but that he doesn’t need to talk about how devout he is.  

Which he usually doesn’t until somebody else brings it up.

Now, in a recent article  about his upcoming Christmas concert at Abravenel Hall in Salt Lake City later this week, why did the reporter think we need to know if David is going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?  That’s pretty personal, almost as personal as asking if he’s got a girlfriend or if he’s gay.  So, of course my respect for David knows no bounds as it continues to grow exponentially when he offers this rebuttal:

“That’s a personal decision between me and the Lord,” he said. “I want to do what the Lord wants me to do.”

Translation: “It’s none of your business what I choose to do in my church! Back off!” (But our dear David would never be so rude.)

I know, for some Archies, it might be unbearable to think of David disappearing for 2 years on a “mission” somewhere in the world, but if that’s what our beloved feels needs to happen in his life, he’ll do what’s right.  And we, as his devoted fans, just need to have his back and show him all the love when he re-enters the pop music world older, wiser, bigger, and better.  

Will such a hiatus mean suspension of our many fan sites and blogs?  Maybe.  Or maybe not.  A deliciously packed second album would mean spawning at least 4 or 5 solid hits – with accompanying music videos – to keep the masses happy while David goes out and takes care of his personally-motivated faith issues.  If pop media fed us enough David music and articles and interviews and music videos, we wouldn’t be so starved for “David news.”  

I say, let David do his mission thing while his label and management keep his music in rotation in his absentia.  That’s not hard to do, even in a 2-year stretch.  However, one little hit song – a la “Crush” – will not sustain his M.I.A. status.  

Either way, it’s still none of our business what David chooses to do or not do concerning his faith, and I really don’t appreciate “local” news coverage thinking they have a right to pry into his life in this manner.

Just as we’ve all adjusted our ODD Twitter fixation by accepting that David will not tweet on Sunday, most likely due to his keeping the Sabbath, eventually we need to accept whatever hiatus is forthcoming, if it’s related to his faith.  I don’t think a musical hiatus is out of the ordinary anyway.  And he just might need to rejuvenate himself, get some distance from family and from Utah, and come back with a fresh mind and a sense of where he wants his career to go.  Maybe something like this will even give him the courage to change management and take charge of his own image.

I don’t fear that David will come back “proselytizing.”  The closest he ever came to this was in his liner notes for Christmas from the Heart, and even then, he was less “I’m so proud to be Mormon! Join my church!” and more “I’m letting you in on my spiritual influences and hope that this music touches you on that level too, whatever your faith may be.”  He’s too polite to proselytize anyway.

Except there are others who want to proselytize on David’s behalf – whether it’s Jeff randomly telling news reporters “how Mormons party” (he totally lost me with this statement way back in January, especially upon learning that this is the crap he’s telling reporters while he was cheating on his wife and getting arrested) or other fellow LDSers “counting David’s character.”  

Last time I checked, David could speak for himself on issues of faith, and for the most part, he chooses not to.  He just lets the Spirit guiding the Voice do the work. And, as far as I’m concerned, that should be enough.