This is a history of the Mormon faith and people as they use the art of music to define and re-define their religious identity.

Music has flourished in the Mormon church since its beginning. Michael Hicks examines the direction that music's growth has taken since 1830. He looks closely at topics including the denomination's first official hymnals; the views of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young on singing; the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; and the changing attitudes of church officialdom and laity toward popular and non-Western music styles.