Nefi Hernández

Nefi Alejandro Hernández Muñoz was born in Querétaro, México. His professional name is Nefi Hernández. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He says, “I was born of goodly parents, just like the prophet Nephi says, (1 Nephi 1:1) and it’s a big honor to hold up that name in this life.” Throughout his young life, he has always known about and believed in God, having been taught by his parents and church leaders to have faith in Him and seek what is good.

His father taught him how to play some songs on a keyboard when he was a young boy. Two songs that he loved to play were “Heart and Soul” piano duet by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser, and “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx.

Nefi’s family has always played an important role in his life. They support him in all of his plans, ideas, doubts, sadness, happiness, achievements, and failures. He says, “With the help of Lord, we’ve always kept moving forward.” He grew up attending church regularly, and as a youth in primary, he loved to sing the hymns and songs in the children’s songbook. He admits that he was not the best singer at six years of age, but singing always reminded him that he is a child of God, and that lifted his spirits when needed.

When he was 6-years-old, he was in an accident and broke his elbow which put him in the hospital for a few days. During that experience, he felt the love of the members of his ward from church, family, friends, and church leaders as never before, as he never thought that they would be so interested in his health and well-being. His parents never left him by himself while in the hospital. In fact, his father slept under his bed during his hospital stay. He remarks, “I could feel how God loved me and made me recover my health and restore my arm, by the blessing of the good intervention of the medical staff and the prayers and fasting of the people who stood beside me, as I knew the Savior was always there.” He further commented, “I made covenants with the Lord at the age of 8, but even that time I hadn’t felt by myself all the Love that God was preparing to show me, even my testimony wasn’t all of my own and not strong enough…”

When he was singing in the primary choir at Church, he loved going to church for choir practice and learned the primary songs after practicing them a few times. He also loved to sing 2nd vocals.

At the age of 11, he wanted to play the drums. He asked his father for a drum set so that he could practice at home. However, drum sets were expensive, so he played using homemade drum sticks with boxes and cans as his drums. It was not the best quality as far as sound, but he always imagined that it was a real drum set. When he was 12-years-old, he wrote his first song now called “Someone You Can’t Believe” for a girl at his school.

Although he always wanted to learn to play the drums, his father surprised him with a gift of a classical guitar. “I just thought, ‘what I should do with this?’” He started learning how to play the guitar after his friends taught him a few songs and chords. He continued to hone his skills by what he learned on the internet, in books, and video tutorials. For the next years, he started writing songs, learning techniques and got inspiration from various artists.

His genre of music includes pop, ballad, indie rock, romantic, and instrumentals. Some of the artists who have influenced him musically include Camila, Reik, Aleks Syntek, Zoé, and Secondhand Serenade. His songs talk about what love is and how great it feels, as well as how it hurts when love fails or is not the best. He also writes about life and beauty and inspirations from nature. Since 2012, he has started writing songs about his feelings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His first song called “Start Again” expresses how he knew that he needed to change many things in his life. He says, “I’ve always tried to do my best, but sometimes I got to understand in ways I didn’t expect, and sometimes I doubted of what I had learned about, and the plan God had for me.” He wrote the song after he attended his first Especially For Youth (EFY) in México at the age of 14 after gaining a personal testimony and feeling the Savior’s love in an extraordinary way. He testifies that he knows that God loves him, the Book of Mormon is true, the Bible is the Word of God, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true all over the earth.

A song called “Never Be the Same” sung by Erik Michels and written by Tyler Castleton from the 2012 Arise and Shine Forth album made him feel stronger than ever before. It was the first EFY song that he learned by hearing it played on the piano, and it encouraged him to become more involved with music. Since then, his love for music from EFY and other inspirational songs from Mormon artists has grown, and he has learned many songs over the years that have had special meaning in his life. He says, “For I knew the power of music which changed my life, and I wanted to do the same when singing or playing the piano or the guitar. So, I continued composing songs of the deepest feelings from my heart.”

His favorite scripture is found in Doctrina y Convenios 88:68 (Doctrine and Covenants 88:68) which gives us the great promise that if we sanctify ourselves and trust in the Lord, we shall see Him in His own time. Nefi says, “that promise lifts me and encourages me to do my best until the day I could see God again.” The verse reads:

“Por tanto, santificaos para que vuestras mentes se enfoquen únicamente en Dios, y vendrán los días en que lo veréis, porque os descubrirá su faz; y será en su propio tiempo y a su propia manera, y de acuerdo con su propia voluntad.”

Translation: “Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.”

Since 2012, Nefi has participated in many shows and musical programs as a member of the Young Men and Women Stake Choir. The choir performed the “For the Strength of Youth” musical by Janice Kapp Perry and Joy Saunders Laundberg. The songs from the musical help youth to remember the standards that will help them to keep the covenants made with God, and to be a light unto the world – to make a difference in the world – to make a change. He has also had the opportunity to sing several songs as a solo including “Never A Better Hero” by Kenneth Cope. And, he participated in shows and competitions while still in high school for composition and performance, singing some of his original music, always winning a good place between the 3rd first places.

He also participated in youth conferences – For Spanish Youth (FSY) – in variety shows, playing the mutual theme songs. He sang “Stand” from mutual 2013, “Come Unto Christ” from mutual 2014, “Embark” from mutual 2015, and other EFY and Mutual songs. He sang the songs as part of the devotionals and lessons taught over a five day period. He sang the songs for the youth and the FSY leaders, one of whom is his best friend in music and the church, Isaac Salgado, who has always supported him and helped him to improve his God-given talents and gifts. Both Isaac and Nefi love EFY music and every year they anxiously await the release of new EFY music. Both have recorded covers, as well as, performed LDS music with other young musicians and singers from their stake and region.

Nefi had the opportunity to record the Mutual Theme 2016 Album in Spanish. He sings  2nd vocals in 4 songs on the album. He recorded “You Already Know it” (Tú Ya Lo Sabes) at the musical event ” Nuestro Canto es Ahora” celebrated in Mexico City at the old Missionary Training Center (MTC). At the Mexico City Temple, he met marvelous young men and women whose strong testimonies taught him that the greatest friends are those who are all standing in holy places and have the same goals and perspectives about eternal life. He also met great musicians and benefited from the counsel of leaders. Men from the Publishing Department Services also gave assistance, and they also received assistance from the great Mormon songwriter and singer, Nik Day, who went to Mexico and taught the youth techniques of composing and structuring a song with spiritual messages. Nefi comments, “So, it was my first group CD recording, for the Church, and it was great as I helped in the work of God through the music, and these songs have crossed the world in a very short time, especially in Spanish-Speaking countries.”

Nefi Hernández also participated in the recording of the Mutual 2017 album for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the song “I Hear His Voice,” which he recorded with Nik Day before leaving on his mission. Also, in various events and devotionals for young singers and friends, he and Nik helped talented young men and women to not only compose original songs, but also to have the opportunity to perform their music.

Nefi recently returned home after serving a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Serving a mission was something that he has always wanted to do since he was a young boy. He said that he wanted “to share the testimony that I have of the restored truth in these latter-days – the things that I have seen in my life, and invite others to come unto Christ and receive the gospel in their lives, and to change them also.”

He has finished recording his first album called “El Tiempo Es Perfecto,” which is available for pre-order on Apple iTunes, and will be available on all platforms on 15 October 2018. The album includes songs about his personal feelings about love and life, as well as songs about his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and his personal relationship with God.

Now that he is home from his mission, he has plans to continue his college studies, release new music, and collaborate with other talented artists in Mexico, and also artists outside his country if possible. He wants to compose Spanish music in Mexico that “uplifts the soul of people because of the sense we all have as children of God to the spiritual things and they can help others to change and testify of God and to follow the Lord.”

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