How a classical pianist went viral as the ‘Rapping Missionary’

经过 Abby Larkins

***Don’t miss the Rapping Missionary performing at Temple Hill this Saturday, June 21st at 6:30 PM.***

Elder Logan Castleton lived his dream of being a full-time, proselytizing missionary in Chicago, Illinois, for just a few days. He was born with half a heart, and it became unstable again a week into his mission, resulting in him being sent back home and put on supplemental oxygen. Soon after, he became a service missionary, then a few months later underwent surgery.

After the operation, Elder Castleton had to cancel most of his service assignments to avoid overexertion and protect his heart. Wondering what to do next, he received a strong impression from God asking him, “How can you use your music in a different way?”

“I’ve grown up with 音乐, and I love it,” explains Elder Castleton, an accomplished classical pianist. “I turned to it a lot, especially with my [heart] condition.”

He began thinking about how he could use his musical abilities to spread the gospel and landed on the idea of serving as a “rapping missionary.”

Becoming the Rapping Missionary

Once mission leaders gave Elder Castleton approval to pursue his idea, he started composing music, uploading his rap songs to streaming services, and posting clips to Instagram. Over the last year and a half, his Instagram account has gained 11.9k followers and been viewed by over 15 million people. His songs were first inspired by weekly Come, Follow Me readings and now cover a range of gospel topics, from revelation to God’s love.

Though he plans to stop posting as the Rapping Missionary after his mission, it’s become clear to Elder Castleton that Heavenly Father has been preparing him to serve in this way at this time.

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