About Ryan

The music of J. Ryan Moody sparkles with clarity and feeling. When he began piano lessons, however, friends and family were less than enthusiastic. "Your setting him up to fail," they told Ryan's mother. "He can't play piano if he can't use the pedals." Ryan, accustomed to the challenges of spina bifida, continued to practice.

As a toddler he had enjoyed sitting at the piano in his back brace and high chair, inventing melodies. By the third grade he could play complicated movie themes by ear, preferring his own endings to the endings in his music books. When Ryan began studying the violin, his mother discovered he had perfect pitch. Sometimes she needed to motivate him to study because Ryan did not yet dream of becoming a professional musician - he dreamed of becoming a Brigham Young University quarterback. Hour after hour his elementary school friends ran out for the passes Ryan threw from his wheelchair.

Ryan's childhood was interrupted by illness and surgery. After his younger sister, Tauna, passed away, Elder Thomas S. Monson learned of Ryan's family and invited them to meet with him in Salt Lake City. Elder Monson gave Ryan a priesthood blessing, promising him gifts of health. Through many surgeries and hospitalizations, Ryan believes that the Lord has sustained him. Prior to his first spinal fusion surgery, nine-year-old Ryan spent the night in a hospital room with another patient who, terrified, sobbed most of the night. Exhausted by morning, Ryan told his parents: "I had a lot of tears last night, too. But I prayed to Heavenly Father and asked Him to help me out, and I would try and be brave." Ryan's trust in the Lord continues.

New Era magazine featured Ryan in their October 1989 cover story. The article praised Ryan's piano and organ playing and his friendly disposition. The article also mentioned that because of his wheelchair, Ryan would not be able to realize his greatest desire - to serve a full time mission for the Church. Shortly, thereafter Ryan's bishopric received a telephone call from a Florida mission president who said he would be honored to have Ryan as a missionary. Ryan spent over a year preparing to serve and learning to care for all his physical needs. He then received his call to the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.

A highlight of his mission experience was the opportunity to baptize an investigator. With a little creativity and help from the other elders, Ryan performed the ordinance. In addition to proselytizing, Ryan played his hymn arrangements in the homes of members and investigators, sharing his love for the Savior. In spite of difficulties, he remembers his mission as "one of the most wonderful learning experiences" of his life.

Ryan earned a bachelors degree in music from Brigham Young University with an emphasis in media music. He lives in American Fork, Utah, where he teaches private lesson and is pursing a career in arranging and composing.