Thoughts on the Second Wave of New Hymns

The Church recently released a new batch of hymns for the new Latter-day Saint hymnbook. I feel like some of my predictions are paying off with the new round of hymns. Back in 2018, I called it that “This is the Christ,” “Come, Lord Jesus, Come,” and “Amazing Grace,” would likely be added. (I could say the same for “Come, Thou Fount” with the last round, but that one was beyond obvious.) But, beyond those, there are some very excellent inclusions that I am excited about. Let’s go through each of the new hymns and I’ll share some thoughts and information (including some from the official press release):

• 1010. Amazing Grace
  • This was probably the most highly anticipated hymn of this group. It was included in the 1841 Nauvoo hymnal, but has not been included since. I have heard many individuals express a desire to include “Amazing Grace” in the hymnbook over the years, and in early 2024, Ray Robinson said that the committee was planning on including “Come, Thou Fount” and “Amazing Grace” and expecting that they would be universal favorites. I’ll admit that I’m not overly excited about this one myself, but I am happy for those who have wanted it to be included over the years.

• 1011. Holding Hands Around the World
  • This is an original Latter-day Saint children’s song by Janice Kapp Perry that was published multiple times in the “Friend” magazine. I didn’t recognize it, but my wife and some friends have said that it was a big part of their Primary program experiences growing up. Although I am not fond of militaristic imagery in hymns, I appreciate the message of global unity.
• 1012. Anytime, Anywhere
  • This one is new, short and sweet. I like it as a children’s song.
• 1013. God’s Gracious Love
  • I didn’t know this one before the release of this batch, but it has quickly become a favorite of mine. It is a 19th-century Swedish hymn that was in the church’s Swedish hymnal and has now migrated to the Church’s universal hymnody.
  • A humorous side note with this one is that I’ve heard that a lot of folks with ties to Germany have commented that it reminds them of a folk-pop song. Rolf Zuckowski wrote a children’s song about “It’s so good that the Sun exists” (“Wie gut dass es die Sonne gibt”) that likely borrowed from the Swedish hymn’s melody. But, as Jonathan Green explained to me, Zuckowski “basically provided the soundtrack for German childhood for 30-40 years straight, starting around 1980, and everyone knows his songs,” so folks who grew up in Germany are more likely to know his work than the hymn.

• 1014. My Shepherd Will Supply My Need
  • This might be the one I was most excited to see, partly because I hadn’t anticipated its inclusion. I have loved this one since I performed Mack Wilberg’s arrangement in a choir when I was a teenager. (And yes, I do plan on having my ward choir sing that arrangement in the next couple months.) The beautiful early American hymn tune combined with a Psalm 23 text created by Godfather of English Hymnody is beautiful and moving. I also loved that they kept it as 4-part harmony, which seems to be on the decline in the new hymn music. 

• 1015. Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus
  • This was a 19th-century English hymn with a new musical setting. It’s exciting to see a hymn tune that seems to have been written for the submissions to the hymnal.
• 1016. Behold the Wounds in Jesus’ Hands
  • This one was submitted in 1998 for the annual Church Music Submission and published in the April 2009 Ensign. It may be familiar to some, since it was performed by a combined choir from Brigham Young University in the October 2021 general conference.

• 1017. This Is the Christ
  • This hymn combined the talents of a member of the First Presidency (James E. Faust), established hymn writer Jan Underwood Pinborough, and the chairman of the committee that created the 1985 hymnal (Michael Finlinson Moody). It rose to fame in the Church with its use in The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd and has been recorded by artists like the Tabernacle Choir and Marshall McDonald. I love this one and was excited to see it included.

• 1018. Come, Lord Jesus
  • This was a main theme in David Zabriskie’s Savior of the World musical that is performed on Temple Square each year around Christmas. It has previously been published in Church magazines. This was another one that I had hoped would be included. I am particularly excited to have it added as an Advent hymn. 

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As far as some general notes, I feel like we’re still not moving beyond Utah and the United States to a global and inclusive Church yet in the sense of content origin. “God’s Gracious Love” is the major exception in this group, since it comes from Sweden. Otherwise, however, the hymns and songs are either traditional American hymns or more recent compositions by Utahns. As far as inclusive language, they did pretty well, similar to the first batch of new hymns. The main failing in this group is in “This is the Christ,” which refers to Jesus as “Redeemer of mankind.” I recognize that mankind can be interpreted as the totality of humanity, but it can also mean men, as distinguished from women. There are more inclusive terms that could be used instead.

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What are we still likely to see in upcoming waves? My short list, based on previous observations, would be the following:

Christmas:

•  “Christmas Comes Anew”
• “Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming”
• “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
• “Go, Tell It on the Mountain”

Latter-day Saint Hymns:

• “Placentero nos es trabajar” (“How Pleasant to Work with the Lord”)
• “Faith in Every Footstep”
• “What is This Thing that Man Calls Death?”

Primary Songs:

• “If the Savior Stood Beside Me”
• “Scripture Power”

Traditional Christian Hymns and Songs:

• “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
• “This Little Light of Mine”
• “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit”
• “I’m Gonna Live So God Can Use Me”
• “Poor Wayfarin’ Stranger”
• “Take Time to Be Holy”