Guest post by Mike Winder
Last Monday, “thanks, but no thanks” emails went out from “Church Music Team” to thousands of would-be-hymnwriters throughout the world. I know, because I was among the 19,000 that received mine. Sent over the signature of “Elder Matthew L. Carpenter, Quorum of the Seventy, General Authority adviser, hymnbook revision” the courteous and professional email brought to a close the dream of psalmists and musicians around the globe that pined to have their lyrical and musical creations included in the new hymnbook—a once in a generation opportunity that some of us just had to try for! The email began:
Thank you for responding to the 2018 invitation to submit original music to be considered for the new hymnbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Can you believe it has been that long? Babies blessed when we submitted our hymns are now being baptized. The word “COVID-19” had not yet entered the dictionary when submissions were made, and the value of the Dow Jones has literally doubled in that time. Why so long? Keep reading.
This letter is to inform you that your works (listed below) were not selected for inclusion in the new collection, Hymns for Home and Church.
From Distant Lands We Gather In
Our Heavenly Home
Prepare Hearts for Sanctified Bread
The Covenant Path
Yes, I submitted words for four new hymns. Were they any good? I’ll add them to the bottom of this piece, and you can be the judge. Did I expect any of them to make it in? Not really, of course, but through the mere act of submission, there was always a small chance. And with four submissions, I had quadrupled my odds! As Lloyd Christmas said in Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!” But more than a glimmer of writer immortality by having a hymn in the hymnbook, the mere process of thinking about what a new hymn could be, what ideas could be expressed, and writing a few was tons of fun. Putting praise to paper was even a worshipful experience for me, and surely for the other submitters. The rejection letter continues:
We received more than 17,000 hymn and song submissions from Church members living in 66 countries and territories. We acknowledge the faith, skill, and inspiration represented in each contribution, and we express our sincere gratitude for your generous efforts.
Surely the United States was disproportionately high, and more Canadian saints than Senegalese saints submitted, but this averages 257 submissions per country. The 17,000 is indeed an impressive number! This is as if every man, woman, and child in four stakes (or 80ish wards) submitted hymns. And with 195 sovereign countries in the world, alongside about 60 dependent territories, having submissions from 66 countries and territories underscores what a global faith we are and what a great job the Church did at engaging saints from beyond North America for this project.
The rejection letter continues, with some details about why it took eight years to get to this point and the thorough process they went through:
The task of reviewing thousands of works and selecting those that would best meet the needs of the new worldwide collection was both inspiring and difficult. As you know, this has been a multiyear endeavor, and we thank you for your patience. More than 175 skilled and faithful musicians from throughout the world helped to review the submissions. Each work was reviewed by at least four qualified reviewers who were native speakers of the language in which the work was submitted. Submissions proceeded through four rounds of review and nomination. Each work was treated as a sacred offering to the Lord.
This means, on average, each of the musician-reviewers evaluated the merits of 388 submissions in the first round alone. Bless them! It would have been fun to know how far any of my hymn submissions, or anyone else’s for that matter, made it through each of the four rounds. The letter does give some additional stats, however:
The print version of Hymns for Home and Church will be a collection of about 375 hymns and children’s songs, that originate in 17 languages. The new book will include approximately 50 of the 17,000 submitted hymns and songs. More hymns will be published in the digital version of Hymns for Home and Church, including new works submitted by Church members. Submitters whose works are being considered for inclusion have been contacted previously.
The sobering number there is that 50 songs out of 17,000 made the cut. That’s a one in 340 chance that your hymn submission was selected. To put that in perspective, your odds would have been ten times better applying for admission to Harvard this year (one in 31 were admitted this year). Your odds of winning some amount of money in the Powerball lottery (which is one in 25) are fourteen times more likely than getting your hymn submission chosen! Congrats to the elite group whose hymns made it through such a daunting gauntlet.
The email concludes with heartfelt words and encouragement to share our creations with others.
Again, we wish to express our gratitude for your participation in this historic project. We hope you will share your faith-filled work with family and friends. The testimony and conviction of your creation can bless your home, your branch or ward, and your community. We pray that the Lord will bless you in your continued service.
So, in that spirit, let me share my four submissions with you. Which one do you like the best? Were you one of the hymn submitters, too? What are your thoughts on the new hymnbook and the process they went through? Let me know in the comments!
From Distant Lands We Gather In
CMD (Common Meter Doubled) 8 6 8 6 8 6 8 6 (i.e., As Zion’s Youth in Latter-days, It Came upon the Midnight Clear, I Saw a Mighty Angel Fly)
From distant lands we gather in,
To Zion’s stakes, Christ’s fold.
United in our fight with sin,
As prophecies foretold!
Israel’s gath’ring has now begun,
From nations far and wide,
The promises for Abra’m’s seed
Fulfilled before our eyes!
Alaskan snows to Panama,
Cal’fornia to New York,
The promised gath’ring has begun,
Each land to do its part!
Canada’s pines to Mexico,
Rainforests of Brazil,
Chile and Argentina, too;
All Americas do fill.
From Sweden’s lakes to sunny Spain,
Britain to Alps renowned;
Israel’s blood is rich in the veins,
Through Europe’s cultured towns!
And God is hast’ning Africa,
From Kenya to Congo,
Nigeria and Ghana, too
There’s mission’ry work to do!
In Asian lands, God’s love doth span,
Philippines, Thailand so;
The ancient realms China, Japan
God’s servants too must go!
He remembers isles of the sea,
Samoa, Tonga, too;
Lands down under and palm treed lands,
Christ’s global church is true!
Our Heavenly Home
7 7 7 7 7 7 (i.e., For the Beauty of the Earth, God is Love, Rock of Ages)
Come together all as one,
Sing forth of our Heavenly Home,
Father, Mother, Siblings, Son
We left Heav’n to Earth to roam
Unified in what is right,
Yearning towards celestial light.
Led by mighty Father in Heav’n,
Our family’s Eternal Head–
God the Father, Elohim
Presides, hears our prayers to Him
Hoping we’ll return to He,
Head of Holy Family!
At His side Mother in Heav’n,
Glorious, helpmeet, Goddess dear.
Shares His love for Their children,
In our hearts we feel Her near.
Cheering us to make it home,
Open arms to bid welcome!
Firstborn Son, Jehovah strong,
One in purpose with our God;
Saves from sin, and all our wrongs,
Through the Atonement He wrought.
Without Christ, Heav’n’s family fails,
Through Him, all good doth prevail!
How we yearn for that embrace!
Back with Them in glory’s height.
Heav’nly Parents, brilliant place,
Familiar home, warmth, feels right.
Back with Father, Mother, Christ,
Holy Fam’ly, loving light!
Prepare Hearts for Sanctified Bread
8 7 8 7 D (i.e., In Remembrance of Thy Suffering, O My Father)
Prepare hearts for sanctified bread,
Remembrance, of Christ’s body;
Which He suffered to lay down dead,
Then brought back, triumphantly!
‘Cause of Him, we again shall live;
Physical death He conquered!
Resurrection’s joy He did give;
We witness this with this bread.
Prepare for sanctified water,
Remembrance, of thy Son’s blood;
Which shed for us, in the Garden;
Where He worked the Atonement.
‘Cause of Him, we return to Thee,
Spiritual death gone, we’re free!
Let’s accept Christ, follow Him home;
We witness this with this drink.
Now we come to Thee, dear Father,
Taking on us thy Son’s name;
Being born new with this ordinance,
As if we’re baptized once more!
May His Spirit, be one with us,
All throughout this coming week,
Until we’re back at this table,
To partake again once more.
The Covenant Path
LM (Long Meter) 8 8 8 8 (i.e., Come, Follow Me; My Redeemer Lives; I Heard the Bells)
Our Heav’nly Parents sent us forth,
To make a choice while here on earth:
Turn towards the Light, heed Darkness’ wrath?
I choose to walk the cov’nant path.
Faith, repentance began my steps,
Scripture and prayer furthered my prep;
Raised up clean from baptism’s bath,
Started me down the cov’nant path.
The Holy Ghost, my Spir’tual Sight,
Leads me on towards temples of light;
With sacred vows, pledge all I hath,
House of the Lord on the cov’nant path.
I follow Him though I am meek,
Renew cov’nants, partake each week,
Repent, correct, when times I lack,
Home to God on the cov’nant path.
For additional hymns submitted to the project, see Chad Nielsen’s Hymns and Tunes I Submitted for “Hymns—For Home and Church”. See also our landing page for information about “Hymns—for Home and Church”: The New Latter-day Saint Hymnbook.
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