{"id":38559,"date":"2018-12-23T16:26:36","date_gmt":"2018-12-23T21:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=38559"},"modified":"2023-06-05T09:30:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T16:30:34","slug":"sing-a-christmas-carol-christmas-music-in-the-latter-day-saint-hymnbooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2018\/12\/sing-a-christmas-carol-christmas-music-in-the-latter-day-saint-hymnbooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Sing a Christmas Carol: Christmas Music in the Latter-day Saint Hymnbooks"},"content":{"rendered":"

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather today around the world for their Christmas Sunday meetings, Christmas hymns and songs will be sung and performed as an important part of those meetings. One thing that not everyone may realize, however, is that the options for that music varies around the world. As a teenager, I had a strange obsession with collecting Church materials in different languages. When I picked up a few hymnbooks, I was surprised to find that they were not only much smaller than the English hymnbook I was used to, but that there were some different hymns in them. This was most noticeable in the Christmas section, where I was able to spot a few carols that I knew but that weren\u2019t in the hymnbook as I knew it. I have been curious since then what Christmas songs have received approval from the Correlation Department to become part of the corpus of Latter-day Saint Christmas music that aren\u2019t in the English hymnbook or children\u2019s songbook. Finally, I sat down this weekend to spend a few hours browsing SingPraises.net in order to find out.<\/p>\n

My first area of interest was in the hymnbooks. Do you agree with the Living Scriptures blog that \u201cHe is Born\u201d (\u201cIl est N\u00e9, le Divin Enfant\u201d) is one of the most gorgeous Christmas hymns not in our hymnbook?[1]<\/a> It actually turns out that it is<\/em> in the Latter-day Saint hymnbook \u2026 if you speak French or Tahitian. Do you love the beautiful and iconic English carol \u201cWhat Child is This?\u201d While you won\u2019t be able find it in most of the Latter-day Saint hymnbooks in the song\u2019s homeland, you can go further east to Russia or Latvia to find it there. Do you remember the grand choral piece \u201cBreak Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light\u201d from the 1948\/1950 hymnbook? As it turns out, it\u2019s still in the Portuguese hymnal. In all, while there are only 14 Christmas hymns in the English hymnbook (not counting New Year\u2019s carols), there are 62 different Christmas hymns in Latter-day Saint hymnals around the world. Many are carols known in the regions that speak the language of the individual hymnbook, but not known widely elsewhere. For example, the Croatian hymnbook had the highest number of unique Christmas hymns at eight traditional Croatian songs. Some Christmas hymns were used repeatedly in different hymnbooks, such as \u201cLo, How a Rose E\u2019er Blooming\u201d (featured in five different languages) and \u201cFair Is Creation\u201d (found in all of the Nordic language hymnbooks). See Table 1 for a list of all the Christmas hymns I found in the current hymnbooks of the Church (I’ve included all of the tables at the bottom of the post for the sake of those reading this post on small screens).<\/p>\n

There are some implications for sacrament meetings at Christmastime here. I\u2019ve had at least bishop who was an absolute stickler about only using music found in the Church\u2019s hymnbook and children\u2019s songbook, since those are the Correlation-approved music and thus the only music he thought would allow the Spirit into our meetings. I have often wondered since how he would react if we proposed to perform \u201cSing We Now of Christmas\u201d with the ward choir, noting that it has passed Correlation in the French hymnbook. With that in mind, I also compiled a list of Christmas songs in the various editions of the children\u2019s songbook used around the world to complete the list of Correlation-approved Christmas music (see Table 2). Fewer Christmas songs were added to the songbooks here than the hymnbooks. Still, it\u2019s fun to see what Latter-day Saint children around the world have the opportunity to sing at Christmas.<\/p>\n

I was also curious about what has been included in previous hymnbooks for Christmas hymns. This was a little bit more difficult and time-consuming to do, but I looked through the list of entries in English on SingPraises.net and tried to identify all Christmas songs used in the hymnbooks and Sunday School songbooks (which can also be viewed as the ancestors of the current hymnbook). Looking at all languages for this was a little too daunting, but I was able to compile what should be (but probably isn’t) a complete list of hymns used in English over the years. The most intriguing thing of note to me was that we did have the classic Christmas songs \u201cGood Christian Men Rejoice\u201d and \u201cAngels from the Realms of Glory\u201d in our hymnbook at one point, but only for the brief period of two years (1948-1950). I was also surprised to find more Christmas pieces with words or music written by Latter-day Saints than I expected (including a different setting of \u201cJoy to the World\u201d by Thomas C. Griggs), and that it was only in the previous (1948\/1950) hymnbook that a large portion of the current Christmas songs we use today were included (see Table 3).<\/p>\n

There are, of course, more lists that could be made–past children’s songbooks and the Mutual Improvement Association (M.I.A) publications contain many Christmas songs in particular. In a way, this post will likely be a moot point a few years down the road when the new hymnbook is published. It is possible, however, that regional supplements to the core hymnbook may include Christmas music in additional to patriotic songs. Regardless, I thought that this is a fascinating glimpse into the diversity that exists in Latter-day Saint music around the globe at Christmastime.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Table 1. <\/strong>List of all Christmas hymns identified in current Latter-day Saint hymnbooks used around the world as of 2018. When English is identified as language, it is likely to appear in many (if not most) of the other languages as well. In this case, other languages were omitted to reduce the size of the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Title<\/strong><\/td>\nAuthor<\/strong><\/td>\nComposer<\/strong><\/td>\nTune Name<\/strong><\/td>\nLanguages<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Babe Is Born in Bethlehem (Puer Natus)<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nLatin hymn<\/td>\nA. P. Berggreen<\/td>\nEt barn er f\u00f8dt i Betlehem<\/td>\nDanish, Icelandic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Child Is Born<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMartin Luther; Johan Olof Wallin<\/td>\nMiddle Ages melody<\/td>\nEtt barn \u00e4r f\u00f6tt<\/td>\nSwedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Child Was Born unto Us<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nDjetes?ce nam se rodilo<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Angels We Have Heard On High<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nFrench Carol<\/td>\nFrench Carol<\/td>\nGloria<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
At This Time of Year<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nU to vrijeme godis?ta<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Away in a Manger<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMartin Luther<\/td>\nWilliam J. Kirkpatrick<\/td>\nCradle Song<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Baby Jesus in a Manger Lay<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nHans Christian Andersen<\/td>\nNiels W. Gade<\/td>\nBarn Jesus i en krybbe l\u00e5<\/td>\nDanish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Born unto Us<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nNarodi nam se<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohann Rist<\/td>\nJohann Schop<\/td>\nBrich an, o sch\u00f6nes Morgenlicht<\/td>\nPortuguese<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bright and Glorious is the Sky<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nN. F. S. Grundtvig<\/td>\nJ. G. Meidell<\/td>\nDejlig er den himmel bl\u00e5<\/td>\nDanish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carol of the Shepherds<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nCzech folk tune<\/td>\nCzech folk tune<\/td>\nNesem v\u00e1m noviny<\/td>\nCzech (also in Samoan Children’s Songbook)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Christ the Lord to Us is Born<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJan Franus<\/td>\nCzech folk tune<\/td>\nNarodil se Kristus P\u00e1n<\/td>\nCzech<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Christ Was Born Today<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nTraditional Romanian carol<\/td>\nTraditional Romanian carol<\/td>\nAst?zi S-a n?scut Hristos<\/td>\nRomanian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Christmas Has the Sound<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nN. F. S. Grundtvig<\/td>\nA. P. Berggreen<\/td>\nJulen har englelyd<\/td>\nDanish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Come, Shepherds<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nT\u00e1rk\u00e1nyi B\u00e9la<\/td>\nHungarian Christmas carol<\/td>\nP\u00e1sztorok, P\u00e1sztorok<\/td>\nHungarian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daughter of Zion, Rejoice<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohann Joachim Eschenburg<\/td>\nGeorge Frideric Handel<\/td>\nTochter Zion, freue dich<\/td>\nGerman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fair Is Creation (Beautiful Savior)<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nBernhard Severin Ingemann<\/td>\nSilesian folk song<\/td>\nSch\u00f6nster Herr Jesu<\/td>\nDanish, Finnish, Icelandic, Swedish, and Norwegian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohn Menzies Macfarlane<\/td>\nJohn Menzies Macfarlane<\/td>\nChatterley<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
From Heaven Above<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMartin Luther<\/td>\nMartin Luther<\/td>\nVom Himmel hoch<\/td>\nFinnish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Give Me No Splendour, Gold, or Pomp<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nZacharias Topelius<\/td>\nJean Sibelius<\/td>\nGiv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt<\/td>\nFinnish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Glory<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nSimon P\u00e9ter Jukundi\u00e1n<\/td>\nHungarian Christmas carol<\/td>\nDics?s\u00e9g<\/td>\nHungarian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Glory to God<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nF. A. Schultz<\/td>\nF. A. Schultz<\/td>\nEre zij God<\/td>\nDutch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
God is Born<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nFranciszek Karpin?ski<\/td>\nTraditional<\/td>\nBo?g sie? rodzi<\/td>\nPolish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
God’s Glorious Angel<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nHungarian Christmas carol<\/td>\nHungarian Christmas carol<\/td>\nMennyb?l az angyal<\/td>\nHungarian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hail, Beautiful Morning Hour<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohan Olof Wallin<\/td>\nPhilipp Nicolai<\/td>\nVar h\u00e4lsad, sk\u00f6na morgonstund<\/td>\nSwedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nCharles Wesley<\/td>\nFelix Mendelssohn<\/td>\nMendelssohn<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nFrench Carol<\/td>\nFrench Carol<\/td>\nIl est n\u00e9 le divin Enfant<\/td>\nFrench and Tahitian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heaven’s Court<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nDvorani neba<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hosanna<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nGeorg J. Vogler<\/td>\nGeorg J. Vogler<\/td>\nHosianna<\/td>\nSwedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow<\/td>\nJohn Baptiste Calkin<\/td>\nWaltham<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In the Silence of the Night<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nWs?ro?d nocnej ciszy<\/td>\nPolish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It Came upon the Midnight Clear<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nEdmund H. Sears<\/td>\nRichard S. Willis<\/td>\nCarol<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joy to the World<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nIsaac Watts, ed. William W. Phelps<\/td>\nGeorge Frideric Handel; Lowell Mason<\/td>\nAntioch<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Let All Together Praise our God (Praise God, All Christians)<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nNikolaus Herman<\/td>\nNikolaus Herman<\/td>\nLobt Gott, ihr Christen, all zugleich<\/td>\nGerman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nGerman Carol<\/td>\nGerman carol; Michael Praetorius<\/td>\nEs ist ein Ros entsprungen<\/td>\nGerman, Dutch, French, Icelandic, and Swedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Now Light One Thousand Christmas Lights<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nEmmy K\u00f6hler<\/td>\nEmmy K\u00f6hler<\/td>\nNu t\u00e4ndas tusen juleljus<\/td>\nSwedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O Jesu Sweet<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nGerman carol<\/td>\nGerman melody; arr. Johann Sebastian Bach<\/td>\nO Jesulein s\u00fc\u00df<\/td>\nDutch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O Little Town of Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nPhillips Brooks<\/td>\nLewis H. Redner<\/td>\nSt. Louis<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O Lord, Have Mercy<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nKirie eleison<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O Ye Joyful People<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohn Daniel Falk; Johann C. Heinrich Holzschuher<\/td>\nSicilian folk tune<\/td>\nO du fr\u00f6hliche<\/td>\nGerman, Italian, Swedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oh How Valuable Is Every Soul<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nN. F. S. Grundtvig<\/td>\nDanish melody<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\nIcelandic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohn F. Wade<\/td>\nJohn F. Wade<\/td>\nAdeste Fideles<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oh, Ye Shepherds<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nOj pastiri, c?udo novo<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Once in Royal David’s City<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nCecil Frances Alexander<\/td>\nHenry J. Gauntlett<\/td>\nIrby<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nFrans Mikael Franz\u00e9n<\/td>\nGerman folk tune<\/td>\nBereden v\u00e4g f\u00f6r Herran<\/td>\nSwedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rejoice, Ye Peoples!<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nRadujte se narodi<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ring, O Ye Bells<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nN. F. S. Grundtvig<\/td>\nHenrik Rung<\/td>\nKimer, I klokker<\/td>\nDanish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shepherds, He is Born<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nLiefde-vier in den Kerstnacht<\/td>\nDe gheestelijcken leeuwercker; Gerardina Debaene<\/td>\nHerders, Hij is geboren<\/td>\nDutch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shepherds, Hear Ye<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nOj pastiri, c?ujte novi glas<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silent Night<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJoseph Mohr<\/td>\nFranz Gruber<\/td>\nStille Nacht<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sing We Now of Christmas<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nFrench carol<\/td>\nFrench carol<\/td>\nNo\u00ebl nouvelet<\/td>\nFrench<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Angel Told the Shepherds<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nDies est l\u00e6titi\u00e6<\/td>\nPolish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The First Noel<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nTraditional English carol<\/td>\nTraditional English carol<\/td>\nThe First Noel<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Lights in the Peaceful Village<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJakob Sande<\/td>\nLars S\u00f8raas<\/td>\nDet lyser i stille grender<\/td>\nNorwegian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Shepherds Ran to Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nPrzybiez?eli do Betlejem<\/td>\nPolish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Today in Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nDzisiaj w Betlejem<\/td>\nPolish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
We Welcome Thee<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nParadijs der Gheestelijcke en Kerkelijcke Lofsangen<\/td>\nParadijs der Gheestelijcke en Kerkelijcke Lofsangen<\/td>\nNu zijt wellekome<\/td>\nDutch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What Child is This?<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nWilliam Chatterton Dix<\/td>\nEnglish folk song<\/td>\nGreensleeves<\/td>\nLatvian and Russian (also in Ukrainian Children’s Songbook)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What Wonderful News!<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nTraditional Romanian carol<\/td>\nTraditional Romanian carol<\/td>\nO ce veste minunat?!<\/td>\nRomanian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
When Christ Is Born<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nM. M. Mioduszewskiego<\/td>\nGdy sie? Chrystus rodzi<\/td>\nPolish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nNahum Tate<\/td>\nYorkshire carol<\/td>\nYorkshire Melody<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
With Wondering Awe<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nLaudis Corona<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Table 2. <\/strong>List of all Christmas and Advent songs identified in current Latter-day Saint children\u2019s songbooks used around the world as of 2018. When English is identified as language, it is likely to appear in many (if not most) of the other languages as well. In this case, other languages were omitted to reduce the size of the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Title<\/strong><\/td>\nAuthor<\/strong><\/td>\nComposer<\/strong><\/td>\nTune Name<\/strong><\/td>\nLanguages<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Advent<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nCarl-Bertil Agnestig<\/td>\nCarl-Bertil Agnestig<\/td>\nAdventstid<\/td>\nSwedish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Away in a Manger<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMartin Luther<\/td>\nCharles H. Gabriel<\/td>\nAway in a Manger<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carol of the Birds<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMartin Shaw<\/td>\nMartin Shaw<\/td>\nCarol of the Birds<\/td>\nFrench<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carol of the Shepherds<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nCzech folk tune<\/td>\nCzech folk tune<\/td>\nNesem va?m noviny<\/td>\nSamoan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Christmas Bells<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nA. Laurence Lyon<\/td>\nA. Laurence Lyon<\/td>\nChristmas Bells<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Have a Very Merry Christmas!<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMabel Jones Gabbott<\/td>\nMichael F. Moody<\/td>\nHave a Very Merry Christmas!<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
He Sent His Son<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMabel Jones Gabbott<\/td>\nMichael F. Moody<\/td>\nHe Sent His Son<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Little Jesus<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMarilyn Curtis White<\/td>\nMark Newell; Charlene A. Newell<\/td>\nLittle Jesus<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mary’s Lullaby<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJan Pinborough<\/td>\nGerman folk tune<\/td>\nMary’s Lullaby<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oh, Hush Thee, My Baby<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJoseph Ballantyne<\/td>\nJoseph Ballantyne<\/td>\nChristmas Cradle Song<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Once within a Lowly Stable<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nPatty S. Hill<\/td>\nMildred J. Hill<\/td>\nOnce within a Lowly Stable<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Picture a Christmas<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nPatricia Kelsey Graham<\/td>\nPatricia Kelsey Graham<\/td>\nPicture a Christmas<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rejoice, O Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nTraditional Croatian melody<\/td>\nRaduj se, o, Betleme<\/td>\nCroatian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samuel Tells of Baby Jesus<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMabel Jones Gabbott<\/td>\nGrietje Terburg Rowley<\/td>\nSamuel Tells of the Baby Jesus<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sleep, Little Jesus<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMabel Jones Gabbott<\/td>\nMichael F. Moody<\/td>\nSleep, Little Jesus<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Star Bright<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nLorin F. Wheelwright<\/td>\nLorin F. Wheelwright<\/td>\nStar Bright<\/a><\/td>\nSpanish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stars Were Gleaming<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nNancy Byrd Turner<\/td>\nPolish Carol<\/td>\nW ?lobie le?y kt?? pobie?y<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Nativity Song<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAvon Allen Compton<\/td>\nPatricia Kelsey Graham<\/td>\nThe Nativity Song<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Shepherd’s Carol (Round)<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nDaniel Carter<\/td>\nDaniel Carter<\/td>\nThe Shepherd’s Carol<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
There Was Starlight on the Hillside<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMabel Jones Gabbott<\/td>\nMichael F. Moody<\/td>\nThere Was Starlight on the Hillside<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
We Wish You a Merry Christmas<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nEnglish carol<\/td>\nEnglish carol<\/td>\nWe Wish You a Merry Christmas<\/td>\nKorean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What Child is This?<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nWilliam Chatterton Dix<\/td>\nEnglish folk song<\/td>\nGreensleeves<\/td>\nUkrainian<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
When Joseph Went to Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nBessie Saunders Spencer<\/td>\nI. Reed Payne<\/td>\nWhen Joseph Went to Bethlehem<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Where Are You Coming From, Shepherdess?<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nFrench Canadian carol<\/td>\nFrench Canadian carol<\/td>\nD\u2019o\u00f9 viens-tu, berg\u00e8re?<\/td>\nFrench<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Who is the Child?<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMabel Jones Gabbott<\/td>\nMichael F. Moody<\/td>\nWho is the Child?<\/td>\nEnglish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Table 3. <\/strong>Christmas and Advent hymns used in Anglophone Latter-day Saint hymnbooks, tunebooks, and Sunday School songbooks. The focus was on words paired with music, so the earliest hymnbook used is generally the first time that the tune was paired with the text in Latter-day Saint hymnbooks, unless no tune has been used with the text in our hymnbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Title<\/strong><\/td>\nAuthor<\/strong><\/td>\nComposer<\/strong><\/td>\nTune Name<\/strong><\/td>\nFirst Hymnbook\/Songbook<\/strong><\/td>\nMost Recent Hymnbook\/Songbook<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Glory be to God” the Angels Sang<\/td>\nEvan Stephens<\/td>\nEvan Stephens<\/td>\nGlory Be to God the Angels Sang<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 241<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 241<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Stranger Star O’er Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nOrson F. Whitney<\/td>\nEdwin F. Parry<\/td>\nA Stranger Star O’er Bethlehem<\/td>\nPrimary Songbook (1905), 34<\/td>\nDeseret Sunday School Songs (1909, 1937 ed.), 28<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Stranger Star O’er Bethlehem<\/td>\nOrson F. Whitney<\/td>\nEvan Stephens<\/td>\nA Stranger Star That Came From Far<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 335<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 335<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Angels From the Realms of Glory<\/td>\nJames Montgomery<\/td>\nHenry Smart<\/td>\nAngels from the Realms of Glory<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 5<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Angels We Have Heard On High<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nFrench Carol<\/td>\nFrench Carol<\/td>\nGloria<\/td>\nRecreational Songs (1949), 140<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), no. 203<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
At First, the Babe of Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nParley P. Pratt<\/td>\nGeorge Careless<\/td>\nVesper<\/td>\nLatter-day Saints’ Psalmody (1889), 260<\/td>\nLatter-day Saints’ Psalmody (1889, 1920 ed.), 260<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Away in a Manger<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMartin Luther<\/td>\nWilliam J. Kirkpatrick<\/td>\nCradle Song<\/td>\nHymns (1985), 206<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 206<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Away in a Manger<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nMartin Luther<\/td>\nCharles H. Gabriel<\/td>\nAway in a Manger<\/td>\nSongs of Zion (1908, 1912 ed.), 248<\/td>\nChildren’s Songbook (1989, 2005 ed.), 42<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohann Rist<\/td>\nJohann Schop<\/td>\nBrich an, o sch\u00f6nes Morgenlicht<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 234<\/td>\nHymns (1948, 1979 ed.), 239; also Hinos (1990, 2015 ed.), no. 130 (Portuguese Hymnbook)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Christ is Born, the Joyful Story<\/td>\nEvan Stephens<\/td>\nEvan Stephens<\/td>\nChrist is Born, the Joyful Story<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 347<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 347<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohn Menzies Macfarlane<\/td>\nJohn Menzies Macfarlane<\/td>\nChatterley<\/td>\nDeseret Sunday School Song Book (1891, 1894 ed.), 135<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 212<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Glory Be to God in the Highest<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nEvan Stephens<\/td>\nEvan Stephens<\/td>\nGlory Be to God in the Highest<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 359<\/td>\nHymns (1948, 1979 ed.), 359<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good Christian Men, Rejoice<\/td>\nJohn Mason Neale; Heinrich Seuse<\/td>\nFourteenth-century melody<\/td>\nIn dulci jubilo<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 52<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 52<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow<\/td>\nJohn Baptiste Calkin<\/td>\nWaltham<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 72<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 214<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It Came upon the Midnight Clear<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nEdmund H. Sears<\/td>\nRichard S. Willis<\/td>\nCarol<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 82<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 207<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joy to the World<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nIsaac Watts, ed. William W. Phelps<\/td>\nGeorge Frideric Handel; Lowell Mason<\/td>\nAntioch<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 188 (text included in 1835 hymnbook)’<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 201<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joy to the World<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nIsaac Watts, ed. William W. Phelps<\/td>\nThomas C. Griggs<\/td>\nMaggie<\/td>\nDeseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884), 49 (text included in 1835 hymnbook)<\/td>\nSongs of Zion (1908, 1925 ed.), 128<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mortals, Awake! With Angels Join<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nSamuel Medley<\/td>\nJohn Rippon<\/td>\nIncarnation<\/td>\nLatter-day Saints’ Psalmody (1889), 131 (text included in 1835 hymnbook)<\/td>\nLatter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 304<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O Little Town of Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nPhillips Brooks<\/td>\nLewis H. Redner<\/td>\nSt. Louis<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 141<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 208<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohn F. Wade<\/td>\nJohn F. Wade<\/td>\nAdeste Fideles<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 129<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 202<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Once in Royal David’s City<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nCecil Frances Alexander<\/td>\nHenry J. Gauntlett<\/td>\nIrby<\/td>\nHymns (1985), 205<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 205<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silent Night<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJoseph Mohr<\/td>\nFranz Gruber<\/td>\nStille Nacht<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 160<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 204<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The First Noel<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nTraditional English carol<\/td>\nTraditional English carol<\/td>\nThe First Noel<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 39<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 213<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Incarnation<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJoseph H. Ward<\/td>\nEbenezer Beesley<\/td>\nThe Incarnation<\/td>\nDeseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884), 88<\/td>\nDeseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884, 1888 ed.), 88<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Watchmen! Tell us of the Night<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nJohn Bowring<\/td>\nNA<\/td>\nNA<\/td>\nSacred Hymns (Nauvoo Hymnal) (1841), 242<\/td>\nSacred Hymns (Nauvoo Hymnal) (1841), 242<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
When Christ Was Born in Bethlehem<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow<\/td>\nEbenezer Beesley<\/td>\nWhen Christ Was Born in Bethlehem<\/td>\nDeseret Sunday School Songs (1909), 221<\/td>\nHymns (1948, 1979 ed.), 295<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nNahum Tate<\/td>\nYorkshire carol<\/td>\nYorkshire Melody<\/td>\nHymns (1948), 206<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 211<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
With Wondering Awe<\/a><\/u><\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nAnon.<\/td>\nLaudis Corona<\/td>\nDeseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884), 86<\/td>\nHymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 210<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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[1]<\/a> Living Scriptures, \u201c10 Gorgeous Christmas Hymns Not In the LDS Hymnbook,\u201d 30 November 2017 http:\/\/blog.livingscriptures.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/30\/10-gorgeous-christmas-hymns-not-in-the-lds-hymnbook\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The text of this post is available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather today around the world for their Christmas Sunday meetings, Christmas hymns and songs will be sung and performed as an important part of those meetings. One thing that not everyone may realize, however, is that the options for that music varies around the world. As a teenager, I had a strange obsession with collecting Church materials in different languages. When I picked up a few hymnbooks, I was surprised to find that they were not only much smaller than the English hymnbook I was used to, but that there were some different hymns in them. This was most noticeable in the Christmas section, where I was able to spot a few carols that I knew but that weren\u2019t in the hymnbook as I knew it. I have been curious since then what Christmas songs have received approval from the Correlation Department to become part of the corpus of Latter-day Saint Christmas music that aren\u2019t in the English hymnbook or children\u2019s songbook. Finally, I sat down this weekend to spend a few hours browsing SingPraises.net in order to find out. My first area of interest was in the hymnbooks. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-and-poetry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38559"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44964,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38559\/revisions\/44964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}