{"id":47560,"date":"2024-07-12T05:08:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T11:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=47560"},"modified":"2024-07-10T10:17:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T16:17:11","slug":"thoughts-on-the-first-batch-of-new-hymns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2024\/07\/thoughts-on-the-first-batch-of-new-hymns\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on the First Batch of New Hymns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I have wanted to share my thoughts on the first batch of hymns and songs released by the Church as candidates for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/notable-series\/hymns-for-home-and-church-the-new-latter-day-saint-hymnbook\/\">New Latter-day Saint Hymnbook<\/a> (and I would love to hear your thoughts as well).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>My first comment is that I\u2019m finding that it is easier to love the choices that I already know. E.g., \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/archive.timesandseasons.org\/2019\/03\/come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing-throughout-the-restoration\/\">Come, Thou Fount<\/a>\u201d and \u201cIt is Well with My Soul\u201d are the ones that seem to have seen the most use already and were probably the ones I personally was most excited about (along with \u201cGethsemane\u201d). Joey Stanley, for example, found that out of 204 wards surveyed that \u201cCome, Thou Fount\u201d has been sung in 11.70% of wards surveyed since June 2, 2024 (almost as much as the next three hymns combined), with \u201cIt is Well with My Soul\u201d in second at 4.72% and \u201cAs Bread is Broken,\u201d next at 4.53%. In contrast, \u201cWhen the Savior Comes Again\u201d (1.13%) and \u201cThink a Sacred Song\u201d (0.57%) are sitting at the bottom of the list.<a id=\"_ftnref1\" href=\"#_ftn1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> Thus, there is a tendency to favor hymns that are already known and loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"It is Well with My Soul (Hugh Bonneville Christmas Concert Narration) | The Tabernacle Choir\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ReApJymYSiw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Watch to learn more about &#8220;It is Well with My Soul.&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Christmas and Easter hymns fall in this category of known entities as well. Among the Christmas hymns, I will note \u201cStar Bright\u201d is particularly exciting as a Latter-day Saint specific Advent carol with some existing history. It was introduced in the <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/instructor9410dese\/page\/322\/mode\/2up\"><em>Instructor <\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/instructor9410dese\/page\/322\/mode\/2up\">back in October 1959<\/a>, with both English and Spanish text (Spanish translation by Eduardo Balderas). It was incorporated into the 1995 Spanish Children\u2019s Songbook as \u201cEstrella de luz.\u201d In the original article, the author and composer (Lorin Wheelwright) offered the following explanation about the song:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Almost two thousand years ago a Lamanite prophet named Samuel cried out from the walls of Zarahemla for the people to prepare for the coming of Christ. He spoke of &#8220;&#8230; a new star . . . such an one as ye never have beheld; . . .&#8221; He told those ancient peoples that &#8220;. . . whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall have everlasting life.&#8221; He described the &#8220;sign&#8221; when &#8220;great lights&#8221; in the heavens would banish darkness for a day, a night and a day. (See Helaman 14:1-8.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only a few believed Samuel. Just as in our own day, when missionaries cry out to the world, &#8220;. . . repent and prepare the way of the Lord&#8221; (Helaman 14:9), few there are who humble themselves and change their way of living. But, judging from those who are converted today, we can imagine the great change that must have come into the lives of those few ancient peoples who lived by faith. Great must have been their joy of anticipation as they looked into the heavens, awaiting the sign and hearing over and over again the words of Samuel echoing in their minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Star Bright&#8221; is a song which sings of that joy of anticipation. It can help us look with delight to the coming of Christmas. For us who are tied closely by tradition to the European music of Christmas, the rhythm of this melody might transport our hearts from the old world to the new. In an easy, flowing tempo, the long tones suggest long nights of looking upward. They remind us that in these latter days, we, too, live in anticipation. Those of us who really believe, continually search our own hearts and the heavens for a sign of that great day when Christ will again return to the earth and in all His glory rescue mankind from the evil of transgression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This song tells us to search the heavens. It says to find a bright star and let it symbolize the light of conscience \u2014 ever shining, ever reaching across the eons of time, ever telling us that in this vast universe we are not alone.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" id=\"_ftnref2\"><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>This fun Advent carol will now enter the global corpus of hymns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, I am grateful for more sacrament hymns. As I\u2019ve discussed before, the sacrament hymns are among the hymns that see the heaviest use as a consistent portion of sacrament meetings and there is less variety than there could be. I felt like the music for \u201cAs Bread is Broken\u201d is very much in the style of many of the sacrament hymns that are in our current hymnbook, so will be right at home, while \u201cGethsemane\u201d is hauntingly beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along those lines, I am particularly excited to see more focus on Gethsemane as part of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, since inclusion in hymns has lagged behind emphasis on Gethsemane in our teachings by several decades.<sup><a href=\"#_ftn7\">[7]<\/a><\/sup> And that idea not only makes an appearance in \u201cGethsemane,\u201d but also in \u201cAs Bread is Broken,\u201d (\u201cWe drink the water in memory \/ Of blood Thou spilt in Gethsemane.\u201d) and in \u201cBread of Life, Living Water\u201d (\u201cIn the Garden, Jesus suffered \/ Ev\u2019ry sin and ev\u2019ry woe\u2014 \/ Bleeding drops from ev\u2019ry pore, \/ That we might forgiveness know.\u201d). This aligns well with statements like the following from President Joseph Fielding Smith that emphasize Gethsemane:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The driving of the nails into his hands and into the Savior\u2019s feet was the least part of his suffering. We get into the habit, I think, of feeling, or thinking that his great suffering was being nailed to the cross and left to hang there. Well, that was a period in the world\u2019s history when thousands of men suffered that way. So his suffering, so far as that is concerned, was not any more than the suffering of other men who have been so crucified. What, then, was his great suffering? I wish we could impress this fact upon the minds of every member of this Church: His great suffering occurred before he ever went to the cross. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane, so the scriptures tell us, that blood oozed from every pore of his body; and in the extreme agony of his soul, he cried to his Father. It was not the nails driven into his hands and feet. Now do not ask me how that was done because I do not know. Nobody knows. All we know is that in some way he took upon himself that extreme penalty. He took upon him our transgressions, and paid a price, a price of torment.<a href=\"#_ftn3\" id=\"_ftnref3\"><sup>[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Up till now, the emphasis on Gethsemane has been virtually absent from our hymnal, so it&#8217;s a notable change that we\u2019re seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>The one that I wasn\u2019t familiar with that has grown on me the most is \u201cHis Eye Is on the Sparrow.\u201d I know a lot of people who were speculating about it being included after the Tabernacle Choir performed it at the General Conference this April, so kudos to those who picked up on that. I love the message of the hymn as well as its origin story. As Brooke Hirst explained in a recent <em>Church News <\/em>podcast:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>It was written by an author, her name is Civilla D. Martin: \u201cEarly in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship [with] a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle \u2014 true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh 20 years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheelchair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle\u2019s response was simple: \u2018His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.\u2019\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn4\" id=\"_ftnref4\"><sup>[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That statement inspired Martin to write the hymn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>The ones that I\u2019m still working on liking are &#8220;When the Savior Comes Again&#8221;, &#8220;I Will Walk With Jesus&#8221;, and &#8220;Think a Sacred Song&#8221;. These ones just haven\u2019t jumped out at me. In the <em>Church News <\/em>podcast, though, Brooke Hirst shared an interesting story about \u201cWhen the Savior Comes Again\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I\u2019ll share a little inside story, a little bit about this one. When the new submissions got to the final round, which is hymnbook and songbook committee looking through them, of course all hymnbook and songbook committee members approach their task very prayerfully \u2014 even, I know, many of them fast before they do their work associated with the hymnbook and songbook committee. They were reviewing the first packet of children\u2019s songs, and afterward, as they were meeting, many of them said, \u201cThere\u2019s one song I feel should be in this,\u201d and another would say, \u201cOh, me too. There was one that I\u2019m really pretty sure should be part of the collection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that was a theme that we heard. And this was the song: \u201cWhen the Savior Comes Again.\u201d Independently, people had reviewed it, and they all felt that this was a needed message. And I love it. It\u2019s a beautiful children\u2019s song about when the Savior comes again. And I think in this new hymnbook for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where a purpose of our Church is to help prepare the world for when the Savior comes again. I love this song and its message.<a href=\"#_ftn5\" id=\"_ftnref5\"><sup>[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That being said, one disappointment I had was with the song, \u201cI Will Walk With Jesus.\u201d It fails to deliver on the promise to use more inclusive language with its statement that \u201cJesus walked in wisdom \/ Jesus grew in truth, \/ Showing love to God and <em>man <\/em>while in His youth.\u201d I\u2019m pretty sure that Jesus interacted with more than just men during his youth (we know his mother was involved at least), so it\u2019s disappointing to see that type of historical erasure among the first batch of hymns that they released. They could have easily swapped it out for something more gender-neutral (like \u201cfolk\u201d or \u201cus\u201d). This goes against the type of inclusivity that President Susan H. Porter outlined in the recent podcast interview at <em>Church News<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>When we receive our new hymnbooks, one thing members of the Church will notice is in existing hymns, perhaps there might be a few words that have been changed. And so that\u2019s another thing that\u2019s gone on behind the scenes, and it\u2019s been so carefully done, is the lyrics of every existing hymn that will stay in the hymnbook has been reviewed, for a couple of reasons. Perhaps the song was written in the 1600s or 1700s and word meanings have changed. Perhaps the language is not as inclusive as we would desire. And so I think Church members will also rejoice in some of their favorite hymns where there might be a few words, a few phrases changed to invite joyful singing as a global, unified Church.<a href=\"#_ftn6\" id=\"_ftnref6\"><sup>[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I love that vision of inclusivity and unification across the global Church, so it\u2019s frustrating to see that they are violating that idea already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, though, I am excited about the new hymns that have been released so far and look forward to using them with my ward choir and in Church meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are your thoughts and reactions to the new hymns?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" id=\"_ftn1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> Joey Stanley, \u201cThe First Batch of New Hymns!\u201d, <em>LDS Hymns Stats<\/em>, June 25, 2024, updated July 3, 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/hymnstats.joeystanley.com\/posts\/new_hymns_batch1\/\">https:\/\/hymnstats.joeystanley.com\/posts\/new_hymns_batch1\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" id=\"_ftn2\"><sup>[2]<\/sup><\/a> Lorin F. Wheelwright, \u201cStar Bright (Estrella de luz),\u201d <em>Instructor<\/em> Vol. 94, No. 10 (October 1959):<em> <\/em>322\u2013323, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/instructor9410dese\/page\/322\/mode\/2up\">https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/instructor9410dese\/page\/322\/mode\/2up<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" id=\"_ftn3\"><sup>[3]<\/sup><\/a> <em>Seek Ye Earnestly<\/em>, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (1970), 118\u201320. See also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/manual\/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-joseph-fielding-smith\/chapter-3-the-plan-of-salvation?lang=eng\"><em>Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith <\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofjesuschrist.org\/study\/manual\/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-joseph-fielding-smith\/chapter-3-the-plan-of-salvation?lang=eng\">(Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2013), 63<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" id=\"_ftn4\"><sup>[4]<\/sup><\/a> Ryan Jensen, \u201cEpisode 190: As Church releases 13 new hymns, leaders discuss ongoing hymnbook project and sacred music,\u201d <em>Church News<\/em>, May 30, 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechurchnews.com\/podcast\/2024\/05\/30\/church-news-podcast-new-lds-hymnbook-songs-elder-morrison-president-porter\/\">https:\/\/www.thechurchnews.com\/podcast\/2024\/05\/30\/church-news-podcast-new-lds-hymnbook-songs-elder-morrison-president-porter\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" id=\"_ftn5\"><sup>[5]<\/sup><\/a> Ryan Jensen, \u201cEpisode 190: As Church releases 13 new hymns, leaders discuss ongoing hymnbook project and sacred music,\u201d <em>Church News<\/em>, May 30, 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechurchnews.com\/podcast\/2024\/05\/30\/church-news-podcast-new-lds-hymnbook-songs-elder-morrison-president-porter\/\">https:\/\/www.thechurchnews.com\/podcast\/2024\/05\/30\/church-news-podcast-new-lds-hymnbook-songs-elder-morrison-president-porter\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_ftn6\" href=\"#_ftnref6\"><sup>[6]<\/sup><\/a> Ryan Jensen, \u201cEpisode 190: As Church releases 13 new hymns, leaders discuss ongoing hymnbook project and sacred music,\u201d <em>Church News<\/em>, May 30, 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechurchnews.com\/podcast\/2024\/05\/30\/church-news-podcast-new-lds-hymnbook-songs-elder-morrison-president-porter\/\">https:\/\/www.thechurchnews.com\/podcast\/2024\/05\/30\/church-news-podcast-new-lds-hymnbook-songs-elder-morrison-president-porter\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"-_ftn7\"><a href=\"#_ftnref7\"><sup>[7]<\/sup><\/a> See, for example, John Hilton III and Joshua P. Barringer, &#8220;The Use of Gethsemane by Church Leaders, 1859\u20132018&#8221; (2019).\u00a0<em>Faculty Publications<\/em>. 3671. <a href=\"https:\/\/scholarsarchive.byu.edu\/facpub\/3671\">https:\/\/scholarsarchive.byu.edu\/facpub\/3671<\/a>. John Hilton III, \u201cJoseph Smith, Gethsemane, and the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ,\u201d in <em>How and What You Worship: Christology and Praxis in the Revelations of Joseph Smith<\/em>, ed. Rachel Cope, Carter Charles, and Jordan T. Watkins (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 303-30, <a href=\"https:\/\/rsc.byu.edu\/how-what-you-worship\/joseph-smith-gethsemane-crucifixion-jesus-christ\">https:\/\/rsc.byu.edu\/how-what-you-worship\/joseph-smith-gethsemane-crucifixion-jesus-christ<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have wanted to share my thoughts on the first batch of hymns and songs released by the Church as candidates for the New Latter-day Saint Hymnbook (and I would love to hear your thoughts as well).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2909],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hymns"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47560","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=47560"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47568,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47560\/revisions\/47568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}