LDS Freedom Forum

Has anyone else heard that the Church is working on a new hymnal? A friend of mine said a GA at their stake conference the other week announced that it will soon be released, and will only have about 200 hymns (our current one has over 300, I believe).

If true, it will be interesting to see which hymns make the cut and which ones are removed - and if any new ones are added. I hope they add "Come Thou Fount" - my favorite hymn! The last time the Church updated our hymnals was 1985, I think, so it's been quite a few years. Plus, with more members outside the U.S. now, I imagine most (all?) of the U.S.-centric patriotic type hymns will be removed - or maybe there will be different editions for various parts of the world, who knows. Should be interesting to peruse it when it is released!

Weird, just yesterday I decided my favorite is I Stand All Amazed.

Been thinking about this since 2005 when a newly called apostle gave thier first address, about timing and stuff.

EmmaLee couldn’t agree with you more. I love ‘Come thou Fount’. Hope you are right and it is added!

Time to buy up a few hymnals before they disappear...

I believe hymnals are different per country. We lived in Italy for 6 years. The hymnal in the native language wards/branches differed from the US one.

Just a thought for you here....

The hymns are important. Many people have gotten inspiration and revelation about why the doctrine is the way it is through primary and church hymns. People allow their hearts to open to God through music. So if they are working on a new hymnal...and I don't know if this is true yet...then this could be part of why and why they might be more selective about hymns.

EmmaLee wrote: ↑May 12th, 2018, 6:27 pm Plus, with more members outside the U.S. now, I imagine most (all?) of the U.S.-centric patriotic type hymns will be removed - or maybe there will be different editions for various parts of the world, who knows.

solonan wrote: ↑May 13th, 2018, 12:02 am I believe hymnals are different per country. We lived in Italy for 6 years. The hymnal in the native language wards/branches differed from the US one.

Yes, each country have already their own editions. They are often shorter, for example just 200 songs. They don't have the patriotic hymns. However, they usually have a few "local" hymns, which are not in the English edition.

If they will shorten the English edition, I wonder if that means that they are going to have the same hymns in all languages. That they would unify things that way would make sense. Now we can sing ina General Conference hymns that are not included in my hymnal.

solonan wrote: ↑May 13th, 2018, 12:02 am I believe hymnals are different per country. We lived in Italy for 6 years. The hymnal in the native language wards/branches differed from the US one.

Hymnals are different even in the same country. A previous ward met in the same building as a Spanish branch, and sometimes the Spanish hymnals would not all be collected after that branch's sacrament meeting. They were easy to identify without looking at text on the cover because they were significantly thinner.

It not by country but by language. For example the same hymnal in English is used in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and so on. This of course leads to national anthems, other the the Star Spangled Banner and God Save the Queen, being glued into the backs of the books for songs like O Canada and Advance Australia Fair.

It is also the case that from time to time you will find local additions to hymn books. Growing up our ward and branches had Eternal Father, also know as the Navy Hymn, because we lived in an area with a strong maritime tradition.

South Africa is interesting because there you find little booklets in some wards with the words to many popular hymns translated into Afrikaans. These translations were done locally and have not been formally published. I am told similar translations exist in the townships for various other Africa languages as well.

Official Church Announcements
Give Suggestions and Submit Original Music for a Revised Hymnbook and Children's Songbook

Under the direction of the First Presidency, committees have been assembled to recommend revisions to the current hymnbook and children's songbook. When the revisions are complete, there will only be one hymnbook and one children's songbook, offering the same hymns and songs in all languages. The new collections will be created over the next several years to reflect the needs of members around the world.

Visit newmusic.lds.org to learn more about this effort. You can give feedback about the current music and submit new original hymns, children's songs, and lyrics to be considered for inclusion in the revised collections.

Visit newmusic.lds.org