Entertaiment

“I feel a strong impression that you should write one hundred new hymns,” my husband announced out of the blue as we were driving home to Provo after presenting a program in Rexsburg, Idaho one day. I had been relaxing with my seat reclined, but I sat up quickly, incredulous at what he had just said.

“ONE HUNDRED HYMNS?! Why so many? Why not try writing one hymn first-they’re not easy, you know!”

“I’m just telling you my impression-take it or leave it.”

I settled back, slightly annoyed at the magnitude of his proposal, and feeling he had definitely gone a little too far this time. For many years he had been the one encouraging me, prodding me, gently pushing me beyond my comfort zone, and helping me to believe I could write music. But one hundred hymns? Not possible. And who would sing them anyway-we only sing from the hymnbook in church. I dismissed the idea almost completely. Almost. But two providential events in my life piqued my interest in hymn writing.

We were preparing to leave for Israel with a BYU tour group led by retired professor of ancient scripture, Rodney

Turner, who was also our ward bishop. A week before we were to leave, he came to our home with a new hymn text he had written for the trip, and asked if I would be willing to write the musical setting for it. As I read the text a lump came to my throat, for it was one of the most significant hymn texts I had ever read.

Three weeks later we sat with our tour group on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee , listening to Rodney Turner’s inspired lecture. At the conclusion I played my taped recording of the music and taught the hymn to the group. In that setting, singing this touching hymn with friends, something stirred in me regarding the idea of writing hymns.

The second significant experience happened one night after a rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. A friend in the choir, John Pearson, was passing out copies of his latest poem to a few friends and I asked if I might have a copy. I found it to be a lovely children’s song which I set to music. Others of his poems followed, including a perfectly-metered and powerful hymn text entitled Behold the Wounds in Jesus’ Hands. I don’t know that a more meaningful hymn text has ever been written. Suddenly, writing one hundred hymns became more appealing to me as I realized that I could rely on other more seasoned writers to provide the texts.

Through the following years I studied hymn writing at times and began looking for other texts I might use.

I received several other texts from Rodney Turner and John V. Pearson and found great joy in setting them to music.

Their words were also my testimony, and I loved singing them over and over as I wrote the music. I didn’t know what would happen with the hymns, if anything. I only knew that it was important that I write them. I felt they

would somehow be an important part of my legacy, to my family and to the church.

To this point in my life I had only vaguely considered the idea of writing a hymn text myself. I had made a couple of half-hearted attempts only to realize that it probably wasn’t possible to just sit down and write an inspired hymn unless one’s heart had been stirred by some particular event, or trial, or epiphany in their life. Then such an experience happened to me very early one morning on the grounds of the Portland temple.

Doug and I were in Portland on a speaking trip and were housed in a motel very near the Portland temple. I awakened early on that Sunday morning and quietly slipped on my walking shoes and clothing and walked through the beautiful woods leading to the temple. I was completely alone on the temple grounds. The beauty was surreal as the early morning sun shone on thousands of dew-covered tulips. The depth of my feelings caught me unaware as I circled the temple and saw scene after scene of nature’s beauties that were beyond my ability to describe. I found a quiet place to sit and ponder the magnificence of the temple and all that transpires there. Words came into my mind

as strongly as I have ever felt them: “Lord, as I look upon thy holy house, I know I stand on hallowed ground. . . ”

I had no pencil or paper and I prayed I would remember the words that were coming to me so quickly. When I knew my memory could hold no more words, I reluctantly left and returned to the motel where I could write them down.

The music seemed to come with the words and I sang that first verse a cappella as part of a sacrament meeting talk

I gave later that morning. Verses 2 and 3 were written later as I remembered that glorious experience.

Meeting Elder Neal A. Maxwell

On the day after he had been diagnosed with leukemia, my husband and I happened to be in the office of Elder Neal A. Maxwell. As he met with us, he told us of this diagnosis and expressed words of great faith and courage regarding the trial that was surely ahead, including his willingness to submit to the Lord’s will in this matter. We were comforted by his courage but also stunned as we contemplated the possibility of a world without Elder Maxwell! Later in our conversation I had an impression to ask if he would be willing to write a hymn text so that some of his words could be set to music. He was reticent because it was something he had not done before. With encouragement he finally said he would be willing to try if I would tutor him. Tutor Elder Maxwell! I could not even contemplate the idea. Finally he acquiesced, saying, “I guess it is true that the words of Bruce’s [McConkie] hymn, I Believe in Christ, will be remembered by the people more than his other writings!” With a little coaxing through the following months he composed this significant hymn text and allowed me to set it to music:

When the Holy Spirit Speaks (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, 1997)

Finding a Place for the Hymns

My collection of hymns was growing, as was my enthusiasm for the project. I approached a publisher about the possibility of printing a small booklet of new hymns but he declined saying, “Hymns don’t sell.” The new hymn texts had inspired me so much, I felt that others would enjoy them too. The following words from Elder Boyd K. Packer emboldened me to persevere with the project:

Our family decided together to print a booklet of new hymns, sell it for a very low price and hope we would recover enough money to print a second volume someday. We knew that only official hymns could be sung by the congregation in sacrament meeting, so we decided to call our project Inspirational New Hymns for Choir and Home. We published our first volume of thirty-one hymns in 2000. We were on our way to the goal of one hundred hymns.

A Hymn for the Tabernacle Choir

The thought of my singing with the Tabernacle Choir had never once crossed my mind until later in life when, in a moment of absurd bravery I decided to audition for that privilege. Somehow the stars were aligned in my favor and

I received a call to be part of that magnificent group. I was in awe of the experience from day one and the feeling never really left me during the five and one-half years I sang with them. Words fail me if ever I try to describe the experience. By my sixtieth birthday, the age when all members must retire, I had sung on 290 weekly broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word, had sung at the funerals of two prophets, had been part of many exciting concerts in the SLC Tabernacle, and many exhilarating tours in the United States and in many European countries.

When it became my turn to retire, I longed to think of a meaningful way to express my feelings of gratitude for these years with the choir, and for all the wonderful friendships I had enjoyed within the choir. On a quiet, prayerful Sunday afternoon my feelings suddenly found expression in the words of a new hymn. I planned to just put a copy of the hymn in each choir member’s music box, but our conductor Brother Jerrold Ottley, was kind enough to have the choir sing the hymn on Music and the Spoken Word on my final day with the choir. This hymn was published in our second volume of Inspirational New Hymns for Home and Choir, which we were able to publish because sales of the first volume were sufficient to allow us to continue the project.

Members Are Taught About Tender Mercies

In a landmark address at General Conference in October 2004, Elder David A. Bednar stirred the membership of the church with his in-depth discussion and explanation of the oft-used scriptural phrase tender mercies of the Lord. I was familiar with the phrase and yet quite unaware of the many facets of its meaning. Following his discourse, it seemed that members everywhere were buzzing about the insights he had given us on this topic and were yearning to solidify this information in their minds and hearts. With some trepidation I decided to write Elder Bednar’s teachings on tender mercies into a hymn, knowing that his message would go deeper into our hearts and remain with us longer if it were presented musically.

I read and reread his talk when it appeared in the Ensign, highlighting various aspects of tender mercies as he explained them. I prayed to understand his meanings and to be able to present them clearly and concisely and in a way he would approve. Gathering my courage, I sent my preliminary draft of the hymn to Elder Bednar asking for corrections and suggestions, not in the way of asking for an endorsement but merely from a desire to convey his meaning with integrity. His kind respond and guidance were deeply appreciated. The hymn Tender Mercies of the Lord was published in volume 4 of Inspirational New Hymns for Home and Choir.

New Book of Mormon Hymns

A few years ago, by chance or destiny, I crossed paths with a woman from Colorado , Bonnie Hart Murray, who had just felt her first spiritual impulse toward hymn writing. Feeling the lack of hymns specifically about the Book of Mormon, she had felt moved to write her first hymn text, The Book of Mormon Has Come Forth, and asked if I would consider giving it a musical setting. With prompting from her regarding the flavor of music she was hoping for, we began the collaborative process which produced this stirring new Book of Mormon hymn! Other hymns have followed and we have now completed five hymns on the Book of Mormon, thus necessitating a future fifth volume of hymns!

More and More Hymns

Hymn writing began to feel like a familiar pursuit, like something I had done before and was now doing again. We did something before we came to earth and just maybe some of the fleeting feelings of familiarity that we experience here on earth are glimpses of premortal experiences that are mostly hidden from memory. At any rate, my desire to write hymns had become a consuming passion by the time we had published our third and fourth volumes of Inspirational New Hymns for Home and Choir.

Many accomplished and faithful writers in the church contributed their hymn texts to our project: John V. Pearson, Rodney Turner, David B. Larsen, Orrin G. Hatch, Donnell W. Hunter, Orson Scott Card, Gary L. Croxall, Susan Evans McCloud, Steven Kapp Perry , Kevin Krogh, Emily Watts, Ruth Saunders Kapp, Joy Saunders Lundberg, Olga S. Whitaker, and Shawn T. Prince.

Words of the Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley

Elder Bednar taught us that nothing happens by coincidence, so I can only believe that the final experience I will relate here was indeed a tender mercy from the Lord:

Toward the end of the year 2007 my niece Kathy Blacker of Perry , Utah , 53, was dying of cancer. As I visited with her she pointed out a beautifully framed poem written by President Gordon B. Hinckley which was hanging on her wall. The words of the poem comforted her during this difficult time and she had written to President Hinckley asking his permission to print the words on her funeral program. She had received a reply not only granting that permission but offering meaningful words of comfort to her. She asked if I would please write to President Hinckley now and ask his permission to give the poem a hymn setting so that it might comfort many others in the future. I wrote the letter the next week requesting his permission to set the poem to music and also to publish it in a future volume of Inspirational New Hymns for Choir and Home. The permission was given and he asked that I send him a copy of the finished hymn for his approval.

I set his poem on my piano and was awed by the privilege and responsibility of writing it. I decided to think and pray about it for a few days before attempting to write the music. Finally, in mid December, I felt that I knew what music would be appropriate for his words, and I wrote the hymn and sent it to him for approval.

Christmas and New Year’s Day passed and I received no answer from the president’s office. On January 11, 2008 my niece passed away and the poem was printed on the back of her funeral program bringing comfort to her family. Then, two weeks later on January 27, I received the sobering news that President Hinckley himself had passed away.

My first thought was sadness over the great loss the church (and I personally) would feel over his death. My second thought was that now I would never receive permission to use and publish the hymn.

The next morning was Monday and when my son John returned from the mailbox he came to my office holding up a letter and saying, “Mom, is this the letter you were hoping for?” The return address was Office of the President . . .

and I opened the letter with great anticipation and read that he approved the hymn and would allow us to publish it in our hymn collection! I later learned that the letter had been written on Friday, his last day in his office, was mailed on Saturday, and he passed away on Sunday. I received the letter one day after he had passed away. I have no words to express my gratitude for such a tender mercy.

A few days later I learned that the hymn would be sung by the Tabernacle Choir at President Hinckley’s funeral. As I heard the choir sing I felt an overwhelming gratitude that my few lines of music could be part of the tributes paid to our beloved prophet that day. Now I knew the meaning of the scriptural phrase “my joy is full”!

The Joy of Writing Hymns

In the beginning I could not foresee the happiness I would find in hymn writing. With our fourth published volume of Inspirational New Hymns for Home and Choir, I have written many more than the “one hundred hymns” my husband originally suggested and am well on my way toward other volumes. President Hinckley’s hymn will soon be found on the first page of our fifth volume.

Some of the hymns have been performed in Assembly Hall on Temple Square in SLC, a few have been published in church magazines, a few have been performed on Music and the Spoken Word by the Tabernacle Choir, many have been translated into Spanish, and SATB arrangements of some of the hymns have been published by Jackman Music Corporation. And as we had hoped in the beginning, many of the hymns are being sung by ward choirs throughout the church. Many have asked if any of these hymns will appear in the next hymnbook. I have no idea, and I’m quite sure I will not be here to see it if it happens since I will soon celebrate my 70 th birthday. But the fulfillment and joy I have felt in writing these hymns has been its own reward and I plan to continue doing so as long as I am able. A heartfelt thank you to Doug for his inspired idea!