Recently, I sat at a young granddaughter’s side in the second row in sacrament meeting, right in the center of the chapel. I held her close with my left arm around her shoulder while I pointed to the lyrics of the opening hymn with my right hand, one word at a time. Neither of us knew the song, but we were determined to sing out, mistakes and all. We are both enthusiastic fans of congregational singing, so we let it rip, undeterred by our certain wrong notes.
Emma is seven years old. She was born with spina bifida and, as a result, she chose early to embrace life with gusto, despite extra challenges and inevitable setbacks. She is perpetually a front-row-center kind of person by decision. Occasional wrong notes on an opening hymn are well within her courageous comfort zone.
The song was #1004, “I Will Walk with Jesus.” The music and lyrics were available for us to follow in a simple black binder that the ward had assembled with new songs and hymns. In that binder, the new songs released so far are numbered 1001-1041, plus Christmas and Easter Hymns numbered 1201-1207. All those songs and hymns will be officially printed and bound in a new Church hymnal entitled “Hymns for Home and Church,” scheduled to be released in 2027.
That Sunday’s opening song was especially poignant for me as I sang with Emma. Gaining confidence and increasing in volume with each verse, she sang with extra gusto on the third verse:
“I will trust in Jesus. I will hear His call
He will never leave me, even when I fall.
Jesus gives me power, lifts and comforts me,
Helping me to live and grow eternally.”
More often than many children her age, Emma does fall. She is currently determined, against the odds, to learn to skip. Her falls are frequent, but she always gets up and tries again. I don’t doubt that Jesus really does help her, even – maybe especially – when she falls.
As she sang about Jesus giving power, lifting, and comforting, I felt sure that she knew personally what she was singing about, and that she really does feel personally empowered, lifted, and comforted by Jesus, who surely smiles on and cheers for His brave young believer.
Her voice was bright with enthusiasm as she sang the chorus louder after each verse:
“As I walk with Jesus, to my home above,
He will bless me with His Spirit and fill me with His love,
Change my heart forever and help me clearly see.
I will walk with Jesus, and He will walk with me.”
As she sang, the importance of those promises and their truthfulness burned in my heart, and I trusted with ever greater assurance that Emma does walk with Jesus, and that her determined steps and entire journey are sure with Him at her side.
Remarkably, again with me pointing to the words, Emma and I also sang the sacrament song together that Sunday – #1008. That one was also new to us both, but it quickly became our own. I was so glad we had three opportunities to sing the chorus. The lyrics made me weep as I heard them sung loudly by my energetic, trusting granddaughter.
“Bread of Life, Living Water, feed my soul, fill my heart.
Lord, give me new life in Thee.
And make me whole, complete and holy, bound to Thee eternally.”
Emma sang with confidence, as if she understood more than what was likely for a seven-year-old, how deeply she, and we all, depend on Him to make us whole, complete, and holy.
New life in Him. Made whole, body and spirit. Complete and holy.
After those poignant personal experiences with the new songs and hymns, I now always check the hymns we are scheduled to sing each Sunday, hoping there will be some numbered in the thousands. Those are the new ones.
I have since learned and, with permission, share that the process of assembling the new Hymns for Home and Church has been ongoing for many years. The resulting volume will include hundreds of songs and hymns of original music submitted by members of the Church from around the world. It will also reflect other decisions made by a conscientious committee of reviewers who have worked deliberately, intentionally, and in as unbiased a way as possible, even as they have maintained a faithful fervor for the enormous task.
Studies have been done to solicit input from members of the Church from around the world who have provided their diverse opinions regarding which of the current hymns they would like to see remain, and which they feel are better retired. Some hymns will be retired simply because they are infrequently or not joyfully sung, or the rights for publication in all languages couldn’t be obtained.
Other hymns, some from other languages and many from other faith traditions, received repeated votes for inclusion in the new volume. “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” received the most votes, and “Amazing Grace” was second.
Other new hymns are new lyrics set to standard, old tunes. At general conference in October this year, we heard the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square perform five verses of a new hymn entitled, “Thou Gracious God, Whose Mercy Lends.” It ends with a blessedly hopeful fifth verse that reads:
“We thank Thee, Father! Let Thy grace our loving circle still embrace.
Thy mercy shed its heavn’ly store. Thy peace be with us evermore.”
Many of us likely recognized the timeless melody. It is traditionally called “O Waly, Waly” and is a folk tune of British origin that has been used repeatedly as the melody for other lyrics. More recently, Pete Seeger, James Taylor, Eva Cassidy, Sarah McLachlan, and Joan Baez have sung “The Water is Wide” using that melody. It’s beautiful and evocative still and again.
Another hymn that was often requested for addition to the new hymnal was “It Is Well with My Soul,” a hymn written by Horatio G. Spafford in 1876 after he suffered the loss of his four daughters in a shipwreck on their way to Europe. Mr. Spafford had previously lost his young son to pneumonia and much of his wealth in the Great Chicago fire of 1871.
His powerful hymn has served for decades as an anthem for many who have experienced the losses and vicissitudes of life. An acquaintance of ours who suffered severe financial and professional setbacks memorized the lyrics to “It Is Well with My Soul” and sang or rehearsed them daily during his most desperate times to remind himself of the sure promises of the Savior.
“When peace like a river attendeth my way.
When sorrows and sea billows roll-
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
‘It is well, it is well with my soul’”
What could be more encouraging than to know, as the third verse of that hymn aptly proclaims:
“My sin, not in part but in whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”
Recently, as I sat listening to a rehearsal in the Tabernacle, the Choir began to sing a song I had never heard before. In spite of its newness, the song felt immediately reassuring and familiar to me. It began:
“An open door, a warm embrace,
Call us to worship and share God’s grace.
All can gather safely here, partake of emblems, feel Jesus near.”
And then the chorus. The first time I heard it, it felt promising. After the second verse, it became encouraging, and by the third verse, it was firm and final in its pronouncement of belonging.
“As weary trav’lers on life’s road, when the world is dark and cold,
Where’er we wander, wher’er we roam,
We’re always welcome, welcome home.”
I felt assured of my home – my home in the Tabernacle, my home in the Church, my home with my family, and especially, my home with my Heavenly Parents.
I had long known what it felt like to be “welcomed home” at church. When I was a young girl, I attended church by myself, but because of the generous and conspicuous welcome of the other parishioners in my ward and the dependable warmth of the Spirit, I felt welcome there with fellow travelers and with God. I felt even welcomed home in a profound and reassuring way in that chapel seated beside others who had also found a home there.
Music is a powerful source of worship, encouragement, and connection to heaven. A worthy song or hymn includes poetry for the mind, melody for the heart, and spirit for the soul. Learn and embrace sacred music. Find your favorites. Hum the melodies. Memorize the lyrics. Sing a joyful song.
MICHAEL R. LOVERIDGE. J. D.October 23, 2025
Inspired hymns truly can strengthen us. I'm particularly moved by the music and lyrics of "Behold The Wounds In Jesus Hands." This verse, so simply yet eloquently written, is a special reminder to me of the Savior's supreme sacrifice on our behalf: "We cannot see the love of God, Which saves us from the Fall, Yet know that Christ from wood and nails Built mansions for us all."