I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, August 25th. These are my notes from which I would speak. There were three speakers. I was the last speaker. This was a fun experience for me. I love the hymns and music. Our Church is preparing a new hymnbook for 2026. The purpose of this meeting was to help us understand the power of the music in our lives and help us prepare for a new hymnal. The four hymns sung by the congregation were all hymns that will be in the new hymnal.
Sydney Bennett spoke about her experiences with music in her family and how music at church has been a strength for her life.
Rick Snow spoke and explained the story behind each of the three hymns we would sing this day from the new hymnal.
Then I shared these thoughts.
How Music/Hymns Can Feed Our Testimonies and Teach
Gospel Truths
Sunday, August 25,
2024, 12-15 mins
My experiences with hymns in my lifetime.
· My mother & father. “O My Father”. “That’s what I
believe.” Sung at Mimi’s funeral.
· Mrs. Herring helping me learn 3 hymns each week so I
could play piano for Sunday School. Presbyterian. She found our hymns wonderful
pieces of good music.
· Family vacation to church history site. Small organ.
· As a youth, always played for the stake youth choirs. Artis
Hudnall was always the chorister and he was particularly fond of “Before Thee
Lord”.
· Papa singing “O Holy Night” each Christmas and at
least once each year would sing “The Seer”
· As a young mother in California called to serve on
stake Relief Society board as pianist. Jane Atherton writes music and teaching
me to play for our meetings.
· In Denver, singing with the Singing Mothers in a
concert for our stake. Janet Wright wrote an original piece of music based on
Psalm 66:1-2 “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honor
of his name: make his praise glorious.”
· Relief Society General Conference Session, Belle
Spafford was released as General Relief Society President. She was the 9th
General Relief Society president and served for 29 years. Barbara B. Smith was
sustained as the 10th General Relief Society president. A talk was given, and
the comment was made, about the importance of our LDS hymns. We were counseled
as leaders in Relief Society to learn the hymns, memorize the words, and recall
them at time of need. A hymn was sung after this talk that touched my heart and
has always remained with me. How Firm a Foundation #85 verse 3
“Fear
not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed
For
I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll
strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld
by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”
· Bringing Papa to the church and playing the hymns so
he could hear the music.
· Claude singing the low note.
- 1835 A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of the Latter-day Saints
- In July 1830, three months after the formal organization of the Church, Joseph Smith received a revelation directed to his wife, Emma Smith. In it the Lord instructed Emma to “make a selection of sacred hymns … to be had in [His] church.”1 Once completed, the first official hymnal of the Church was published in 1835 as A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. It contained the lyrics for 90 hymns without accompanying musical notation.
- 1909 Deseret Sunday School Songs
- 1927 Latter-day Saint Hymns
- 1948 Hymns: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 1985 (Current Edition). Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
October 1994 General Conference, “Worship through Music” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks
“When
the Lord’s Apostles meet in modern times (1994), the singing of hymns is still
part of their meetings. The weekly meetings of the First Presidency and Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles in the Salt Lake Temple always begin with a hymn. Elder
Russell M. Nelson plays the organ accompaniment. The First Presidency, who
conduct these meetings, rotate the privilege of selecting the opening song.
Most of us record the date each hymn is sung. According to my records, the
opening song most frequently sung during the decade of my participation has
been “I Need Thee Every Hour” (Hymns, 1985, no. 98). Picture the spiritual
impact of a handful of the Lord’s servants singing that song before praying for
his guidance in fulfilling their mighty responsibilities.”
“Our hymns can work their miraculous effect even when the chorus of voices is few and even when hardly a sound can be heard. I felt this a few months ago as I participated in a musical performance that was unique in my church experience. I had been invited to speak at the Great Basin LDS Deaf Conference, hosted by the Salt Lake Valley (Deaf) Ward of the Salt Lake Park Stake. Over three hundred deaf brothers and sisters were in attendance. The members of the stake presidency and I were almost the only adults in the congregation who could hear and who attempted to sing audibly. The rest of that large assembly sang with their hands. Hardly a lip moved, and hardly a sound was heard except the organ and four faint voices from the stand. In the audience, all hands moved in unison with the leader as the audience signed “The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!” (Hymns, 1985, no. 2). As we sang together, the Spirit of the Lord descended upon us, and we were made ready for prayer. Our sacred music is a powerful preparation for prayer and gospel teaching.”
- Opening Hymn: Prepare for Prayer
- Sacrament Hymn: Prepare for Sacrament
- Closing Hymn: Remind us of what we have learned and Prepares us for gospel teaching.
Sacred music can help us even when there is no formal performance. For example, when temptation comes, we can neutralize its effect by humming or repeating the words of a favorite hymn (see Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Jan. 1974, pp. 25–28).
Before
the Savior and his Apostles left the upper room where they had the sublime
experience of the Last Supper, they sang a hymn. After their hymn, the Savior
led them to the Mount of Olives (see Matt. 26:30).
In
preparation for this talk, I read through almost all the hymns in our current
hymnal. Let me share of few of the phrases that are particularly powerful to me
in their gospel doctrine context. Pres. Henry B. Eyring gave a talk completely
using scriptures.
HOPE & COMFORT:
(Redeemer of Israel #6, verse 5 at the bottom after the verses we usually sing)
“Restore, my dear Savior, The light of thy face;
Thy
soul-cheering comfort impart;
And
let the sweet longing For thy holy place
Bring
hope to my desolate heart.”
(Come, Ye Disconsolate
#115)
“Earth
has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.
“Earth
has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.
“Earth
has no sorrow but heaven can remove.”
STRENGTH:
(Come, Come, Ye Saints #30)“All is well! All is Well!”
PRAYER:
(Come unto Him #114)
“I
wander through the still of night, When solitude is everywhere
Alone,
beneath the starry light, And yet I know that God is there,
I
kneel upon the grass and pray; An answer comes without a voice.
It
takes my burden all away And make my aching heart rejoice.
(Prayer Is the Soul’s
Sincere Desire #145, verses 7 & 8)
O
thou by whom we come to God, The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray.”
FAITH:
(When Faith Endures #128)
“I
give the Father willingly My trust, my prayers, humility.
His Spirit guides; his love assures That fear departs when faith endures.”
CALLINGS:
(Be Thou Humble #130)
“Be
thou humble in thy calling, and the Lord thy God shall teach thee,
To
serve his children gladly with a pure and gentle love.”
(Put Your Shoulder to the
Wheel #252)
“The
Church has need of helping hands, And hearts that know and feel.
The
work to do is here for you; Put your shoulder to the wheel.”
FASTING:
(Bless Our Fast, We Pray
#138)
“Feed
thou our souls, fill thou our hearts, And bless our fast, we pray,
That
we may feel thy presence here And feast with thee today.”
SACRAMENT:
(Reverently and Meekly Now
#185, Jesus speaks to Us)
“In
the solemn faith of prayer Cast upon me all thy care,
And
my Spirit’s grace shall be Like a fountain unto thee.
At
the throne I intercede; For thee ever do I plead.
I
have loved thee as thy friend, With a love that cannot end.
Be
obedient, I implore, Prayerful, watchful evermore,
And
be constant unto me, That thy Savior I may be.
OUR WORDS:
(Let Us Oft Speak Kind
Words #232)
“Oh,
the kind words we give shall in memory live And sunshine forever impart.
Let
us oft speak kind words to each other; Kind words are sweet tones of the
heart.”
(Nay, Speak No Ill #233)
“Then
speak no ill, but lenient be To other’s failings as your own.
If
you’re the first a fault to see, Be not the first to make it known. …
Let’s
speak of all the best we can.”
AGENCY:
(Know This, That Every
Soul Is Free #240)
“Know
this, that ev’ry soul is free To choose his life and what he’ll be;
For
this eternal truth is giv’n: That God will force no man to heav’n.”
YOUTH:
True to the Faith #254,
Youth)
“True
to the faith that our parents have cherished,
True
to the truth for which martyrs have perished,
To
God’s command, Soul, heart, and hand, Faithful and true we will ever stand.”
MISSIONARY SERVICE:
(Hark, All Ye Nations!
#264)
“Chosen
by God to serve him below, To ev’ry land and people we’ll go,
Standing
for truth with fervent accord, Teaching his holy word.
Oh,
how glorious from the throne above Shines the gospel light of truth and love!
Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray Lights ev’ry land today.”
TEMPLES:
(Rise, Ye Saints, and
Temples Enter #287)
“Learn
the plan of exaltation; With His sacred laws comply.
Live to earn in binding cov’nant Blessings of our God most high.”
A word of council: Many of you read many books through the year. Novels, etc. May I suggest one of the books you read be the Hymnal. With the Gospel Library App, you can highlight phrases that touch your soul, tag them with a word to help you find them when needed.
“We get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps through any other thing except prayer.” ~~ J. Reuben Clark, Jr., CR 10/36:111
"Some of the greatest sermons that have ever been preached were preached by the singing of a song." ~~ Spencer W. Kimball
With Songs of Praise #71
(Opening)
Chorus: Then come before God’s presence! With
singing worship him!
Express the heart too full to speak, In one
exultant hymn.
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