Nine_New_Hymns
Gathered around a piano, a family sings hymns together at home. Nine new hymns have been added to the “Hymns—For Home and Church” collection in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The singing of sacred hymns is an integral part of worshipping for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As the gradual release of the Church’s new global hymnbook continues, nine new hymns have been added to the “Hymns—For Home and Church” collection in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. These songs will be available on the online Music Library, Gospel Library and Sacred Music app within the next 24 hours.
The nine new hymns are:
- “Amazing Grace”
- “Holding Hands Around the World”
- “Anytime, Anywhere”
- “God’s Gracious Love”
- “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need”
- “Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”
- “Behold the Wounds in Jesus’ Hands”
- “This Is the Christ”
- “Come, Lord Jesus”
Local leaders are encouraged to begin incorporating these new hymns into their worship services. Latter-day Saints may also use them in their personal worship.
Downloadable SOTs and Broll for Media
Shared Christian Hymns
Included in this second release are a series of hymns shared with other Christian faiths. Many will be familiar with the song “Amazing Grace,” composed by 18th-century English cleric and abolitionist John Newton.
“As more releases become available, we will see that we are sharing hymns with other Christian faiths,” said Elder Matthew L. Carpenter of the Seventy, a hymnbook advisor. “It’s a joy because we are all Christians worshiping Jesus Christ.”
Other included Christian hymns are “God’s Gracious Love,” a 19th-century Swedish hymn currently in the Church’s Swedish hymnal; “Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus,” a 19th-century English hymn with a new musical setting; and “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” composed by 18th-century English hymn writer and minister Isaac Watts, who also composed the well-known hymns “Joy to the World” and “Sweet Is the Work.”
Original Latter-day Saint Compositions
These shared hymns unite with several original Latter-day Saint compositions in a shared testimony of Jesus Christ.
Speaking of these compositions, Elder Carpenter added, “We hope that not only do we enjoy them as a Church, but we’re able to share those with all Christians worldwide.”
Included in this batch of hymns is the song “This Is the Christ,” an original Latter-day Saint hymn written in 1995, with lyrics by former First Presidency member James E. Faust (1920–2007) and Jan Pinborough. It was previously featured in the Church film “The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd.”
Many may recognize the hymn “Come, Lord Jesus” from the musical drama production “Savior of the World,” first presented in November 2000 in the Church’s Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City. “Savior of the World” has since been performed by Latter-day Saints across the United States in their local communities.
One other original hymn, “Behold the Wounds in Jesus’ Hands,” was submitted in 1998 for the annual Church Music Submission. It was performed by a combined choir from Brigham Young University in the October 2021 general conference.
Nine_New_Hymns
A choir sings at the Masina Stake conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on February 11, 2024. Local leaders are encouraged to begin incorporating these nine new hymns into their worship services.2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Also of note is the inclusion of “Holding Hands Around the World,” an original Latter-day Saint children’s song published multiple times in the Church’s “Friend” magazine.
As the preface to the current “Children’s Songbook” says, “Music is a language that everyone can understand.” The inclusion of children’s songs in the global hymnbook will help teach gospel truths to congregations and families in a way that is both simple and powerful.
Continuing Release of Hymns
These nine hymns mark the second wave of the new global hymnbook’s gradual release. More songs will continue to be released in batches every few months until the release of the full hymnbook in 2026.
The new hymnbook will be available first in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. More languages will become available in the coming years as they are ready.
“We cannot overstate the power of sacred music to unify the Saints worldwide,” said Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in a 2020 Newsroom article thanking members for their submissions to the hymnbook project. “Singing from the same body of hymns and songs, all children of God — regardless of ethnicity, country, culture or language — will unite their voices in praise of our common Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.”
Learn more about the global hymnbook project at HymnbookNews.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Related Stories: