I have
very little to criticize about the 45 best hymns. Each one fulfills all 10
Hymnandments: worship, accuracy, emotion, interest, simplicity,
universality, symbiosis, non-cultiness, appropriateness, and rhyme. In other
words, if any of these hymns doesn’t make it into the new hymnbook, I’m gonna
riot. Who’s with me?
Utah Jazz
head coach Quin Snyder once found his team losing badly in an effortless
performance. He rose to his feet and screamed “WAKE UP!” at his players (they
rallied and won the game). Now, his intensity with those words are all I can
think of as the chorus of this song begins. If I’ve done no good in the world
today, it’s not a whispered “Wake up sleepy.” It’s Quin Snyder’s menacing
bellows calling me to repentance immediately.
I’m
grateful this simple song takes time to make one thing clear. While “there’s
a right and a wrong to every question”, it is not found in the memorization
of a hierarchical set of rules. Safety comes instead “thru inspiration’s
pow’r”.
I fear
that sometimes in our (well meaning) full-time missionary minded macro view of verses
1 and 3, we overlook the micro, cotidian message in verse 2. We go, say, and be
every day, not just when we put our papers in.
“Called to Serve” was initially not intended
to be in our current hymnal. At the last moment, Boyd K Packer insisted it be
included after hearing it performed in the MTC, making it the very last hymn to be
added. I think it’s safe bet for the next edition.
Unlike
other “sunshine” hymns, this one makes its metaphor clear (“Jesus is
my light”). While happiness can come and go, Jesus can always be with us,
so the song can be sung at any time!
It’s the
heart-wrenching second verse that really seals the deal with this song. We’ve
all felt that way, haven’t we? It’s nice to know there’s always refuge.
This
brief hymn so richly captures each of the greatest blessings that will follow
the Savior’s birth: peace on earth, reconciliation with heaven, knowledge,
healing, renewal, and eternal life.
This is
how you adapt doctrinal passages to music: find thematic core principles, build
to a positive conclusion, and throw some alleluiahs in there for good measure.
Nothing
like a rousing chorus of Hymn 319 to wake up the men for the third hour of
church. The melody is powerful, the lyrics direct, and the objective noble,
making this the best hymn arranged for male voices.
With
apologies to those who have to sing the most boring alto part ever written, the
best way to honor the prophet Joseph through hymn is by singing the song that
he loved, the one that shows how he--a man who saw Christ on multiple
occasions--worships Christ: through service to mankind. Perhaps verses 4 and 5
could be excluded in the new hymnal so that 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 can always be
sung.
Everyone’s
favorite Christmas-song-that-is-actually-about-the-Second-Coming. Think about
it: “when Jesus reigns”, “No more will sin and sorrow grow”, and “ever
worship God” all refer to things that will happen during the Millennium. So
we get to sing this song whenever we want!
God bless
Eliza R Snow for so many reasons, but especially for preserving the doctrine of
a Mother in Heaven. Though
this “Invocation [to] the Eternal Father and Mother” touches on many
important doctrines, none is so precious as this permanent acclamation of our
Divine Mother.
If anyone
ever asks you if Mormons are Christian, think of this song and the one way
Jesus promised us that others would recognize if we were truly his disciples.
By that metric, just how Christian are we?
While I
love Christmas carols that do nothing more than tell a story, I appreciate that
this one also tells us what our role in that story is: to come unto him and and
adore.
The trek
westward serves as a beautiful allegory for gospel living. I’ve heard others
criticize the “All is well” line because of 2 Nephi 28:21, but the
contexts are completely different. Nephi is warning against complacency in
times of prosperity, whereas “Come, Come, Ye Saints” is offering
reassurance in times of adversity.
The
chorus contains possibly the most exquisite four part harmonies of any song in
the hymnbook. As an added bonus, those parts are sung in Latin, which makes
anything sound at least twice as cool.
I once
jokingly suggested this song as an opening hymn to my all male missionary zone.
They laughed, agreed, and I played it a few octaves up for added humor.
Somehow, my mocking heart was touched by the absolute beauty of these words and
harmonies; I’d never paid them any attention before. The more I’ve learned
about the history of the Relief Society, the more jealous I am of its wonderful
mission (as outlined in this hymn) and its incredible results. The sisters of
the Church are getting stuff done, boys. What’s our excuse? Maybe if this
beautiful hymn were our theme song, we’d start to do better.
This song
almost didn’t make it in Emma Smith’s first hymnbook; it was a last second
addition. Now it’s the anthem of temple dedications around the world. For those
occasions, it’s perfect. If this song has a flaw, it might be a bit difficult
to understand for visitors and new members.
This song
does a wonderful job, not only as a declaration of faith, but as a description
of the many unique ways we can receive support from the Savior.
The best
Sacrament Hymn currently in the hymnbook. Others do a good job portraying the
sadness of the Savior’s death or hope through the atonement, but only this one
truly captures the wonder that the entire process happened at all.
My
favorite missionary hymn. It’s lively, it’s purposeful, and it keeps missionary
work in perspective. We don’t share the gospel to make the Church bigger; we
share the gospel so “all may rejoice”.
Who ever
said the words of Isaiah are boring? (I did. Many times.) "How Firm a Foundation" opens our Top 10 with its magnificent adaptation of some of the best passages of the Old Testament. While verses 5-6 are
a bit superfluous, the rest of this song is pure magic.
The
standard to which all other Christmas songs aspire. None of them can truly
rival it (with the possible exception of “O Holy Night” and
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You”). This
song is the number one reason why guitars should be allowed in Sacrament
Meeting; a piano can’t quite do it justice. Awestruck tranquility radiates from
every note as the babe lies in the manger. Other songs can celebrate the stormy
seas, parables and miracles, crowns and crosses, but tonight, the Lord sleeps
in heavenly peace.
Sing all
the verses. For heaven’s sake (literally), sing all the verses. And ignore the
recommended speed. Sing all six verses at 150+ beats a minute, and bask in the
reverent grandeur of worshipping our Savior.
The
lyricist wrote this song as he was dying of tuberculosis; he lived only another
three weeks. His final verse (not included in our hymnbook, but it should be,
along with all seven original verses) is
especially powerful in this light:
“Hold
Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine
through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's
morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
We should
absolutely sing this song at Easter. But we shouldn’t only sing it at
Easter. It is so charming and such a critical aspect of our doctrine that it
should be sung regularly. For that matter, there should be many other Easter
hymns added to our collection that regularly serenade our chapels and homes.
You may
have tearfully sung this at the funeral of a loved one, and now every time it’s
played, you think of that person (at least I do). The song makes no attempt to
fight sadness; rather, it mixes pain with hope. In a way, it mirrors the
Savior, who didn’t erase suffering, but instead gave it purpose. The melody now
serves as a reminder to do everything possible to prepare for a wonderful
chance to “meet at Jesus’ feet”.
All the
triumph of the assurance of faith, and all the humility of one who recognizes
his own praise of God is not enough, so he invites all creation to join him.
Combined with one of the most intricate harmonies in the hymnbook, the song is
truly great.
Unfortunately, the Church currently does not have the copyright to publish this hymn on its website. I worry that this may mean it will be difficult to secure its rights in the new hymnbook, where each song will need to be available in each language and country where the Church is present. I sincerely hope the Music and Legal Departments do everything in their power to ensure this song is made available to Saints around the world. It is, after all, the very best hymn they have to offer.
Profoundly illiterate and presumptuous ... solid candidate for "So what you're saying..." hall of infamy... BUT it did lead to a magnificent hour singing hymns together w/ my son and an idea how NOT to make such a ranking
Ranking things in Latter-day Saint culture is a bit taboo. I’ve frequently heard folkloric rules against having favorite scriptures or General Authorities. We’re discouraged from shopping around for better wards, we’re told not to compare Church callings, and we’re certainly not supposed to judge people . But ranking hymns is okay. Elder Bednar has a favorite hymn . So did Joseph Smith . With the Church actively seeking help revising its hymnbook, the time has never been better to share which hymns you like and which you don’t. Since I’m always up for devoting way too much thought and energy to a relatively simple task, I decided to rank all 341 current hymns on one simple criteria: how much do I want this hymn to be in the new hymnbook? I wasn’t familiar with many hymns and I wanted to do this fairly, so I went through the hymnbook cover-to-cover three times, listening to LDS.org’s various recordings of each hymn as I went, giving each hymn a score between 1 t
Part II of a five part series analyzing and ranking each hymn in the Latter-day Saint hymnal. Read Part I, including an explanation of the project and its methods, here Read Part III here Read Part IV here Read Part V here Two Stars None of these songs are terrible, but I don’t feel any of them are necessary. Some are overshadowed by similar hymns that simply do a better job conveying the same message. A few are more confusing than inspiring. And a handful are just dull. I won’t be upset if any of these make the new hymnbook, but I feel we can do better with some new, more diverse songs of worship. Rank 284 (tie) 313-318, 326, 329, 331, 333-334. God Is Love (Women) ; How Gentle God’s Commands (Women) ; Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee (Women) ; The Lord Is My Shepherd (Women) ; Sweet Is the Work (Women) ; Come, Come, Ye Saints (Men’s Choir) ; Love at Home (Women) ; Thy Servants Are Prepared (Men’s Choir) ; 331. Oh Say, What Is Truth? (Men’s Choir) ; High on the M
Loved this!
ReplyDeleteProfoundly illiterate and presumptuous
ReplyDelete... solid candidate for "So what you're saying..."
hall of infamy... BUT it did lead to a magnificent
hour singing hymns together w/ my son and an
idea how NOT to make such a ranking