Release of New Hymnbook Begins with First Wave of 13 Songs

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The gradual release of the new global hymnbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has begun with the release of 13 new songs. This new music may be accessed digitally through the Sacred Music and Gospel Library apps and in the online Church Music Library at music.churchofjesuschrist.org.

Small batches of new music will continue to be published digitally in preparation for the full hymnbook release, currently expected in print and digital formats by the end of 2026 in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. The hymnbook is anticipated to be available in 50 languages by the end of 2030.

The hymns now available are:

• Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
• When the Savior Comes Again
• It Is Well with My Soul
• I Will Walk with Jesus
• His Eye Is on the Sparrow
• Think a Sacred Song
• As Bread Is Broken
• Bread of Life, Living Water
• Gethsemane
• Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise
• He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child
• What Child Is This?
• Star Bright

A new training video in the Church’s online Media Library assists ward leaders and those with music callings as they include new music in worship services. Latter-day Saints are encouraged to incorporate this new music in their personal worship and study, and a second video suggests ways to do so.

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At a media event introducing the new hymnbook in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City on Thursday, May 30, 2024, Elder Isaak K. Morrison said this new hymnbook will be an important ingredient for unity in the global faith.

“This is a worldwide Church, a Church 17 million strong,” said Elder Morrison, a native of Ghana. “This is one of the ways to bring all of us together, having the same hymn book with the same page numbers with the same songs. It is just a blessing that we sing together to glorify God and to draw us closer to the Savior Jesus Christ.”

Primary General President Susan H. Porter seconded the importance of unity through music.

“Our hope is that these new hymns and songs [will enhance] our ability to receive [Christ’s] law into our lives,” she said.

“We are grateful these hymns and songs will be available — starting now, with more to come in the future that will increase our faith and continue to inspire us to do right,” added Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the Seventy, who serves as executive director of the Priesthood and Family Department.

Submitters’ Stories

A unique aspect of the new hymnbook collection is the inclusion of hymns submitted by Latter-day Saints around the world.

“It would have been a lot simpler to just have specific writers and specific composers contribute specific things,” said Anna Molgard, music project coordinator for the Church’s Priesthood and Family Department. “But in the Lord’s kingdom, He allows us to be a part of this great work, and so it was an opportunity for members of our faith to express their own testimonies in their own way and have an opportunity to perhaps share that with the world.”

Submitters were asked to submit their pieces without their name or any identifying information, so that their work could be evaluated on its own merits. Through an extensive review process, songs were prayerfully considered and chosen for this collection out of 17,000 submissions.

“It was 17,000 testimonies that we were able to look at and read and see people’s desire and their willingness to express their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in a very specific and unique way was so humbling,” Molgard said. “We were so grateful and humbled by the enormity of that offering.”

New sacrament hymns included in this first release — “As Bread Is Broken” and “Bread of Life, Living Water” — were some of those chosen from the pool of music submitted to the Church. These hymns were especially personal to their submitters.

Annette Dickman, composer and writer of “Bread of Life, Living Water,” found the inspiration for her hymn while contemplating her personal worship.

“I wrote this hymn for me,” she said. “I had been studying and pondering a lot about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and particularly how it related to me personally. I wanted to develop a closer relationship with Him.”

She hopes the hymn will turn hearts and minds to the Savior, leading Latter-day Saints to remember the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

“I want people to know that there is hope for that, that He does make us whole and pure and holy, and that as we make those promises and follow Him and try to be like Him, we are bound to Him eternally.”

Similarly, the seed of the hymn “As Bread Is Broken” came to creator Stephen Reynolds while sitting in a sacrament meeting in 2017.

“It’s a time where we take bread and water to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,” Reynolds said. “I was thinking about the significance of that and the need for that in my life. And as I thought about that, I had some ideas, some words, very simple words with a very simple tune, come to my mind.”

Like Dickman, Reynolds hopes that his hymn will help members to focus more on their covenants and the enabling power they receive through that sacred bond. Both submitters are honored and humbled to have their work selected for this collection.

Listen to this related podcast from the Church News Episode 190: As Church releases 13 new hymns, leaders discuss ongoing hymnbook project and sacred music

“I know that the Church committee has had a lot of work to go through,” Reynolds said. “[They’ve reviewed] thousands and thousands of submissions very carefully. I’m gratified that they would do that because somebody like I am, that doesn’t have a name out there per say, I can still have my work considered.”

“It’s such an exciting day for all of us throughout the Church that we get to receive these wonderful offerings from faithful members of the Church who have shared their testimonies in such a specific way,” added Molgard. “Sacred music is such a gift from the Lord that it allows us to feel the spirit of the Lord in such a unique way.”

“We’ve taken such great care with these very sacred offerings that none of the process could be rushed, none of it could be pushed forward or moved forward any faster. And the Lord’s timing is always right. He allows us to be a part of His work in such beautiful ways that we get to see His hand in His work.”

Hymnbook Revisions

In June 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced this revision to the hymnbook and “Children’s Songbook” to better unify members of the global church in their worship. The new collection will be titled “Hymns—For Home and Church.”

“[The hymnbook] will be a little bit like the Tabernacle Choir,” said Ryan Murphy, hymnbook committee member and associate music director for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. “It’s the gospel that unifies us. The new hymnbook will hopefully augment that by having us all singing the same songs.”

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The new collection will include the same song list and numbering in all languages, with a total of 450 to 500 hymns included. Local and language-specific hymns, such as patriotic anthems, will be available in language-specific digital collections.

Music was selected based on five criteria approved by the First Presidency:

1. Increase faith in and worship of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
2. Teach the core doctrine of the gospel with power and clarity.
3. Invite joyful singing at home and at church.
4. Comfort the weary and inspire members to endure in faith.
5. Unify members throughout the Church.

“There’s just something so special about singing pure doctrine,” said hymnbook committee member Anfissa Smith in a recent Newsroom video.

In the preface to the current hymnbook, the First Presidency states, “Brothers and sisters, let us use the hymns to invite the Spirit of the Lord into our congregations, our homes, and our personal lives. Let us memorize and ponder them, recite and sing them, and partake of their spiritual nourishment.”

For more information regarding the updated sacred music collection, please visit: HymnbookNews.churchofjesuschrist.org.

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