Celebrating One Year of ‘Hymns—For Home and Church’

One year ago, the world received its first glimpse of the new global hymnbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “Hymns—For Home and Church.”

First announced in June 2018, the ongoing, multiyear project continues to unite Latter-day Saints in musical worship throughout the world.

The First Presidency has directed that the new hymnbook will have around 375 hymns and children’s songs in the print version. This version is expected to be available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French by mid-2027, with other language translations to follow.

“This is an ambitious and complex project,” said Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Because of the importance of sacred music in the Church, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have been intimately involved in every aspect of the new hymnbook, including the selection of hymns to be included in the print and digital versions.”

The hymns in the new collection were sourced from both inside and outside the Church of Jesus Christ, with more than 17,000 hymns submitted by individual Latter-day Saints.

Each hymn was selected based on five criteria approved by the First Presidency. The criteria are:

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.

“Some of the hymns will be less familiar to many members of the Church,” Elder Renlund added. “For this reason, the First Presidency and the Twelve have directed that some hymns be released in advance of the publication of the completed hymnbook. Each hymn has been approved by the First Presidency and the Twelve, and these approvals have not been taken lightly.”

The gradual release began in May 2024 with 13 new hymns published in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. A media event was held on Thursday, May 30, 2024, when Church leaders introduced the new hymnbook in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City.

“This is a worldwide Church, a Church 17 million strong,” Elder Isaac K. Morrison, General Authority Seventy, said at the event. “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.”

In the second batch of hymns released in September 2024, Latter-day Saints were introduced to a series of hymns shared with other Christian faiths. These shared hymns included songs such as “Amazing Grace,” “God’s Gracious Love,” “Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus” and more.

Also of note from the second release is “Holding Hands Around the World,” an original Latter-day Saint children’s song published multiple times in the Church’s “Friend” magazine. “Hymns—For Home and Church” consolidates the revised hymnbook and “Children’s Songbook” into one volume to serve all Church members.

Fifteen more hymns were released in February 2025, including the popular hymn “This Little Light of Mine,” which originated in early African American Christian traditions in the Southern United States and grew in popularity during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

At the same time, the first batch of hymns became available in German, Korean and Tagalog. When complete, the hymnbook is anticipated to be available in 50 languages.

“We hear the promise and prophecy in the scriptures that all people — every nation, kindred, tongue and people — will be able to learn of the gospel,” said Kayla Decker, the translation manager for the new hymnbook. “The taking of this hymnbook to the world, to me, is a manifestation of that prophecy of God.”

Testimonials

Newsroom recently called on social media for members of the Church to share their experiences with the new hymns. Latter-day Saints responded with powerful testimony.

“The new hymns have deeply enriched my worship,” said Santiago Garcia, a Latter-day Saint from Guanaqueros, Chile. “Each one feels like a prayer set to music — simple, beautiful and full of truth. Singing them has helped me feel close to the Savior and brought a renewed spirit into our meetings. They’ve given fresh expression to familiar doctrine and created sacred moments I’ll never forget. I’m so grateful for the inspiration behind them.”

“I have been blessed that every time I study a new batch of hymns, one has stood out and immediately touched my spirit,” added Natalia Earley from Chubbuck, Idaho, USA. “I love that we have new ways of testifying of Jesus with these hymns and have loved adding them to our ward’s worship services each month.”

Margaret from Mesa, Arizona, USA, shared: “I love the new hymns. They bring the spirit into my life and testify of Christ and all His goodness.”

Other members highlighted how the hymns brought the blessing of musical worship not only in Church meetings, but also in their homes.

“Singing the new songs to my newborn has brought the Spirit so strongly into our home!” said Kade Scorseby from Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Another Church member shared, “The comfort they bring me is so deep and personal, it’s my new friend on my morning walks.”

“They have helped me focus more on Christ and feel the Spirit in abundance,” said Orthneil Kelley from Lebanon, Indiana, USA.

As the new hymnbook continues to roll out, so too will the joy, comfort and inspiration of Latter-day Saints grow as they incorporate the new songs into their worship.

“Before, we had musical testimonies from the past. Now, we have modern-day testimonies too,” said Katie Wood from Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA. “Having hymns from past to present just goes to show me that God still moves within us. … God’s gospel truly is timeless, and the list of His disciples and witnesses is forever growing in many ways — one of which is people are still writing songs about our Savior and how He makes them feel loved.”

“Families and congregations around the world should begin using all these hymns right away,” Elder Renlund said. “Many wards and branches have done this in exemplary ways. Please continue to do so.”

You can find “Hymns—For Home and Church” in the Gospel Library app, the Sacred Music app and on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

See this related story from the Church News Inside the Church’s new hymnbook project, one year later