SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has finally announced details on the new hymnbook which was announced in 2018.
The new hymnbook, titled “Hymns–for Home and Church” will be released in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French by the end of 2026, according to the Church. By 2030, The Church plans to have hymnbooks in up to 50 languages published.
“This means that Latter-day Saint congregations throughout the world will worship with the same consolidated and unified hymnbook, numbered the same across the languages most spoken in the Church,” the press release said.
The hymnbook, which will have both hymns and children’s songs together, will be comprised of 450 to 500 songs. The Church says this will help children feel like they belong in sacrament meetings when the songs they know are in the hymnbook.
Prior to the release of the new hymnbook, the Church says it will begin releasing some new songs digitally at the beginning of next year. Some of these songs will be familiar and others will be new most of which will be included in the updated hymnbook.
In 2018, the Church requested submissions of original hymns and feedback on current hymns to begin the process of updating the hymnbook. It reports tens of thousands of people gave their feedback and 17,000 original songs were submitted. Over 150 people across the world reviewed the submissions, according to the Church.
Once the selection process is complete, the Church will contact those who submitted an original song to tell them the “status of their submission,” the press release said.
In addition to changing the collection of songs, some songs are being revised to make them “more globally relevant,” the release said. Some of the revisions “will clarify doctrine, replace outdated language where meanings have changed over time, and ensure that lyrics and musical styles are more universally inclusive.”
“We want to thank those who submitted music for their patience as we treat every submission with great care and appreciation,” Steve Schank of the hymnbook committee said.
