Mormons love music. We love to sing. We love to dance. For me, personally, music brings great joy to my heart. When I am sad, music can life my spirits. When I’m in the mood to clean, music can make me motivated. When I want to the feel the Spirit of God close to me, music fills my heart, spirit and mind until everything in me is tuned to the heavens.
At the very beginning of the Mormon hymnbook we read:
Three months after the Church was organized, the Lord, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, instructed Joseph’s wife, Emma, to make a selection of sacred hymns for the Church: “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yeah, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.” (D&C 25:12) (Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985)
There is no question, when a hymn is sung, whether aloud or in your mind, the blessings of peace, love, hope and light are poured upon you. Our hymnbook is filled with 341 hymns, some traditional, some from centuries ago, some new, but all invite the Spirit of God into your life, home or meeting.
Some of my favorites are How Great Thou Art, Rock of Ages, I Need Thee Every Hour, Spirit of God, Praise to the Man, In Humility Our Savior, Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love . . . oh, I could go on and on and on . . . really.
In 1985, The First Presidency (prophet and two apostles) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints included this with the introduction written at the beginning of the hymnbook:
Hymns can also help us withstand the temptations of the adversary. We encourage you to memorize your favorite hymns and study the scriptures that relate to them. Then, if unworthy thoughts enter your mind, sing a hymn to yourself, crowding the evil with the good. (Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985)
My favorite hymn to sing times like that is “I Need Thee Every Hour,” because I really, really need the Lord at a time like that to my mind clean and pure.
Music touches every level of our souls, to heal, to uplift, to instruct and enlighten, the precise purpose of the hymns of God. I invite you to visit the Music section of the LDS Church’s website and browse for yourself the music which has been sung in ages past and in every Mormon home and Church to this day..
