A few months ago, my young children and I experienced various bouts of sickness and missed Sunday worship services for several consecutive weeks.
Not attending church left me feeling somewhat distant from the Lord. I felt mentally and physically exhausted, and my efforts at personal prayer and scripture study were waning.
One particular Sunday morning, when I told my 3-year-old son we would be staying home from church again, he expressed interest in watching general conference. He remembered watching April 2025 general conference as a family a few weeks prior and loved watching the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and other choirs perform.
I have to admit I initially wasn’t as excited about rewatching conference that day as my son was. Looking back now, I’m grateful his eagerness led to me having a faith-strengthening experience I desperately needed.
We began watching the Sunday morning session of April general conference. Following messages from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Steven D. Shumway, General Authority Seventy, the Tabernacle Choir stood to sing.
I watched with a smile as my son climbed up his step stool and raised his arms to imitate the choir’s conductor, Mack Wilberg. With a red straw from a fast-food restaurant in hand, my son began “conducting” the choir as they sang — his favorite part of watching conference.
I listened quietly as the choir performed a beautiful hymn that was unfamiliar to me. Titled “Welcome Home,” it was recently added to the Church’s new hymnbook. The first two verses convey warm welcomes given at church meetings and the temple. I became emotional during the third verse:
The Savior beckons in robes of white—
Arms outstretched, His table spread.
Come to His feast; with love be fed.
As those words sank deep into my heart and mind, I imagined my Savior standing before me, stretching out His arms and beckoning me to come to Him. I felt wrapped in a warm embrace as I was reminded that He knows me personally and loves me. In that moment the Spirit tenderly testified to me that no matter where I am — physically or spiritually — “[I’m] always welcome, welcome home.”
I’ve listened to that hymn several times since then. I identify with the words of the chorus, of feeling like a “weary trav’ler on life’s road” as a mother caring for a toddler and a baby in a world that sometimes feels “dark and cold.” Listening to this hymn helps me remember God is always there.
In 2018, the First Presidency directed that a new hymnbook be produced to “increase faith and worship of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in homes and at church and to unify members throughout the world,” said Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on a recent Church News podcast episode.
It’s interesting to me that the name of the new collection is “Hymns — For Home and Church.” Home is listed first. I have seen how these new hymns are increasing faith and worship of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in my own home.
We sing some of the new hymns during family night and at bedtime, and we listen to them in the car. My son loves to watch videos of the songs and pretend to conduct the music, using a straw, popsicle stick, pencil or whatever he can find.
Music has also helped my son become more interested in the gospel and attending church. He remembers lines from the hymns and asks questions about them, like “What does ‘standing on the promises’ mean?” (This song’s “About the Hymns” section, which includes background stories for each hymn and additional study resources, gives a great answer.)
Words from “Standing on the Promises” and other new hymns have helped my family find comfort in difficult circumstances and courage to trust more in the Savior. Music speaks to my heart and mind and strengthens my faith in Jesus Christ in a powerful and memorable way.
I resonate with what Steve Schank, the Church’s hymnbook committee chair, said on the Church News podcast about the power of sacred music: “Many of us, as we’re learning and growing in the gospel, have a little wall around our hearts to protect us. Sacred music has a way of finding the cracks in the walls we build around our hearts and seeping through and touching our hearts and bringing us along.”
I’m grateful for the power of sacred music in my life and the influence it has on my family.
— Sydney Walker is a reporter for the Church News.
