It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas.
Here in the United States sometime soon after Halloween and well before Thanksgiving, Christmas music begins to be heard on radio stations and in stores. And for every holiday song about rockin’ around Christmas tree, all that we want for Christmas or Santa coming to town, there are Christmas carols and Christmas hymns, with lyrics replete with divine messages and gospel principles.
For decades, these Christmas carols and hymns have been holiday material for musicians and singers of all genres, performed in films and on TV and recorded for radio airplay or in-home enjoyment. And these carols and hymns have been sung by masses far and wide for decades longer — in concerts, at gatherings, in homes or during caroling on streets or in neighborhoods.
The messages are more than just about the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Yes, we sing of the coming of Christ the Lord, the Son of the Father, the King and the Light — those names and titles and more are found in the lyrics. We also sing of angels, of heaven, of the holy and of peace and goodwill. And we sing phrases of faith, devotion and adoration, with references at times to Christ’s Atonement, His Resurrection and His Second Coming.
Consider a select few of the messages below — which center on the Savior and span Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation — from hymns found in our current hymnal, “Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (some punctuation and capitalization adjustments have been made):
- “Rejoice when Jesus reigns” (“Joy to the World,” No. 201).
- “Son of the Father, now in flesh appearing” (“Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful," No. 202).
- “Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord” (“Angels We Have Heard on High,” No. 203).
- “Son of God, love’s pure light radiant beams from Thy holy face” (“Silent Night,” No. 204).
- “Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray” (“Away in a Manger,” No. 206).
- “For lo, the days are hastening on, by prophets seen of old” (“It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” No. 207).
- “No ear may hear His coming; but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in” (“O Little Town of Bethlehem,” No. 208).
- “Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die; born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth” (“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” No. 209).
And more of the same is coming with the half-dozen Christmas selections added so far to the new “Hymns — For Home and Church.”
As bishop of a young single adult ward, during our Easter 2022 Sunday sacrament meeting I shared a similar thought about Easter hymns referencing principles from the plan of salvation and from the Savior’s life, ministry and mission. That mission includes the Atonement of Jesus Christ — His suffering in the garden, His Crucifixion on the cross and His Resurrection from the tomb — as well as His Second Coming.
I tied that thought with the aforementioned messages found in the Christmas hymns, such as the “joy” in “Joy to the World” representing not only the joy of the birth of the Christ child but also the Savior’s role in the plan of salvation and the eternal opportunities and blessings afforded us through it.
And then we did something impromptu — an unscheduled, previously unannounced congregational singing of “Joy to the World.” As the organ played and the voices soared, an equally unexpected reaction resulted. Members of other wards assigned to the same meetinghouse who were in the outside foyers popped open the chapel doors, peering in with quizzical looks as to why anyone would be singing a Christmas hymn on Easter Sunday.
Later that year and in the same YSA ward, as I presented a similar message about holiday hymns during the Christmas Day sacrament meeting, I asked the chorister and organist to lead us in the Easter selection “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” (“Hymns,” No. 200). Those who had attended both the Easter and Christmas Day worship services in the ward understood how the hymn served as a fitting bookend to discussions on the powerful lyrics of holiday hymns.
I invite you to not only enjoy the messages of Christ — His birth as well as His roles as Savior and Redeemer — in the singing of Christmas carols and hymns during worship services and religious gatherings but also recognize their extended reach as you hear popular renditions this season on the radio, in the stores, on the streets, from social media posts and in the home.
May we rejoice in a season where more people are singing more often of love and light, of hope and healing, of peace and goodwill, of angels and heaven, and of the Son and the Father.
— Scott Taylor is managing editor of the Church News.
