Twelve more songs were added to “Hymns for Home and Church” by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday, Feb. 26, in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
The songs include several that have lyrics and related scriptures founded in the Old Testament, which is the subject of this year’s “Come, Follow Me” study.
And “When I Am Baptized” is included in the release with its updated lyrics.
While preparing the new global hymnbook, Church leaders have carefully reviewed lyrics of existing and new hymns to make sure they clearly and powerfully convey the doctrine of Christ. When the full print hymnbook is released, members can expect many familiar hymns to be updated to align more closely with scripture and enhance their faith-building impact.
This is the sixth batch of published songs, making 72 new songs in the growing catalog that may be sung at home, in Church meetings and in other settings.
Besides “When I Am Baptized,” some of the other songs may already be familiar to Church members, while others are new submissions.
For example, “Build an Ark” and “Jesus Is My Shepherd” have been published in the Friend magazine and are already being sung by Primary children.
The Tabernacle Choir has sung “My Song in the Night” and “This Is My Father’s World,” both of which come from other Christian faith traditions.
Meanwhile, those titles — in addition to “Elijah and the Still, Small Voice,” “Long Ago, Within a Garden,” “Lord, Accept Our Humble Fast” and “My Covenants” — have hymn lyrics and related scriptures that are founded in the Old Testament, thus making them appropriate and helpful songs to include in Church lessons and home study.
Sunday School General President Paul V. Johnson said the release of these songs is exciting.
“We think it will be a blessing to people in their study of the Bible,” he said. “We study the [Old Testament] at home, and we study it in church, and the hymns help teach the doctrine and principles of the gospel with power and clarity.”
In a Feb. 26 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org, President Johnson shared the following ways to use these new hymns:
- Memorize the lyrics.
- Listen to the prerecorded songs throughout the day.
- Sing enthusiastically at church.
- Invite someone to play or sing as part of a lesson at church.
“I would encourage you to do whatever you can to incorporate these new hymns into your life,” said President Johnson.
Using the doctrine and songs throughout life
AnJanette Broderick, Primary music leader in the West Bountiful 6th Ward, West Bountiful Utah Stake, said she loves the new music in “Hymns for Home and Church” and tries to incorporate it often.
“I feel like the kids can handle more,” she said. “I feel like they are coming stronger. They just have bigger questions, and they are willing to talk about hard things.”
Broderick said she is excited to have more Old Testament songs to teach and learn in singing time.
“They can take that doctrine and those songs with them for the rest of their lives. Arming them with pure doctrine through music will stay with them forever,” she said.
Scripture references are linked at the bottom of the same page as the music for each song in the music library in the Gospel Library app and on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
In “About the Hymns” in Gospel Library, each of the new hymns and songs is featured in a chapter containing the hymn’s story as well as study prompts and linked resources. People can learn more about the hymn writers, read scriptural references and use related gospel study guides for the new hymns.
Two more batches of hymns are expected to be released this year before the print version of the new hymnbook is projected to be ready in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French by mid-2027. Other language translations will follow.
The songs are being released in small batches so wards, individuals and families can learn, practice and sing them. Thirteen new hymns were released in May 2024, then nine in September 2024, followed by 15 in February 2025, 11 in June 2025 and 12 in September 2025.
The 72 songs are in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Eleven hymns are being released today in German, Korean and Tagalog.
And, for the first time, thirteen new hymns are being released in the following eight languages: Cebuano, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Samoan, Tongan and Vietnamese.
