Fifteen New Hymns Available to Use in Church and at Home

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is adding 15 new hymns to its global collection, “Hymns—For Home and Church,” on Thursday, February 13, 2025. These songs will be available in the online Music Library, Gospel Library and Sacred Music app in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French within the next 24 hours. 

The 15 new hymns are: 

• “Close As a Quiet Prayer” 
• “Come, Hear the Word the Lord Has Spoken” 
• “Faith in Every Footstep” 
• “Holy Places” 
• “I Can’t Count Them All” 
• “I Have Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” 
• “I Know That My Savior Loves Me” 
• “Let Easter Anthems Ring” 
• “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling” 
• “Standing on the Promises” 
• “Take My Heart and Let It Be Consecrated” 
• “This Little Light of Mine” 
• “To Love Like Thee” 
• “Welcome Home” 
• “Were You There?” 

This release includes newly submitted music, songs from other Christian faith traditions and hymns that have only been available in a small number of languages before now. This brings the total number of hymns in the new global hymnbook to 37. More songs will continue to be published every few months leading up to the release of the full hymnbook in print and digital formats. 

Individuals, families and Church congregations are encouraged to use this new music now in meetings and at home.  

“Faith in Every Footstep” was composed to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Latter-day Saint pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley. It was first printed in Church magazines in 1997, and used during the pioneer sesquicentennial celebrations. It was included in the Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian and Romanian hymnbooks before being added to “Hymns—For Home and Church.” 

Another familiar addition is the children’s song “I Know That My Savior Loves Me,” which was originally published in the “Friend” magazine in 2002. It has since been used with children in Primary and general conferences.  

“This Little Light of Mine” originated in early African American Christian traditions in the Southern United States and grew in popularity during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The version included in “Hymns—For Home and Church” is an example of an expansion of musical styles in the collection. 

Hymns in More Languages 

The May 2024 release of 13 hymns, which included “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” “Gethsemane,” and “It Is Well with My Soul,” is now also available in German, Korean and Tagalog. Mandarin and Japanese will follow in the coming months. 

Jinhee Kim, a Korean language translation team member for the hymnbook project, knows the power of music and lyrics in a familiar language. “By singing songs, I feel like we are able to worship God more joyfully, more easily,” said Kim. “So, what I wish for other Saints all around the world to feel is to know that Heavenly Father is talking to us through the song.” 

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Transcreation — Creating a Hymnbook for a Global Church 

“We hear the promise and prophecy in the scriptures that all people — every nation, kindred, tongue and people — will be able to learn of the gospel,” said Kayla Decker, the translation manager for the new hymnbook. “The taking of this hymnal to the world, to me, is a manifestation of that prophecy of God.” 

Decker said the new global hymnbook will allow more people worldwide to worship and sing sacred music in their own language.  

Creating a global hymnbook requires an extensive process called transcreation. Transcreation teams include professional linguists, poets, musicians and talented Church members. Decker said there is more to the process than simply translating words from one language to another. 

“What we’re asking teams to do is to take the source text, the source poem, and help it resonate culturally, help it resonate linguistically, help it resonate for the community who will be receiving the product,” she said. “In many cases, that involves being really in tune with the poetic traditions or poetic expectations of the given language.” 

Decker explained that no two languages will transcreate the same. While some lyrics may be changed for linguistic and cultural clarity, the spiritual essence of the hymn will always remain the same. The language of the Spirit is universal. 

She said that taking the time to experience sacred music in other languages can connect people to their fellow children of God and gain a greater understanding of their culture and unique perspective.  

“We learn more about how they view the gospel and how they would characterize different teachings of the gospel,” she said. “And that, in turn, strengthens our own testimony. That, in turn, helps us see other angles and other perspectives of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.” 

Elder Matthew L. Carpenter of the Seventy, a hymnbook advisor, said the transcreation efforts are an important part of expanding God’s kingdom on earth. 

“We have to bring more words, more inspiration,” Elder Carpenter said. “The Lord is accelerating His work. Part of this project to adjust our hymnal and bring in more worshipful songs is helping accelerate that mighty work as we prepare for His Second Coming.” 

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Worshipping Through Music 

Using sacred music to worship has always been an important part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In addition to the new hymn installment, supporting About the Hymns resources will be made available for each released hymn. These include a brief history of the song, related scriptures and principles, questions to ponder, and links to gospel topics and study guides. 

These resources connect hymns to the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ and assist in their use in Church and at home. 

Decker said the divine guidance in the creation of the new hymnal is evidence of God’s love for His children. 

“The emphasis is on transcreating into the language of people’s hearts and making sure they can access the key messages of the gospel in a way that really, really resonates for them, in a language in a medium that will be truly powerful,” she said. “The essence of what [God] wants His children to know is that He loves them, that He’s real, and to learn of ways that they can come unto Him.” 

Selected Hymns — “Language of the Heart” 

In addition to “Hymns—For Home and Church,” the Church will also release a small collection of music from the book that will provide an initial offering in many languages — some of which have never had hymns from the Church. 

“The focus on the ‘Selected Hymns’ product is why we care about giving members access to this product in their homes,” said Decker. “And what an incredible thing for them, whether it be at home or when they show up in their Church units or when they’re singing together with their communities to be able to sing … [in their] primary language. That’s what this product will do.” 

Afrikaans, Burmese, Igbo, Malay, Navajo, Persian, Setswana, Twi, Yoruba and Zulu are a sample of the many languages that will eventually receive the “Selected Hymns.” 

Suann Kang, a Korean translation supervisor, said working on this project with people of so many different backgrounds has been special. 

“This project is really the work of the Lord,” she said. “We are all united in one effort to bring these testimonies to children all over the world — God’s children all over the world.”