#121 "I'm a Pilgrim, I'm a Stranger"

I didn't care for this hymn's melodic line.  There were too many accidentals and it was difficult to sing and play.  I don't think I've ever sung this before.  I wouldn't mind if the next edition of the LDS Hymnal leaves this one out!

#120 "Lean on My Ample Arm"

Believe it or not, this is another hymn that I first sang in the old Monterey Park Ward choir--back in the early 1970's.  (We must have sung all of the songs in the portion of the hymnbook designated for choir.)  I had a very difficult time playing this hymn because of the accidentals.  I remember learning the alto in the choir and having a hard time with the harmony.  I don't think I've sung this song since sometime before 1977, when I left my old ward to head out to BYU.  I doubt there are very many wards in the world who sing this song.  It's one of those that has a nice message, but is just too difficult to sing and play for the average congregation.

#119 "Come, We That Love the Lord"

This is a short hymn with a nice message.  T.T. Noble has a "free organ accompaniment" to this hymn tune.  I've never used it, but I learned about "free organ accompaniments" at the BYU Music Workshop several years ago.  Back in February of this year, I was asked to play the organ at the memorial service for Rachel Taggart, daughter of Melanie Crandall, who is the daughter of Bud and Lynda (now deceased) Crandall.  Rachel was just 29 years old when she died.  Melanie (her mother) asked that this hymn, "Come, We That Love the Lord", be the closing hymn.  It seemed very unusual for a hymn at a funeral/memorial service, but Melanie was adamant about it.  She told me that two Sundays before, she was at the Green Tree Ward's sacrament meeting and this song was sung.  She related to me the feelings of peace it gave her, even though she could barely get through the song without crying that particular Sunday.  The last verse is as follows: "This mighty God is ours, Our Father and our Love.  He will send down his heav'nly pow'rs To carry us above."  I think these are the words they may have helped Melanie through a very sad time in her life.

#118 "Ye Simple Souls Who Stray"

Our ward choir in the old Monterey Park Ward used to sing this hymn and it is one of the first hymns in which I learned the alto part.  I really like the melody on this hymn because it starts out in a nice alto range.  The old hymnbook had the altos sing the first two phrases and then the sopranos joined in after that.  This is a favorite.

#117 "Come unto Jesus"

I really love the message of this hymn.  One time I found myself nearly in tears when singing the second verse of the hymn during a sacrament meeting, as I thought about a family member.  "Come unto Jesus; He'll ever heed you, though in the darkness you've gone astray.  His love will find you and gently lead you from darkest night into day."  These words were very powerful to me.

#116 "Come, Follow Me"

I learned this hymn in primary as a child.  One phrase always confused me.  I didn't know what a "salone" was--you know, the phrase that I thought went like this:  "For the salone can we be one".  Of course, the real words are: "For thus alone can we be one with God's own loved, begotten Son."  I also remember that my first church calling was that of "Junior Primary Music Director" in the old Monterey Park Ward.  I was just 16-years old at the time.  Primary was held on a weekday after school.  Ours was held on Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m.  Tami Mayer, who is a couple of years younger than I am, was the primary pianist.  She and I would walk to the local "Frosty Freeze" and get a "soft serve" cone after opening exercises (when the children went to their primary classes).  Leading the music in primary has always been my favorite calling.

#115 "Come, Ye Disconsolate"

I like this hymn.  It is easy to play and sing.  (Key of "C").  I use this hymn in my prelude almost weekly.  It works well as a prelude number for a funeral service, too.  The last line of each verse is so powerful:  "Earth has no sorrow that heav'n cannot heal.  Earth has no sorrow that heav'n cannot cure.  Earth has no sorrow but heav'n can remove."

#114 "Come unto Him"

I really like this hymn.  I like it best when the choir director uses fermatas at the end of the phrase lines (commas and periods) to emphasize the message.  I don't particularly like to sing in "straight" with the notes getting their actual value.  We have sung this in the Oak Hills Ward Choir and we observed the punctuation markings and added fermatas to make the message clear.  That's the way I like to sing it.

#113 "Our Savior's Love"

When this hymn was added to the new hymnal in 1985, I fell in love with it!  We have used it as a congregational hymn and a choir number.  Even though it's a little difficult to play (because of the big stretches with the left hand) I still enjoy playing it.  I love the melody (by Crawford Gates) and the text.  A wonderful message!

#112 "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul"

This hymn was totally new to me, but I like the melody and words.  According to the book, "Our Latter-Day Hymns", by Karen Lynn Davidson, it was included in the old 1950 hymnal but with a different (and more difficult choir tune).  I don't remember singing it as a youth.

#111 "Rock of Ages"

This song always seemed weird to me as a teenager because of the reference to "water and blood"--which, of course, Christ shed for us--but it always seemed really gory to me.  This hymn also reminds me of a song by John Denver back in the late 1970's.  Some of the words were: "You done stomped on my heart and smashed that sucker flat.  You just sorta stomped on my aorta."  Then it went into this hymn.  Weird transition, but it was funny at the time!
Now, as an adult, I like this hymn's message.  I've always thought that I'd like the third verse sung at my funeral: "While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyes shall close in death.  When I rise to worlds unknown and behold thee on thy throne.  Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee."

#110 "Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord"

I love this classic hymn by Felix Mendelssohn!  His original version is slightly different, but the hymn retains most of the character and harmonies of Mendelssohn's hymn.  It's not too difficult to play, but there are some "big stretches" with the left hand that have to be accommodated for by playing the tenor with the right hand.  Our ward choir has never sung this, nor has it been a congregational hymn--at least so as I can remember.  This is something I hope I can remedy in the future!

#109 "The Lord My Pasture Will Prepare"

This is a simple hymn that is easy to play.  (I love the "Key of C"!)  I was able to play this through without a single mistake!

#108 "The Lord Is My Shepherd"

This hymn is one of my favorites to sing.  I still stumble over a few of the notes when I play it.  I think I love this song so much is because the alto line is the melody for the first half of the hymn.  A great hymn based on the 23rd Psalm!

#107 "Lord, Accept Our True Devotion"

When I was in track during high school, I remember humming the words, "Help us, Lord, to win the race."
I like the tune and message of this hymn.  It is also easy to play, which is another plus!

#106 "God Speed the Right"

This hymn was easy to play and sing.  I liked singing "God speed the right" at the end of each line, and twice at the end.  Although there are no dynamic markings, my whole life I've heard it sung with a loud "God speed the right." followed by a very soft "God speed the right." at the end.  That seems just right!

#105 "Master, the Tempest if Raging"

I love the story in this hymn of Jesus calming the storm.  A memory I have of this song is learning it in the old Monterey Park Ward during "Sunday School Hymn Practice" back in the 1970's.  The music director had asked the congregation to observe the dynamic markings (which, by the way, are absent in the 1985 hymnal).  She had us start loudly at the verse, and then medium soft at the beginning of the chorus.  On the "Peace, be still" part she asked us to sing softly.  On the "Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea..." part, she asked us to gradually crescendo until we got to the "The Master of ocean and earth and skies" and to sing that part at double forte.  Then she asked us to sing medium loudly and back to piano at "Peace, be still".  My brother, Tom, (or maybe it was Bryan) was actively singing, but hadn't really listened to the music director's directions.  The congregation came to the "Peace, be still" part and Tom sang as loud as he could.  The whole congregation heard him, I'm sure, but didn't erupt into laughter.  I was just embarrassed! 

#104 "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me"

Even though this is an "old-fashioned" hymn, I still like the melody and harmony.  The text would mean a lot to someone who understands the sea and who has sailed in the ocean.  This hymn isn't sung much in the wards I've been in.

#103 "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer"

I'm not terribly fond of this hymn--probably because it sounds so old-fashioned--but it is an easy hymn to play and sing. 

#102 "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"

As a teen, I never liked the title of this song.  As an  adult, I'm a little more mature and I understand it.  I remember singing this song in the Phelan Ward Choir back in the mid 1980's.  I liked how our director had us sing it "as written" with the "Duet" in the verse and the "Harmony" in the chorus.  I have notes in my personal hymnbook which tells me that when playing this hymn on the organ I should use the following stops:
Soft reed; 4' flute; add 8' flute.
Not sure what that actually means to me, but I wrote it in my hymnal!

#101 "Guide Me to Thee"

This is a nice hymn, but not widely sung.  It was written during the 1800's and has that "old-fashioned" sound.  The repeating phrase, "Guide me to thee" appears 12 times in the four verses.  It's not one of my favorite hymns, but the sentiment is nice!

#100 "Nearer, My God, to Thee"

I love this hymn!  Great message, great music!  I've played it at several funerals and it always brings peace to the service.  This hymn will always be a favorite of mine.

#99 "Nearer, Dear Savior, to Thee"

This hymn isn't widely sung, but it has a nice melody and a good message in the text.  It's another one of those that you can tell was from the 1800's.  It was easy to play and sing.

#98 "I Need Thee Every Hour"

This hymn is another classic that I love to sing and play!  I use it almost every Sunday as part of my prelude.

#97 "Lead, Kindly Light"

I really like the tune and message of this hymn.  The words "I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, pride ruled my will. Remember not past years." have always meant something to me.  I wish my faith was stronger so that I would sing "I do not ask to see the distant scene--one step enough for me." with conviction.  I am always wanting to "see the whole picture".  I've learned that God is in charge and He can see the whole picture, so that is all I need to know.

#96 "Dearest Children, God Is Near You"

My favorite part of this hymn is the repeated line, "He will bless you, He will bless you, If you put your trust in him."  I like how the sopranos and altos harmonize and then the full choir comes in on the last line. 

#95 "Now Thank We All Our God"

This is another classic hymn for Thanksgiving that we sing every year.  It's easy to play and easy to sing. 

#94 "Come, Ye Thankful People"

This is another great hymn to use around Thanksgiving.  I use it every year.  Ironically, I learned this hymn as a second grade student from my second grade teacher, Mrs. Schumacher.  I wouldn't be able to teach this song to my students these days!  I remember my teacher having a really pretty voice to go with her beautiful face and smile.  Even though I can't teach songs like this to my students, I hope they have good memories of their second grade teacher when they are 54 years old!

#93 "Prayer of Thanksgiving"

This is my favorite Thanksgiving hymn for a ward or stake choir.  I make sure it is scheduled every year--either for the congregation or choir!  It's a classic!

#92 "For the Beauty of the Earth"

This familiar hymn is one that we sing throughout the year, and especially around Thanksgiving.  We've used it as a choir hymn before.  One effective way we sang it was:
Verse 1:  Women's duet (SA)
Verse 2:  Men's duet with tenors singing melody and basses singing the alto line
Verse 3: SATB
On each verse, the line "Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise", the choir all joined together and sang it in 4-part harmony (SATB).