#152 "God Be with You Till We Meet Again"

I love this song!  Every performance of the Southern California Mormon Choir and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ends with this hymn, so I've probably sung this song more than any other in the hymnbook.  Most missionary farewells seem to have this as the closing hymn, so "God Be with You Till We Meet Again" is a very popular hymn!

#151 "We Meet, Dear Lord"

When I played this hymn today, I didn't think I had ever sung it or played it before.  However, I found a note in my personal hymnbook that had the date "1-28-96" penciled in, meaning that the choir sang this hymn on that date.  It's a nice hymn, but I think that's the one and only time I ever have sung it!

#150 "O Thou Kind and Gracious Father"

This hymn was in the choir section in the old hymnbook, so not many congregations are familiar with it.  I don't think I've ever scheduled it for choir or congregation because I don't have any notes in my personal hymnbook.  It seems like a nice tune with good words, but it just isn't used much.

#149 "As the Dew from Heaven Distilling"

I grew to love this song because of the 1972 Los Angeles Music Festival.  Brother Beckstead (of the Alhambra Ward) arranged a medley of LDS hymns and this was included in the medley.  It came right before "The Spirit of God".  (See post from January 2nd for more details).  Now that I am older, I understand the words that I sang as a freshmen in high school.  Great hymn!

#148 "Sabbath Day"

How appropriate that this hymn appears today--a Sunday!  This hymn is new to the 1985 Hymnal but I've used it for both choir and congregation back in the 1990's.  I haven't used it much lately--I'm not sure why, but I just haven't scheduled it.  I like the tune and the words, so I will have to remember to use it in the future.

#147 "Sweet Is the Work"

This hymn is great for choir or congregation.  I have used the version in the Choirbook, by Robert Manookin.  There is a free accompaniment to verse four in that publication.  It is also nice to utilize Hymn #317, the women's arrangement of this hymn, as part of a choir performance.  Hymn #317 is in the key of A-flat and Hymn #127 is in the key of G, so a modulation would be needed to make the two hymns work together.

#146 "Gently Raise the Sacred Strain"

I can't sing or play this hymn without thinking about the weekly Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word.  Every Sunday morning, this is the hymn that begins each broadcast.  I've used this hymn with choir and congregation.  It is also a song that can be used as a sacrament hymn.  Verse two has these words: "And partake the sacrament in remembrance of our Lord".  I've used it a few times as a sacrament hymn, but since it's not located in the section of sacrament hymns (#169-196) I forget that it can be used.  (I'll have to make a note in my personal hymnbook about that!)

#145 "Prayer Is the Souls' Sincere Desire"

When I played this hymn today, I was surprised to notice that the hymn seemed different to me in measures 7-11.  I looked up this hymn in the old hymnal and found out why I felt that way.  In the old hymnal, the women sing measures 7-11, but in the 1985 edition, bass and tenor parts have been added.  I like the old way better.  I've used this hymn for choir, and how we made it special was to sing only verses 5-8, which are rarely sung by the congregation.  At the end of verse 8, we added a tag ending on "Lord, teach us how to pray."

#144 "Secret Prayer"

I remember singing this one as a little girl and loving it even back then!  I love the chorus where the men sing their part and then, on the last line, "May unite my soul with heav'n." all the parts sing together.  How fitting it is that all the voices "unite" on the last line with those words!  We've used this for choir a few times over the years, and, for the congregation, many times.

#143 "Let the Holy Spirit Guide"

I have used this hymn many times since it has been added to the 1985 hymnal.  I've used it as a congregational hymn as well as for the ward choir.  I like it!

#142 "Sweet Hour of Prayer"

I like this hymn.  My favorite memory of this hymn is of hearing my dad play it on the piano.  Well, at least the right-hand part for about the first nine measures.  He was able to play the thirds, but not past the ninth measure.  My dad never had piano lessons, but his mother played the piano--even though she had been deaf since about the age of seven.  When we got a piano at my house (when I was about 12 years old) this hymn was one of the first things he played.  He also played "Days of Summer Glory" which is no longer in the primary song book. 
This is an easy hymn to play and sing.

#141 "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee"

I like this hymn, too.  I have a note in my personal hymnal to sing the SSA arrangement (Hymn #315) as follows:
Verse 1:  Key of B-flat from Hymn #315/Soprano solo
Verse 2: Hymn #315/SSA/ modulate to key of "G" by playing the first three measures of Hymn #315and then go to Hymn #141.  The notes I had written in my hymnbook did not work when I played them today, so I need to find someone who knows how to modulate from B-flat to G and write in a chord.
Verse 3: Hymn #141/Men and women in unison on melody; Another note in my hymnal says to have the men in unison for verse 3.  Either idea would work.
Verse 4: Hymn #141/SATB; Another note has the tenors singing a suspension on the word "be" in measure 7, by singing a "G" before going to the F-sharp.
TAG:     Repeat first three measures of verse four: "Jesus, our only joy be thou."

The note in my hymnal has the date of April 20, 1997, so apparently our Oak Hills Ward Choir sang it that way on that day!

#140 "Did You Think to Pray?"

This is another classic hymn that I've loved forever.  We sing this often in our ward and have used it as a choir number.  The message of this hymn and music work together to make an effective hymn.

#139 "In Fasting We Approach Thee"

Yesterday I wrote about Hymn #138 and how we sang it often in the Baldy Mesa Branch.  The same could be said about "In Fasting We Approach Thee".  I liked having two specific hymns that I could use on Fast Sunday.  For some reason, we don't use this hymn much anymore.  I really like the message of the text and the music, but we just don't sing it very often.

#138 "Bless Our Fast, We Pray"

When the 1985 LDS Hymnal was published, I was in the Phelan Ward.  Eight months later, I was a member of the newly-formed Baldy Mesa Branch and was called as the music director.  I made the effort to have our little congregation learn the new hymns.  This was one of the hymns that we learned and used often in our branch.  I liked the words and the music.  It was really nice to have a hymn that was appropriate to use for Fast Sunday. 

#137 "Testimony"

I love the words and music to this hymn which is new to the 1985 LDS Hymnbook.  The author, Elder Loren C. Dunn of the Seventy, once came to our Hesperia Stake Conference when I was the Stake Music director.  (I purposely did NOT schedule his song for any of the meetings because I thought it would look like we were "kissing up".)  I remember him being a really tall man with a powerful testimony.  He used the phrase "I know" so many times (in the testimony that he bore at our stake conference) that it almost got uncomfortable.  However, I think the text of this hymn is perfect in its sentiment.

#136 "I Know That My Redeemer Lives"

This is another favorite of mine.  I love the words and I love how the first half of the song is supposed to be sung in unison and then the last half sung in 4-part harmony.  The fourth verse uses the same words on the first half and the last half:  "He lives!  All glory to his name!  He lives, my Savior, still the same.  Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: 'I know that my Redeemer lives!'" I think this is a very effective way to get the message across. 
I use this hymn as part of my organ prelude each week.

#135 "My Redeemer Lives"

This simple hymn is special because the words were written by President Gordon B. Hinckley.  We've used this as a congregational hymn and choir number. 

#134 "I Believe in Christ"

I love this hymn!  When the 1985 hymnbook came out, it was mentioned that this hymn came from a text by Bruce R. McConkie, who died in April 1985, I believe.  He spoke at April conference and he bore a strong testimony about knowing that in the coming days he would see the Savior.  I took a recording of his final testimony and played his actual words with this hymn being played in the background.  "I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world.  He is our Lord, our God, and our King.  This I know of myself independent of any other person.  I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.  But I shall not know any better then than I know now that his is God's Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way."  This was in the old Baldy Mesa Branch choir.  It was very emotional to hear his testimony combined with this hymn.
When I was the stake music director for the Hesperia Stake, I used an arrangement of "I Believe in Christ" which was written by Frank Turner, the director of the Southern California Mormon Choir, for our stake conference.  The visiting authority complimented me and the choir on our singing.  He asked about the arrangement we used, and I told him where I got it.  Later, when I joined the choir in 2007, I was able to sing Brother Turner's arrangement under his direction.  This hymn will always have a special place in my heart.

#133 "Father in Heaven"

I like the lowered key (compared to the old hymnal) in the 1985 edition of the LDS Hymnbook for this hymn.  As an alto, it is much easier to sing the melody.  I have a note in my personal hymnbook about conducting this hymn.  It came from a class I took at the Church Music Workshop at BYU.  My notes say to use "little or no ictus on beat 2".  I also have notes written above the beginning of measures 1, 2, 4, and 8 to use a "melded gesture" with the right hand.  Another note reads, "Conduct the music, not just the beat!"  I think these are all good suggestions!  This new edition changes wording on verse 2 and adds the word "and" before the word "joy" on measures 6 and 7.  This allows the word "joy" to come on the down beat.
Karen Lynn Davidson's book "Our Latter-day Hymns" states that this hymn was originally written in 1811 for men's voices.  I would love to have access to that arrangement.

#132 "God Is In His Holy Temple"

I don't really care for this hymn. I believe I may have sung it once during a special Sunday School lesson about the temple.  I remember that no one knew it and there was barely anyone singing.  I guess the words are nice, but I don't enjoy singing the melody or harmony on this song.

#131 "More Holiness Give Me"

I love the message of this song.  The word "more" is in the hymn 24 times!  My favorite line is the last one: "More, Savior, like thee."  It's a great tune and text combination.  I have a note in my personal hymnbook that "Hymnal Plus" (volume 1) has an arrangement of this hymn.

#130 "Be Thou Humble"

I love the message of this hymn and like the tune.  There are some weird accidentals, but I was able to play this hymn.  The words of this hymn are perfect for reminding us that when we serve in our church callings, we will be led by the Lord.

#129 "Where Can I Turn for Peace?"

I love, love, love this addition to the 1985 hymnbook!  We have used it as a choir number and a congregational hymn.  One year, when I went to the BYU Church Music Workshop, a class was taught by the choir director of the BYU Singers.  He used this hymn in conjunction with a song called "Christ, Whose Glory"--I have the music somewhere, but I don't want to look for it right now.  Anyway, he had us sing verses one and two of "Where Can I Turn for Peace?" and then we went right into "Christ, Whose Glory".  The words of that song fit so perfectly with the hymn.  Then we came back to the third verse of the hymn and added a coda using the last line: "Constant he is and kind, Love without end."  It was also in that class that he taught us to pronounce the /th/ of "without" with the second sound of the phonogram--as in "there".  He told us that it is a much more pleasing sound to pronounce the voiced /th/ for singing because you can keep a pitch on it.  The sound of /th/ as in "bath" cannot be sung, so I always try to remind any choir that I conduct that you should use the second sound of /th/ in the words "with" or "without".
If I ever have the opportunity to conduct a stake choir again, I would like to try this arrangement.

#128 "When Faith Endures"

I am really glad that this hymn was included in the 1985 edition of the LDS Hymnbook.  The message is perfect and the tune goes so well with it!  This is one we sing in both choir and in sacrament meeting with the congregation.  I have a note in my personal hymnal to sing verse one of hymn #130 ("Be Thou Humble"), then sing #128 , and lastly, back to hymn #130 for the second verse.  This would be good to do in a choir.  I haven't done it yet, but it is something that I would try.

#127 "Does the Journey Seem Long?"

This hymn was new to me, although I remember seeing it as I flipped through the hymnal over the years.  When I tried to play it today, the timing threw me off.  I'm not sure if I even played it correctly.  The words were written by Joseph Fielding Smith back in the 1920's.  This hymn was in the 1927 edition of the hymnbook.  I'm not sure I understand the message and since the tune was unfamiliar to me, this is a hymn that I would probably never choose to sing in a sacrament meeting.

#126 "How Long, O Lord Most Holy and True"

Although this hymn was in the old 1927 hymnal, I don't remember singing it before.  This song is in the Key of E minor, and that makes the tune have a haunting quality about it that helps to reinforce the message of being released from spirit prison.  I wonder if other congregations throughout the church even sing this because I've never been in a sacrament meeting where it was sung--at least I don't recall hearing it.

#125 "How Gentle God's Commands"

I love the simplicity of this hymn.  The text and music go so well together.  I do have a note in my personal hymnbook to use the tune of hymn #218, "We Give Thee But Thine Own", with the words of "How Gentle God's Commands".  I'm not sure it is as effective as the original tune.  I also like the women's arrangement of this hymn.  It can be found as Hymn #314.

#124 "Be Still, My Soul"

This song was added to the 1985 edition of the LDS Hymnal.  I love this hymn!  The text and tune go so well together.  The first time I heard it, the timing was a little tricky for me, but now I have no problem singing or playing it.  Well, sometimes I have trouble reaching the bass notes with my left hand, so I have to play the tenor notes with my right hand.  We've used this hymn as a congregational hymn and a choir number.  I also use it as a prelude.

#123 "Oh, May My Soul Commune with Thee"

I like this hymn.  It is a new addition to the 1985 Hymnal.  We've used it as a choir number several times and as a congregational hymn many times.  It is one that I will continue to use. 

#122 "Though Deepening Trials"

 1972 Los Angeles Music Festival

I really like this song--the message and the tune.  I have a happy memory of singing this hymn at the 1972 Los Angeles Music Festival put on by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I was a freshman at the time and several stakes in the Los Angeles region joined together at the Los Angeles Sports Arena for a combined music festival.  Brother Beckstead, an accomplished musician and instructor at California State University, Los Angeles, had written a special medley of three hymns for the festival:  "Though Deepening Trials", "As the Dew From Heaven Distilling", and "The Spirit of God".  We sang just verse two of "Though Deepening Trials", so I often forget that there is another verse before it!  I use this hymn as a prelude at funerals and as a prelude in sacrament meeting.  This hymn has seven verses, but we usually just sing the first four for church meetings.  There is a choir arrangement by Larry Lyon in the church-published "Choirbook".