Sing the Songs of Your Heart — D&C 23-26 — Life Experienced with Terri Anne Flint

My six-year-old nephews recently joined me in my strength training exercises. It was hilarious as they helped me count out my squat numbers. As a bonus, they announced they needed music and one volunteered to sing Primary songs to bolster our spirits as we completed the workout. Who knew, “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” is the perfect song for strength building!

It’s not uncommon for a hymn to pop into my head and hang around for a few days. I consider it personal revelation and try to pay closer attention to what the Comforter may be singing in my ear. “I’m Trying to be Like Jesus” was my most recent message and I cherish the acknowledgement that indeed, I am trying to be like Jesus.

Thank you, Emma Smith, for compiling the first hymn book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1835. We know you did this important work while your life was filled with so many trials: moving between Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, struggling with difficult pregnancies and continually supporting your husband while he was reviled and persecuted. The songs, “The Spirit of God” and “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” you included in your first hymnal are still stirring our souls and strengthening our testimonies today.

“For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads” (DC 25:12).

“Church hymns are a form of worship; they serve as a prayer of thanks and an expression of commitment. Many hymns build unity among the Saints as well as build a community of Saints. They invite the Spirit into meetings and into our lives. They teach doctrine. Hymns often express testimony and may even be a form of protection or a source of comfort and healing” (Elder Merrill J. Bateman, from a talk at the Workshop on Church Music at Brigham Young University on 4 August 1998).

Sing the Songs of Your Heart — D&C 23-26