I just saw this today in the SLT(paywalled)

New bigger hymnal being produced. Bigger so it is easier for the organist to see and so forth.

Considering some additional songs, including "Amazing Grace", some African song(s) and others that the head honchos do not consider "over the line" whatever THAT means.

Mainstreaming?

Will they sell them to the wards at cost or will they try to make a profit on the investment?

I'm sure we can figure out which ones might not be included. ;-)

Praise to the Man?

Can singers still "Hie to Kolob"?

Members will complain that the new hymnal have too many new songs and their lack of familiarity is disconcerting.

And former members will complain that it's another reason they had to leave; the church is destroying what few good memories they have~ singing Hie to Kolob or some other obscure church hymn. I recall reading on another forum about ex-Mos upset when the church started allowing the young missionaries to call or Skype their families on a weekly basis. Personally, I thought it was a step in the right direction, but others accused the church going soft and giving in to whiny millennials.

I still remember when the church introduced the green one in the 1980s. My ward had some really worn out blue/black hymnals. The ones with torn papers, broken spines and or missing their covers were exclusively relegated for the rear pews. Church leaders wanted members to sit towards the front of the chapel and having worn out hymnals was suposed to do just that.

I think the problem won't be the new songs but the disappearance of some of the old ones. There are some decent hymns at least tunewise, while trash like Shoulder to the Wheel will be left in.

I am just surprised that my mom didn't suffer more car crashes because she sped every where. She drove way too fast for the conditions of the road (weather, traffic and bald tires).

I always thought the line should have been God Call a Tow.

While she didn't crash into other drivers, she did end up in the ditch, off the road and through a fence several times a year.

My mom went through the garage wall and into the master bedroom about six feet. It was just like the movies, the front end of the car in the house all covered with debris.

And then there was the time my sister slid sideways in the Van (one of those big Ford ones) on an icy driveway, and stuck it sideways in the garage door opening just like a plug.

That took two tow trucks to winch it out.

Then my brother who put Mom's Mustang in the middle of the front lawn in about 4 feet of snow, that took a couple of years for the lawn to recover from that one. And it had to be winched out as well.

The church has been switching out materials in hymnals and songbooks for a long time.

About 100 years ago, there was a song in the church children's songbook called "Queer Pussies." The first verse went like this:

"Did you ever hear of pussies
Who never, never scratch or mew,
Nor chase their tails, or play with balls,
As other pussies do?"

(Sadly, the song was about pussy willows.)

https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/evg5a0/thought_yall_might_enjoy_this_page_from_a_vintage/

I'd kind of like to have that one brought back.

Take a listen on a playback here:

https://old.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/i10k3i/i_propose_this_old_cult_childrens_song_about/

Maybe the new hymnals will have Rainbow <alt lifestyle> Covers!

(any bets on T H A T ?)

In most other churches hymn books are fast disappearing.

kentish Wrote:
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> In most other churches hymn books are fast
> disappearing.

In most other churches the congregations are disappearing as fast as their principles.

Nelson will use this opportunity to demormonize the hymnal.

I did hear from an employee of the church's publishing department that they are trying to find a way to not publish and distribute as many physical copies as would be needed. They're hoping to push people to digital versions on their phone as much as possible. That way, they can add/subtract songs as needed over time.

I’d be promoting the notion that mormons should be allowed to attend all the meetings on their phones!

There was a time when the 3 hour block had a 10 minute spot between Sacrament meeting and Sunday School to practice a new hymn from the then new hymnal. There was some kind of directive that ward chorister and ward organist/pianist were supposed to collaborate and plan to introduce new songs so wards would feel comfortable singing newer songs.

Of course this meant that Sunday School lessons lost another ten minutes of lesson time; a feat that the die hard gospel doctrine teachers took very personal. I often observed the Sunday School presidency ringing the bell several times to the adult class to adjourn so priesthood and relief society could begin. At the time SM was allowed to run for 70 minutes and the new ward singing practice was another 10 minutes. Hence Sunday School was only 30 minutes and the teachers were in a huff about shortened class time.

The biggest fight on their hands were getting people to stay in their seats upon conclusion of Sacrament meeting. Not only did people want to stand up after sitting for an hour, they wanted to visit each other. The usual calm chorister was now an angry monster screaming at people to take their seats so ward singing practice could begin.

I think this learn a new hymn program lasted a little over a year. I think most of the new hymns were very hard for lower octaves? to sing. And like everything else being pushed by the church, each song was introduced by a scripture and then creakily sung in a dismal gusto.