Hymns at Home

When our choir learned the hymn “I Believe in Christ” by Elder Bruce R. McConkie and John Longhurst, I was so deeply touched by the words and music that I wanted to teach it to my children.

They were cooperative. We learned the hymn on Sunday mornings, one verse at a time. When the choir performed that hymn in sacrament meeting, the children enjoyed it more because it was familiar to them. But the real payoff came a few weeks later, when our music director chose it as one of the sacrament meeting hymns. I was pleased to see my children—even the teenagers—open their books and sing with zest.

We began to make hymn practice a regular part of our Sundays. Since my children did not know many of the songs in the new hymnbook, we had plenty to choose from. In the beginning I taught them hymns that were especially meaningful to me or that I thought would be meaningful to them.

Now I ask the music director for a list of the songs we will be singing in the coming month and choose our hymn from this list.

Worship through song has become a powerful force for good in our family. Hymns have taught and reinforced doctrine, invited the Spirit, touched our hearts, and inspired us.—Linda Garner, Sandy, Utah

Illustrated by Phyllis Luch