Latter-day Saint Life

A major factor is how songs are selected for the new hymnbook

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A congregation of Latter-day Saints sings from the new hymn book, “Hymns—For Home and Church.”
Church of Jesus Christ media relations

The popular song “Do As I’m Doing” helps joyful children all over the world work out their wiggles before many Sunday classes in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Some of the youngest kids in the church’s global Primary organization know the words, but it turns out that nobody actually knows who wrote them.

That’s a catch to including some hymns and songs in the new hymnbook the church is releasing in chunks.

Securing the legal permission to use a piece of music can be tricky, and it will affect what hymns wind up in the new “Hymns—For Home and Church," said David Channer, deputy general counsel in the church’s Office of General Counsel.

“A decision was made that if we’re going to include a hymn in the hymnbook, we are going to have every possible right to that hymn,” Channer said Tuesday during a presentation at BYU’s annual Education Week.

“That’s so we can print it, we can modify it, we can perform it by the Tabernacle Choir, we can perform it at (For Strength of Youth events), we can record it, we can do whatever we need to do with this hymn.

“If we cannot get that kind of bundle of rights, we’re not going to put it in the hymnbook, period.”

Read the full article on the Deseret News.

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