LDS Hymnals Digital Collection

Contents: About the Collection | Historical Overview | Tech

About the Collection

This unofficial collection gathers all digitized English hymnals of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) into one place, as far as copyright and public domain laws will permit. This is part of a larger project to document, compare, and analyze changes in LDS hymnals throughout its history.

Historical Overview

Organized in April 1830, the Church of the Latter Day Saints (now called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), was a new church with members from various religious backgrounds that either encouraged or forbade music. The beginnings of music within the church began with a revelation to Emma Smith, Joseph Smith’s wife, instructing her to compile a hymnal for the church:

“And it shall be given thee, also, to make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my church. 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.” Doctrine and Covenants 25:12, July 1830

Although this hymnal was obstructed by the death of her children, mob persecution, and destruction of the church’s printing presses, Emma Smith compiled the hymnal and its printing began in early 1836.

Since that time, the LDS (or also known as Mormon) church has grown exponentially, and has had numerous hymnals over its 190 years. Each hymnal reflects the growth and also evolving culture and views of the church. For example, the 1835 Kirtland Hymnal contained 90 songs while the 24th edition of the Manchester Hymnal contains 383 songs. Hymnals first began without music or tunes, but eventually musical notations were incorporated into the printing.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s the church had 4 different congregational hymnals in use: the Manchester Hymnal, the Latter-Day Saints’ Psalmody, the Deseret Sunday School Songs, and the Songs of Zion. By 1927 the Manchester and the Latter-Day Saints’ Psalmody was replaced by the Latter-Day Saint Hymns. Currently, the church uses its 1985 Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In June 2018 the church announced it will be creating a revised hymnal for worship services.