LDS Church Releases Eight New Hymns for Global Hymnbook
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released eight new hymns and songs on Oct. 29, 2026, bringing its online total to 90 tracks published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French across eight batches.
New International Selections Join Global Hymnbook
The latest drop introduces seasonal and international selections to the forthcoming global hymnbook, titled “Hymns for Home and Church.” Among the additions is the standard Christian Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” the Irish classic “Be Thou My Vision,” and “Our Savior Brings Us Joy,” a piece originating in Sweden in the 1800s that gained popularity across African nations. Ann Green Buys contributed another newly added Christmas song, “A Quiet Night,” after submitting the piece to the hymnbook committee in 2018.
As part of the ongoing rollout, these tracks are accessible digitally through the Gospel Library app, the Church’s website, and music.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Alongside the digital updates, the Church announced that the finalized print version of the hymnbook will feature 394 hymns. Production schedules target a late 2027 release for print editions in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, while translations for additional languages progress at varying rates. German, Korean, Japanese, and Tagalog have received several batches, whereas Armenian, Cebuano, Indonesian, Italian, Malagasy, Samoan, Tongan, Vietnamese, and Russian remain at earlier stages.
Church Leadership Sets Criteria for Hymn Selection
The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have directly supervised the selection process, measuring every piece against five core criteria: increasing faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, teaching core doctrine with power, inviting joyful singing, comforting the weary, and unifying members worldwide. Stephen M. Jones, a member of the hymnbook committee and chair of the music editorial subcommittee, noted the massive scope of the project, which evaluated existing hymns from other Christian traditions alongside more than 17,000 original submissions. The committee routed potential entries through text and music editing teams, occasionally returning works to living authors and composers for revisions to enhance musical success and doctrinal accuracy before seeking final approval from Church leadership.
With more than 17 million members speaking 125 languages, the new collection acts as a cross-cultural resource. Data from the Liahona highlights that 74% of all included songs feature at least one contributor who is a member of the faith, blending historical traditions dating back to Emma Smith’s 1835 compilation with contemporary global creations. Not all tracks from the older books will transition into the new volume. Elder Dale G. Renlund advised members in 2025 to retain their current hymnbooks for older favorites. Addressing the culmination of the multi-year effort, Elder Mark D. Eddy, a General Authority Seventy and hymnbook adviser, stated that the music provides increased faith in eternal truths as well as courage and peace through its sound and structure.
Disclaimer: The views and cultural analyses presented in this article are for informational and entertainment purposes only. Information regarding legal disputes or financial data is based on available public records.