Kristine Frederickson: Doctrine in hymns Mormon (OPEN)

As members of the church we have been counseled to know the doctrines of Christ's gospel and to search them out through careful study of the scriptures. Knowing true doctrine provides individuals protection from the many lies and deceptions in the world today. We have also been taught about the power that comes from uplifting and inspiring music. But consider what it means when the two are combined.

Many of the beautiful doctrines of Christ's church, in their purest, simplest form, are embedded in the words of the hymns in the hymnal. Those selected for inclusion capture profound gospel truths in a concise, clear fashion. Not only does each hymn list the author of the text and composer of the music but it includes scriptural references that will further elaborate the doctrinal truths taught. Certainly inspirational music invites the spirit, but when the individual brings a longing spirit and combines it with music and text, singing can be a synergistic experience: Truths are learned and impressed on the soul in real and powerful ways.

The value and beauty of the hymns are manifold. Their brevity and clarity when put to music are more memorable -- they stick with us. Hymns are carefully selected and sometimes adapted before inclusion to accurately reflect gospel truths. The church also goes to great expense to publish the hymnbook in many languages, reinforcing the significance of musical compositions as one way to further gospel knowledge and reminding that we are, indeed, a worldwide church. For example, when I attend church in Germany, though the music is the same, each hymn has been carefully translated into German to capture its accurate meaning (or sometimes because the original was in German, those who speak English have a translation from the German).

Another delightful feature of each of these musical sermons is that they remind us that many great and devout individuals who were not members of the church understood gospel truths, loved the Savior Jesus Christ and testified of Him. We are reminded how many good and righteous individuals have lived and now live upon the earth each time we open our hymnbooks.

Although doctrinal expositions are replete in the church hymnal, consider a brief sample of what we find when we open its pages. We sing, "I am a child of God, And he has sent me here... Teach me all that I must do To live with him someday" (Hymn 301).

I am a child of God,
And he has sent me here,
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will
I'll live with hime once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God.
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand his words
Before it grows to late.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will
I'll live with hime once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

I am a child of God.
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with him someday.

What so many do not know, we do know. God is our father, we have a heavenly pedigree, and we are innately divine. Further, we are here not just to know but to DO the gospel of Jesus Christ through service and charitable acts because knowing is not enough for eternal salvation.

We sing majestically, "The voice of God again is heard. The silence has been broken. The curse of darkness is withdrawn. The Lord from heav'n has spoken. Rejoice ye living and ye dead! Rejoice for your salvation Begins anew this happy morn Of final dispensation" (Hymn 18).

. The voice of God again is heard.
The silence has been broken.
The curse of darkness is withdrawn.
The Lord from heav’n has spoken.
Rejoice, ye living and ye dead!
Rejoice, for your salvation
Begins anew this happy morn
Of final dispensation.

In one brief verse We are reminded that with the restoration comes the privilege of beginning to work out our salvation while on the earth. We are taught that it is our responsibility to prepare the world, for at the close of this dispensation, we will again we are taught of the restoration of the gospel as God spoke to man from heaven. welcome the Savior to the earth.

Nowhere are we more beautifully reminded of the centrality of family -- that in heaven we have both father and mother -- than in Eliza R. Snow's stirring, "O My Father….In the heav'ns are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason; truth eternal Tells me I've a mother there. When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you In your royal courts on high" (Hymn 292).

O my Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence
And again behold thy face?
In thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first primeval childhood
Was I nurtured near thy side?

2. For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, “You’re a stranger here,”
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.

3. I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I’ve a mother there.

4. When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I’ve completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you

We sing and bear powerful testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God when we join our testimonies to that of W. W. Phelps, "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah! Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer….Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven….Mingling with Gods he can plan for his brethren, Death cannot conquer the hero again" (Hymn 27).

[Chorus]
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.

Praise to his mem’ry, he died as a martyr;
Honored and blest be his ever great name!
Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins,
Plead unto heav’n while the earth lauds his fame.

Great is his glory and endless his priesthood.
Ever and ever the keys he will hold.
Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom,
Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;
Earth must atone for the blood of that man.
Wake up the world for the conflict of justice.
Millions shall know “Brother Joseph” again.

We thrill with the great evangelical reformer, Charles Wesley, as he announces the Lord's birth, "Hark! The herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King!" (Hymn 209), and proclaims our Savior's resurrection, "Christ the Lord is ris'n today….Lives again our glorious King….Where, O death is now thy sting?....he died our souls to save, Alleluia" (Hymn 200).

Christ the Lord is ris’n today,
Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say,
Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high,
Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply,
Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done,
Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the vict’ry won,
Alleluia!
Jesus’ agony is o’er,
Alleluia!
Darkness veils the earth no more,
Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King,
Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting?
Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save,
Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave?
Alleluia!

We are taught that only in and through Jesus Christ is salvation available, "Redeemer of Israel, Our only delight….Our shadow by day And our pillar by night, Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all" (Hymn 6).

Redeemer of Israel,
Our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call,
Our shadow by day
And our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliv’rer, our all!

We know he is coming
To gather his sheep
And lead them to Zion in love,
For why in the valley
Of death should they weep
Or in the lone wilderness rove?

How long we have wandered
As strangers in sin
And cried in the desert for thee!
Our foes have rejoiced
When our sorrows they’ve seen,
But Israel will shortly be free.

As children of Zion,
Good tidings for us.
The tokens already appear.
Fear not, and be just,
For the kingdom is ours.
The hour of redemption is near.

Restore, my dear Savior,
The light of thy face;
Thy soul-cheering comfort impart;
And let the sweet longing
For thy holy place
Bring hope to my desolate heart.

He looks! and ten thousands
Of angels rejoice,
And myriads wait for his word;
He speaks! and eternity,
Filled with his voice,
Re-echoes the praise of the Lord.

Every hymn in the hymnbook shares profound doctrinal truths and testifies of the Savior Jesus Christ. Sing with reverence, sing with gusto, sing with all your souls, but also closely study the profound truths embedded in words of the hymns.

Here is an opportunity to compare the LDS version of some well-loved hymns to the versions used by Christian churches around the world.

Note, mentions of the Cross are deleted from the mormon versions.

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A Christian version of Christ the Lord is Risen Today:

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun's eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection day, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He's King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Familiar version of Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the new born King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled

Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the new born King

Hail the heaven-born prince of peace
Hail the Son of righteousness
Light and life to all He brings
Risen with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by
Born that Man, no more may die
Born to raise the sons of Earth
Born to give them second birth

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the new born King

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the new born King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled

Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem

Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the new born King

So, when you hear the beautiful sounds put forth by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir listen, listen to the words.

You just think these are the hymns you know from old...but they are carrying the message that the mormon church is NOT the church of Christ, and specifically not the church of the Cross.

What do you think of THIS phrase...God is our father, we have a heavenly pedigree, and we are innately divine.

It makes me want to vomit and it makes me intensely sad ...

Sickness: I get physically sick over one of the worst blasphemies ever recorded -- that Jesus and Satan are "half-brothers" and that Jesus was begotten when God committed physical intercourse (and thus incest) with his daughter, the virgin Mary.

And the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Sadness: Much of Mormon theology is centered on the events in the Garden of Eden and the Fall of Man. Mormons should be experts on the topic. Yet Mormons attempt to become gods and thus intentionally duplicate the original sin.

Note, mentions of the Cross are deleted from the mormon versions.

Oh, really?

In Humility, Our Savior, no. 172

1. In humility, our Savior,
Grant thy Spirit here, we pray,
As we bless the bread and water
In thy name this holy day.
Let me not forget, O Savior,
Thou didst bleed and die for me
When thy heart was stilled and broken
On the cross at Calvary.

2. Fill our hearts with sweet forgiving;
Teach us tolerance and love.
Let our prayers find access to thee
In thy holy courts above.
Then, when we have proven worthy
Of thy sacrifice divine,
Lord, let us regain thy presence;
Let thy glory round us shine.

While of These Emblems We Partake, no. 173

1. While of these emblems we partake
In Jesus’ name and for his sake,
Let us remember and be sure
Our hearts and hands are clean and pure.

2. For us the blood of Christ was shed;
For us on Calvary’s cross he bled,
And thus dispelled the awful gloom
That else were this creation’s doom.

3. The law was broken; Jesus died
That justice might be satisfied,
That man might not remain a slave
Of death, of hell, or of the grave,

4. But rise triumphant from the tomb,
And in eternal splendor bloom,
Freed from the pow’r of death and pain,
With Christ, the Lord, to rule and reign.

Reverently and Meekly Now, no. 185

1. Rev’rently and meekly now,
Let thy head most humbly bow.
Think of me, thou ransomed one;
Think what I for thee have done.
With my blood that dripped like rain,
Sweat in agony of pain,
With my body on the tree
I have ransomed even thee.

2. In this bread now blest for thee,
Emblem of my body see;
In this water or this wine,
Emblem of my blood divine.
Oh, remember what was done
That the sinner might be won.
On the cross of Calvary
I have suffered death for thee.

3. Bid thine heart all strife to cease;
With thy brethren be at peace.
Oh, forgive as thou wouldst be
E’en forgiven now by me.
In the solemn faith of prayer
Cast upon me all thy care,
And my Spirit’s grace shall be
Like a fountain unto thee.

4. At the throne I intercede;
For thee ever do I plead.
I have loved thee as thy friend,
With a love that cannot end.
Be obedient, I implore,
Prayerful, watchful evermore,
And be constant unto me,
That thy Savior I may be.

Upon the Cross of Calvary, no. 184

1. Upon the cross of Calvary
They crucified our Lord
And sealed with blood the sacrifice
That sanctified his word.

2. Upon the cross he meekly died
For all mankind to see
That death unlocks the passageway
Into eternity.

3. Upon the cross our Savior died,
But, dying, brought new birth
Through resurrection’s miracle
To all the sons of earth.

As always, blatent lies from the "lying for Jesus" crowd.

OK, the non-capitalization of He/Him frustrates me, too.

OK, we don't have Amazing Grace in our hymnal, but we do have many that teach of grace.

Rock of Ages, no. 111

1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.

2. Not the labors of my hands
Can fill all thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone.

3. While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown
And behold thee on thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee.

I think this one explains our view on salvation and grace. Not the labors of my hands can fill all thy law’s demands; Thou must save, and thou alone. We teach that there are requirements in the law's demands, but those "works" will not fill ALL the law's demands. Only the grace of Christ gets me in to heaven. You explain it backwards from what we believe.

Because, apparently, in LDS doctrine, His grace is not sufficient.

No, in LDS doctrine, our works are not sufficient, only His grace is (but we still are required to do works).

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