The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hymns


Latter-day Saint hymns come from many sources and there have been numerous hymn books printed within the Latter Day Saint movement since its inception in 1830. The singing of hymns has always been an important part of the history and worship in the Latter Day Saint movement, including its largest component, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This article specifically addresses hymns of the LDS Church.

Early LDS Hymns

In July 1830, Joseph Smith, considered a prophet by LDS Church members, stated he received a revelation from God for his wife, Emma, to select hymns for the Church of Christ:

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.

Initially, it seems that this revelation was interpreted to mean that Emma Smith was commanded to select which hymns were appropriate for use in the worship services of Latter Day Saints and not necessarily to compile a hymnbook. Due in part to this ambiguity in the revelation and in part to persecutions and the constant uprooting of the church in those early days, she was not able to compile a hymnbook for several years. However, in the meantime, other followers continued to write, arrange, and collect hymns.
The first LDS hymns were published by W.W. Phelps in June, 1832 in Independence, Missouri. These appeared as text only in The Evening and the Morning Star, the church's semimonthly newspaper. Many of these lyrics were written by Phelps, while others were borrowed from various Protestant sources and edited by Phelps. The first of these hymns published by Phelps was "What fair one is this".
On July 20, 1833, a mob destroyed the church's printing office in Independence, and the publication of the Star was moved to Kirtland, Ohio – the headquarters of the church at that time. In December, 1834, The Evening and the Morning Star was replaced by a new publication: The Messenger and Advocate. Phelps continued to write and collect hymn texts, with assistance from Frederick G. Williams and others.

1835 hymnal

On September 14, 1835, at a meeting of the High Council and the Presidency at Kirtland, Emma Smith was again counseled to begin compiling a hymnbook in a joint effort with William W. Phelps:

It was further decided that Sister Emma Smith proceed to make a selection of Sacred Hymns,
according to the revelation; and that President W.W. Phelps be appointed to revise and
arrange them for printing.

It appears that final publication of the new hymnal may have been pushed back into early 1836. The book is tiny - just 3" by 4" in size. An indication of the poverty of the church members in Kirtland at that time is that the hymnal was published in "sexadecimal" form, the least expensive publishing format for books in those days: sixteen pages were printed on both sides of a single sheet, which was then folded, cut, and sewn into the leather binding. Thus, the entire hymnbook could be printed on just four large sheets of paper. The completed hymnal contained ninety hymns, but only the words were included. As a result, today it is difficult to determine which tunes were used with many of the hymn texts.
Many of the hymns which had previously been published in The Evening and the Morning Star were inserted into the 1835 hymnal as a block, almost exactly in the same order as their earlier publication. Eleven of the hymns were also published in The Messenger and Advocate between December 1834 and January 1836:
E&MSDate1835 NumberM&ADate1835 Number
1:1Jun 18323, 4, 5, 6, 101:3Dec 183463
1:3Aug 18327, 8, 91:9Jun 183523, 24
1:4Sept 183211, 121:10Jul 183541, 57
1:5Oct 183213, 141:11Aug 183543
1:6Nov 1832151:13Oct 183526, 28
1:9Feb 183316,171:14Nov 183565
1:10Mar 1833182:16Jan 183671, 90
1:11Apr 183353----
1:12May 183319----
2:13Jun 183320, 21----
2:14Jul 183322----
2:15Dec 183329----
2:19Apr 183430, 31, 32----
2:20May 183433----

Although the book was printed in 1836, it is still referred to as the "1835 hymnal" because of the publication date on the title page. The Kirtland printing of the LDS hymnbook was probably very small - perhaps 500 copies at most. Today, original copies of this hymnbook are extremely rare; less than a dozen are known to exist. On December 5, 2006 an original 1835 LDS hymnal was sold at Christie's Auction House in New York City for $273,600.

Nauvoo hymnal

In Nauvoo, in 1841, Emma Smith published an expanded version of the 1835 hymnal. The new hymnal contained 304 hymns, still in words-only format. Of these, 77 hymns had been included in the 1835 hymnbook. Many of the hymns included in the 1841 hymnal were more focused on grace, the blood of Christ, and the cross than other LDS hymn collections. Examples include "Amazing Grace", "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing", and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross". After the succession crisis in the early Latter Day Saint movement following Joseph Smith's death, this hymnal was largely ignored in favor of the Manchester hymnal by those church members who followed the Quorum of the Twelve and moved to Utah. In the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, however, the opposite was true.
Editions of this hymnal are very rare – in 2007, Swann Galleries in New York auctioned one, along with a first edition of the Book of Mormon, for $180,000.

Manchester hymnal

In 1840, Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor published a words-only hymnal for the church in Manchester, England entitled A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe. This "Manchester Hymnal", or "Small Hymnal", as it came to be called, was by far the longest-lived of all LDS hymnals, with 25 editions published between 1840 and 1912. Over the years, publication of this hymnal moved from Manchester to Liverpool, and finally to Salt Lake City. As more hymns were added, the book grew from 323 pages in 1840 to 456 pages in the 1905 edition. However, it was still a words-only hymnal; the tunes were sung from memory.

Unofficial LDS hymnbooks with music

Early hymnbooks published by the LDS church were text-only, with the tunes selected from memory or from tune books. Two unofficial hymnbooks in the 1840s and 1850s began the process of including music in LDS hymnals.
In 1844, G. B. Gardner and Jesse C. Little published a small hymnal in Bellows Falls, Vermont. This unofficial hymnbook is unique in early LDS history, because it was the first Latter-day Saint hymnal to include music with the words. This hymnal includes tunes for 18 of the 90 hymns found in the 1835 hymnbook. In addition, another 17 hymns were printed without music. Hymn number one in this hymnal, "The Spirit of God", may be the very first LDS hymn ever published with musical notation.
The second LDS hymnbook with music was John Tullidge's Latter Day Saints' Psalmody, published in 1857. This collection included music for LDS hymns like “Oh, My Father,” “Praise to the Man” and “An Angel from on High,” complete with piano accompaniment. Tullidge felt that many of the pairings of tune with hymns used in LDS meetings were poorly made and that the “freshness and vigor” of their spirit demanded better music for use in “praise for full grateful hearts.”

The Latter-day Saints' Psalmody

The first official LDS hymnbook to include music was The Latter-day Saints' Psalmody, published in 1889. At that time, many of the familiar LDS Church's hymns that are sung today were finally fixed in place - but not with the tunes that were sung back in 1835.
The Psalmody was a conscious effort by church leaders to develop a hymn style of their own. Budding composers in the church were encouraged to submit new tunes to fit the new and old lyrics. Many Latter-day Saint hymns that had been published in the previous decades in periodicals like the Utah Magazine, the Utah Musical Times, the Utah Musical Bouquet, and the Juvenile Instructor were included. Some tunes were also adopted from non-LDS sources, such as classical composers like Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Rossini. Most of the old tunes were cast aside without ever having been committed to print, and the memory of them was quickly lost.
The Psalmody was intended to be a supplement to the "Manchester Hymnal". Each hymn in the Psalmody was cross-referenced by page number to the "Manchester Hymnal" and only used a few verses of the full hymn text.
In many respects, the Latter-day Saints' Psalmody represented a high-water mark in LDS hymnody. By today's standards many of the hymns are quite challenging, even for choirs, let alone congregational singing. They were very high-pitched, sometimes ascending above the staff to a high g' or a' in the soprano parts. The tenor parts were written on a separate staff above the soprano and alto lines, making accompaniment difficult. Still, the 330 hymns in the 1889 Psalmody show tremendous skill in composition and originality. Ninety-five of them are still in use in the 1985 LDS hymnal, including these standards:
About half of the new hymn tunes that were composed for the Psalmody were written by members of the Church Music Committee, which included Evan Stephens, George Careless, Ebenezer Beesley, Joseph J. Daynes, and Thomas C. Griggs. These men were accomplished musicians, composers, and Mormon Tabernacle Choir conductors. Many of their Psalmody hymn tunes have a pronounced "instrumental" feel, as if they were more suited for organ performance than choir or congregational singing.

1908 Songs of Zion

In 1908, nine LDS Church mission presidents collaborated to produce a more simple hymnal with music and text. At the time, there were several songbooks and hymnbooks in use in Utah, including the Latter-day Saints' Psalmody, the Manchester Hymnal, the Deseret Sunday School Union Songbooks, Primary hymnbooks for children, etc. The intent of the mission presidents was to provide unity, prevent confusion and reduce the cost of stocking multiple hymnbooks by compiling favorite songs and hymns in one book. It was published in Chicago by the Northern States Mission and contained 246 gospel hymns such as "Do What Is Right," and "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." The 1918 edition contained 269 songs. It was the most popular and fastest selling LDS hymnbook up to that time. There were 12 printings between 1908 and 1925.

1909 Deseret Sunday School Songs

Before correlation, the church auxiliaries were free to publish their own curricula and hymnbooks. The Deseret Sunday School Union published a series of songbooks beginning in the late 1884. Many of the songs in these early Sunday School songbooks were intended for use with youth and followed the "gospel song" style of bouncy rhythms, repeated pitches, a verse-chorus pattern, melodramatic metaphor, and a tendency to focus on exhortation to the singers. These songbooks were extremely popular and introduced such favorites as "Oh, how lovely was the morning", "Improve the shining moments", and "Choose the right".
A new edition of the Sunday School songbook entitled Deseret Sunday School Songs was published in 1909. Following the format of the Songs of Zion hymnbook, it was expanded and printed with two-staff notation instead of the three-staff format of the Psalmody. Deseret Sunday School Songs outlasted the Psalmody, being used in the LDS Church until 1948. It was much more popular because the tunes were more "singable". Of the 295 hymns in the Deseret Sunday School Songs, 120 still appear in the 1985 Latter-day Saint hymnal.

1927 hymnal

For a brief period in the early 1900s, there were four different hymnbooks in use in the LDS Church:
In 1927, the church's Music Committee decided to combine the best of the first three of these hymnals into one volume. The result was called Latter-day Saint Hymns, though it was commonly called "the green hymnbook". It contained 419 hymns, of which 128 still survive in the church's 1985 hymnal. Although it tried to incorporate some aspects of the Songs of Zion and the Deseret Sunday School Songs, it still heavily emphasized difficult and elaborate hymns for use in choirs and was never as popular as the books it was meant to replace. The Deseret Sunday School Songs continued as a separate hymnal until 1948 because it was used in Sunday School opening exercises.
By December 1928, a slightly revised version of the 1927 hymnal was released. The 1928 edition included 421 hymns, 5 of which were new. The differences between the 1927 and 1928 editions were as follows:
1927 HymnsNo.1928 HymnsNo.
Lord, Thou Wilt Hear Me132God be With You132
An Angel From on High152There is a Green Hill Far Away152
Jehova392In Thy Temple Great Jehovah392
Have Faith, Ye Saints402Blessed Are They That Have Faith402
Freedom Waves Her Joyous Pinions416Have I Done Any Good In the World Today?416
Dark the Battle Clouds are Closing418Sometime We'll Understand418
An Angel From On High420
God Of Our Fathers421

1948–1950 hymnals

In 1948, a new hymnbook that replaced both the 'Latter-day Saint Hymns' and the Deseret Sunday School Songs was published under the title Hymns: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The 1948 edition included 387 hymns.
While previous LDS hymnbooks focused on emphasizing music and texts written by Latter-day Saints, the committee that compiled this hymnbook turned more to classical Protestant sources for inspiration. They were also influenced by the research and writings of Sterling Wheelwright, who felt that LDS hymnals were losing their relevance through focusing on upbeat but trivial hymns rather than intimate and meditative ones. Overall, they sought to publish a hymnbook with a "better standard of musical expression" than previous LDS hymnals.
Problems with binding and complaints from church leaders about the loss of some gospel songs led to the Church Music Committee issuing a slightly revised version in 1950. The differences between the 1948 and 1950 editions were as follows:
1948 HymnsNo.1950 HymnsNo.
Angels from the Realms of Glory5As swiftly my days go out on the wing5
Cease, ye fond parents, cease to weep9In hymns of praise9
Come, O thou King of kings19Come along, come along19
Come, labor on20Come, O thou King of kings20
From all that dwell below the skies38Each cooing dove38
Father of light39The first Noel39
Good Christian men, rejoice52From all that dwell below the skies52
Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning57Guide us, O Thou great Jehovah57
Hark! The evening hymn is stealing58Have I done any good in the world today58
I heard the bells on Christmas Day72There is a land whose sunny vales72
I need thee every hour78Beautiful Zion, built above78
Mid pleasures and palaces107For our devotions, Father107
Mine eyes have seen the glory109Precious Savior, dear Redeemer109
Lead me into life eternal110Choose the right110
O Lord responsive to thy call138O my Father, thou that dwellest138
There is beauty all around170Dearest children, God is near you170
I wander through the stilly night171Now to heaven our prayer171
We gather together182Hail to the brightness of Zion's glad morning182
Though in the outward Church below183Awake! O ye people, the Savior is coming183
Rejoice, ye pure in heart185Mid pleasures and palaces185
Sometime we'll understand267Not now, but in the coming years267
Proud? yes, of our home278Rest, rest for the weary soul278
Sometime, somewhere286Unanswered yet? the prayer286
Thou dost not weep, to weep alone294I wander through the stilly night294
Ye simple souls who stray298The Lord imparted from above298
Sometime we'll understand334Not now, but in the coming years334
Rock of Ages338Come, lay his books and papers by338
Who are these arrayed in white343Reverently and meekly now343

In 1960, two more hymns were added to the hymnal:
FIRST LINEHYMN NUMBER
Who's On the Lord's Side?388
This Earth Was Once a Garden Place389

1985 hymnal

In 1985, the church issued a new hymn book titled Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The English edition contains 341 hymns.
Some new hymns were placed in this book, which had not been published by the worldwide church up until this time, such as "Called to Serve" and "How Great Thou Art," as well as familiar songs that have been used in the Primary such as "I Am a Child of God," "Teach Me To Walk In The Light," and "Families Can Be Together Forever."
Others were left out of the book. Committee members have rarely given specific reasons for leaving out any particular hymn, usually saying that the Holy Spirit was followed in the selection and there were too many hymns to be included into one book. For example, some of the hymns were about Utah and its mountains, which, while meaningful to church members living there, would not be as appealing to a worldwide church. Others such as "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" were thought to have fallen into disuse, but were missed by some members.
Of the ninety hymns included in the 1835 edition, twenty-six still survive in some form in the current 1985 LDS hymnal.
This 1985 hymnal was reprinted in 1998 and 2002 with some modifications to renew copyrights, new copyright dates, and other items such as composer death dates.
Numerous translations have been made of the 1985 LDS hymnal for use around the world. The translated hymnbooks are generally about 200 hymns in size, with approximately 100 hymns that are required to be included in all LDS hymnals, 50 chosen from a suggested list in the English hymnbook, and 50 that are left open to the translation committee to choose. Usually the last 50 are mostly chosen from the English hymnbook with some differences in Christmas music, national anthems, a few hymns from previous editions of LDS hymnals that are not in the current English edition, and occasionally other hymns popular in the relevant linguistic regions. In total, there are 209 additional hymns found only in various non-English language editions.

New core hymnbook

In June 2018, the LDS Church announced that it would be compiling a new hymnal and children's songbook. Specific goals of the new books are to create unity in hymn numbers around the world, provide opportunities to include more hymns and songs originating in languages other than English, fill doctrinal gaps, resolve copyright issues from foreign translation restrictions, improve the quality of translations, and provide more consistent digital access to the songs and hymns.

List of LDS hymnals published, 1835–2002

Below is a list of all known English-language LDS hymnals published since 1835, both "official" and unofficial.
TitleEdition/PrintingDateLocationCompilerNumber of Hymns
A Collection of Sacred Hymns1835Kirtland, USAEmma Smith, WW Phelps90
1838NYC?, USADavid W. Rogers90
1839East?, USABenjamin C Ellsworth114
Manchester Hymnal11840Manchester, EnglandParley P. Pratt, BY, JT271
Manchester Hymnal21841Manchester, EnglandParley P. Pratt, BY, JT271
A Collection of Sacred Hymns1841Nauvoo, USAEmma Smith304
1841East?, CanadaChrist. Merkley19
1843Boston, USAJohn Hardy 155
Manchester Hymnal31843Manchester, EnglandHiram Clark, Thos Ward271
A Collection of Sacred Hymns1844Bellow Falls, VT, USAJ.C. Little, G.B. Gardner47
Manchester Hymnal41844Liverpool, EnglandReuben Hedlock, T. Ward272
1845Pittsburg, USASidney Rigdon182
1845Bellow Falls, VT, USACharles A. Adams106
Manchester Hymnal51846Liverpool, EnglandF.D. Richards, O. Spencer?
Manchester Hymnal61847/8Liverpool, EnglandOrson Spencer283
Manchester Hymnal71848Liverpool, EnglandOrson Pratt?
Manchester Hymnal81849Liverpool, EnglandOrson Pratt283
Manchester Hymnal91851Liverpool, EnglandFranklin D. Richards296
1853EnglandJohn Lyon 8
Manchester Hymnal101854Liverpool, EnglandOrson Pratt296
Manchester Hymnal111856Liverpool, EnglandFranklin D. Richards322
1857Liverpool, EnglandJohn E Tullidge38
Manchester Hymnal121863Liverpool, EnglandGeorge Q. Cannon331
Manchester Hymnal131869Liverpool, EnglandAlbert Carrington330
Manchester Hymnal141871Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeorge Q. Cannon345
Manchester Hymnal151871Liverpool, EnglandAlbert Carrington344
Manchester Hymnal161877 Liverpool, England Franklin D. Richards344
Manchester Hymnal171883Salt Lake City, UT, England345
Manchester Hymnal181884Liverpool, EnglandJohn Henry Smith345
Manchester Hymnal191889Liverpool, EnglandGeorge Teasdale352
Manchester Hymnal201890Liverpool, EnglandGeorge Teasdale356
Manchester Hymnal201891Salt Lake City, UT, USA369
Manchester Hymnal211894Salt Lake City, UT, USA370
Manchester Hymnal221897Salt Lake City, UT, USA370
Manchester Hymnal231899Salt Lake City, UT, USA370
Manchester Hymnal241905Salt Lake City, UT, USA383
Manchester Hymnal251912Salt Lake City, UT, USA385
The Songs of ZionNorthern States Mission1908Chicago, IL USAGerman E Ellisworth246
The Songs of Zion9 Missions1918Independence, MO USAJoseph F Smith269
The Songs of Zion9 + Canadian and Hawaiian Missions1919?Independence, MO USAJoseph F Smith269
The Songs of Zion11 + North-Central States Mission1925?Independence, MO USAJoseph F Smith269
Latter-day Saints' Psalmody11889Salt Lake City, UT, USACareless, Beesley, Daynes, Stephens, Griggs330
Latter-day Saints' Psalmody21896Salt Lake City, UT, USA354
Latter-day Saints' Psalmody31906Salt Lake City, UT, USA366
Latter-day Saints' Psalmody41908Salt Lake City, UT, USA367
Latter-day Saints' Psalmody51912Salt Lake City, UT, USA367
Latter-day Saints' Psalmody61915Salt Lake City, UT, USA367
Latter-day Saints' Psalmody71920Salt Lake City, UT, USA367
Latter-day Saint HymnsNovember 19271927Independence, MOGeneral Church Music Committee419
Latter-day Saint HymnsUnmarked1927Independence, MOGeneral Church Music Committee419
Latter-day Saint HymnsDecember 19281928Independence, MOGeneral Church Music Committee421
Latter-day Saint HymnsJuly 19361936Independence, MOGeneral Church Music Committee421
Latter-day Saint HymnsMarch 19401940Independence, MOGeneral Church Music Committee421
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ11948Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ21950Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ31952Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ61954Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ71954Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ81955Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ91956Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ101956Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ111957Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ121958Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee387
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ141960Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ151961Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ161961Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ171962Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ181964Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ191964Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ211966Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ221966Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ231967Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ241968Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ251968Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ261969Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ271970Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ281971Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ291972Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ301972Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ311973Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ321973Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ331974Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ341975Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus Christ351976Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus ChristUnmarked1978Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus ChristUnmarked1979Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns, Church of Jesus ChristUnmarkedUnmarked Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee389
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ11985Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee341
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ21998Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee341
Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ32002Salt Lake City, UT, USAGeneral Church Music Committee341

Below is a sampling of some of the LDS hymns that are no longer included in the 1985 hymn book.
Early LDS hymnbooks had no tunes, and the chorister was expected to select a tune that matched the meter and mood of the hymn text. It was not always expected that the congregation sing the text with the same tune each time. Even after music was printed with the hymn texts, however, the tunes used with each hymn text have changed from time to time in Latter-day Saint hymnbooks. For example, of the twenty-six hymns in the 1985 hymnal that were included in the 1835 hymnbook, only five of the original hymns are probably still sung to their original tunes. These are:
FIRST LINEHYMN NUMBER
Redeemer of Israel
Joy to the World
This Earth Was Once a Garden Place
From Greenland's Icy Mountains
O God! Our Help in Ages Past

Even among these, "Joy to the World" has been included in Latter-day Saint hymnbooks with at least two different tunes over the years. Some examples of iconic Latter-day Saint hymns that are sung to different hymn tunes than they were originally include "Praise to the Man," "An Angel From on High," and "If You Could Hie to Kolob".
Revivals of the old tunes in recordings of traditional Mormon hymns have generated interest and appreciation, as in the "Return to Nauvoo" collection by the FiddleSticks group and the "Parley P Pratt" collection by Roger Hoffman.

Contemporary hymns

Many of the LDS Church's hymns are well known traditional Christian hymns; others deal with items of doctrine unique to the church's doctrine, such as the pre-mortal existence, modern church prophets, and the Book of Mormon. Others draw their subject matter from the church's history, including themes such as the Restoration and pioneer experiences. Some of the unique LDS hymns such as "Come, Come, Ye Saints" are gaining popularity in the repertoires of other Christian choirs.
The Primary has its own songs, included in the Children's Songbook. Some of these songs are gaining popularity with adults as well.
Some other songs which are occasionally sung by choirs, include "O Divine Redeemer" and the Christmas carol "O Holy Night".
Other hymns continue to be written by Latter-day Saints, some of which have grown in popularity. For example, "Faith in Every Footstep", a song specifically written for the 150th anniversary of the Mormon pioneers' journey, is sung occasionally in LDS sacrament meetings and has been included in some translations of the 1985 LDS hymnbook. "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" was another new hymn that is among the most-requested hymns in a survey about the forthcoming hymnbook.
Congregations also sing patriotic hymns of their respective countries, as they may or may not be included in the language-specific edition of the hymn book.