The ''Children's Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' is the official

songbook A song book is a book containing lyrics for songs. Song books may be simple composition books or spiral-bound notebooks. Music publishers also produced printed editions for group singing. Such volumes were used in the United States by piano man ...

for children in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). It was first published in English in 1989. These

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

s are for the

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, which is an organization in the LDS Church for children between the ages of 18 months and 12 years old, who learn about the teachings of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The ''Children's Songbook'' replaced ''Sing with Me'', which was published in 1969. The songs in the ''Songbook'' help young

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

learn to live righteously and keep God's commandments. The book is simplified in comparison to the LDS Hymn Book. The songs are designed to be easy for children to learn. The contents are divided so that different sections refer to various

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

topics for children. Some of the topics include

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

, reverence, gratitude, Jesus' mission, the importance of

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

and the home, love for God, the good feelings you can get when you live righteously, as well as a few activity songs and some songs on the beauty of

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

. There is also some prelude music for playing before

Sacrament meeting Sacrament meeting is the primary weekly Sunday worship service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Sacrament meetings are held in the chapel of a meetinghouse by each individual ward (or branch). The service is pres ...

s or in the home. Although the songs are intended primarily for children, adults in the LDS Church also utilize songs in the book for other purposes. The

Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...

has sung several of these songs from time to time in their weekly Sunday broadcast of ''

Music and the Spoken Word Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all human societies. Definitions of musi ...

''. Some of the songs that appear in the ''Songbook'' also appear in the church's hymnal. Most songs that appear in either book can be sung in

sacrament meeting Sacrament meeting is the primary weekly Sunday worship service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Sacrament meetings are held in the chapel of a meetinghouse by each individual ward (or branch). The service is pres ...

as part of a musical program or musical number after the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

is delivered. There are some songs that also have been written for use in sacrament meeting that don't appear in either book, but are approved for use. One of the songs has

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

(ASL) pictures that teaches how to use sign language for the words of the song. Additionally, the LDS Church's website contains ASL videos for about 45 songs from the ''Children's Songbook''. There are 268 songs in the songbook. A few new Primary songs have been adopted by the LDS Church since ''Children's Songbook'' was published. Children in Primary sing the new songs, but a revised ''Songbook'' has not been published. Two new songs have been written in 2008 and 2009. Their

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

reinforce the roles that fathers and mothers play, and teaches that children can also contribute to the family and grow up and become fathers and mothers. On June 18, 2018, the church announced revisions the hymnbook and the ''Children's Songbook'' in an effort to reflect the needs of church members around the world. The new children’s songbook will offer the same hymns and songs in all languages.Noyce, David and Stack, Peggy Fletcher
"LDS Church creating new hymnbooks for Mormon adults children around the world"
''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'', 18 June 2018. Retrieved on 17 March 2020.

References

External links

''Children's Songbook''
at churchofjesuschrist.org (includes index, text, music and free audio downloads)
''Children's Songbook - American Sign Language (ASL)''
at churchofjesuschrist.org (includes 47 free videos for download, each containing one song being signed in ASL) {{Authority control Children's music Latter Day Saint hymnals Primary (LDS Church) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints texts 1989 books 1989 in Christianity 1989 in music Religious works for children

See also

References

External links