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Features
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- Called to Research: An inside look at the new Church hymnal and how a member of Liberty Stake is playing a big part in it
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Community Outreach
Missionaries
Called to Research
An inside look at the new Church hymnal and how a member of Liberty Stake is playing a big part in it
Norma King, Media Director (Rush Creek Ward)
A passion for family history work and a love of hymns led Mark Nye (Shoal Creek Valley Ward) to serve on the new hymnal committee for the Church.
When the call for hymn submissions was announced in 2018, the Nyes were living in Philadelphia. Nye and a daughter decided to participate. He knew he couldn’t compose music, but he could write lyrics.
Even though their submissions were not chosen from the 17,000 that were received, Nye later became an important contributor to the Hymns for Home and Church project in another way.
It started one Sunday in 2019 in a sacrament meeting in Philadelphia. The congregation was singing one of his favorite hymns, “More Holiness Give Me,” No. 131.
“While singing, I had the strongest impression to look at the bottom of the page to see who had written that hymn. Both the text and music was by a man whose name was Philip Paul Bliss,” remembers Nye. “And because they always print the contributor’s birth and death years next to the contributor’s name, I decided to look in FamilySearch when I got home to see if he’s in there.”
He did find Philip Paul Bliss, and discovered that his temple work had been done. However, when he clicked on the Memories tab to see what he could learn about his life, there was nothing there. “Nothing to tell me about this brother’s life. And I thought, that’s a shame. I’ve got to fix that.”
So, after applying the research skills he had developed doing family history over the years, he learned that Bliss, a Protestant, had written more than 1,000 sacred hymns and gospel songs. Unfortunately, Bliss and his wife died tragically when the train they were in went over a railroad trestle into the Ashtabula River in Ohio in 1876.
After fully documenting Bliss’ life, he then turned his attention to one of Bliss’s friends, Horatio Gates Spafford, who wrote, “It is Well With My Soul.” (Bliss wrote the music for this song.)
Spafford also had a tragic life. His four daughters died while traveling with their mother on a steamship that sank on its way to England. Once again, Nye documented Spafford’s life.
“While singing, I had the strongest impression to look at the bottom of the page to see who had written that hymn. Both the text and music was by a man whose name was Philip Paul Bliss,” remembers Nye. “And because they always print the contributor’s birth and death years next to the contributor’s name, I decided to look in FamilySearch when I got home to see if he’s in there.”
Because Nye enjoyed doing this research and wanted to do more, he created a spreadsheet listing all the composers and authors of hymns in the green Church hymnbook, with the intent of documenting their lives as well.
“This is what I then did after work in the evenings besides my church calling. Because I am a bit of a freak when it comes to family history, I can do it 24/7 and never get tired,” he said.
By 2023, he had compiled memories and histories for 40 different hymn composers and authors on FamilySearch. Yet, unbeknownst to him, his work had been noticed. One day, out of the blue, he received a message through FamilySearch from a woman who was part of the Music Editorial Committee for the new hymnal, asking him why he was doing this work. He told her of his experience and interest in the work.
She replied, “I would love to have your help. Would you be willing?” His response, “You bet I would. How fun would that be?”
Retired now, he spends 40+ hours a week doing his research as a service missionary, documenting and writing a detailed biographical summary for each of the 421 deceased contributors who will have their songs in our new hymnbook. “Unless I’m serving one of my two shifts a week at the temple (as a sealer), or taking care of a family obligation, that’s what I do from morning until late at night, every day. I absolutely love it,” he said.
“As a consequence, there’s hardly a hymn anymore I can sing without crying. I used to be able to. I’d only cry while singing a few. But now, when I sing them, it’s not just the life experiences of these contributors I remember, but I appreciate their devotion, their testimony of God, and of Jesus Christ—even if they were not members of the Church.”
Hymns for Home and Church will be released in 2027, but the work of the Research and Attributions team, of which he’s a part, will continue and be published later online. The Priesthood and Family Department of the Church is the sponsoring department.
Initially, 543 hymns and songs were selected for the new hymnal. That number, however, was whittled down to about 400 by the First Presidency prior to President Nelson’s passing. Even so, Nye has been asked to research, document, and write biographical summaries for the authors and composers of all 543 hymns/songs. Now, after he began his service two and a half years ago, he has completed his work for 267 individuals. That leaves only 154 to go!
“Hundreds of people around the world are involved in this new hymnbook project,” he said. Those include historians, linguists, poets, musicians, composers, and even Mack Wilberg, Director of the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square.
“This opportunity to work on the new hymnbook came out of the blue but has been a great blessing from Heaven for me, my family, and many others,” said Nye. “I enjoy it every day.”
(You can find two of Nye’s contributions on FamilySearch by searching these IDs: K212-QQ1 for Horatio Gates Spafford and LZY5-VRM for Philip Paul Bliss. While you’re there, click “View Relationship.” You might be surprised—this writer was.)