Canon of Church Music

When I was proselytizing in Cebu, I was often asked by non-members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints why do Mormons believe in the Book of Mormon when the Bible warns its readers not to add anything to it. A discussion on how the Bible was compiled and canonized would help many understand the peculiar stand of the church on the Canon of the Scriptures. For Latter-day Saints, we have our Four Standard Works (the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price), the canon is open. We believe that the words of living prophets and apostles, like the writings of the prophets of old, are oracles of God that guide His children. New revelations that are given specifically for our time bless the lives of those who hearken unto them.

Ironically, we can find people in the church who, in their fervent zeal to follow church policies ( of which they are unaware), closed the canon of church music and decree that only music from the hymnbook, Hymns, can be sung at worship services and other meetings. It is as if singing of hymns outside the hymnbook specifically by church choir is banned by the church. They must have forgotten that most of the hymns in our hymnal are of Protestant origin and that those that we seek that are “virtuous, lovely, praiseworthy or of good report” also include hymns. Of course, not every good thing is appropriate in every situation. For instance, the church curriculum planning department that prepares the lesson plans for all the Sunday school classes, strongly discourage teachers from using materials that are outside the scriptures and the course manual even if such material is from official church publication. But when the use of outside material” is warranted by church policy, isn’t it dangerous to prohibit the use of that material? What is the “inside source” that warrants the prohibition?

In the official hymnal we find this statement under the section, Using the Hymnbook: “Choirs may also sing other appropriate anthems and hymn arrangements not included in the hymnbook.” Here are some of the passages from the Church Music Handbook that should have settled this issue long time ago:

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  The hymns of the Church are the basic music for Latter-day Saint meetings and are standard for all congregational singing. Hymns are also encouraged for prelude and postlude music, choir music, and special selections. If other musical selections are used, they should be in keeping with the spirit of the hymns of the Church. Texts should be doctrinally correct. (See "Hymns for Congregations," Hymns, pages 380–81.)
  
  Musical selections that are presented by choirs can contribute greatly to the beauty and spirituality of Church meetings. Selections that are presented by vocal and instrumental soloists and small groups can also enhance Church meetings and can supplement choir music for sacrament meetings. Hymns and other appropriate selections may be used.

But what if there is a question about the suitability of a musical selection? This is a question that can be answered by the presiding authority of the local church and hopefully both the lyrics and the music, above anything else, are the matters under consideration.

I believe that this is the same zeal in the hearts of those who say that only church-produced music can be played on Sundays. They must be unaware that the Tabernacle Choir sings songs from broadways on Sundays. This is the same feeling of those who say that only in the church they can find true friends or true joy in serving. I’ve always believed that we, Latter-day Saints are peculiar people but I hope that our peculiarity, unlike some converts of the early Christian church, doesn’t give us a “feeling of exclusiveness” that could cause division in the church