Sing Your Way to Gospel Scholarship
by Megan C. Wallgren

Good music, during the holidays and all throughout the year, is a wonderful way to brighten our homes and invite the Spirit. So, to help make that happen, here are six simple ways to make gospel music a part of your home and to help teach your children gospel principles.

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1. Sing to your children.

Primary songs are often favorite lullabies. They help a child remember not only your love, but also Heavenly Father’s love. Good Primary lullabies include, “I Wonder When He Comes Again,” “I Am a Child of God,” and “I Know My Father Lives.”

2. Use gospel songs as background music in the home.

When Jennifer Howard of Springville, Utah, was pregnant with her second child she was on bed rest for a few months. She’d recently received an instrumental recording of Church hymns and she listened to it for comfort over and over. After the baby was born, Jennifer said sometimes playing that same CD was the only this that would calm the baby. Now, she continues to play Church hymns as background music in the home.

“It seems to mellow out situations,” Jennifer says. “It’s hard to scream and yell over Church hymns.”

3. Use hymns and Primary songs as reinforcement for scripture study.

The Moss family of Springville, Utah, always makes singing a song a part of family scripture study. Sometimes they sing story-centered songs like “Nephi’s Courage” and “We’ll Bring the World His Truth.” Then they let the kids guess what the chapter they will be reading is about. Sometimes the family sings a song about a principle like “Count Your Many Blessings.”

“I think [a song] helps them remember the stories better than they would without it,” Amber says.

4. Sing before family prayer.

Singing Church songs will bring the Spirit into your home and will calm things down before family prayer. An upbeat song can also send your children out the door on a positive note.

5. Study the scripture references that go along with the hymns and Primary songs.

To find the doctrine behind the hymns, look up the scriptures associated with them found at the bottom of the page in the hymnbook. Start with a favorite hymn and see how much your family can learn about the hymn’s background and the doctrines it teaches.

6. Memorize hymns and primary songs as a family.

Sing them often so your children can learn all of the words. The words will help them remember gospel principles and they will pop into your children’s heads when they need them. Church leaders have often suggested using a hymn to replace impure thoughts.

Memorizing songs is also a good way for kids to learn the books in the scriptures, the names of latter-day prophets, and the Articles of Faith.

LDS Living, Nov/Dec 2006; Photo by Julia Freeman-Woolpert

Comments on this article	ADD COMMENT
song practice important Posted by Boyd from Idaho-Lithuania The mission president recently divided our small branch. Our Russian Branch has the advantage of a new full version LDS Hymn book. We ask everyone to stand after the closing prayer of sacrament meeting, and I teach them one new song each month. They love learning so many new hymns now they can use a Russian Hymn Book.