How do I replace all hymnals

My bishop has asked me to arrange to replace all of our hymnals. (It's gotten so bad over the years that many members are feeling embarrassed about it.)

Is this something for the FM group, or does it come from the Ward Budget? I have searched but haven't been able to find an answer.

dmcall wrote:My bishop has asked me to arrange to replace all of our hymnals. (It's gotten so bad over the years that many members are feeling embarrassed about it.)

Is this something for the FM group, or does it come from the Ward Budget? I have searched but haven't been able to find an answer.

You should speak with your stake Physical Facilities Representative (PFR), who is a high councilor.

The "Facilities Management Guidelines for Meetinghouses" doesn't indicate responsibility one way or another.

You could use the opportunity to modernize by getting tablets with the LDS Music app instead of old-fashioned printed hymnbooks! Assuming the facilities management group is paying for it, of course.

sbradshaw wrote:You could use the opportunity to modernize by getting tablets with the LDS Music app instead of old-fashioned printed hymnbooks!

Except that then you couldn't sing certain hymns like 'How Great Thou Art'

Thanks, everyone. As much as I love the electronic solution, going to stick with paper for now! (I just hope they don't publish a revision right after we refresh our inventory!)

They are due for an update. It's been 31 years.

bballrob wrote:They are due for an update. It's been 31 years.

Hmmm, I may have to thumb though my collection of red, brown and blue hymnals to see what the interval in the past has been.

The last major hymnbook (the blue one) was published in 1948. There were minor changes, but the book remained essentially the same until the green 1985 edition. The math says 37 years.

I haven't heard any rumblings of a new hymnbook committee, so I think we are at least another 5-10 years away. When the 1985 hymnbook was being readied for its third edition printing in 2002, there were some minor changes. I have not heard of anything since.

And I believe that the assignment to prepare a new hymnbook was made in 1974. I am sure they did not think it would take until 1985 to get it published.

My red one says "Copyright 1948". The blue has the same copyright date, but also "29th printing 1972". My brown one is hiding.

lajackson wrote:I haven't heard any rumblings of a new hymnbook committee, so I think we are at least another 5-10 years away.

A better question is what changes might prompt a new book? The bigger print of the 1985 is sure welcome to my eyes.

As of September 2015, "there are no plans at this time for a new edition":
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/09/the- ... 0?lang=eng

Things can change pretty quickly if needed in a Church led by revelation, but I wouldn't expect a new English hymnbook for at least a few more years.

The 1948 hymnbook had a significant revision (affecting about 30 hymns) in 1950, then there was a small revision in 1960 (two hymns were added). Also, there were some small font changes on the cover and inside, and they continually updated the first presidency's names in the front, but the same overall design was maintained from 1948 to 1985. The later editions stopped printing the edition year, but you can use the first presidency names to estimate. For example, an original 1948 edition should have George Albert Smith's name in the front.

What I'm still trying to figure out (if anyone knows let me know!) is if the different colors – blue, red, and brown – have any significance. Were the different colors intended for different audiences (church, choir, home), printed at different presses, or released in different years? Or were they just options that could be chosen by whoever was buying hymnbooks?