Missionaries Use Sacred Music, Primary Songs to Teach People the Gospel

President Dallin H. Oaks, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has taught that “the singing of hymns is one of the best ways to learn the doctrine of the restored gospel” (“Worship Through Music,” October 1994 general conference).

Missionaries in the California Oakland/San Francisco Mission are finding out that sacred music helps them teach the gospel.

Sister Maewyn Tindall said that in the beginning of her mission, she felt nervous while teaching a lesson to a family — she wanted everyone to be able to participate, even the children.

She learned that the youngest child loved the song “Gethsemane.” As she played the song, he sat reverently and sang along, looking at his parents and siblings.

“The Spirit came into that moment very quietly, but very strongly,” Sister Tindall said. “I felt so much peace and love as I heard the words of the chorus, ‘Gethsemane, Jesus loves me.’ I thought of how Jesus loves me and how He loves this family so much.”

Sister Emilia Rabe also talked about teaching a family whose children had a lot of energy. She found that singing Primary songs helped them.

“We taught them the song ‘Follow the Prophet’ as we taught them about the Restoration. When we came back three weeks later, the only thing they remembered was the song,” Sister Rabe said.

Elder Justin Lemus and Elder Tanner Robertson wrote about visiting a family of four. After they shared a message, they felt prompted to sing a Primary song.

“We sang ‘I am a Child of God,’ and they recognized it from when they used to go to church with their parents, over 12 years ago. Since then, they started attending church and are continuing to meet with us,” the elders wrote to the Church News.

Now, during every lesson, the elders sing Primary songs with the family, who has now set a date to be baptized.

These missionaries also received a social media referral and set up a lesson to meet them at the chapel that same week. A family of four arrived with two sons; the youngest, who is 4 years old, is blind and has autism. The elders wrote that after their lesson, the boy tried to play the piano, so they started singing the chorus of “Follow the Prophet.”

Two weeks later, when they met again, the family told the missionaries that their young son had been singing “Follow the Prophet” ever since that day.

“They attended church for the first time, and he loved the hymns we sang during sacrament meeting. The connection he made with music, specifically Primary songs, has helped their entire family come unto Christ, and we were able to witness the effect that music can have,” Elder Lemus and Elder Robertson wrote.

Primary songs have not only helped children learn more about the gospel, but they have also helped adults.

Elder Kade Newman and Elder Joseph Robinson said one woman they were teaching in 2024 connected with the Primary songs in particular.

Elder Robinson said during teaching appointments, as they sang hymns together, they would pause to discuss the words. Then they sang many children’s songs at the woman’s baptism.

“Some of my most treasured memories from my mission came from those moments and the powerful, peaceful spirit I felt,” Elder Robinson said in an email to the Church News. “I’m grateful for her love for the Primary hymns, which in turn engendered a deeper love in my own heart for the simple, beautiful lessons they teach.”

Elder Newman said that children’s hymns teach gospel principles in a way that can make sense to someone new to the restored gospel.

“It was a beautiful reminder that the gospel of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation are so simple that even a child can understand them,” he said.

Some of his favorites that he still sings to himself daily are “A Child’s Prayer,” “I Lived in Heaven” and “Faith.”

Sacred music teaches the gospel in a way that’s easy to understand, said Steve Schank, the Church’s Hymnbook Committee chair, in a Church News podcast episode last year.

And he said there is joy in singing. He hopes members find that joy and take to heart what the Lord said in Doctrine and Covenants 25:12 — “The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.”

The Lord will bless people as they use sacred music, Schank promised.