According to students, Church hymns, like scriptures, can bring one closer to the Lord. In times of deprivation or stress, the Lord helps people, and BYU–Hawaii students shared their favorite hymn and why it is meaningful to them.
Russel Purificiacion, a senior from the Philippines majoring in HTM, said his favorite hymn is “Be Still My Soul,” hymn number 124. He said, "It's how calm the music is and also most of it is the lyrics."
He quoted from the hymn and said, "'Be still my soul the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide. In every change He faithful will remain. Be still my soul thy best, thy heavenly friend. Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.’"
He said, "Every word just comforts me [...] that Heavenly Father is talking to me and helping me to be still because He is always going to be there, especially when in times of need."
Peniasi Cibaciba, a sophomore from Samoa majoring in computer science, said, "There are two hymns that really bring me closer to the Lord, which are ‘Because I Have Been Given Much’ and also ‘Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel.’”
He added, “Those two hymns really meant a lot for me when I served my mission in the New Zealand Auckland Mission because I have been given much. I am so grateful for the things Heavenly Father has given me.
“If everything that I have been blessed with is my life and ‘Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel’ was like missionary work, in a general life situation you are [...] putting your effort together with everyone and bringing everyone to the gospel.”
Each hymn, like scriptures, students said, has a different meaning and connection. Hymns are another way to be connected with the Lord and become much closer to Him and His teachings, according to those interviewed.
According to Cibaciba, he highly recommends those hymns to everyone. He said, “They bring so much love, so much appreciation, and you have a hymn that also helps make everyone to feel grateful for things.”
According to Sahapoom Suriyachan, a sophomore from Thailand majoring in marketing, “The Spirit of God” is his favorite hymn. He said, “They sing this hymn a lot in the conferences … and they also had it at the ‘Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration’ movie.”
He added, “I like how the pioneers sing the song in the movie. It is kind of one of my favorite movies to watch. This is why when I hear the song [...] I think of the pioneers. They sing the song ‘Praise to the Lord’ and they need the Lord to be with them because the pioneers were suffering a lot.”
Students shared how hymns have different connections for different people. For Suriyachan it was a movie about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. For Cibaciba, it was about everyone being together to help one another put their shoulder to the wheel to forward the Lord's work.
Caleb Lee, a junior from Hong Kong majoring in music, shared two of his favorite hymns. He said, “For me, there are two hymns: ‘How Great Thou Art’ and ‘Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy.’ ‘How Great Thou Art’ has a lot of majestic arrangements that convey the message of the hymn very well. And ‘Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy’ just works.”
He added, “It is one of the only men's pieces that isn't excessively sung in priesthood meetings... It has really good metaphors, and it sounds good. It is interesting, and it has more modern and contemporary voicing.”