When I am Baptized

I substituted for the Primary pianist today and this is one of the songs they are singing for the program in the fall. There is only one mention of "God" and it's in the chorus. I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I made it plural. Since you sing the chorus twice, you could sing it once with "God" and once with "Goddess" for balance.

1. I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain
And ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.

2. I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away,
And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

ChorusI want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
I want to be the best I can and live with Gods again.

How Dear to Them are Little Children

"How Dear to God are Little Children" is a seldom-sung Primary piece that I really love. I changed "God" to "Them."

How dear to Them are little children;
With them their spirit life began.
So priceless their security,
Their innocence and purity;
They are a part of their eternal plan.

To earthly parents They send children
To guide and teach, protect and love.
Oh, let us keep the sacred trust
That they has placed with each of us
And help to guide them back to Them above.
How dear to Them are little children.

Their Love

Because Valentine's Day is upon us, I wanted to share a song about love. This is from the Children's Songbook and is titled, "God's Love." I altered the second verse in order to include the Goddess and used "They" in the third verse.

We do not see the wind;
We only hear it sigh.
It makes the grasses bend
Whenever it goes by.

Nor Goddess', nor God's love,
But in our hearts we know
They watch over us
Wherever we may go.

We do not have to see
To know the wind is here;
We do not have to see
To know Their love is near.

As a Child of Gods

This is the new song for the Primary program this year (page 28 here). I pluralized God to include Heavenly Mother because I wasn't sure how else to approach the limited syllables. If you have another way to address this song, leave a comment!

I came to earth with power to choose.
Good choices bless me and my family too.

I feel so safe and happy because
Such feelings of peace come from family love.

In my own home, I'll happily serve.
I'll strengthen my family by my good works.

Chorus:
As a child of Gods, I receive special light.
The Holy Ghost helps me to know what is right.

I Thank Thee, Dear Parents

It's been a while since I've done a Primary song, so today I changed "I Thank Thee, Dear Father" to "I Thank Thee, Dear Parents."

I thank thee, dear Parents in heaven above,
For thy goodness and mercy, thy kindness and love.
I thank thee for home, friends, and parents so dear,
And for ev’ry blessing that I enjoy here.

Help me to be good, kind, and gentle today,
And mind what my father and mother shall say.
In the dear name of Jesus, so loving and mild,
I ask thee to bless me and keep me thy child.

Family Prayer

Our lesson in nursery today was about family prayer and I used the modified first verse here for a little activity. "Father" to "Parents" and "him" to "them."

Let us gather in a circle
And kneel in fam’ly prayer
To thank our Heav’nly Parents
For the blessings we all share.

Let us thank them for our mealtime,
For clothes we daily wear,
For parents, home, and fam’ly,
For their kind and loving care.

Oh, may we always serve them,
In thought and action too,
And humbly kneel at prayer-time
As so many fam’lies do.

Seek the Lord Early

This one is difficult because "Lord" so often means Christ, but here, praying to our Father is one of the ways to seek the "Lord" so here, I'm taking "Lord" to mean "Heavenly Father." I changed "The Lord" to "my Parents," but because of the syllables, you have to sing "my" as a pick up note.

I’ll seek my Parents early while in my youth,
And they will help me to know the truth.
I’ll search the scriptures and find them there,
Then go to our Parents in fervent prayer.
I’ll seek my Parents early, and I’ll obey
Their living prophets in all they say.
I’ll keep their commandments; their love will abound.
I will seek my Parents early, and they will be found.

Two Happy Feet

Today's nursery lesson was about taking care of our bodies, so here's a song about our feet. I changed "Father's" to "Parents'."

I have two happy little feet
To take me where I go.
They hop me and they skip me,
And make a noise, I know.
But in my Heav’nly Parents' house
So softly do they fall
That, though I walk, you cannot hear
My little feet at all.

My Parents Gave me a Temple

This is the song the Primary is learning this month for the Primary program this fall. I changed "Father" to "Parents." I also changed "The Lord" to "My Parents." The syllables don't line up, but it's not too hard to fit that extra one in.

My Parents gave me a temple to live within on earth.
Once in Heaven I was spirit, but I left my home at birth.
I’ll make my temple brighter; I’ll keep my spirit free.
My body is the temple my Parents gave to me.

If I keep my body clean and pure and habit-free,
I may in my Parents' temple claim blessings promised me.
On resurrection morning, I’ll take my body bright
And in celestial glory forever live in light.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

We have had a beautiful Sunday today; All Things Bright and Beautiful came to me. This is a lesser-known children's song, but I sing it with my kids a lot. I've changed "The Lord God" to "Our Parents" and changed the male pronouns to be plural.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
Our Parents made them all.

1. Each little flow’r that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
They made their glowing colors,
They made their tiny wings:

2. The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brighten up the sky:

3. The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
They made them ev’ry one:

4. The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather ev’ry day:

I Love to See the Temple

I changed "Father" to "Parents." And everywhere else I simply added an "s" at the end of "God," but I'm not entirely satisfied with that fix.

I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of Gods,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll cov’nant with my Parents;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of Gods, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

Teach Me to Walk in the Light

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm really loving this hymn now.

Teach me to walk in the light of their love;
Teach me to pray to my Parents above;
Teach me to know of the things that are right;
Teach me, teach me to walk in the light.

Come, little child, and together we’ll learn
Of their commandments, that we may return
Home to their presence, to live in their sight—
Always, always to walk in the light.

Parents in Heaven, we thank thee this day
For loving guidance to show us the way.
Grateful, we praise thee with songs of delight!
Gladly, gladly we’ll walk in the light.

Called to Serve

The biggest hurdle in this hymn was the last line of the chorus, "Called to Serve our King." It's only 5 syllables and I wanted to keep the rhyming scheme as well. I asked around and got a couple of suggestions: "Serving Queen and King," "Called by King and Queen," and even "Called to Serve our Queen and King" if you sing "Called to" as pick up notes. You can pick your favorite and sing it that way.

After I modified this hymn, I sang it and it was very powerful. Do I tell their stories? What are their stories? Do I confess Heavenly Mother and Father's names?

It is Fast Sunday today. Perhaps you'll get a chance to do these things.


Called to serve Them, heav’nly Gods of glory,
Chosen e’er to witness for their names,
Far and wide we tell our Parents' stories,
Far and wide their love proclaim.

Called to know the richness of their blessings—
Sons and daughters of a Queen and King—
Glad of heart, their holy names confessing,
Praises unto them we bring.

Chorus
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in their names;
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in their names;
Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing.
Gods, our strength will be; press forward ever,
Called by Queen and King!

A Child's Prayer

Multiple people have asked me to do this song. It's definitely a favorite among the parents I know who use it as a lullaby.

Heavenly Parents, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer ev’ry child’s prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away,
But I feel it close around me as I pray.
Heavenly Parents, I remember now
Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:
“Suffer the children to come to me.”
Parents, in prayer I’m coming now to thee.

Pray, they are there;
Speak, they are list’ning.
You are their child;
Their love now surrounds you.
They hears your prayer;
They loves the children.
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav’n.

It is also very poignant if you sing only about Heavenly Mother. Heavenly Mother, are you really there?

I am a Child of Gods

We sang this in Primary today and I realized that I hadn't done this quintessential song here yet! I added an "s" to "God" to include Heavenly Mother, though I'm split on if this still inadvertently keeps her hidden.

I am a child of Gods,
And they have sent me here,
Have given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

I am a child of Gods,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand their words
Before it grows too late.

I am a child of Gods.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do their will,
I’ll live with them once more.

I am a child of Gods.

Their promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure.

Chorus
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with them someday.

And while I was putting that up there, I thought about how we believe exhaltation is something we reach together in our families and wards and communities and not individual, so I re-did it again to reflect that. I think we're going to sing this version for Family Home Evening tomorrow.

We are children of Gods,
And they have sent us here,
Have given us an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

We are children of Gods,

And so our needs are great;
Help us to understand their words
Before it grows too late.

We are children of Gods.

Rich blessings are in store;
If we but learn to do their will,
We’ll live with them once more.

We are children of Gods.

Their promises are sure;

Celestial glory shall be ours
If we can but endure.

Chorus
Lead us, guide us, walk beside us,
Help us find the way.
Teach us all that we must do
To live with them someday.

Parents, We Thank Thee for the Night

Sorry this is up late! We had an unusually hurried Sabbath and it slipped my mind.

Today's song is one of the songs that I often use as a lullaby because of it's first line. As I was preparing for this post, I thought it was beautiful that the first thing it mentions is gratitude for the night. I had looked at a few other Primary songs as possible songs for today, some about light, and the contrast of being thankful for the night was poignant to me. As dark as it is, I am thankful for the night.

I added a syllable when changing "Father" to "Our Parents." When I sing it to my children the "Our" is a pick up note, or grace note. I love this little unknown song.



Our Parents, we thank thee for the night
And for the pleasant morning light,
For rest and food and loving care
And all that makes the day so fair.

Children All Over the World

Today's song was one I liked a lot as a kid. I thought it was really cool that I "knew" some Japanese. I also like it as a lullaby song because of the first line- perfect for going to bed!
Children All Over the World was easy to edit: Father to Parents, he to they. Changing "his" to "their" in the third line grates grammatically ("each" is singular, "their" is plural), but using male-only language irked me more. Let's hope a grammarian comes up with a good solution in the near future. Perhaps, since language is fluid and evolving, we'll soon be able to use "their" as a singular without the grammar police find us.

Children All Over the World

All over the world at the end of day,
Heav’nly Parents' children kneel down and pray,
Each saying thank you in their own special way,
Saying thank you, thank you in their own special way.
“Gracias.” “Malo.” “Wir danken dir.”
All over the world tender voices hear.
Some say “tak,” others “merci,”
“Kansha shimasu,” we thank thee.
Our Heavenly Parents hear them;
They understand each tongue.
Our Heav’nly Parents know them;
They love them, love them, ev’ry one.

Parents Up Above

Today's song is, Father Up Above, from the Children's Songbook. I've never actually heard it sung, which is surprising since I've been a Primary pianist and I'm familiar with almost every song in that book. Because of syllables, I've used "Dear" and "Our" before "parents."

Parents Up Above

Dear Parents, look on us today
And bless us with thy love.
In Jesus’ name we humbly pray,
Our Parents up above.

I Will Follow Their Plan

We've been practicing I Will Follow God's Plan in Primary in preparation for the Primary Program this fall.

In order to make the syllables fit, you'll have to turn the quarter note of "seek" into eighth notes for "seek our." In place of "for God's" you'll sing "Parents."

I Will Follow God's Plan

My life is a gift; my life has a plan.
My life has a purpose; in heav’n it began.
My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth
And seek our Parents’s light to direct me from birth.
I will follow Their plan for me,
Holding fast to their words and their love.
I will work, and I will pray;
I will always walk in their way.
Then I will be happy on earth
And in my home above.

Parents, I will Reverent Be

In honor of our stake conference today and the attempts of many parents and children to be patient through a two hour meeting of talks, today's song is Mildred Pettit's Father, I will Reverent Be.

Parents, I will rev’rent be
And in thy house walk quietly;
Fold my arms and bow my head
And close my eyes when prayers are said;
Listen to the words I hear,
For in thy house I feel thee near.
May my thoughts more perfect be,
That I may speak more rev’rently.
Parents, I will rev’rent be
And in thy house walk quietly.