By Jonathan Whitcomb [updated Sep 15, 2022]

Last month (June of 2022), I wrote the short choir piece “Come to Christ”, which begins with a modification of part of II Nephi 30:21 and over a period of weeks revised it up to version #120:

Press forward: Feast on the word of Christ;
Behold you shall have eternal life. . . .

By mid-September I had revised it many times: The final version is #134.

New Music Harmony System

The harmonic style in this brief composition for choir fundamentally differs from the common harmonic practice in Western music during the past three hundred years. Instead of having dominant and subdominant chords, this new style has a four-note chord that takes the place of both dominant and subdominant: called the “perfect chord” (4P).

It is based upon consecutive perfect fifths vertically: In the key of C, the raw form of this chord is in the notes F, C, G, and D, from lowest to highest; in practice, however, this raw form is uncommon, with one or more notes bumped up or down at least an octave.

An important point of this harmonic style is this: The perfect chord never resolves to the dominant seventh. In other words, in the key of C the note C does not resolve to a B.

Yet in spite of this difference in the basic harmonic foundation, it is close enough that the great majority of music listeners should not be shocked or uncomfortable with this new system of music harmony.

To see the full score, click on the image below:.

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New Book of Mormon music for choir

Behold my Son, my Beloved Son:
Come unto Him for eternal life.
Behold His hands, his feet and side:
For you he bled and died.

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Music in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Jesus and the Twelve sang a hymn after the Last Supper

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New Sacrament Hymn

By witness of the Spirit
I know my Father lives
He sent a willing Savior
To witness of their love
That we may share that love

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Today I finished the third (and probably final) verse of the following LDS sacrament hymn “Believe and Come to Him.” The tune is the old traditional one that has often been used for the text that begins “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, Forgive our Foolish Ways.” This music is only slightly altered: One line is added at the end.

[Updated on November 26, 2017: version 49]

Christian LDS hymn “Believe and Come to Him”

Here are the three verses for the new hymn:

Believe in God and come to him
And feast upon his word
Receive the one the Father sent
By making sacred covenant
Partake the sacrament
Believe and come to him

Behold the feet, the hands and side
We know the Savior lives
By eating, we in him abide
And by the Holy Spirit Guide
Behold the Savior lives
We know the Savior lives

By drinking of the water we
Remember why he bled
We cleanse the vessel inwardly
Becoming as he we’d have us be
Remembering the son
Becoming like the Son

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Words are copyright 2017 Jonathan David Whitcomb

But noncommercial home or church use is OK

Listen to a simple MIDI audio of this music: Believe-and-Come-to-Him-049

Fourth Verse Added:

Partaking of the sacrament
We witness Him again
The bread and water represent
His body and His blood was spent
In cleansing us within:
Renewing us again

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New Book of Mormon Music

A short piece of music for a church choir: “Come to Christ”, by Jonathan Whitcomb

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A New Sacrament Hymn

“We Remember the Savior”

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Press Forward, Feasting on the Word

A short LDS choir piece of music based upon Book of Mormon scriptures, and this includes II Nephi 31: 20

By Jonathan David Whitcomb

Earlier this month*, I wrote four verses of a hymn for which I altered an old hymn tune (*I later revised the text: from August 18th-Aug 25, 2017). I consider the following to possibly be appropriate for use in an LDS sacrament meeting, perhaps by a ward choir.

We Remember the Savior

By witness of the Spirit
I know my Father lives
He sent a willing Savior
To witness of their love
That we may share that love

The Light and Life descended
To make our hearts as one
He wants us to remember
The God who gave a Son
The well-beloved Son

Let not your heart be troubled
The risen Savior lives
He gives us life eternal
When He shall come again
And we shall live again

O God, Eternal Father,
We do remember Him
And witness we are willing
Our covenant fulfilling:
To remember Him

The music is an alteration of “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.” The original version of the music was written by Albert Peace, not long after the original words were written (1882) by George Matheson. The copyright notice refers, of course, to the words. If anyone wants permission to use this hymn, feel free to contact me with the request; for noncommercial church or home use, however, feel free to use it with no need to contact me.

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Press Forward, Feasting on the Word

This is a new choir piece, a short composition based mostly upon Book of Mormon scriptures, beginning with II Nephi 31:20 (check out this music, which was written in June of 2022 by Jonathan David Whitcomb of Murray, Utah).

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Scientific Paper About Living Pterosaurs

My “Reports of Living Pterosaurs in the Southwest Pacific” was published in the Winter-2009 issue of the Creation Research Society Quarterly (Volume 45, #3). I now refer to the last four pages of this scientific paper, with links to images of those pages.

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Easter Verses

During the past five years of occasional revisions of my song “Through my Savior,” the third verse I left alone. I felt that I could not improve it. The meaning of the first line, however, needs explaining. Here’s the verse:

Now in the morning of shadow waning,

Like when the light of morning filled a tomb,

Grant us forgiveness: both giving, gaining;

Fill us with light: Dispel avenging gloom.

Once in a garden, the blood was dropping;

Once on a cross, the voice of mercy said,

“Oh, my Father, forgive my brother;

I forgive him with the blood I shed.”

When is the “morning of shadow waning?” The dispelling of this particular shadow refers to attaining forgiveness, both forgiving and receiving forgiveness, so the particular “morning” is unique to each of us. In fact many of us may be enlightened by many such mornings in our lifetimes, moments when we forgive another person or when someone forgives himself or herself, or moments when we accept forgiveness from another person.

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The Second Line

When did the light of morning fill a tomb? On Easter morning, the Savior walked out of that tomb, shining with all the glorious light of truth that the eyewitnesses were able to endure, for Jesus continued to give his disciples what they were ready to receive.

The tomb itself was left open, sitting with an open mouth as the morning light crept in. All who dare to approach that mouth, all who dare to listen and to look—they will hear that still small voice and see that this particular tomb is empty.

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