Come Thou Fount
Sooo . . . Some people may cringe at this or think me sacrilegious, but I have to say it. Come Thou Fount, a popular hymn that is, in fact, not in the current LDS hymnal, is the Mormon equivalent of a song that is played too much on the radio. To be sure, it is a lovely song, but it is overplayed. Way too overplayed.* Particularly as special musical numbers in church. I can hear it now: a soft and slow opening followed by even slower tempos for the remainder of the song. But don't worry; the musician will speed it up now and then in a frantic sort of style before dramatically slowing it down again. And by the time it's finished, you'll feel like you should feel something life-changing, even though you don't -- because everybody "loooves this song."
What I wonder is, why was it removed from the LDS hymnal? Apparently, it was included in the original hymnbook (or so I hear), but it was removed and didn't get much exposure until Mormon Tabernacle Choir director Mack Wilberg arranged the hymn a few years ago. Ever since then, Mormons have performed it in sacrament meetings a lot. That's fine, I guess; I just don't understand why -- with so many choices (over 300!) -- people play "Come Thou Fount" so often. Plus, if it's not in the current hymnal, why is it played so much? That's an honest question, by the way . . . I often wonder whether we should just stick to the hymnal for special musical numbers during regular Sunday church service. (If you have an argument either way, please -- by all means -- make it known!)
I dunno . . . I feel awful to even express these feelings, but I had to get it off my chest. What do you guys think?
Thing I'm thankful for: sitting behind a blonde 3-year-old at church today. She gave me a laugh, when it was all I could do not to fall asleep. At one point, she said the following to her dad: "I have to go poop!" Hahaha. :)





