Roles for Translations of ‘Hymns—For Home and Church

On June 18, 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans to publish a new unified hymnal. The new hymnbook, “Hymns—For Home and Church,” is a major, multi-year project involving thousands of employees and volunteers worldwide. The global hymnbook will become available digitally and in print in dozens of languages over the coming years.

Languages and Roles

The hymnbook language translation team is seeking talented individuals fluent in Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, European Portuguese, Finnish, Haitian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Thai and Ukrainian for three open roles:

1. Translator or content reviewer (paid, independent contractor, 5+ hours a week)
2. Singer (paid, independent contractor, 1–10 hours a week)
3. Community feedback volunteer (unpaid, up to 1 hour a week)

Latter-day Saints and friends of the Church with any background in translation, music, poetry or other creative writing experience in these languages are needed (additional languages may be added later), and all levels of experience are welcome to apply as soon as possible. Translation team members may live anywhere.

Job Descriptions

Translator or Content Reviewer

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A translator is responsible for creating the initial translation of a song from English into the target language and for incorporating feedback from reviewers.

A content reviewer is responsible for reviewing the work of a translator, with a focus on meaning and language acceptability.

Applicants should possess solid English skills, be able to write creatively in the target language, have a general familiarity with music and poetry, possess basic technical skills, meet deadlines consistently, and communicate clearly and regularly with other team members.

Singer

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A singer is responsible for singing translations and creating an unofficial audio recording throughout the translation process. These recordings will not be officially published by the Church. They will only be used internally by the translation team and may be shared with volunteers via a survey to solicit feedback on the translations. (The Church will recruit singers for the published audio versions of the hymnbook later.)

A singer does not need to have professional vocal experience, but should generally be familiar with music, be able to sing a melody clearly and on pitch, meet deadlines, and communicate clearly and regularly with other team members.

Community Feedback Volunteer

A community feedback volunteer is asked to complete 5- to 20-minute digital surveys in the target language for hymn translations. Surveys include questions about the meaning, language, and musicality of a hymn translation, and the volunteer has the opportunity to provide feedback before the hymn is published. Where possible, some projects have volunteers meet to sing and offer feedback in person.

Access to an electronic device (phone, tablet, computer) is required. English is not required.

See this link for more details and a link to the online application form.

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Hymnbook Background

Beginning in May 2024, small batches of new music from “Hymns—For Home and Church” have been released digitally every few months. See published hymns.

This new music may be accessed digitally through the Sacred Music and Gospel Library apps and in the online Church Music Library at music.churchofjesuschrist.org.

“Hymns—For Home and Church” will have around 375 hymns and children’s songs in the print version. The full hymnbook release is currently expected in print and digital formats by the end of 2026 in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, with other languages to follow.