Culture, Lethbridge

Wouldn’t it be nice?

Wouldn’t it be nice if an LDS Canadian could walk through his meetinghouse and see room labels in Canadian English?

Wouldn’t it be nice if an LDS Canadian could flip to the back of a hymnal and not see the Star Spangled Banner, and “O, Canada” wasn’t a photocopied paper taped in its place?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a new hymnal released and hymns from outside of Utah were included in it?

Wouldn’t it be nice if speakers at conference could speak in their native tongue?

Wouldn’t it be nice if non-American anglophones could get a Book of Mormon in the English they speak?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find pictures of interracial relationships in the Ensign?

Wouldn’t it be nice if Pioneer Day started evolving in a way that incorporates the pioneers of the last 50 years (e.g. Africa, Asia, South America, Eastern Europe)?

Wouldn’t it be nice if the “Places to Visit” page on LDS.ORG had more non-American sites (e.g. Charles Ora Card’s home in Cardston, Black Creek Monument in Ontario)?

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Pageants page on LDS.ORG listed non-American pageants (e.g. Lethbridge’s Nativity Pageant)?

Wouldn’t it be nice if Ensign articles that mention a US city and state (e.g. Billings, Montana) included USA after them (e.g. Billings, Montana, USA)?

Published by

Kim Siever

Queer Mormon poet with radical political views. I have been married 27 years, and we have 6 children. Sunday school president. Served in the Utah Provo Mission.

22 thoughts on “Wouldn’t it be nice?”

  1. At least our national anthem IS in some copies of the hymn book. Most other countries can’t say the same (unless they have special printings for other countries?)

  2. Which is the point. I was using our anthem as an example.

    Even so, in the hymnals that happen to include our anthem, one can still find all the American patriotic hymns.

  3. Sorry it just doesnt matter that much to me. Especially after realizing after going to the “mother country” and hearing them say EYEzaiah for Isaiah.

    I may honour my parents and love the Saviour but I do that whether there is a difference from how someone else gets along with their neighbor.

  4. Thank you, thank you. I (and many others) have been saying this stuff for years. Despite the fact the most LDS live outside of the continental US, the church is still incredibly American-centric. It is annoying and disheartening to hear talks by GA’s and others about the “promised land” being the US without any mention of any other country. For all we know, Nephi could have been talking about Colombia or Venezuela being the “promised land”. The one good thing that has happened in the past twenty years is that we no longer sing the American National Anthem on the Fourth of July (usually right after O Canada!). I used to walk out when that happened. And as far as I can gather, we are not talking about accents (as in EYEzaiah) – we are talking about being recognized by our own church as a separate and proud people – not just American wannabes.

  7. Kim – thanks for the link. I’ve never commented on this board before! I’m usually just a lurker!

    I’m a 7th Generation Canadian and I say it eyeZAYuh. People in Newfoundland probably say it differently, as do people in Saskatchewan (my mother was from Sask and had a very distinct accent).

  8. I’m from Saskatchewan, and that’s how I pronounce it. :)

    Well, we appreciate you coming out of lurking, Single Sister.

  9. Ah ha. So I inherited something else from my mother other than her impatience! We used to mock her for her Saskatchewan accent. Now when I hear it, I think of my mother and I smile.

    Nice to be here. I can’t say I’ll always comment, but this one hit a nerve. Being the impatient, 7th Generation Proud Canadian that I am! :)

  10. And, as you can tell, I am new at this, so my last two posts went under “Anonymous” instead of “Single Sister”.

    Sigh. Sorry.

  12. I say EYE-zay-uh.

    I wish I had a Newfoundland accent. I honestly do, it is the most beautiful accent in the world, next to the Irish (well all of the differing Irish) accents.

  13. Can anyone tell me how to lay my hands on an original (or very good quality) “O Canada” insert? Our photocopies are photocopies, and we now have new hymnbooks. And having an insert, while far from ideal, is better than nothing.

    Our new stake centre (Edmonton North) has “Centre” on its room labels. I don’t whether the stake president had to specifically request them that way (which he may well have done).

  14. As a US American – I totally agree with you. There is no reason the Church should have one hymn book for all English speaking countries. I went to England on my mission and we had the same book there as in the US.

  15. Wouldn’t it be nice if those living outside the USA would send their comments to CES, Church magazines, Curriculum department? Then maybe things would change. Start a petition.

  17. wow, a real eye-opener. I knew the thing about national anthems in the hymnal, but hadn’t ever thought about pageants, sites, and room labels.

    I’d love to see Pioneer day evolve to honor pioneers of the last 50 years. But then, I was an irritated 5th-generation Californian wearing my pioneer dress to that annual july party every year as a kid.

  18. When the 1985 hymnal came out, I was frankly startled not to see more anthems in the back section, particularly “O Canada.” I’ve never understood why “God Save the [Queen] was included without including the Canadian anthem (unless folks on the committee thought the old British anthem would still cover Canada just fine, as I think it did back when the previous hymnal was published(?))

  19. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a new hymnal released and hymns from outside of Utah were included in it?

    I can’t name all the hymns that have either lyrics, or melody, or both, that originated outside of Utah, but here are a few I’m sure of: Hymns 2, 6, 7, 12, 15, 25, 29, 30, 31, 41, 46, 48, 49, 58, 60, 62, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 74, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 92, 93, 94, 95, 100, 102, 109, 110, 111, 115, 119, 124, 125, 133, 136, 141, 146, 147, 152, 159, 160, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 170, 172, 175, 192, 194, 196, 197, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 230, 234, 237, 240, 241, 242, 246, 248, 250, 264, 266, 267, 268, 284, 285, 296, 299, 307, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 323, 324, 326, 338, 339, 340, and 341.

    Enjoy!

  21. I don’t know the exact years of composition, but if you check the birth and death dates of the authors, I think you’ll find hints about quite a few of them. I know Vaughn Williams and Sullivan wrote theirs after 1847, and I’m pretty sure Meyerbeer did, too, to name a few.

Comments are closed.