{"id":2125192,"date":"2025-10-30T17:35:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2125192"},"modified":"2025-10-30T17:35:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:35:24","slug":"new-song-how-did-the-savior-minister-helps-children-learn-about-ministering-church-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/new-song-how-did-the-savior-minister-helps-children-learn-about-ministering-church-news\/","title":{"rendered":"New song \u2018How Did the Savior Minister?\u2019 helps children learn about ministering \u2013 Church News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put out a call for submissions for a new global hymnbook in June 2018<\/a>, it was not long after ministering took the place of visiting teaching and home teaching.<\/p>\n

Ministering was announced during April 2018 general conference<\/a> as a newer, holier approach to caring and ministering to others.<\/p>\n

Merrijane Rice and Jennette Jay Booth had met during a Church music festival and found that they worked really well together. Rice writes lyrics, and Booth composes music. <\/p>\n

As they talked together about submitting a song or hymn to the new hymnbook, Rice said they felt that they should write a new children\u2019s song about ministering. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole time I was thinking, \u2018Do kids know what minister means?\u2019\u201d Rice said.<\/p>\n

Booth said the idea of ministering resonated with her as a ward Relief Society president at the time. And she also felt that the concept of ministering was missing in gospel music, especially for children. <\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of just talking about, \u2018Ministering is being kind and doing this and that,\u2019 Merrijane just made it completely about what Jesus does and that we can do it too,\u201d Booth said. \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh this is so beautifully perfect.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Often when Booth composes music, songs can take months. She will work on something and have to put it away and come back to it later. <\/p>\n

\n
\"Jennette
Jennette Jay Booth composes music on her keyboard at home in May 2023. <\/span>| Provided by Jennette Jay Booth <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBut this song, I sat down at the piano, and it just sort of flowed. It was more like remembering it almost instead of writing it,\u201d Booth said. \u201cIt really wrote itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result was \u201cHow Did the Savior Minister?<\/a>\u201d and it was included in the latest batch released in September 2025<\/a> of new hymns for \u201cHymns \u2014 For Home and Church<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

“How Did the Savior Minister?”<\/b><\/p>\n

1. How did the Savior minister?<\/i>
He served with gentle hands.<\/i>
And I can also use my hands,<\/i>
Helping others when I can.<\/i><\/p>\n

2. How did the Savior minister?<\/i>
He was a friend to all.<\/i>
And I can also be a friend,<\/i>
Lifting others when they fall.<\/i><\/p>\n

3. How did the Savior minister?<\/i>
He prayed for all with love.<\/i>
I\u2019ll pray for others lovingly,<\/i>
Seeking blessings from above.<\/i><\/p>\n

Chorus:
I want to live as Jesus did<\/i>
And serve in loving ways.<\/i>
He showed how I can minister<\/i>
As a child in latter days.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Listen to this song here.<\/a><\/h5>\n

Teaching children through music <\/h2>\n

Both women use their talents in their communities and spheres of influence. Rice writes poetry, and Booth teaches elementary school music.<\/p>\n

Rice has four sons who are young adults; Booth has nine children between the ages of 7 and 22. As mothers and musicians, the women understand the importance of music for children to learn the gospel.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Merrijane
Merrijane Rice takes a photo in the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York, on Oct. 6, 2025. <\/span>| Merrijane Rice <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Remembering when she was in Primary growing up, Rice said she learned best from the children\u2019s songs that were more simple and straightforward. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about junior Primary, or 3-, 4-, 5-year-olds, they need something that\u2019s going to be short, sweet and memorizable,\u201d Rice said. <\/p>\n

And their voices reach different notes than adults\u2019 voices. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to make something that fits within that range and that still is fun to sing, not boring and overly repetitive. So I think Jennette did a great job. She\u2019s very talented, and she\u2019s extremely kindhearted,\u201d Rice said.<\/p>\n

Booth said she hopes adults can appreciate and learn from the song too. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of my profound experiences spiritually with music have been with Primary songs, because they teach gospel doctrines in such really simple ways,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\n
\"The
The Booth family takes a picture at Christmas time in December 2022. <\/span>| Provided by Jennette Jay Booth <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

After the song was finished, Booth and Rice invited the Primary children in each of their wards to sing the song, and they submitted it to the Church in 2019. <\/p>\n

Rice said when she and Booth found out that their song was selected to be in the new hymnbook, each felt a sense of deep satisfaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause when we wrote it, we thought, \u2018This is a consecrated gift. And we know it\u2019s gonna be accepted by God, whether or not it gets published,\u2019\u201d Rice said. \u201cBut to have it shared with other people feels very satisfying, and I\u2019m very grateful for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ministering in the Savior\u2019s way<\/h2>\n

Members of the Church are assigned to minister<\/a> to others in their wards and branches so that they can learn of and attend to their needs.<\/p>\n

For Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson<\/a>, ministering is linked to discipleship.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinistering is part of our discipleship and helps us become more like our Savior,\u201d she told the Church News earlier this year<\/a>. \u201cIt is more about who we are becoming than what we have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rice said she is trying to teach her children that they can\u2019t always control the way they feel, but they can control what they do. Everything in \u201cHow Did the Savior Minister?\u201d is about things that people can do.<\/p>\n

\n
\"The
The Rice family poses together at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City on Sept. 20, 2025. <\/span>| Provided by Merrijane Rice <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cTo minister to others, you can serve with gentle hands, you can be a friend to people, you can pray for them,\u201d she said. And, the song teaches of the Savior in all of these things.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor kids to know that He is a real person, it\u2019s important,\u201d Rice said. \u201cHe was really here, and He really did these things, and we can do them too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Booth said she hopes this song helps people realize that they are already ministering to others and that it is something they have the capacity to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, that was my hope also that this would be something that would help adults realize that this isn\u2019t as complex as it feels,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Jesus
Jesus Christ ministers in a scene from a Church video. <\/span>| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.thechurchnews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

30 Oct 2025, 11:25 a.m. MDT When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put out a call for submissions for a new global hymnbook in June 2018, it was not long after ministering took the place of visiting teaching and home teaching. Ministering was announced during April 2018 general conference as a newer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[22063,374833],"class_list":["post-2125192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","tag-children","tag-sacred-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2125192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2125193,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2125192\/revisions\/2125193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2125192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2125192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2125192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}