How hymn suggestions work
When you pick a hymn for sacrament meeting, Numbered puts recommended hymns near the top of the list. This page explains how it decides. We would love your input on it.
You always choose. Numbered suggests and labels. It never blocks a hymn, and it never fills in a hymn for you.
Three things shape the list
Each time you open the hymn picker, Numbered looks at three things for every hymn. Then it sorts the list so recommended hymns are close to the top.
How well the Church knows a hymn
Numbered sorts every hymn from the 1985 hymnbook into one of three levels. The levels come from LDS Hymn Stats, a volunteer project by Joey Stanley. It counts what wards sang in about 72,000 sacrament meetings since June 2024. Most of that data comes from the United States.
Difficulty for your accompanist
Each hymn row and the hymn details page also show how hard the hymn is to play: Easy, Moderate, or Challenging. The level comes from the published sheet music. It looks at the key, how many notes each beat holds, accidentals, and rhythm.
The level does not change the order of the Suggested list. It is there for you to read. It helps most when your accompanist is new, or when a substitute plays this week.
See how the levels work, and browse every hymn by level and topic, in Easy hymns to learn first.
Two spots that bring in variety
If the list only sorted by familiarity, your ward would sing the same well known hymns over and over. So two spots near the top do a special job.
- Spot 2: a new hymn. A hymn from the new hymnbook that your ward has sung fewer than two times.
- Spot 4: a hymn your ward has not sung. A hymn from the 1985 hymnbook that many wards sing, but your ward has never sung, or has not sung in a year. Rarely sung hymns never take this spot.
Both spots change each Sunday, so a hymn you skip does not stay there week after week.
Filter by topic
A row of topics sits under the search field. Tap one to see only the hymns on that topic, still sorted with recommended hymns first. The number on each topic shows how many hymns it holds.
Typing in the search field matches topics too. Type "peace" and the Peace topic appears, next to the hymns with peace in the title.
What each row tells you
Hymn details
The details page shows how familiar the hymn is, how hard it is to play, and your ward's history with it, for example "Sung 8 times since June 2024." It also lists topics, scriptures, and credits. A button at the bottom picks the hymn for the slot you are planning.
The sacrament hymn
When you pick the sacrament hymn, the Suggested list shows only sacrament hymns. If you search, other matches appear below them under "Other hymns."
See it in the app
Help us get this right
You know your congregation better than any list does. We would love to hear how you choose hymns today. A few questions to start:
- When you plan, do the top suggestions look like hymns you would pick?
- Are there hymns you would never want suggested, or hymns you wish came up more?
- Is one new hymn and one unsung hymn near the top the right amount of variety?
- How far ahead do you plan, and do you keep your own list or spreadsheet? What is on it?
Familiarity levels use data from LDS Hymn Stats by Joey Stanley. Thank you to every volunteer who has added their ward's programs to it.