Kitchen Table Tears Writing 'Gethsemane'—Now Every Child Wanted to Sing It and Hymnbook Included It

Picture this: You've spent months studying the New Testament deeply, pulling stories for an album teaching children about Christ's life. You've written song after song with joy. But one topic terrifies you. How do you explain the Savior's suffering to children ages three to twelve? What words could possibly capture Gethsemane appropriately? You consider using an existing hymn written for children. You put it off. You keep writing other songs. Then driving down a canyon after finishing a difficult song about loaves and fishes, words hit you like a thunderbolt. You rush home, sit at your kitchen table with scriptures open, and words pour out as you weep through the bridge. This is Melanie Hoffman's testimony about creating the song now changing the new hymnbook, called by a Tabernacle Choir member the greatest recording in choir history.

Meet Melanie Hoffman, award-winning songwriter and co-founder of Hoffman House who has written nearly 200 faith-based songs including Scripture Scouts that shaped a generation's Book of Mormon knowledge. In this episode of Why We Believe with host Nathan Gwilliam, Melanie reveals the canyon thunderbolt moment, why every child wanted to sing Gethsemane, how walking and praying "I can't do this" brought divine reassurance she was stronger than fear, and the 47-year journey walking by faith that fulfilled her unique patriarchal blessing promise she would never want. Her testimony proves divine inspiration comes after hard preparation work, children recognize profound spiritual truths, and keeping covenants unlocks decades of temporal miracles.

Accidental Songwriter Creates Scripture Scouts  

Melanie graduated from BYU in art. Roger said he'd never marry a musician because two musicians would be a disaster. They got married. Then she became a songwriter by accident. Four years into marriage, they felt strongly they needed to be self-employed so Roger could do music for the kingdom. A few months before, Melanie was walking when this idea came: be careful what you write in a song because it will be repeated. She thought okay, whatever.

Then friend Larry Barkdale wanted a Book of Mormon project for children with songs. He'd contracted Marvin Payne for the script idea of Scripture Scouts. They needed a songwriter. They'd approached one prominent church songwriter who said it couldn't be done. The Book of Mormon was too sacred. One day this idea came into Melanie's mind: you gotta go leave Jerusalem, we gotta go to the wilderness. So fun. She called Larry just to pass on the idea. She sang it to him. He said great, you can write it. She said write what? He said you can write the songs for the whole series.

His faith in her, being prompted she's sure, changed everything. That wasn't in her plan at all. She jumped in. Fifty songs later she realized hey, maybe I can do this. It was joyous from the beginning writing the Book of Mormon with Roger arranging and Marvin doing script. They started in 1985 and finished in 1988. Nathan grew up with those songs playing constantly in his home. Now his daughters know every song. Scripture Scouts became part of a generation's faith journey teaching Book of Mormon stories through music that made doctrine memorable and accessible.

Thunderbolt in the Canyon  

Years later in 2007, Melanie and Roger rode the Sundance tram dreaming about what they'd love to do if they could do anything. Melanie had always wanted to write something like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. So joyous and fun. Why couldn't they do something about the Savior's life with that kind of joy? They decided that's what they'd do. A dear friend and two other gentlemen helped them financially. She started writing.

She studied the New Testament deeply for months. Probably the greatest personal experience she'd ever had writing. Reading, pulling out stories that would work for primary age children three to twelve. Choosing what children should hear when He did so many things. As she wrote, she realized they had to cover the Savior's suffering. That really scared her. What can you say to children about this? How could she do this? She actually put it away and kept writing other songs, thinking about it, pondering it, knowing she needed to cover that subject. She thought maybe she'd use There Is a Green Hill Far Away since it was written for children originally.

One day they were in the mountains writing. She'd showed Roger the loaves and fishes story which was really tough because so many little ideas and she wanted to make sure she never said anything in the song the Savior didn't actually say. That was her personal challenge. They finally finished. Driving down the canyon, she was sitting in the car. She knows exactly where this happened in the canyon. The words came into her mind: Yes. It hit her like a thunderbolt. So profound and so simple. She said Roger, there is a song. There is a song for this.

They drove home. She sat at the kitchen table and got out the scriptures so she could read exactly what happened in Gethsemane. She started writing and the words truly kind of poured out. It was a profound experience. When she got to the bridge, the hardest thing that ever was done, the greatest pain that ever was known, it was building and building in her soul too. She thought this is so incredible. This will help children. It helped her because she could now grasp the Atonement and be able to say this is what it means. It's all about love.

Every Child Wanted to Sing It  

They finished it and sent all the songs to the different children recording so they could see which ones they were drawn to. Interestingly, every single child said can I sing Gethsemane. Every single one. She said well not everybody can, we have to spread it out. But it was really a joy. She knew it was an important song but nothing really happened with it for a while. She submitted it to the church in a contest thinking I know this is important.

It took a few years for different people to pick up on it from the album. A couple in Oregon did a video presentation for a singles conference and posted it on YouTube. Jenny Phillips did one. Then of course little Claire Crosby at three years old. Three is so young but she asked her dad she wanted to sing this song. She recorded it and that just went crazy. It started to have momentum and that was so exciting to see. Then requests came from other Christian faiths wanting to use it for Passover celebrations. From all over the world, different congregations. That was so exciting because her dream is spreading joy of the Savior and good news to the world in her little way.

In 2016 the church requested putting it in Children's Friend. They did a simplified version little kids could play. When the hymns project came along, everyone could submit songs. They both knew she really needed to submit Gethsemane. A few years later, longer than expected because COVID intervened, they let her know they were putting it in the hymns. The night before they released that first batch, they were dropping their son at the airport at 10:30 at night. He was flying to North Carolina for a new job. Driving out of the airport, she got a phone call. She's so bad with her cell phone, doesn't answer much. But it was in her hand and on. It was Steve Schenk saying just want to let you know we're releasing it tomorrow, going out in the first batch, and I just wanted to tell you that. Wow.

Stronger Than Fear  

The journey wasn't always easy. Called as young women's president with four boys, no girls, new in the ward only nine months. Then they got Alexander's Amazing Adventures project producing episodes every six weeks with five songs each. She had to keep up with all that writing. The second episode was courage. She had to write a song specifically about courage. She was out walking and praying saying I can't do this. She was kind of falling apart. Even though she'd written before, she felt challenged to be with these professional songwriters. Writing at that speed was really scaring her. She just said I cannot do this.

As she was praying, these words came into her mind: You are stronger than fear. You are brighter than doubt. You have courage inside. You just have to let it out. And the answer was don't ever doubt your place in that team again. She went back like yep, there's the chorus. Then she wrote the rest. It's one of her favorite songs, not real well known. But really dear to her because it was a literal song she needed to hear. An answer she needed to hear. When she gets scared now: you are stronger than fear, you're brighter than doubt.

Walking By Faith 47 Years  

Roger had a steady wonderful job at BYU with health insurance and security. After a couple years it didn't feel right and they didn't understand why. They felt they needed to become self-employed. They took that leap of faith. She'd never experienced anything like just saying okay, we're going on faith. Roger was working with Janice Perry doing arrangements so they didn't jump into nothingness. But it was the beginning of the LDS music movement, so things were just getting started. They were also just getting started. It was really hard. Scary for her. She'd always had everything mapped out until here. They had to create their lives and continue over years, always coming up with new projects and new ways forward.

In her patriarchal blessing it said as long as you are faithful to your covenants, thou shalt never want. When she was a teenager, she showed it to her seminary president. He said I've never seen that promise before, Melanie. She didn't realize what a promise it was until they jumped into this. Forty-seven years later they are still doing what they love, doing what they feel they should do, still walking by faith and still being provided with miracles by a very kind and loving Father. There have always been miracles, always temporal miracles to keep them going. They have never ever been found wanting. It's been her greatest challenge and also the catalyst for her greatest growth. She would never go back.

Trust Divine Inspiration After Preparation  

Melanie's testimony proves that divine inspiration often comes after we've done the hard work. She spent months studying the New Testament deeply, reading, pulling stories. She wrote many songs first. She pondered and thought about Gethsemane for a long time. Then driving down the canyon after finishing another difficult song, the thunderbolt came. Preparation positioned her to receive inspiration. Study created the foundation inspiration could build upon.

Consider where you're waiting for inspiration before beginning. Maybe God is waiting for you to begin before sending inspiration. Maybe the studying, the pondering, the attempting, the wrestling creates the space where thunderbolt moments can strike. Melanie didn't receive Gethsemane while sitting idle. She received it while actively engaged in the work, driving home after completing another challenging composition.

Every child who received those songs wanted to sing Gethsemane. Children recognize profound spiritual truths when presented with simplicity and power. They're drawn to doctrine taught clearly about the Atonement. We sometimes underestimate what children can understand about sacred subjects. Melanie feared she couldn't explain Christ's suffering appropriately for ages three to twelve. But when she let words pour out after preparation and prayer, children recognized something sacred and wanted to participate.

Forty-seven years walking by faith with a unique patriarchal blessing promise proves God keeps covenants when we keep covenants. Her seminary president had never seen that promise in any blessing before. Yet it's proven faithful through decades of self-employment uncertainty, constant project creation, beginning-of-movement instability. The temporal miracles haven't been one-time provisions. They've been consistent, constant, reliable across nearly five decades. That's not luck. That's covenant keeping unlocking divine provision.

Ready to hear how thunderbolt inspiration created the song changing the new hymnbook? Listen to Melanie Hoffman's complete testimony and discover why children wanted to sing Gethsemane and how 47 years walking by faith fulfilled unique promises. Your breakthrough might come after preparation positions you for divine moments.

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