Sister Sheri Peterson
Ward Music Director
This hymn carries a powerful message to strengthen our determination to make use of the present moment and not put off until tomorrow what we can do today; to use what we have in front of us right now and not wait until we have more or better, but right now go to work!
Let us each choose the better part and choose to have faith and trust in God while we fulfill our duties and do our work. It is a privilege to be here on the Earth at this glorious time, to build our lives, to lay the foundation for our children and for future generations through what we do to build up the Kingdom of God today. Every day is a gift and a privilege and everything we do is always in preparation for what comes next.
President David O. McKay said, "Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, that the love of work is success" (Pathways to Happiness, p.381)
There will come a time for each of us when we will no longer have the ability & privilege to work and create and build on the Earth. So let us utilize the message of this hymn and joyfully go to work while the sun still shines on us! (and if you are reading this, the sun is still shining for you. There are many kinds of work: mental, physical, relational and spiritual.)
Some may remember that in the 1950 hymnal this hymn ended with the text "There is no tomorrow, but only today." This sentiment was intended to have the meaning referred to by J. Spencer Cornwall when he stated, "The text of the hymn 'Today While the Sun Shines' amplifies in a most forceful manner, the old saying 'yesterday is gone, tomorrow may never come, but today is here'. (Stories of our Hymns, p.226); meaning: we cannot depend upon a tomorrow in which to accomplish the things we have procrastinated today. However, many Church members through the years called or wrote the General Music Committee expressing concern over the phrase because Latter-day Saints certainly do believe in an eternal tomorrow. Furthermore, the line almost had the ring of "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." Thus the line was altered to appear as it does in the current hymnal: "Prepare for tomorrow by working today." It was felt that this conclusion more accurately reflects the message of the hymn.
Another word change acknowledges that our choices in life are sometimes between two good options: "choose the good part" was changed to "choose the better part" in verse two.
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