According to our calendars, the celebration that Christendom recognizes as Easter or “Resurrection Sunday” falls on one particular Sunday of the year, usually at the end of March or the beginning of April. Some may not fully understand the importance and significance of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and may view the day as simply another celebration. Still, others may only give considerable thought about the Resurrection during the Easter season, or more particularly on Easter Sunday. However, for Christians, every day is a reason to celebrate the glorious Resurrection.

One way that Christians express their love and gratitude of the Savior, and remember Him for all that He has done for them, is through the singing of hymns. Scriptures admonish us in Ephesians 5:18-20 to “be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In a new music video that was published on her YouTube channel on 23 March 2016, Maddie Wilson is joined by her sister McKynlee to beautifully express their love for the Savior by combining two well-known hymns, “Come Thou Font of Every Blessing,” and “How Great Thou Art.” Maddie performs the vocals while her sister interprets the songs using American Sign Language (ASL). Maddie explains in the description of the video that her sister is not deaf, but they have some friends that are, and they have been teaching her ASL.

It was Hezekiah Butterworth, an American writer of books for young people, a poet, and a platform lecturer who often included hymnology among his topics of discussion who stated, “It is natural to speak of hymns as “poems,” indiscriminately, for they have the same structure. But a hymn is not necessarily a poem, while a poem that can be sung as a hymn is something more than a poem. Imagination makes poems; devotion makes hymns. There can be poetry without emotion, but a hymn never. A poem may argue; a hymn must not. In short to be a hymn, what is written must express spiritual feelings and desires. The music of faith, hope and charity will be somewhere in its strain.”

About the Resurrection, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ the most remarkable event in the history of the world created a way for all people to receive eternal life. Also, it transformed a band of frightened, worried disciples into a dynamic group of fearless missionaries who changed the world.” And President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, has taught, “A testimony of the reality of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a source of both hope and determination.”

The devotion that Maddie and her sister have for the Savior shines through as they perform the hymns with passion and conviction. As people watch and listen, they can sense the deep spiritual feelings and desires of both sisters as they share their testimonies through music that expresses faith, hope, and charity, as well as, through the use of ASL. It is also evident that it is that testimony that is a source of hope and determination in their lives.