“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” has officially become the first* Mormon Tabernacle Choir video to reach 1 million views on YouTube. Since the official launch in late 2012, the Choir’s YouTube channel has gained a huge following and now has over 21,000 total views and 79,000 subscribers.

“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” has obviously been a huge part of that success.Mack Wilberg’s arrangement is a fan favorite and has brought the hymn out of obscurity and into the hearts of countless listeners. Prior to the 1985 revision to the hymnbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the hymn was included in previous versions dating back to the 1841 hymnbook compiled by Emma Smith.

The removal of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” from the 1985 edition has been a topic of discussion among listeners in recent years. When the 1985 hymnbook was printed the Church included the following statement in the September 1985 Ensign:

Just as some hymns have been added to the book, some have also been deleted. “Through the years a number of hymns have only rarely been sung,” said Elder Pinnock. “Wanting to keep the book to a reasonable size, and needing to add new hymns, we felt it would be wise to remove some of the little-used hymns.” Members may want to keep their old hymnbooks as a treasure, Brother Moody suggested, and continue to sing the hymns they love that may not appear in the new book.

Perhaps it might not be a stretch to hope that a Mack Wilberg arranged version of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” might someday make its way into a future edition of a Church hymnbook. You never know...

*"Bring Him Home" featuring Alfie Boe and A Wondrous Christmas with David Archuleta and the Choir have previously reached 1 million views. "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is the first "Choir only" video to reach the mark.