The United Methodist Hymnal

[3] The editors had also considered eliminating militaristic references, and in 1986 the hymnal revision was the subject of controversy as the editors had considered eliminating "Onward Christian Soldiers" and some verses of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," but retained both hymns after receiving more than 11,000 protest letters.

A line in "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" containing references to blindness, deafness and muteness was marked with an asterisk to indicate that it may be omitted.

[3] In compositions by John Wesley, many of the lyrical changes made by his brother Charles were reverted, and most uses of "thee" were replaced with "you".

Before the hymnal's official release, The United Methodist Publishing House sent a 73-page sampler to several churches.

There are two other equally official hymnals of The United Methodist Church: Mil Voces Para Celebrar: Himnario Metodista (published in 1996) and Come, Let Us Worship: The Korean-English United Methodist Hymnal (published in 2000).