Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth
298

Text: Carolyn Hamilton Klopfer (b. 1936; LDS)
Music: W. Herbert Klopfer (b. 1936; LDS)
Tune name: ALISA

This forthright statement of the blessings of a loving home can enrich any meeting or lesson that deals with home and family. The text, newly created for the 1985 hymnbook, echoes the teachings of our prophets— that prayer, kindness, family home evening, service, scripture study, and other spiritual building blocks are basic to a happy family life.

The composer and author of this hymn, who are husband and wife, found that a few people were skeptical of the hymn’s optimism; they “criticized us for having the nerve to state an impossible condition in mortality,” said Herbert Klopfer.

“But,” Carolyn Klopfer stated, “I have come to realize that the words were given to me as a testimony that even under trying circumstances, I must never lose faith or give up hope in those who are part of my home. Not all of my children may choose to remain faithful; yet I must continue to teach and show the way, providing loving moments when we work, play, and pray together. I shall cherish these moments, though sometimes brief, when heaven is in my home.

“I shall feel the peace that comes from knowing that one sweet daughter, Alisa, who left our earthly home at the tender age of five years, has safely reached her heavenly home, leading the way where my family and I want to be worthy to stay.”

Commenting on his hymn tune, Brother Klopfer suggested, “Each voice part ought to be taught independent of the others and then put together in a smoothly fitting four- part harmony. If musical harmony is not achieved, the message of having harmony in our homes is not taught as effectively as it could be.”