Janice Kapp Perry
Janice Kapp Perry is one of the most beloved of LDS artists. A composer of over 3,000 songs and over 100 albums, her works are familiar to members around the world. These include “A Child’s Prayer,” We’ll Bring the World His Truth,” “Love Is Spoken Here,” “In the Hollow of Thy Hand,” “I Love to See the Temple,” “I’ll Walk by Faith,” among many others. We asked her via email a few questions about her typical Sunday.
My Sunday routine. I live just two blocks from our chapel in Provo, and four wards meet there every Sunday. This year we are on the favorite schedule: 10:30 a.m., so I have plenty of time to shower, do my hair, eat a little breakfast and get there in time, either walking or driving–nice in good weather, but still a bit challenging in the winter unless the brethren have cleared the parking lot and the sidewalks of snow early in the morning. I listen to the BYU Classical Music station while I’m getting ready, which usually includes the weekly Tabernacle Choir program. I sang in the choir in the ’90’s and love to hear them every week!
Home life. My husband died five years ago, so I live alone in a comfy home just a block or two down the hill from the Provo Utah Temple. Since I am 84 and live alone now and have had two strokes a few years apart, I now have a BYU graduate student living in my basement in case I need help. He is very congenial and helpful and is a good cook, artist, and helpful companion. My son John works in our home in our music office half days, and he is very helpful to me, too.
At church. Church services are my favorite two hours of the week! One of our organists plays Primary songs as prelude music and often includes some of mine, like “I’m Trying To Be Like Jesus,” and “We’ll Bring the World His Truth,” etc., which is fun for me. We have good choristers and organists who keep us singing with enthusiasm (except on the sacrament hymns) and we have nice musical numbers which are often my favorite part of the meeting. I love the chance to take the sacrament in person now, since we couldn’t do it for some time during the pandemic.
Study-friends. There is a brother in our ward whose wife died a month after my husband in 2018, and we have become study-friends, especially on Sunday evening. We read the Come, Follow Me lesson and scriptures for the coming week, and watch Taylor and Tyler and other videos on TV teaching us more on each subject. We also listen to that Sunday’s Music and the Spoken Word (again) before he leaves to go home. It helps to have a regular study partner!
Music playing. Unless I’m writing music myself,I almost always have music playing in the background, especially on Sunday. When I hear my own songs sung in church it is a special feeling. I hear the organist play them as prelude sometimes. I write songs for our YW and YM to sing in church (songs about the church’s theme for youth each year), and I’ve written songs that all of our RS sisters sing together in sacrament meeting. It’s fun to get everyone involved.
In our ward we have a wonderful choir leader and accompanist, and we meet in the choir director’s home at 3:00 each Sunday and have such fun singing under their direction! With four wards meeting in our chapel, this is a great option, and we all love it. We just quit last week so our leaders can have the summer off.
Thinking about the coming week. Well at 84, my memory isn’t the best, and I have to keep an exact calendar of places I need to be and things I need to do. So before bed Sunday night, I write my list for the next day to get organized for the week. I have to do that nightly, in fact, because in the morning I won’t remember!
Drop ins. We all live so close together here in Provo that we often stop in and visit each other on Sundays when we're out walking. I love those drop in visits so much!