Nineteen years ago, Traci S. Law of Spanish Fork, had a song in her heart. That song, titled “Little Baby in a Manger,” has recently been included in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ “Hymns for Home and Church” handbook and has now been sung by congregations and in homes worldwide.
Law, who grew up in Spanish Fork and earned a music degree at Utah State University, said that having her song included has been a tender experience.
“I wrote the song when we were living overseas,” Law said. “I started writing it in Utah, and then we decided to move to South Korea. … I couldn’t take a piano with me, but I did have a laptop, and our bishop had given me a key to the church so I could use the piano. Thankfully we were only 10 or 15 minutes away so I’d walk to the church and work on the song. Then I’d bring it home and type it into the computer and email it to my husband and he would print it at work. The cycle just went on and on like half a dozen times or so until I got it done, but I was determined to figure out a way to do it.”
The song is about the birth of Jesus, and Law, who was expecting a child at the time she wrote it, said that she wanted to write something Jesus’ mother Mary might have sung to the baby in the manger. She also wanted the lyrics to feel personal to those seeking to have a personal relationship with Christ.
“If you look at the lyrics, it says, ‘Little baby in a manger — come to save both friend and stranger — Little baby in a manger, come and save me,’” she said. “I think it’s really powerful when you can stand and sing those words, ‘Come and save me,’ and you can literally be addressing that to the Savior like you’re finally inviting Him and you’re saying, ‘I’m ready. I want you in my life.’ I really love that it gives people an opportunity in real time to invite the Savior into their lives with those lyrics.”
Law said that having her song published in the handbook has been a process, but one that she is grateful to have experienced.
“When I first wrote it, I submitted it to the church at a different time, and it won first place in its category,” Law recalled. “I was so excited about that and I thought, ‘Well that was great. That’s probably the end of that.’ Then a little while later, the church contacted me and said, ‘Can we put it in the New Era magazine?’ and that was really exciting. It was in the December 2008 New Era, and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s probably the end of that.’”
Law said that as the years went on, friends and family sang her song at baptisms and in church programs, and she didn’t know if anything more would come from it. Then the church put out a call for new submissions to the handbook, and the rest is history.
“My friends have sung it and loved it over the years and my family sings it probably every year,” she said. “My 8-year-old son wanted it sung at his baptism a year ago which I thought was so sweet. A couple years ago, I submitted the song to the church when they were looking for new hymns to add to the handbook. It’s been a two-year process to get it edited for the handbook.”
Songs in the Hymns for Home and Church handbook have been released on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website since May of 2024, with Law’s hymn having been released this past September. The full print version is expected to be released in mid-2027 in several languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.
Law said that having the song she felt inspired to write, being published in official church material, has been a blessing, adding that she’s excited to write more music.
“It’s really exciting!” she said. “I’m really happy that people have the message (in the song) available. I worked really hard to create lyrics that were meaningful to people. I didn’t want to write something that was just full of fluff. I poured over every single word and wanted it to be something that people could feel a connection to the Savior when they sang it. I’m overwhelmed in a good way that so many people have access to it, and I’ve heard from so many people who have either listened to it or sang it, expressing how meaningful it is to them.”
Having had her song reach a level she never dreamed it would reach, Law says she wants to continue to write music, as she has done for years. She is currently releasing a series of songs she has written to help primary children learn the Articles of Faith.
“I love the original (Articles of Faith) songs, and I grew up singing those, but I thought it’d be a really fun challenge to see what I could do, so I am working on getting those out in the public,: she said.
Law’s music can be found on YouTube, Amazon, Spotify and on her website at tracilawmusic.com
