He Cares for Me
#1047 Hymns—For Home and ChurchLyrics
The Story Behind “He Cares for Me”
An engineer and ward organist, in his hardest year, wrote his first original composition about the God who noticed him — deliberately, at the piano, over several days.
A Hard Year and a First Song
For Kenny Schank — an engineer from Santaquin, Utah, who has written music since his teens and serves as his ward organist — 2019 was a grind: young children, a full-time job, the final semesters of a degree, and a personal battle with anxiety and depression.
And yet, through it, he kept noticing Heavenly Father's tender mercies toward his family — small, precise kindnesses that convinced him the God who governs galaxies loves His children one at a time. When the new hymnbook opened for submissions, Schank — who had only ever submitted arrangements before — sat down to write his first original composition about exactly that.
Worship, Even If Nobody Heard It
The melody didn't arrive in a flash. It came gradually, over several days at the piano — deliberate effort offered as devotion. Schank decided the writing itself 'would feel like a way that I could worship; that it was a contribution that I could make to the Lord even if nobody else saw it.'
Somebody saw it. Submissions were reviewed anonymously — no names attached — and his song was chosen from the thousands.
One Fragment of Testimony
'He Cares for Me' was released September 18, 2025, as hymn #1047. Its three verses move from the stars and sun to a child's whispered prayer to God's love in hard times — the whole architecture of the universe bent toward one small person.
Schank's summary of the song is his testimony: 'If I could share only one fragment of my testimony with the world, it would be that every living soul is a child of our Heavenly Father.' Of hearing his congregation sing it: 'At times I still pinch myself.'
Did You Know?
- It was Kenny Schank's first original composition — he had only ever submitted arrangements to Church music festivals before.
- He wrote it during a year of anxiety, depression, night classes, and young children — while noticing tender mercies through all of it.
- He's an engineer by profession and his ward's organist by calling.
- Hymnbook submissions were judged anonymously — no names attached — before his song was chosen.
- He decided the writing would be worship 'even if nobody else saw it.'
Scripture Connections
- 1 John 4:19 — 'We love him, because he first loved us' — the response the song models.
- Alma 33:4–11 — Heard in the wilderness, the field, the house — God attending to one person's prayers, everywhere.
- 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 — 'The God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation.'
Talk About It
Questions to spark a conversation with your family or Primary class:
- Kenny Schank noticed tender mercies during his hardest year. What small kindness from God have you noticed lately?
- The same God who made the stars hears your whispered prayers. Which half of that is harder to believe?
- Schank wrote the song as worship 'even if nobody else saw it.' What could you make just for God?
- How do you know He cares for you? What's your evidence?
Teaching Resources
Attribution
Music by: Kenneth S. Schank, 2019
Text by: and music: Kenneth S. Schank, 2019
Audio files from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints