Tomorrow Is A Latter Day Lyrics — Book of Mormon, The

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Act II finale sequence: Price and company pivot from rulebook faith to a practical, make-it-work future.
2. On the cast album, the track also appends the "Hello!" reprise and the encore as a continuous finish.
3. Built like a group vow: broad chorus writing, quick character spotlights, then a final communal lift.
4. Cast recording placement: Track 16, running about six minutes in album form.

The Book of Mormon (2011) - stage musical - not diegetic. Act II finale and curtain-coda flow. Full placement: the newly baptized villagers and missionaries spread "The Book of Arnold," Price reframes belief as teamwork, and the show rolls into the final reprise and encore sequence that seals the goodbye.

This is the show putting its cards on the table. After all the satire, the ending chooses a strangely generous thesis: faith is not only doctrine, it is what people build when life gives them lousy materials. The score does not stop being funny, but it stops using laughter as a shield. The chorus lands like a promise spoken aloud so it can become real.

The clever move is structural. The track starts as a finale song, then - on the album - keeps going, folding in the last bits of stage electricity as a continuous ribbon. That decision turns the listening experience into a mini curtain call: you hear the story resolve, then you feel the room take a victory lap.

Creation History

Written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, the finale was recorded with the original cast during March 2011 sessions at MSR Studios in New York and released by Ghostlight Records on May 17, 2011. A free, time-limited full-album listen appeared on NPR ahead of release, a smart move for a show that people were already quoting in the lobby. According to Playbill, that early preview helped fuel the album buzz while the production was still fresh news and still winning converts of its own.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

After the pageant and the mission president fallout, the villagers carry forward a new, improvised scripture - the so-called Book of Arnold - shaped by Cunningham's inventions and their own needs. Price, chastened and newly clear-eyed, stops trying to be the perfect missionary hero and starts being a partner. The company looks to the future with a shared plan: make a life, make a community, and keep moving.

Song Meaning

The message is a pivot from purity to practice. The finale argues that belief can survive doubt if it still produces solidarity, care, and work. It is not saying rules do not matter. It is saying people matter more than rules, and sometimes the only honest faith is the one that admits it is stitched together.

What makes the ending sing is the tone: uplift with a mischievous grin. The show never turns into a sermon, but it allows a sincere idea to occupy the stage for long enough to register. In that sense, the finale is a handshake between two versions of the musical: the sharp parody and the surprisingly warm human comedy.

Annotations

1. "Tomorrow is a latter day"

   A wordplay hook that does double duty. It nods to the church name, and it also functions like a folk saying: keep your head up, you get another shot in the morning.

2. "The Book of Arnold"

   The phrase is funny because it is brazen, but it is also the plot in miniature. Scripture becomes local, improvised, and community-owned. The joke carries an uneasy truth about how stories travel.

3. "Work together"

   This is where Price changes. Instead of chasing a spotless testimony, he settles on cooperation as the true miracle. In performance, the line lands best when it sounds like relief.

Style fusion, pulse, and payoff

Musically it behaves like a Broadway finale with pop clarity: chorus-forward writing, steady rhythmic drive, and harmonies stacked for glow. The track is also a container, because it has to carry the last reprise and the encore material in album form. That means the arrangement has to do two jobs: resolve the plot and then translate applause energy into sound.

Key touchpoints and the arc of belief

The finale is not about proving theology. It is about what people do with hope when their world is harsh. New York Theatre Guide describes the final moment as Price appreciating Cunningham and embracing a future even with doubt, which frames the ending as reconciliation rather than victory. And yes, the title phrase also lands as a sly wink at the LDS naming tradition, a joke that still respects how meaningful names can be to believers.

Technical Information

1. Artist: The Book of Mormon - Original Broadway Cast
2. Featured: Andrew Rannells; Josh Gad; Nikki M. James; Company
3. Composer: Trey Parker; Matt Stone; Robert Lopez
4. Producer: Stephen Oremus; Trey Parker; Matt Stone; Robert Lopez (cast recording team)
5. Release Date: May 17, 2011
6. Genre: Musical theatre; musical comedy; finale ensemble
7. Instruments: vocals; nine-piece pit colors (woodwinds, brass, percussion, keys, strings, guitars, basses)
8. Label: Ghostlight Records
9. Mood: resolved, buoyant, communal
10. Length: 6:01 (album track timing)
11. Track #: 16
12. Language: English
13. Album (if any): The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording
14. Music style: finale chorus writing with pop-bright phrasing
15. Poetic meter: mixed, chorus-led with speech-like phrasing for comic clarity

Questions and Answers

Why does the finale feel like more than one song on the album?

Because the cast recording attaches the final "Hello!" reprise and the encore to the end of the last track, creating one continuous closing sequence.

What changes for Price in this moment?

He stops chasing perfection and starts valuing partnership. The finale frames his growth as reconciliation with Cunningham and with reality.

Is the number meant to be a triumph or a compromise?

Both. The sound is triumphant, but the idea is compromise: people can still build meaning even when belief is messy.

What is the dramatic point of the Book of Arnold idea?

It shows how stories adapt under pressure. Cunningham invents, the villagers translate, and the result becomes a community artifact with consequences.

Does the title phrase reference LDS terminology?

Yes, it plays on "Latter-Day" from the church name while also functioning as a plain promise of tomorrow.

Why does the show end with a group voice instead of a solo?

The finale argues that the real resolution is collective. Ending as an ensemble makes the message sound like a shared decision, not a personal brag.

Is there an official filmed movie version that uses this number?

No widely released film adaptation exists as of recent reporting, though creators and cast have discussed the idea in interviews over the years.

What makes the comedy still work in the final minutes?

The writing keeps a light touch. Even when it turns sincere, it keeps the language clever enough to avoid a sentimental slide.

Why is the ending debated by audiences?

Because it asks viewers to laugh at the absurdity while also accepting that the characters found a workable form of hope. Some people want the satire to stay sharper to the last beat.

Awards and Chart Positions

The track itself was not promoted as a standalone single, but it lives on a cast album with unusual pop-chart reach. According to Billboard magazine, the recording debuted at No. 31 on the Billboard 200 and later jumped to No. 3 after the 2011 Tony Awards wave. According to Playbill, the cast recording won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and Playbill later reported the album reaching RIAA Gold certification.

How to Sing Tomorrow Is a Latter Day

Common reference metrics: Tempo is often listed around 170 BPM, with a key listing commonly shown as G major. Because the album track also contains appended material, treat these as starting points rather than a fixed law for every staged cut.

Range anchors for typical casting: StageAgent lists Elder Kevin Price as a tenor (C3 to B4) and Elder Arnold Cunningham as a tenor (C3 to G4). The finale is ensemble-led, so stamina, diction, and blend matter as much as top notes.

1. Tempo: Rehearse the chorus at 150 BPM first, then raise speed only when the consonants stay clean.
2. Diction: Put extra focus on the hook line and on character names. If the audience misses those, the ending loses its snap.
3. Breathing: Mark shared breaths for the ensemble blocks. A unified inhale makes the finale sound like one organism.
4. Flow and rhythm: Keep the pulse buoyant, not frantic. Let the groove carry you instead of forcing volume.
5. Accents: Sing the reconciliation lines warmer and rounder, then brighten the communal slogans. Contrast is the storytelling.
6. Ensemble balance: Decide who leads each phrase. A finale can get messy fast if everyone tries to be the lead.
7. Mic and placement: Aim for forward resonance and speech-like clarity. Save heavier belt for moments that truly need lift.
8. Pitfalls: Do not turn it into a victory lap too early. The best ending keeps a hint of humility in the tone.

Additional Info

The finale has a busy second life because it is useful. Licensed digital sheet music exists for piano and voice, and accompaniment releases circulate for rehearsal rooms that need show-keys practice without a full pit. That kind of infrastructure is not glamorous, but it is how theatre songs stay alive once the original cast is history.

It is also a neat case study in how a cast album can reshape dramaturgy. The stage ending is a sequence of moments; the recording turns it into a single track experience. You do not just hear the resolution, you hear the handoff into bows. I have always liked that choice. It is a little bit of stagecraft smuggled into headphones.

For anyone tracking adaptation talk: in a 2024 interview, Josh Gad recalled early plans that imagined the property as an animated film before it became a stage musical, a reminder that this story has been orbiting different formats for years without settling into an official movie release.

Key Contributors

Sources: Ghostlight Records YouTube track page, Ghostlight Records album listing, New York Theatre Guide song guide, London Theatre song guide, The Book of Mormon (musical) song notes, The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording notes, Playbill NPR preview article, Billboard cast-album chart debut report, Entertainment Weekly chart story, Broadway.com chart note, Playbill Grammy win report, GRAMMY.com acceptance clip page, Playbill cast recordings certification list, Musicstax track metrics, StageAgent role profiles, Sheet Music Plus listing, Stage Stars accompaniment release, IndieWire interview