Organ Prelude: "Redeemer of Israel"

Opening Remarks – Richard Clothier: It is an honor and a privilege to welcome you tonight to this hour of song, and to feel the strong assurance that we are also welcomed, and embraced, and brought together, by the Master himself. We pray the Lord will richly bless all that we do here tonight.

Two hundred years ago this December, in Sharon, Vermont, a son was born to Lucy Mack Smith and her husband Joseph. Fifteen years later, Joseph Smith, Jr. found himself yearning for a better understanding and a closer relationship with his God, and he knelt in a grove to pray. Because of his searching, the stories of millions of people throughout the world have been different from what they might otherwise have been—and that includes everyone in this room, and it includes even the story of this part of the world in which we live.

Latter Day Saints have always been a singing people. It was in the earliest days of the Latter Day Saint movement that Emma Smith, the wife of the prophet, was directed compile the first hymnal for the church, in a revelation that closed with this Divine affirmation:

All of the hymns we will sing tonight are those that were actually sung during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr. Most of them are found in that first Latter Day Saint hymnal that Emma compiled in 1835 in Kirtland, or in her subsequent Nauvoo hymnal of 1841. Nearly all of tonight’s hymns are still sung by some of us, and, happily, many of them are known by all of us. You will notice, however, that sometimes the tunes, and even a few of the words, will vary from one denomination to another, and we hope you will enjoy learning a little bit about one another’s musical traditions tonight. (Incidentally, no one is quite sure what tunes the early Saints used for most of their hymns, since the first hymnals contained no music, only words.)

Tonight we have come together to celebrate our common story through song. We want to sense once again the incredible enthusiasm of those who brought the infant Church of Jesus Christ into being. We will be immensely challenged to try to reflect with our own voices tonight even a small measure of the dedication and excitement they brought to the church in their day.

So, let us lift high our music and our voices; let us sing forth, with full hearts and full voices, as we join together in worship and praise.

As various preachers passed through the area where Joseph Smith lived as a young man, one of their favorite methods of proselytizing was the camp meeting. Often, these took place in the out-of-doors, or in a tent. These were lively gatherings, and they featured not only charismatic preaching, but also lots of spirited singing. Some of those songs survive today, as folk hymns or spirituals. “Come, Thou Fount” is one of the folk hymns that was often used at revivals and camp meetings such as those that attracted the young Joseph. It is an evangelical hymn of praise, redemption, and self-dedication. Like many such hymns, it refers to the scriptures, particularly in the second stanza’s reference to the shrine Samuel erected to the Lord’s help, which he called, “Ebenezer.” Let us join now in singing, to the early American tune called “Nettleton,” the camp meeting hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” This hymn will be our musical prayer of Invocation.

Reader #2 (Fred Larsen): No doubt the single most significant event leading to the founding of the new church occurred when the young Joseph knelt in a grove to pray, seeking direction for his life, and his faith. The testimony that resulted from that experience—the affirmation that the living revelation of God and Christ is available today to all who truly seek, became one of the foundational principals of the new church. Joseph’s experience, which led in time to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, was later celebrated in a hymn by Parley P. Pratt, one of the important pioneers and hymn-writers of the Restoration movement.

Reader #3 (Jackie Ransom): Pratt was a rugged outdoorsman, and a self-educated man. At the age of nineteen he left his home in Burlington, New York, to go west. Through the winter of 1826-27 he cleared some land west of Cleveland, Ohio, and built himself a log cabin, bringing his bride from New York State the following year. It was here that he came into contact with Sidney Rigdon, then a preacher with the Disciples of Christ. Pratt became so enthusiastic about Rigdon’s group that he sold everything he had and went to New York to preach.

Reader #2: While in New York, however, he saw a copy of the Book of Mormon and began to read it. He was so moved by its message that he traveled to Palmyra to talk with Hyrum Smith. In a matter of days, Pratt had been baptized by Oliver Cowdery and ordained an elder. He then returned to Ohio and proceeded to do none other than convert his friend Sidney Rigdon, who in turn converted many of his own followers, thus beginning the pivotal work in the Kirtland area, where the Saints would soon gather and build “The House of the Lord.”

Reader #3: The enthusiastic expression of Parley Pratt’s secure and confident faith is well proclaimed in the strong, straightforward text of his hymn, “When Earth in Bondage Long Hath Lain.”

Reader #4 (Joseph Charlie): A number of hymns have been written celebrating the remarkable story of Joseph’s experience in the grove. One of these is a hymn of the early church whose author is unknown to us. The hymn, “I Saw a Mighty Angel Fly,” first appeared in the 1840 European hymnal, and is thought to have come from the British Mission. The Saints saw the events surrounding Joseph’s founding of the church as a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Book of Revelation, chapter 14, verses 6 and 7. It is that scripture which is the source of the often-used phrase “the angel message,” and also the direct inspiration for this hymn. Compare the hymn with the words of that scripture:

“I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come. And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

Reader #5 (Mark Scherer): In addition to Parley P. Pratt, the other great pioneer and hymn-writer of the early church was William Wines Phelps. When the movement was little more than a year old, W. W. Phelps read the Book of Mormon and moved his family to Kirtland to learn more about this new church. In a revelation dated June 1831, he was told that he should be baptized and ordained an elder.

Reader #6 (Rina DeBarthe): Phelps’ background in political affairs and in journalism would be put to good use by Joseph. When the first issue of The Evening and the Morning Star came off Phelps’ press in Independence in June, 1832, it included a hymn that caught up both the excitement and the struggles of the now rapidly growing movement. Some of the persecution experienced by the young church had been witnessed by Phelps, who likened it, in these verses, to the tribulation of the children of Israel. In writing this hymn, he was no doubt indebted to an existing hymn by one Joseph Swain, a hymn which is sung to the same tune and begins with the lines, “O Thou, in whose presence my soul takes delight, / On whom in affliction I call, / My comfort by day and my song in the night, / My hope, my salvation, my all.”

Reader #5: Of the 90 hymns in Emma Smith’s first hymnal, published in 1835 in Kirtland, it is possible to identify about 40 that were written, or adapted, by Latter Day Saint authors, the majority of them by W. W. Phelps. Among those we treasure most today is “Redeemer of Israel,” one of the important musical expressions of the young Restoration movement. It has been called “the song of the Saints.”

Reader #7 (Tracy Keeney): The hymn we sing next seems to have been one of the most popular hymns among the members of the early church. The records of services and minutes of meetings held during the early years typically refer to singing but, unfortunately, they seldom mention the names of the hymns that were sung. However, the first three sets of conference minutes that do name them all refer to this same hymn. It is a hymn not written by a Latter Day Saint, but one that concerned a concept very important to Joseph’s new movement—that of Zion. And, particularly after W. W. Phelps’s “fine-tuning” of the text, it was one that spoke deeply to the hearts of the early Saints. Popularly known simply as “Zion,” it was among the six hymns printed in the first issue of the Evening and the Morning Star, and it was included in Emma’s first hymnal.

Reader #8 (Rean Duncan): Written by the Englishman John Newton, who also authored “Amazing Grace,” the text of “Glorious Things” is based on ideas from Isaiah and the Psalms. The tune most often associated with it was written by Franz Joseph Haydn for the birthday of the Austrian Emperor Francis II. In a moment, our string quartet will introduce this famous melody for us, exactly as Haydn used it in his “Emperor” Quartet.

John Newton’s hymn, as adapted by Phelps, must surely have resonated deeply with the early Saints as they pursued their untiring quest for community—a community of which “glorious things” would be spoken: “Zion, the city of our God!”

Reader #9 (Verle Cornish): Records show that our next hymn was sung not only at Kirtland but also at Far West, in 1838. It is a hymn that first appeared in a Baptist hymnal published in London in 1787, and by 1820 it had found its way into an American hymnal printed in Philadelphia. Like many hymns, the text of “How Firm a Foundation” is really a sermon in verse. Its theme was one that was particularly relevant to Joseph’s young movement, for it illustrates beautifully the foundational concept of continuing revelation.

In the first stanza, the Word of God is established as the sure foundation of the Christian faith. Then, the question is asked, “What more can God say than that which God has already said?” The answer to this question should be treasured by all of us who share the Latter Day Saint heritage, because the verses that follow represent none other than the additional revelation of God, in the first person. In these verses, many precious promises of God are given, such as: “Feat not, I am with thee, be not dismayed, / for I am thy God, I will still give thee aid,” and “I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, / and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

Reader #10 (Andrew Bolton): The fact that Emma Smith and her family were originally Methodists no doubt had a positive influence on the practice of singing in the early church. Music was important in the worship of the Methodist denomination, and in fact no less than 6500 hymns were written by the faith’s co-founder, Charles Wesley. One of the greatest, and certainly the most popular, of these is our next hymn, “O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing My Great Redeemer’s Praise”.

The Wesley brothers had been strongly influenced toward the encouragement of music in the Methodist church by the wonderful singing of the Moravian Brethren. In fact, this particular hymn was probably inspired by the statement of Peter Bohler, a Moravian preacher, who is quoted as saying, “Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise God with them all.”

Folks did not seem to mind long services in those days, and many of the old hymns contain significantly more verses than we might appreciate today. Wesley originally wrote no less than 18 stanzas to this hymn; Emma selected seven of them for the first hymnal. Tonight, we will sing only four!

Reader #11 (Stephanie Shutt): On March 17, 1842, Emma and 19 other women met with Joseph on the second story of the red brick store in Nauvoo to form the Nauvoo Female Relief Society. At the close of their meeting, they sang a well-known hymn by W. W. Phelps, “Now Let Us Rejoice.” Popularly known simply as “Home,” this hymn had been sung by the Saints ever since it appeared in Emma’s first hymnal. In her dissertation titled, “The Singing Saints,” the Latter-day Saint scholar Helen Macaré comments on this hymn. She says,

Reader #12 ( Valle Smith): This hymn must be read literally, bearing in mind that it was written at Zion,

Reader #11: We know that the hymn, “Now Let Us Rejoice,” was sung by the early Saints to the same tune as “The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning,” and we will follow that same practice tonight. Following the singing of this hymn, an offering will be received for the expenses of tonight’s hymn festival.

Reader #13 (Andrew Neill): Here is a hymn that illustrates the freedom the young church felt in adapting existing hymns to express its own beliefs, in this case through images of a latter-day promised land and the imminent second coming of Christ. Compare the words of the hymn, “Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah,” with the original hymn. The first stanza of the original read as follows:

Reader #14 (Megan Hight): Unlike the original, the version of this hymn that appears in our current hymnals is a collective, rather than an individual, plea for guidance, and it asks the help of Jehovah for the journey. Thus, today we sing: “Saints unto the promised land”; or “Guide us to the promised land,” and “Guard us to this holy home”. But the text so well beloved by the early church referred instead to “Saints upon the promised land,” and asks that God “guard us in this holy home.” It was their firm belief that they had already arrived! Tonight, we will sing the version used by these early Saints.

Reader #13: The original hymn was written in the Welsh language by a man named William Williams, and it is best sung to a famous Welsh tune. The name of this stirring tune, “Cwm Rhondda,” is a reference to the coal-mining Rhondda valley in Wales, a country known for its rousing tunes, and for singing at the top of one’s voice and from the bottom of one’s heart. Let us follow their example tonight.

Reader #15 (John Horner): “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” This lesson on love, from the Master himself, served as the inspiration for our next hymn, “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” This hymn is not original to the Latter-day Saint movement, but it is a compelling hymn for us in this service of commemoration, because of its historic context in the tragic events which took place in Carthage, Illinois, in the summer of 1844.

Reader #16 ( Lynn Matthews): On June 27, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, and Willard Richards waited inside Carthage jail, while outside more than a hundred men blackened their faces with mud and gunpowder, an indication north of the Mason Dixon line that mob rule was to begin. Inside the jail, Joseph and his companions languished in the oppressive afternoon heat. John Taylor later recorded,

Reader #16: Some time later, the mob stormed the stairs, past the elderly “Carthage Grays,” shot into the small room from the doorway and through the window from the yard. When the fire and smoke subsided, only Willard Richards remained unscathed. John Taylor lay injured from four balls. Joseph and Hyrum were dead.

Reader #15: Our soloist and choir will sing the first two stanzas of “A Poor Wayfaring Man,” and we will join on the remainder of the hymn. Following the singing, we will share a moment of meditation, after which we will sing, as our mutual evening prayer, the hymn, “Come, Let Us All Unite and Sing,” from Emma’s Nauvoo hymnal.

11. Come, Let Us All Unite and Sing. (Our Evening Prayer-Hymn)

(Richard Clothier): This has indeed been a memorable evening. We want to offer our sincere thanks to all the participants, and to everyone who has made this experience possible, including all of you who have joined your voices in song tonight.

In our act of celebrating the past, we have also found ourselves challenged, and called forward into our future. It is fitting that we bring this experience to a close with a hymn that is dear to the hearts of everyone here—a hymn that grew out of the Pentecostal experiences in Kirtland prior to the completion and dedication of the Temple. Tongues, visions, and prophecies were enjoyed on several occasions; in one particular quorum session, those attending reported “a great flow of the Holy Spirit… like fire in their bones, so that they could not hold their peace, but were constrained to cry hosanna to God and the Lamb. . .” With his poetic gifts, W. W. Phelps formulated the words of a hymn that caught up the powerful spirit of this remarkable period. Immediately after its publication in The Messenger and Advocate, the new hymn was printed as the last entry in Emma’s hymnal, which actually came off the presses only a few weeks before the Temple dedication in March of 1836.

Set to a stirring English tune, this great hymn was sung at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple by a large choir situated in all four corners of the sanctuary. Clearly, it was a most moving and memorable moment for all who were present that day, for it is recorded that the benedictory prayer by Sidney Rigdon was “ended with loud acclamations of Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna to God and the Lamb, Amen, Amen, and Amen.”

Organ Postlude: "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning"