"A Small Spark of Deity": An 1846 Poem from John Taylor

I recently found a poem that I think is a particularly beautiful one.  It was written by John Taylor (later the third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) for and to a New York City woman named Abby Jane Hart.  The poem ("Lines, Written in the Album of Miss Abby Jane Hart, of New York City") is dated 5 September 1846, and it was printed in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star 8/11 (19 December 1846): 178-179.  The poem is as follows, and I think it illustrates some interesting tendencies in Latter-day Saint thought:

Abby: Knowest thou whence thou camest? Thine

Origin? Who thou art? What? and whither

Thou art bound? A crysolis of yesterday:

To-day a gaudy fluttering butterfly –

A moth; to-morrow crushed, and then an end

Of thee. Is this so? And must thou perish

Thus, and die ingloriously without a

Hope?

          Ah, no; thou'rt no such thing. Thou in the

Bosom of thy Father bask'd, and liv'd, and

Mov'd thousands of years ago. Yes, e'er this

Mundane sphere from chaos sprung, or sun, or

Moon, or stars, or world was fram'd: before the

Sons of God for joy did shout, or e'er the

Morning stars together sung – thou liv'dst.

          Thou liv'dst to live again. Ah, no! thou liv'd

But to continue life eternal – to

Live, and move, and act eternally. Yes;

Long as a spirit, God, or world exists;

From everlasting, eternal, without end.

And whilst thou dwelt in thy paternal home,

And with thy brethren shar'd extatic bliss,

All that a spirit could not cloth'd in flesh,

Thou through the vista of unnumbered years

Saw'st through the glimmering veil that thou would'st

Dwell in flesh – just as the Gods.

                                              Tread in the

Footsteps of thine elder brother, Jesus –

The “Prince of Peace,” for whom a body was

Prepared.

             Thou heard; thou look'd; thou long'd; thou pray'd;

Thou hop'd for this. At length it came; and thou

Appear'd on this terraqueous ball,

Body and spirit; a living soul, forth

From the hands of Eloheim – eternal

As himself – part of thy God. A small spark

Of Deity struck from the fire of his

Eternal blaze.

                 Thou came! thou came to live! Of life thou art

A living monument; to it thou still

Dost cling eternal life. To thee all else

Are straw, and chaff, and bubbles light as air;

And will be all, until thou gain once more

Thy Father's breast; rais'd, quicken'd, immortal;

Body, spirit, all: a God among the

Gods forever blest.

                          Abby: and hast thou dared to launch thy

Fragile barque on truth's tempestuous sea;

To meet the pelting storm, and proudly brave

The dangers of the raging main; and through

The rocks, and shoals, and yawning gulphs, pursue

The nearest way to life, in hopes that thou

Would'st speedy gain a seat among the Gods?

          Seest thou the multitudes who sail in

Gilded barques, and gently float along the

Silvery stream? Downward they go with sweet

Luxurious ease, and scarce a zephyr moves

The tranquil bosom of the placid stream.

Unconscious of the greatness of the prize

They might obtain, they glide along in peace;

And as they never soar aloft, nor mount

On eagle's wings, nor draw aside the veil

Of other worlds, they know none else than this –

No other joys. They dream away their life,

And die forgot. Just as the butterfly

They gaily flutter on: to-day they live –

To-morrow are no more.

                                  And though, like thee,

In them is the eternal spark; thousands

Of weary years must roll along e'er they

Regain the prize they might with thee have shar'd.

Regain it? Never! No! They may come where

Thou wert, but never can they with thee share

Extatic bliss.

                  For whilst in heaven's progressive

Science skill'd, thou soard'st from world to world, clad

In the robes of bright seraphic light; and

With thy God, eternal – onward goest, a

Priestess and a queen – reigning and ruling in

The realms of light. Unlike the imbeciles

Who dared not brook the scorn of men, and knew not

How to prize eternal life.

                         Abby: the cup's within thy reach; drink thou

The vital balm and live.

Woman: The Dawn of Love

In celebration of Mother's Day, we present the following lines - taken from the latter half of Augusta Joyce Crocheron's poem "Woman: The Dawn of Love" - as reprinted from Augusta Joyce Crocheron, Wild Flowers of Deseret: A Collection of Efforts in Verse (Salt Lake City, UT: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1881), 128-132:

The mother's lot: like Christ to weep,
While loved ones, wearied, sink in sleep;
The mother's lot, like Him to bear
The burden of their wrongs, and wear
A name assailed, if by that cost,
A soul were saved that else were lost.
He died, that souls of men might live;
She, life-long sacrifice doth give.

Too often on her brow doth press
The cruel thorns of thanklessness;
And oft her life its peace hath missed,
Betrayed, too, by a Judas' kiss.
Forget not in thy misery,
The heritage He gave to thee,
To bear, like Him, earth's griefs, and win
A triumph o'er the world within
Thy narrow sphere; and then to share
Reward that greatest love doth bear.

Never recorded to His name -
Stern judgment on thee, weak and shamed;
His charity and wisdom turned
The accuser's blow, and hearts that burned
To wreak their hate and cruelty,
In shame and silence, turned from thee.
And she who came with perfumes sweet,
And, weeping, washed the Savior's feet,
Though sinful, mercy found, and heard
From lips divine, the blest reward -
"Thy sins are all forgiven thee,
And this shall thy memorial be."

For thee, what miracles He wrought!
Thy dead to life again He brought;
The widow's mite He blessed, and she
Lives in His sacred history.
Where'er is told His life divine,
There woman's faith is intertwined.
Never recorded to thy name -
The deed or word, that tongue might claim,
In proof that woman's soul denied
Belief in Him. Though crucified,
Though cold, inanimate, He lay,
In faith and love no fear could stay
(Mightiest love that ever moved
Hearts in mortality, and proved
Their faith and constancy to Him),
They came while morning yet was dim
In the far east, and weeping brought
Their sacred gifts, and found Him not!

To them who waited through the night
In desolation, for the light,
Nor even yet their Lord could yield
From their existence, He revealed
Fulfillment of His prophecy -
To rise in immortality!
They, who undoubting faith had kept,
O'erjoyed, enraptured, kneeling wept,
With inspiration's eyes to see
The resurrection's mystery!
The first to see the risen Lord,
Thou wert not first to doubt His word;
But first, the wondrous joy to share,
And the glad word ordained to bear.

Though thou hast lost that light of love,
Which made thy path so bright before,
Or though its glow hath died away,
To shine again for thee no more,
Despair not thou, nor silent turn,
In wounded pride, to steel thy heart
Against the faithless, when anew
Thy tender thoughts relenting start.

Too oft demanded in love's name,
Such test of thy soul's strength we see,
As greater minds would scorn to bear,
And justice ne'er would claim of thee;
'Till wearied, tired, and sore at heart,
Thy nature riseth swift to turn
'Gainst all the record of thy hopes,
And all their promises to spurn.

Despair not thou, though 'gainst thy soul
The wrongs of earth seem to prevail;
Though thou hast yielded all and bowed,
Weeping above life's phantoms pale,
Thy heritage to love, and give
Thy life's best deeds unto thy kind;
Though that reward, which thou hast earned,
Thou ne'er within this life shalt find.

Still to thy standard be thou true,
And passing time to thee shall bring
Perfected fruit of all thine aims;
And griefs that bowed thee shall take wing.
The ideal within thy soul
Is not a fiction of thine own;
Hereafter thou wilt see in full,
That which was here but dimly shown.

Thou art not least and last of all
In heaven's mighty plan;
Thou too hast place of high degree
Beside the soul of man.
Thou wilt not there be counted weak,
Though led by love thou art;
In that high court where all is love,
Such thought will bear no part.
There wilt thou in thy soul redeemed
The jewel, love, retain;
And wear it as a diadem,
Not as a master's chain.

Unto this blest and grand estate,
The gospel lights the way;
Trust thou its guidance, let no doubts
Thine onward footsteps stay.
O, be thou like the blessed five -
Thy robes and lamp prepare,
At marriage supper of the Lamb,
A name and place to share.

Adam Our Father and Our Head

Lately I've been posting a couple old LDS perspectives on the idea (once held in LDS circles) of Adam as father, head of the human race, and even as God. As a counterpoint, I'd like to share a hymn by Isaac Watts, which I extract now from its appearance (with highly modified text) as Hymn 42 ("Original sin; or the first and second ADAM") in Joshua Smith, et al., Divine Hymns, or Spiritual Songs, for the Use of Religious Assemblies and Private Christians, 7th ed. (Elizabethtown: J. Woods, 1800), 47-48. Really, only the first verse is directly relevant, but I find the whole thing to be beautiful.

Adam, our father and our head,
Transgres'd, and justice doom'd us dead,
The fiery law speaks all despair,
There's no reprieve nor pardon there.

Call a bright council in the skies,
Seraphs, the mighty and the wise,
Speak; are you strong to bear the load,
The weighty vengeance of a God?

In vain we ask; for all around
Stand silent thro' the heavenly ground;
There's not a glorious mind above,
Has half the strength, or half the love.

But O! unmeasurable grace!
The eternal Son takes Adam's place;
Down to our world the Savior flies,
Stretches his naked arms and dies.

Amazing work! look down ye skies,
Wonder and gaze with all your eyes;
Ye saints below and saints above,
All bow to this mysterious love.

Zion's Freedom: An 1889 LDS Poem

The following poem by T. W. Brookbank is taken from The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star 51/49 (9 December 1889): 784. The historical context, I'd surmise, is the legal repression that the Latter-day Saints faced for their continued violations of the anti-polygamy laws of the day, as warranted by the Edmunds Act of 1882 and later the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887; this state of affairs reached a turning point when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly renounced polygamy in the Manifesto of 1890, though continuing to practice it covertly until this was exposed, requiring a Second Manifesto (1904).

Christ the Lord will succor Zion -
King of mighty Kings is He -
'Tis His arm the Saints rely on.
For their promised victory:
Gentile sway shall soon be broken;
Haughty foes before Him flee;
For this word our God hath spoken,
"Zion's people shall be free."
Then, O foemen, bind your chains,
Saints of God despise their pains,
Nor can death their souls appall;
And your tribes ere long shall see
Dearest Zion strong and free;
High enthroned above you all.

Though the Saints you hail to prison,
Boast not rashly in your pride;
Never yet have there arisen
Tyrant hopes no ills betide:
Zion's armies do surround her,
Marshalled there from heavens wide,
And in their glory they will found her,
When her sons are fully tried.
Then, O foemen, build your jails,
Not one hero spirit quails,
Freedom's hosts you'll ne'er subdue;
But your tribes ere long shall see
Dearest Zion strong and free,
And enthroned in glory too.

Spoil our rights by charter granted;
Plunder consecrated gains;
Breathe out war, where now implanted,
Smiling peace so sweetly reigns;
Tear protection from the mother;
Seize our homes and fertile plains;
Zion's hopes you cannot smother,
E'en when bound in felons' chains.
Then, O foemen, fill ye up
Direst woe's most bittter cup,
You shall drink its dregs at last;
While the Saints in Zion free
Shall outspread from sea to sea;
Glorified by troubles past.

You may safely hunt the lion
When no lion is in view;
But your safety don't rely on
When the lion is hunting you;
Thus you war against Jehovah,
And you wage it fiercely, too;
But before your days are over,
He will wage a war with you.
Then, O foemen, fill ye up
Direst woe's most bitter cup;
You shall drink its dregs at last;
While the Saints in Zion free,
Shall outspread from sea to sea;
Glorified by troubles past.

A Godly People Bless the Earth

The following poem by John A. Lant, titled "A Godly People Bless the Earth" and dedicated to "the brethren of the Central States Mission", appeared in The Improvement Era 10/3 (January 1907): 198. I hope I have the second and third stanzas in the proper order. Compare to an earlier poem by John Lant, courtesy of Ardis E. Parshall at her Keepapitchinin blog.

A godly people bless the earth,
By kindly deeds and saintly worth;
America! thou grand and free!
To gospel glories bend the knee,
In humble thankfulness and prayer,
For these are gaining everywhere;

From revelation's reop'd fount,
These glorious latter days they count,
When men from strife and wrong shall flee,
And earth - a paradise to be -
Receive the lessons hidden long
In joy sublime and gladsome song.

Let menace to all evil come,
With good disproving slander's tongue.
Ope thy heart, each soul who bore
False witness, thoughtless, o'er and o'er;
Thou art forgiven; canst thou forgive,
And "Mormon" precepts strive to live?

These Latter-days mean peace for all -
These Saints in gladness meekly call
To share the joys bequeathed from heaven
For them, for thee, the precious leaven -
That all God's children born to earth
May merit life divine from birth.

Orson Whitney's "Home"

I'm dedicating this post to Kirk and Kari, and also to any of my readers who might happen to actually live in Utah, or simply love the place. I hope very much to go one day - though in the meantime, as I think would also please the author of this piece, I'm striving to simply appreciate the beauty of my own native home while I still can. I here present Orson F. Whitney's poem "Home", found in The Poetical Works of Orson F. Whitney (Salt Lake City, UT: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1889), 106-108.

Ye who would brave the bounding billow,
To view the wonders of the world,
And magnify with vain devotion,
The scenes in foreign climes unfurled!

Have ye ne'er dreamed of nearer splendors,
Than beautify an alien strand -
The glorious legacies of nature
Bequeathed unto your native land?

Hast never thought, whilst rapt admiring
The distant starlight overhead,
There may be flowers of beauty blushing
Neglected 'neath thy careless tread?

Ne'er has it been my lot to wander
O'er Orient sands or Alpine snows,
To linger in the vine-clad valleys
Where Rhine's clear, winding water flows;

I ne'er have watched the sun declining
Along the classic Grecian hills,
Nor pressed the plains of Palestina,
Nor mused beside Olympian rills.

But I have stood amidst the thunders,
When shook the towering granite height,
And trembled where the vivid lightnings
Blazed on the angry brow of night.

I've seen the headlong torrent leaping
From crag to cloven gulf beneath,
And caught the snow-slide's whelming terrors
Descending on the wings of death.

Oh, tell me not that grander tempests
Reverberate with louder roar,
On Switzerland's historic summits,
Than on the Rocky Mountains hoar;

That fiercer rolls lauwine, thundering,
Than the snow-slide's fatal thrall,
Or lovelier the Alpine cascade
Than the Wasatch waterfall.

Say not the shores of limpid Leman
Their cultured charms unrivalled hold;
When lakes that lie in yonder mountains
Are rife with beauty unextolled.

Nor praise the skies of soft Italia,
Where suns in glory rise and set,
Till thou hast seen them bathe with brightness
The matchless hills of Deseret.

Sing not of Erin's famed Killarney,
Laud not the wave of Galilee,
For I have sailed the buoyant waters
Of Utah's wondrous saline sea.

I've climbed her everduring mountains,
I've rested in her peaceful vales,
I've quaffed her pure and sparkling streamlets,
I've breathed her life-renewing gales.

I love the land that gave me being;
Her features aye shall seem to me,
More beautiful than boasted marvels
Of all the realms beyond the sea.

Alfred Osmond on Exaltation

The following is a brief excerpt from Alfred Osmond's May 1890 poem "Two Fires", found in Alfred Osmond, The Poetical Works of Alfred Osmond (Salt Lake City, UT: George Q. Cannon and Sons, 1891), 41:

A man created like his God,
If he a certain path will trod,
In time may shine the same as He -
That is, frail man a God can be.
Yes, he may reach that lofty height,
If he will follow truth's bright light;
But let him turn from truth away,
And love the night and scorn the day,
No living thing e'er could or can
Descend so low as wondrous man.

Mormonism is Truth: An 1850s LDS Poem

The following poem is by William W. Phelps and is from a series of pages in the 1853 issue of the Deseret Almanac:

There is a great and glorious plan,
The only one, forsooth,
By which to save degenerate man, -
That only plan is TRUTH.
For truth takes all in his embrace,
The living - dead - and works, and grace, -
Philosophy, and fruitful hives,
And politics, and ENDLESS LIVES.

Could TRUTH but have a perfect sway,
Throughout this world of pain,
How soon would come that blessed day,
When Peace shall fully reign?
Though Honesty is little known,
And out of date has almost grown, -
The Truth shall ev'ry nation hear;
The just rejoice - the wicked fear.

The spirits of the dead shall know,
That Truth to them is given;
Thus all around, above, below,
Through truth may gain a heaven.
Truth is a great and endless chain,
Which reaches Hades and back again;
Then rap ye spirits, rap and LIE -
Eternal Truth will never die.

Of piety the world is full -
Religious souls in every place;
But ah! good works are very dull, -
Rejoice ye sinners in free grace.
But he who wins, the Master saith,
Must show his works as well as faith.
O hypocrites! where will you be?
And when will you salvation see?

PHILOSOPHY shall raise its head,
When Truth dictates its laws;
And thus has it been truly said,
Effect must follow cause.
Philosophers may wisdom seek;
There is a glory for the meek: -
The WORLD expects that bliss to gain,
But scorn the door, and scale in vain.

And from Philosophy shall spring
The light which Science gives;
For truth with all its lustre bring,
Wherever spirit lives; -
The greatest science e'er unfurled,
Salvation shows to all the world;
The rules are plain, and firmly laid,
Though simple, they must be obeyed.

And Truth will gather all in one,
As bees collect from flowers;
With richest stores to draw upon,
In Zion's fragrant bowers.
There's room for all, the cells to fill
With industry, and art, and skill;
The swarms are still increasing yet -
The parent hive is DESERET.

Political confusion reigns,
And anarchy is rife;
The smartest rogue an office gains,
To stir the fire of strife; -
And parties clash, and split, and fight,
Like blind men groping for a light;
When Truth's broad banner is unfurled,
There's policy for all the world.

The government of Truth is pure,
Its laws are good and just;
Its subjects have their rights secured
With officers of trust.
THEOCRACY shall take the sway,
And politics shall sweep away; -
The Truth will take its grand career,
And swift it comes! 'tis here! 'TIS HERE!!

The universe throughout will gain
Release from every strife;
The earth shall soon be free from pain,
And taste eternal life.
Salvation unto all is free,
Unbounded as eternity -
But they who see eternal day,
Must surely take the narrow way.

The day of grace now shining bright,
Reveals the heavenly plan; -
How vast the love! how great the light,
Displayed to fallen men.
Those who unto its voice give ear,
Who unto every good adhere -
Embracing truth, renouncing sin,
The prize, eternal lives, will win.

Thus all our faith and works below,
To righteousness should tend;
Our lives should heavenly wisdom show,
Enduring to the end: -
Truth makes the path to glory plain,
And takes us back to bliss again;
It gives new life, exalts the soul -
And MORMONISM takes the whole.

The Battle Between Truth and Error

Alfred Osmond's poem "The Battle Between Truth and Error", dated 5 September 1891, is here reprinted from Alfred Osmond, The Poetical Works of Alfred Osmond (Salt Lake City, UT: George Q. Cannon and Sons, 1891), 211-212:

Hark! the hoarse, dull drum of war
Sends its pealing tones of thunder,
To the nations near and far,
Filling all the world with wonder!

Let the nations close their eyes,
But a change is surely coming.
God has heard His children's cries,
'Tis the angels who are drumming!

Truth and Error don't agree;
Both are strong but one must perish.
God has made His children free,
They may fight for what they cherish.

But the battle must go on,
Till the blood-red flag of Error
Shall be torn and trampled down,
Then will cease, "The Reign of Terror."

There are those who will not fight,
But who, serpent-like, are crawling
In the dust where men of might,
Pierced with shot and shall are falling.

Let the war-drum wildly beat,
Let its thunders roll and rattle!
None but cowards will retreat,
Honor loves the field of battle!

Jesus Christ will never fall,
And His sword will ne'er be broken;
Saber stroke and rifle ball
Harm Him not - a God has spoken.

And the snow-white flag of Truth
Will in time o'er earth be waving;
Right still stands in strength of youth,
He will win what man is craving.

When the hoarse war-drum shall sleep,
When all evil powers are shaken,
May we have no cause to weep
For the part that we have taken.

May we greet our noble King
In the mansions of His glory;
Nor feel conscience's painful sting,
When we tell Him this life's story.

The Worshiper: A Poem by Crocheron

The following beautiful little poem, Augusta Joyce Crocheron's "The Worshiper", is taken from Augusta Joyce Crocheron, Wild Flowers of Deseret: A Collection of Efforts in Verse (Salt Lake City, UT: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1881), 35-37:

Into the house of worship came
The earnest, crowding throng,
The gentle girl, the aged dame;
Through prayer, and praise, and sacred song,
To learn the path that led above
Earth's vales and wilds of wrong.

While prayer, full-toned, sweet, clear and high,
And worship-hymn like incense rolled,
A stranger, half as one in fear,
To vacant seat beside me stole,
Like one apart from all commune,
Save with her secret soul.

Her garments, worn with studious care
(The fashion of long years gone by),
The straying locks of once bright hair,
The pallid cheek, the drooping eye,
The prayer-bent head, the shrinking form,
Might wake a pitying sigh.

Yet, e'en as once in Eden dwelt,
One spirit dark, whose trail was blight,
There, where truth's seekers humbly knelt,
Vain worldlings, at the saddening sight
Blushless, within the sacred place
Their fine derision dealt.

Ah! how my soul within me burned
To shield the helpless from their sting,
When once her thin pale face she turned,
Then shrank like some poor hunted thing
Too weak and wounded to take flight,
Though shouts around her ring.

Ah! what hath been thy woe, poor heart?
What history of wrong and pain
Lie hid from reason's reach and smart?
And but the seal-ed lids remain.
Save one stray leaf thou connest o'er,
Thy heavenly home to gain.

When, low upon her dying bed,
The lonely worshiper was found,
Few friends kind ministrations fed,
Few mourners stood her grave around;
And the sealed lips their secret kept
Within them, 'neath the mound.

Then the bright angel, lifting forth
The poor clay from the trampled sod,
Found 'neath cankering dross of earth
(Where worldly feet indifferent trod),
Dim with tear-rust, a jewel bright,
Worthy the praise of God.

"Blessed thou art," the Master said,
"Because when worldlings sought not me,
Though with my richest bounties fed,
Thou, in thy depths of misery,
Friendless, distraught, one bright thought kept,
And loved, and worshiped me."

Our Father in the Heavens

The following is a poem/hymn by William W. Phelps, titled "Our Father in the Heavens". So far as I can tell, this is a little-known piece, but it makes for an interesting comparison with his considerably more famous LDS hymn "If You Could Hie to Kolob". I've italicized the chorus and fleshed it out in each instance:

When eternities began,
There were precepts made for man,
Knowing Lucifer deceives, -
For each Adam had his Eves, -
Like millions of millions his Father once had blest; -
Or millions of millions in everlasting rest.

Then our Father in his youth,
Came from Teman full of truth,
Cloth'd in flesh like you and I,
Sav'd his world, and went on high,
Like millions of millions his Father once had blest; -
Or millions of millions in everlasting rest.

Morning Stars together sang,
Sweet the song on Kolob rang;
"There's another Kingdom Come;
There's another God come home:" -
Like millions of millions his Father once had blest; -
Or millions of millions in everlasting rest.

O! what glory fills each realm!
And what wisdom guides the helm! -
As a resurrected soul,
Every God controls a whole: -
Like millions of millions his Father once had blest; -
Or millions of millions in everlasting rest.

What a mighty scope for thought, -
Where the spirits are begot?
Born for Kingdoms yet to be,
In a new eternity?
Like millions of millions his Father once had blest; -
Or millions of millions in everlasting rest.

There's the mansions; there's the means;
There's the Kings, and there's the Queens;
There's the children; there's the plan;
There's the glory yet for man -
Like millions of millions his Father once had blest; -
Or millions of millions in everlasting rest.

This hymn, written by Phelps on 30 September 1851, was published in William W. Phelps, Deseret Almanac, for the Year of Our Lord, 1852: Being Leap Year, and After the 6th of April, the 23rd Year of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; and the Second of the Last Half Century of This Dispensation (Great Salt Lake City, UT: Willard Richards), 6, 8.

Blessing for the Dead: Another Early LDS Poem

The following poem, titled "Blessing for the Dead", is taken from John Lyon, The Harp of Zion: A Collection of Poems, &c. (Liverpool, UK: S. W. Richards, 1853), 101:

How happy the Saints who are faithful and true,
Who have kept their first love, and on earth do renew
The cov'nants they've made in the regions above,
And still prove their faith by their labours of love.
They'll rejoice evermore in the Kingdom of God,
And have for reward, an eternal abode!

Rejoice all ye dead who the Truth have not heard;
In the spirit you'll learn all the power of His word,
And the vast prison-house shall be opened for you,
When you've paid the last mite for your sins justly due.
In the mansions of peace, for the righteous prepared,
You'll live in the joys of eternal reward!

Be vigilant then, all ye faithful, to earn
What the dead are so anxiously waiting to learn,
Your trials, and patience, and sufferings, and loss,
Shall be gain in the end, if you bear off the cross,
And those who are saved, shall extol God, the giver,
And shine like the stars, in His kingdom for ever.

What do you think?

Parley Pratt's Poem on the Restoration

The following brief poem on the Restoration comes from Parley P. Pratt (1807-1857; served on the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835-1857) in his A Voice of Warning and Instruction to All People (New York: W. Sanford, 1837), 121:

Ye gloomy scenes! far hence, intrude no more.

Sublimer themes, invite the muse to soar

In loftier strains, while scenes, both strange and new,

Burst on the sight, and open to the view.

Lo! from the opening heavens, in bright array,

An Angel comes, to earth he bends his way:

Reveals to man, in power, as at the first,

The fulness of the Gospel long since lost.

See earth obedient, from its bosom yield,

The sacred truth, it faithfully concealed.

The wise confounded startle at the sight,

The proud and haughty tremble with affright.

The hireling priests, against the truth engage,
While hell beneath, stands trembling, filled with rage;

False are their hopes, and all their struggles vain,

Their craft must fall, and with it, all their gain;

The deaf must hear, the meek their joy increase;

The poor be glad, and their oppressions cease.

Later on in the same work (168-171), Parley Pratt presents an even longer poem of his about the eschatological consummation of all things in the resurrection; he skillfully includes both biblical figures and Book of Mormon figures at the marriage supper of the Lamb:

Hail, glorious day, by prophets long foretold;
And sought by holy men, from days of old;
Who found it not, but readily confessed,
As pilgrims here, they sought a promised rest;
Hear Abel groan, as first he yields his breath,
And is succeeded by his brother Seth;
He dies in faith, to wait till Christ appears;
To rise and reign with him a thousand years.

Hear Enoch too, the wonderous scene foretell,

While future glories did his bosom swell;

The vail was rent, while wonders strange and new

Before him rose, and opened to his view.

Long, long he heard the earth in anguish mourn;
Saw heaven weep, while oft his bowels yearn'd;

While all eternity, with pain beheld
The scenes of sorrow which his bosom swell'd:
He saw the Lamb of Calvary expire,
While rocks were rent, and cities wrapped in fire;
He saw him burst the tomb, and mount on high,
Enthroned in glory, 'mid the upper sky.

Obtained the promise, he would come again
To earth, in triumph with his saints to reign,
His soul was glad, with joy he tuned the lyre;
And sung the glorious reign, of king Messiah.

Hosanna to the Lamb, that shall be slain;
All hail the day, when Zion comes again;
Out of the earth the truth in power He sends,
While righteousness from heaven, shall descend,
And these shall sweep the earth, as with a flood
To gather out the purchase of his blood;
Unto the Zion which he shall prepare;
And Enoch with his city, meet them there;
When all the ransom'd saints shall join the lay,
And shout hosanna in eternal day.

Wide o'er the earth, the Saviour's name extend;
And peace o'er all prevail, from end to end.

Thus Enoch sang, while all the heavenly choir;
Join'd in hosanna, to the king Messiah.
Noah too by faith beheld the scene afar;
And as a type, he did the ark prepare.

Condemned the world, by water overthrown,
While to his view, the light triumphant shone
He gazed with joy on all the glorious scene,
But mourn'd the darkness, that should roll between.

Abram with joy, beheld the day of rest;
When in his seed, all nations should be bless'd,
And gladly wandered, as a pilgrim here;
And fell asleep, to wait till Christ appear -
In sure and certain hope, to rise and reign
In Canaan's land, a right he had obtained.

Isaac and Jacob, had the glorious view,
Rejoiced in death, and so did Joseph too;
While patient Job, in pain look'd far away,
Saw his Redeemer in the latter day,
Stand on the earth, while he himself should rise,
And in the flesh, behold him with his eyes.

Moses and Joshua, Samuel and Isaiah,
Did each in turn, this solemn truth declare;
While David tuned the lyre in joyful lays;
Spake of Messiah's reign, and sung his praise.

Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Zacheriah,
And Malachi, have spoken of Messiah;
When he should set his feet on earth again,
Burn up the proud, and o'er the nations reign.

Jesus and Peter, John and James, and Paul,
The time would fail me here, to mention all;
Who wrapt in vision clear, in turn foretold,
The day of wonders I would fain unfold.

Lehi, Nephi, Alma and Mosiah,
Abinedi, who once rejoiced in fire;
Mormon, Moroni and Ether, testified;
For this they lived, and in this faith they died;
And all the saints of God, in all the earth,
Down from Old Adam, to the latest birth;
And all the vast creations, which extend,
Through boundless space till man can find no end,
And all the heavenly host, around the throne,
Shall sound his praise in reverential tone;
Millions unnumber'd, at his feet shall fall,
Hail him as king, and crown him Lord of all.

Thoughts?

The Red Man: A Poem by William W. Phelps

I found a poem by William W. Phelps, printed in The Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate 1/3 (December 1834): 34. The poem itself is taken from a letter that was written by Phelps from Liberty, Missouri, on 6 November 1834 and addressed to Oliver Cowdery. Despite some of the archaic terminology (e.g., "red man") that would by no stretch of the imagination be acceptable or politically correct today, I think it does give us an interesting glimpse of the way in which early Latter-day Saints viewed Native Americans. So, without further delay:

O stop and tell me, Red Man,
Who are ye? why you roam?
And how you get your living?
Have you no God; - no home?

With stature straight and portly,
And decked in native pride,
With feathers, paints, and broaches,
He willingly replied: -

"I once was pleasant Ephraim,
When Jacob for me pray'd;
But oh! How blessings vanish,
When man from God has stray'd!

Before your nation knew us,
Some thousand moons ago,
Our fathers fell in darkness,
And wander'd to and fro.

And long they've liv'd by hunting,
Instead of work and arts,
And so our race has dwindled,
To idle Indian hearts.

Yet hope within us lingers,
As if the Spirit spoke: -
'He'll come for your redemption,
And break your Gentile yoke:

And all your captive brothers,
From every clime shall come,
And quit their savage customs,
To live with God at home.'

Then joy will fill our bosoms,
And blessings crown our days,
To live in pure religion,
And sing our Maker's praise."

The Communion of Saints: A Wesleyan Poem

I found this tonight in John and Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems, 4^th ed (Bristol, UK: Felix Farley, 1743), 301-311. It was printed as a six part poem, and I'd like to transcribe it here with minor alterations (mostly updates to spelling):

Father, Son, and Spirit hear
Faith's effectual, fervent prayer,
Hear, and our petitions seal,
Let us now the answer feel.
Mystically one with thee,
Transcript of the Trinity,
Thee let all our nature own,
One in three and three in one.

If we now begin to be
Partners with thy saints and thee,
If we have our sins forgiven,
Fellow-citizens of heaven,
Still the fellowship increase,
Knit us in the bond of peace,
Join, our newborn spirits join
Each to each, and all to thine.

Build us in one body up,
Called in one high calling's hope;
One the Spirit whom we claim,
One the pure baptismal flame,
One the faith, and common Lord,
One the Father lives, adored,
Over, through, and in us all,
God incomprehensible!

One with God, the Source of bliss,
Ground of our communion this;
Life of all that live below,
Let thine emanations flow,
Rise eternal in our heart:
Thou our long-sought Eden art;
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Be to us what Adam lost.

Bold we ask through Christ the Son,
Thou, O Christ, art all our own;
Our exalted flesh we see
To the Godhead joined in thee.
Glorious now thy heaven we share,
Thou art here, and we are there,
We participate of thine,
Human nature of divine.

Live we now in Christ our head,
Quickened by thy life and fed;
Christ, from whom the Spirit flows,
Into thee thy body grows;
While we feel the vital blood,
While the circulating flood,
Christ, through every member rolls,
Soul of all believing souls.

Daily growth the members find,
Fitly with each other joined;
Closely all compacted rise;
Every joint its strength supplies,
Life to every part conveys,
'Til the whole receive increase,
All complete the body prove,
Perfectly built up with love.

Christ, the true, the heavenly vine,
If thy grace hath made us thine,
Branches of a poisoned root,
Fallen Adam's evil fruit;
If we now transplanted are,
If we of thy nature share,
Hear us, Lord, and let us be
Fully grafted into thee.

Still may we continue thus,
We in thee, and thou in us;
Let us fresh supplies receive,
From thee, in thee ever live;
Share the fatness of the root,
Blossum, bud, and bring forth fruit,
With immortal vigor rise,
Towering 'til we reach the skies.

Christ, to all believers known,
Living, precious cornerstone,
Christ, by mortals disallowed,
Chosen and esteemed of God;
Lively stones we come to thee,
Built together let us be,
Saved by grace through faith alone:
Faith it is that makes us one.

Other ground can no man lay,
Jesus takes our sins away!
Jesus the foundation is:
This shall stand, and only this:
Fitly framed in him we are,
All the building rises fair:
Let it to a temple rise,
Worthy him who fills the skies.

Husband of thy church below,
Christ, if thee our Lord we know,
Unto thee betrothed in love,
Always faithful let us prove,
Never rob thee of our heart,
Never give the creature part;
Only thou possess the whole,
Take our body, spirit, soul.

Steadfast let us cleave to thee,
Love the mystic union be;
Union to the world unknown!
Joined to God, in spirit one,
Wait we 'til the Spouse shall come,
'Til the Lamb shall take us home,
For his heaven the Bride prepare,
Solemnize our nuptials there.

Christ, our Head, gone up on high,
Be thou in thy Spirit nigh,
Advocate to God, give ear
To thine own effectual prayer:
Hear the sounds thou once didst breathe
In thy days of flesh beneath,
Now, O Jesus, let them be
Strongly echoed back to thee.

We, O Christ, have thee received,
We the gospel-word believed,
Justly then we claim a share
In thine everlasting prayer.
One the Father is with thee;
Knit us in like unity;
Make us, O uniting Son,
One as thou and he are one.

If thy love to us hath given
All the glory of his heaven,
(From eternity thine own,
Glory here in grace begun)
Let us now the gift receive,
By the vital union live,
Joined to God, and perfect be,
Mystically one in thee.

Let it hence to all be known,
Thou art with thy Father one,
One with him in us be shewed,
Very God of very God;
Sent, our spirits to unite,
Sent to make us sons of light,
Sent, that we his grace may prove,
All the riches of his love.

Thee he loved e'er time begun,
Thee the co-eternal Son;
He hath to thy merit given
Us, the adopted heirs of heaven.
Thou hast willed that we should rise,
See thy glory in the skies,
See thee by all heaven adored,
Be forever with our Lord.

Thou the Father seest alone,
Thou to us hast made him known:
Sent from him we know thou art,
We have found thee in our heart:
Thou the Father hast declared:
He is here our great reward,
Ours his nature and his name;
Thou art ours with him the fame.

Still, O Lord, (for Thine we are)
Still to us his name declare;
Thy revealing Spirit give,
Whom the world cannot receive:
Fill us with the Father's love,
Never from our souls remove,
Dwell in us, and we shall be
Thine to all eternity.

Christ, from whom all blessings flow,
Perfecting the saints below,
Hear us, who thy nature share,
Who thy mystic body are:
Join us, in one spirit join,
Let us still receive of thine,
Still for more on thee we call,
Thee, who fillest all in all.

Closer knit to thee our head,
Nourish us, O Christ, and feed,
Let us daily growth receive,
More and more in Jesus live:
Jesus! We thy members are,
Cherish us with kindest care,
Of thy flesh, and of thy bone:
Love, forever love thine own.

Move, and actuate, and guide,
Diverse gifts to each divide;
Placed according to thy will,
Let us all our work fulfill;
Never from our office move,
Needful to the others prove,
Use the grace on each bestowed,
Tempered by the art of God.

Sweetly now we all agree,
Touched with softest sympathy,
Kindly for each other care:
Every member feels its share:
Wounded by the grief of one,
All the suffering members groan;
Honored if one member is,
All partake the common bliss.

Many are we now, and one,
We who Jesus have put on:
There is neither bond nor free,
Male nor female, Lord, in thee.
Love, like Death, hath us destroyed,
Rendered all distinctions void:
Names, and sects, and parties fall;
Thou, O Christ, art all in all!

King of saints, to whom are given
All in earth and all in heaven,
Reconciled through thee alone,
Joined, and gathered into one:
Heirs of glory, sons of grace,
Lo! to thee our hopes we raise,
Raise and fix our hopes on thee,
Full of immortality!

Absent in our flesh from home,
We are to Mt. Zion come:
Heaven is our soul's abode,
City of the living God;
Entered there our seats we claim
In the New Jerusalem,
Join the countless angel choir,
Greet the firstborn sons of fire.

We our elder brethren meet,
We are made with them to fit,
Sweetest fellowship we prove
With the General Church above;
Saints, who now their names behold
In the Book of Life enrolled,
Spirits of the righteous, made
Perfect here in Christ their Head.

We with them to God are come,
God who speaks the General Doom,
Jesus Christ, who stands between
Angry heaven, and guilty men,
Undertakes to buy our peace,
Gives the covenant of grace,
Ratifies, and makes it good,
Signs and seals it with his blood.

Life his healing blood imparts,
Sprinkled on our peaceful hearts:
Abel's blood for vengeance cried,
Jesus' speaks us justified:
Speaks, and calls for better things,
Makes us prophets, priests, and kings,
Asks that we with him may reign--
Earth and heaven say, "Amen!"

Come, ye kindred souls above,
Man provokes you unto love;
Saints and angels hear the call,
Praise the common Lord of all:
Him let earth and heaven proclaim,
Earth and heaven record his name,
Let us both in this agree,
Both his one great family.

Hosts of heaven begin the song,
Praise him with a tuneful tongue,
(Sounds like yours we cannot raise,
We can only lisp his praise)
Us repenting sinners see,
Jesus died to set us free,
Sing ye over us forgiven;
Shout for joy, ye hosts of heaven!

Be it unto angels known,
By the church, what God hath done:
Depths of love and wisdom see
In a dying deity!
Gaze, ye firstborn seraphs, gaze!
Never can ye sound his grace:
Lost in wonder, look no more;
Fall, and silently adore.

Ministerial spirits know,
Execute your charge below:
You our Father hath prepared,
Fenced us with a flaming guard:
Bid you all our ways attend,
Safe convey us to the end,
On your wings our souls remove,
Waft us to the realms of love.

Happy souls whose course is run,
Who the fight of faith have won,
Parted by an earlier death,
Think ye of your friends beneath?
Have ye your own flesh forgot?
By a common ransom bought?
Can death's interposing tide
Spirits one in Christ divide?

No: for us you ever wait,
'Til we make your bliss complete,
'Til your fellow-servants come,
'Til your brethren hasten home:
You in Paradise remain,
For your testimony slain,
Nobly who for Jesus' stood,
Bold to seal the truth with blood.

Ever now your speaking cries
From beneath the altar rise,
Loudly call for vengeance due,
"Come, Thou Holy God, and true!
Lord, how long thou dost delay!
Come to judgment, come away!
Hasten, Lord, the General Doom!
Come away, to judgment come!"

Wait, ye righteous spirits, wait,
Soon arrives your glorious state;
Robed in white a season rest,
Blessed, if not completely blessed.
When the number is fulfilled,
When the witnesses are killed,
When we all from earth are driven,
Then with us ye mount to heaven.

Jesus hear, and bow the skies,
Hark! we all unite our cries;
Take us to our heavenly home,
Quickly let thy kingdom come!
"Jesus, come," the Spirit cries,
"Jesus, come," the Bride replies;
One triumphant church above,
Join us all in perfect love.