Pioneer Day reenactment of Latter-day Saint pioneers coming into the Salt Lake Valley taken on July 24, 1912. Harry A. Keller, Wikimedia Commons
Open up a Latter-day Saint hymnal and there will likely be plenty of hymns which are sung to common tunes. Partially, that is as a result of reality that within the nineteenth century, most hymnals solely included lyrics to hymns. Many hymns and songs had been sung to acquainted tunes. Pioneer hymns aren't any exception.
As pioneers trekked into the Salt Lake Valley, they composed and sang songs which have turn into common right this moment. The hottest pioneer path hymn is “Come, Come, Ye Saints.”
William Clayton penned this hymn on April 15, 1846, after he acquired the joyous information that his son was born in good well being and the dismal information that his spouse was affected by sickness. In line with The Church Information, Clayton wrote in his journal, “This morning I composed a brand new track — ‘All Is Nicely.’ I really feel to thank my heavenly father for my boy and pray that he'll spare and protect his life and that of his mom and so order it in order that we could quickly meet once more.”
Eliza R. Snow additionally composed a hymn on the path in September 1847 known as “Hail to the ‘Twelve’ and Pioneers.” This hymn was sung to the tune of “Sure, My Native Land I Love Thee.”
Though this hymn shouldn't be sung in Latter-day Saint chapels right this moment, it was sung on the pioneer path. The primary verse of the hymn reads, “Hail, ye chosen males of Israel,/ Who the hiding place have discovered;/ The Everlasting God has blessed you,/ You've gotten stood on holy floor.”
Whereas Clayton and Snow are names acquainted to many Latter-day Saints, lesser-known pioneers wrote hymns, too. James Sylvester joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1842 earlier than he sailed for America. After he trekked to Utah, he lived in Springville earlier than shifting to Pintura in Washington County.
He penned the hymn, “I Am Going Away to Zion!” The primary 4 traces of this hymn learn, “With my sheaves upon my again and my sickle by my facet,/ I'm going away to Zion to affix the prepared Bride;/ With my blessings on my head and the track that’s in my coronary heart,/ I’ll bid adieu to Babylon, for you and I need to half.”
The main points of the unique publication of Sylvester’s hymn are unknown, and the one recognized copy of the hymn is printed in John Freeman’s “Assortment of Songs.”
The sacrifices that the pioneers made alongside the path impressed many Latter-day Saint composers to memorialize the pioneer path as a logo of Latter-day Saint consecration. Written lengthy after pioneers walked the paths, Ida R. Alldredge penned the hymn “They, the Builders of the Nation.”
Within the first verse, she wrote, “They, the builders of the nation,/ Blazing trails alongside the way in which;/ Stepping-stones for generations/ Have been their deeds of ev’ry day./ Constructing new and agency foundations,/ Pushing on the wild frontier./ Forging onward, ever onward,/ Blessed, honored Pioneer!”
Pioneers proceed to have a particular place inside Latter-day Saint historical past. John Daniel Thompson McAllister wrote, “When pioneers moved to the West,/ With braveness sturdy they met the take a look at./ They pushed their handcarts all day lengthy,/ And as they pushed they sang this track:/ For some should push and a few should pull,/ As we go marching up the hill;/ So merrily on our method we go/ ntil we attain the Valley-o.”
As Pioneer Day approaches, these pioneer hymns can present reflection on the enjoyment that the Saints had as they sacrificed.