Motorists drive by means of colourful fall leaves close to Guardsman Cross in Large Cottonwood Canyon on Oct. 14, 2022. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Information
In contrast to Christmas, there aren’t scores of Thanksgiving songs.
One of many extra well-liked Thanksgiving hymns is “For the Fantastic thing about the Earth.” Tagged as a Thanksgiving hymn by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Latter-day Saints and different Christians typically sing this hymn in the course of the Thanksgiving season to precise gratitude to God for the earth and one another.
The hymn highlights thankfulness for household, for time, for the earth and for Christ all through its verses.
Folliott S. Pierpoint wrote the textual content of this hymn in 1864. In keeping with Hymnology Archive, Pierpoint was an Anglican educator and poet who wrote it as a Eucharistic hymn. Which means that Pierpoint supposed it to be sung in reference to the Anglican sacrament of the Eucharist. The chorus and themes of praise-giving and thankfulness additionally attest to this. Whereas the lyrics are sung with a number of tunes, Conrad Kocher wrote some of the well-liked variations of the tune.
Hymnary stated that Pierpoint wrote the hymn whereas he wandered across the English countryside. He noticed the fantastic thing about the earth and thought of it in relation to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which motivated him to pen the lyrics to this well-liked hymn. The unique chorus of the tune was “Christ, our God, to thee we elevate; This our sacrifice of reward.” Now the refrain typically reads, “Lord of all, to thee we elevate / This our hymn of grateful reward.”
One of many extra well-known variations of this hymn appeared within the 1994 movie “Little Girls.” When Meg marries John Brooke, the sisters and household serenade the couple whereas holding fingers in a circle.
Many choirs have carried out totally different variations of the hymn.
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Sq., a worldwide choir composed of Latter-day Saints, carried out an association of this hymn a decade in the past. Mack Wilberg organized it for the choir and the hymn seems on the album “Contemplate the Lilies.”
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Sq. has carried out “For the Fantastic thing about the Earth” on totally different events as nicely.
The Saint Paul Cathedral Choir additionally carried out this hymn a number of years in the past. St. Paul’s Cathedral is a London-based Anglican cathedral.