| A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Hymn |
| Written | 1826 |
| Text | James Montgomery |
| Based on | Isaiah53:3 |
| Meter | 8.8.8.8 D |
| Melody | "Duane Street" by George Coles |
"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" (originally titled "The Stranger and His Friend") is a seven-stanza poem written in 1826 by James Montgomery. The words of the poem have since been adopted as a Christian hymn.
Montgomery wrote "The Stranger and His Friend" in December 1826 while travelling in England on extended trips in horse-drawn carriages. Montgomery did not write the poem with the intention of it being set to music. [1] It was originally written as a Christmas poem.
New York City preacher George Coles set the poem to music he wrote. [1] The hymn was adopted by some Christian congregations in the United States and the United Kingdom.
"A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" was a favorite hymn of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The hymn was introduced in the church by apostle John Taylor, who learned the hymn in 1840 as a missionary in England. [1] Taylor included the hymn in the Latter Day Saints' Manchester Hymnal , which was used in England from 1840 to 1912. The hymn was also included in the church's 1841 hymnal published in Nauvoo, Illinois. Unlike the version in the Manchester Hymnal, the hymn in the Nauvoo hymnal included music composed by Taylor. [1]
On the afternoon that Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in prison in Carthage, Illinois, the Smiths requested Taylor sing the hymn twice. [2]
After he became president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Taylor asked Ebenezer Beesley to compose new music for the hymn. [1] The results were published in the church's 1889 hymnal, and the hymn has been included in every subsequent edition of the church's hymnal. [1] In the LDS Church's 1985 English-language hymnal, it is hymn number 29. [3]
The original tune Taylor sang before the martyrdom became lost in the years following Taylor's death. In 2008, a descendant of Taylor found the original tune in the notebook of Beesley, and then shared his findings with historian Jeffrey N. Walker. Walker then published his arrangement of the hymn with the tune as it was sung to Beesley. [1]
John Taylor was an English-born religious leader who served as the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1880 to 1887. He is the first and so far only president of the LDS Church to have been born outside the United States.
Eliza Roxcy Snow was one of the most celebrated Latter Day Saint women of the nineteenth century. A renowned poet, she chronicled history, celebrated nature and relationships, and expounded scripture and doctrine. Snow was married to Joseph Smith as a plural wife and was openly a plural wife of Brigham Young after Smith's death. Snow was the second general president of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which she reestablished in Utah Territory in 1866. She was also the sister of Lorenzo Snow, the church's fifth president.
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon was an American homesteader, the first wife of Joseph Smith, and a prominent leader in the early days of the Latter Day Saint movement, both during Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1842, when the Ladies' Relief Society of Nauvoo was formed as a women's service organization, she was elected by its members as the organization's first president.
Carthage Jail is a historic building in Carthage, Illinois, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was built in 1839 and is best known as the location of the 1844 killing of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum, by a mob of approximately 150 men. It was added to the NRHP in 1973 and is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a historic site with an adjacent visitors' center.
"The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning" is a hymn of the Latter Day Saint movement. It was written by W. W. Phelps, one of the most prolific hymnwriters of early Mormonism.
William Wines Phelps was an early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement. He printed the first edition of the Book of Commandments that became a standard work of the church and wrote numerous hymns, some of which are included in the current version of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' hymnal. He was at times both close to and at odds with church leadership. He testified against Joseph Smith, providing evidence that helped persuade authorities to arrest Smith. He was excommunicated three times and rejoined the church each time. He was a ghostwriter for Smith. Phelps was called by Smith to serve as assistant president of the church in Missouri and as a member of the Council of Fifty. After Smith's death, Phelps supported Brigham Young, who was the church's new president.
William H. Clayton was a clerk, scribe, and friend to the religious leader Joseph Smith. Clayton, born in England, was also an American pioneer journalist, inventor, lyricist, and musician. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1837 and served as the second counselor to the British mission president Joseph Fielding while proselyting in Manchester. He led a group of British converts in emigrating to the United States in 1840 and eventually settled in Nauvoo, Illinois, where he befriended Joseph Smith and became his clerk and scribe. He was a member of the Council of Fifty and Smith's private prayer circle.
Hymns are an important part of the history and worship of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official hymnal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Published in English in 1985, and later in many other languages, it is used throughout the LDS Church. This article refers to the English version. The book was published on the 150th anniversary of the publication of the first LDS hymnbook, compiled by Emma Smith in 1835. Previous hymnbooks used by the church include The Manchester Hymnal (1840), The Psalmody (1889), Songs of Zion (1908), Hymns (1927), and Hymns (1948).
George Manwaring was a hymnwriter of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of his works have become favorite LDS hymns and are found in the 1985 LDS Church hymnal.
Joseph Smith, the founder and leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother, Hyrum Smith, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, United States, on June 27, 1844, while awaiting trial in the town jail.
"Praise to the Man" is a poem written as a eulogy in verse for Joseph Smith. The poem's authorship is typically attributed to Latter Day Saint leader and hymn writer William W. Phelps. The poem was composed soon after Smith's death, and was later set to music and adopted as a hymn of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was first published with no directly attached name in the church newspaper Times and Seasons in August 1844, approximately one month after Smith was killed. The hymn is still used in the LDS Church, as number 27 in its current hymnal.
"Come, Come, Ye Saints" is one of the best-known Latter-day Saint hymns. The lyrics were written in 1846 by Mormon poet William Clayton. The hymn has been called the anthem of the nineteenth-century Mormon pioneers.
George Homer Durham was an American academic administrator and was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1977 until his death.
Robert Blashel Thompson was an associate of Joseph Smith Jr., a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, a Danite, and an official historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Emily Hill Woodmansee was an English-born American Mormon poet and hymnwriter. Although only one of her hymns "As Sisters In Zion" is included in the 1985 LDS English language edition of the LDS Church's hymnbook, previous LDS Church hymnbooks have included more of her works.
Ebenezer Beesley was a Latter-day Saint hymn writer and composer. The music for twelve of the hymns in the 1985 English-language hymnal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were written by him.
Charles Davis Tillman —also known as Charlie D. Tillman, Charles Tillman, Charlie Tillman, and C. D. Tillman—was a popularizer of the gospel song. He had a knack for adopting material from eclectic sources and flowing it into the mix now known as southern gospel, becoming one of the formative influences on that genre.
"High on the Mountain Top" is an 1850s hymn written by Latter Day Saint hymn writers Joel H. Johnson and Ebenezer Beesley. Originally named "Deseret", it is hymn number 5 in the current LDS Church hymnal.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the life and influence of Joseph Smith: