The text of the hymn was written sometime between 1860 and 1863 by William Fowler, an English convert to Mormonism. Joseph F. Smith reported that he was present at the first church worship service in England where Fowler brought the song to be sung. The song was first published in the LDS Church's 1863 hymnal, and has been included in every LDS hymnal since. The music is an adapted version of Caroline Sheridan Norton's "The Officer's Funeral March".[1]
George D. Pyper described "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" as "exclusively a Latter-day Saint hymn; a Mormon heartthrob; a song of the Restoration".[2] The name of the hymn is often used as the title of lessons in church curriculum[3] or as the title of church sermons[4] and inspirational messages.[5]
The first verse of the song acknowledges the Latter-day Saints' gratitude to God for the President of the Church, who is revered as a modern prophet. Subsequent verses thank God for the care and protection he provides to the members of the church.
The song is one of the 45 hymns that the church publishes in its basic curriculum sources that are used in areas of the world where the church is new or underdeveloped.[6] As a result, it is often one of the first hymns new Latter-day Saints receive and learn.
"We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet" is hymn number 19 in the current LDS Church hymnal. The copyright for this version is owned by Intellectual Reserve, Inc., a corporation established by the LDS Church to hold its intellectual property. Intellectual Reserve allows copying or downloading of the music and lyrics of the song for incidental, noncommercial church, or noncommercial home uses. A similar version of the hymn is published as hymn number 307 in the Revelation section of Hymns of the Saints by the Community of Christ's Herald House publishing arm.
Unusual usage
While preparing to speak at a CESfireside being held at Brigham Young University's Marriott Center on February 7, 1993, Howard W. Hunter, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was confronted by Cody Judy, who rushed onto the rostrum and threatened Hunter and the audience of 15,000 to 17,000. Judy carried a briefcase that he claimed contained a bomb and held what appeared to be a detonator-like device. Judy demanded that Hunter read a three-page document that supposedly detailed God's plan for Judy to lead the church, which Hunter refused to do. The audience spontaneously sang "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet", during which students from the audience and then security personnel overtook Judy. After Judy was taken away, Hunter delivered his prepared remarks, a talk entitled "An Anchor to the Souls of Men".[7][8][9]
↑ Gail Sinnott and Carri P. Jenkins, "California Man Threatens President Hunter, Fireside Audience With Fake Bomb", BYU Magazine, February 1993, pp. 15–16.
Howard William Hunter was an American lawyer and the 14th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1994 to 1995. His nine-month presidential tenure is the shortest in the church's history. Hunter was the first president of the LDS Church born in the 20th century and the last to die in it. He was sustained as an LDS apostle at the age of 51, and served as a general authority for over 35 years.
Kolob is a star or planet described in the Book of Abraham, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. Several Latter Day Saint denominations hold the Book of Abraham to have been translated from an Egyptian papyrus scroll by Joseph Smith, the founder of the movement. According to this work, Kolob is the heavenly body nearest to the throne of God. While the Book of Abraham calls Kolob a "star", it also calls planets "stars", and therefore some Latter Day Saint commentators consider Kolob a planet. The body also appears in Latter Day Saint culture, including a reference to Kolob in an LDS hymn.
Charles William Penrose was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1904 to 1911. Penrose was also a member of the First Presidency, serving as a counselor to church presidents Joseph F. Smith and Heber J. Grant from 1911 until his death.
Leroy Robertson was an American composer and music educator.
A Collection of Sacred Hymns, for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. was the first hymnal of the Latter Day Saint movement. It was published in 1835 by the Church of the Latter Day Saints.
Hymns are an important part of the history and worship of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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.
Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In the past, it has also been applied to the Presiding Patriarch of the church and the Assistant President of the Church. Other denominations of the movement also use these terms.
Joseph L. Townsend was a writer of many Latter-day Saint hymns including "Choose the Right" and "Oh, What Songs of the Heart".
"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.
"I Am a Child of God" is a hymn of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for all the members, but more often sung by children. The lyrics were written in 1957 by Naomi W. Randall and set to music by Mildred Tanner Pettit. The song has been translated into over 90 languages. The phrase "I Am a Child of God" is also used in the LDS Church as a declaration of a basic teaching of the church.
George Dollinger Pyper was the fifth general superintendent of the Sunday School of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member and manager of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the editor of a number of Latter Day Saint periodicals.
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.
John Elliott Tullidge, Sr. was the first music critic in Utah Territory and was a Latter Day Saint musician and hymnwriter.
Edward Partridge Kimball was an American organist of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and a Latter-day Saint hymn writer.
William Fowler was the author of the popular Latter-day Saint hymn "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet".
Frank Wilson Asper was an American composer and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served as Mormon Tabernacle organist from 1924 to 1965.
Elizabeth Grietje Terburg Rowley (1927–2015) was a Latter-day Saint hymnwriter. Born in Florida, she later moved to Hawaii, to teach, and then to Salt Lake City, Utah. She wrote several hymns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, among which is "Be Thou Humble".
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