A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe In 1840, Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt and John Taylor published a words-only hymnal for the church in Manchester, England, titled A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe. Informally known as the Manchester Hymnal or "Small Hymnal", it was by far the longest-lived of all LDS hymnals, with 25 editions published between 1840 and 1927. Over the years, publication of this hymnal moved from Manchester to Liverpool, and finally to Salt Lake City in 1890. As more hymns were added, the book grew from 323 pages in 1840 to 456 pages in the 1905 edition. However, it was still a words-only hymnal; the tunes were sung from memory or by referencing a tune book alongside the hymnbook.Religious Education Archive: 19th Century Mormon Publications : Compound Object Viewer
Background Following the publication of the 1835 hymnbook, a few unauthorized hymnals were published. Recognizing a growing need for hymnals in Mormon congregations in the eastern United States, David Rogers published a new version of the hymnal in 1838. The style, preface, layout, and many of the hymns were copied from the official 1835 hymn book, but forty of the ninety hymns were swapped out. Around thirty of the new hymns were written by Mormons, including five by the influential apostle Parley P. Pratt. A year later, Benjamin C. Elsworth published another hymnal that also plagiarized Emma Smith's preface and used sixty-six hymns from her collection, as well as almost all the ones Rogers had added. By 1 July 1839, the prophet and Quorum of the Twelve met to compile a new hymnbook, and apparently even weighed the idea of reprinting or adapting Rogers's work. At a Church conference that fall, however, Rogers's work was publicly criticized and it was requested that it be "utterly discarded by the church"."Minutes, 5–7 October 1839". The Joseph Smith Papers. p. 31. Retrieved September 22, 2017. Six months later, charges were brought against Rogers for "compiling an Hymn Book, and selling it as the one selected and published by sister Emma Smith", among other things."Minutes and Discourses, 6–8 April 1840". The Joseph Smith Papers. p. 92. Retrieved September 22, 2017. Despite the unauthorized nature of Rogers's hymnal, it demonstrated a need for new hymnbooks and a trend towards using hymns authorized by Latter Day Saints.
Manchester Hymnal Publication In 1839, the Quorum of the Twelve worked towards printing their own hymnal in Manchester, England. This hymnbook, in its own way, was unauthorized. In October of 1839, a high council "voted that Sister Emma Smith, select and publish a hymn Book for the use of the Church, and that Brigham Young be informed of the same, and he not publish the hymns taken by him from Commerce"."History, 1838–1856, volume C-1 [2 November 1838–31 July 1842"]. The Joseph Smith Papers. p. 972. September 22, 2017. Brigham Young may have never heard word of the high council's decision or simply ignored it, and the Quorum of the Twelve proceeded to publish a hymnal compiled by Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and John Taylor that was titled A Collection of Sacred Hymns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe. Despite previously indicating that he was opposed to printing a new hymnbook outside of Nauvoo and expressing some initial anger over publishing it without his permission, Joseph Smith eventually gave his approval to the work.While Joseph Smith's approval may have initially been given grudgingly, he did eventually state that he "highly approved of it" and that it was "a very valuable collection". See "Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 December 1840". The Joseph Smith Papers. p. 3. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
The compilers' hope, as recorded in the preface, was to create "a Hymn Book adapted" to the British Saints' "faith and worship, that they might sing the truth ... and express their praise, joy and gratitude, in songs adapted to the new and everlasting covenant." Seventy-eight hymns from the 1835 hymnbook were included, while one-hundred-and-ninety-three texts were added. (Parley P. Pratt alone contributed some 50 hymns while editing the hymnal.) Printed in 1840, this hymnbook beat Emma's hymnbook to the press by a year. The Manchester hymnbook would go on to serve as the Church's official hymnbook for eighty-seven years—longer than any other hymnal in its history.
The Latter-day Saints' Psalmody
In 1889, the LDS Church published a tune book to accompany the Manchester Hymnal titled The Latter-day Saints' Psalmody. The Psalmody was a conscious effort by church leaders to develop a hymn style of their own. Budding composers in the church were encouraged to submit new tunes to fit the new and old lyrics. Many Latter-day Saint hymns that had been published in the previous decades in periodicals like the Utah Magazine, the Utah Musical Times, the Utah Musical Bouquet, and the Juvenile Instructor were included. Some tunes were also adopted from non-LDS sources, such as classical composers like Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Rossini.
The Psalmody was intended to be a supplement to the "Manchester Hymnal". Each hymn in the Psalmody was cross-referenced by page number to the "Manchester Hymnal" and only used a few verses of the full hymn text.
By today's standards many of the hymns are quite challenging, even for choirs, let alone congregational singing. They were very high-pitched, sometimes ascending above the staff to a high g' or a' in the soprano parts. The tenor parts were written on a separate staff above the soprano and alto lines, making accompaniment difficult. Still, the 330 hymns in the 1889 Psalmody show tremendous skill in composition and originality.
About half of the new hymn tunes that were composed for the Psalmody were written by members of the Church Music Committee, which included Evan Stephens, George Careless, Ebenezer Beesley, Joseph J. Daynes, and Thomas C. Griggs. These men were accomplished musicians, composers, and Mormon Tabernacle Choir conductors. Many of their Psalmody hymn tunes have a pronounced "instrumental" feel, as if they were more suited for organ performance than choir or congregational singing.
List of Songs (by first line) Source:Index by first line Manchester Hymnal Public Worship 1. The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee 2. Let Every Mortal Ear Attend 3. Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken 4. The Time Is Nigh, That Happy Time 5. Great Is the Lord! 'Tis Good to Praise 6. Let All Creation Join 7. O Happy Souls Who Pray 8. Praise to God, Immortal Praise 9. We're Not Ashamed to Own Our Lord 10. Joy to the World! the Lord Will Come! 11. To Him That Made the World 12. Ere Long the Veil Will Rend in Twain 13. Jesus the Name That Charms Our Fears 14. Come All Ye Saints Who Dwell on Earth 15. God Spake the Word, and Time Began 16. Mortals Awake! With Angels Join 17. O Jesus! the Giver 18. Ho! Every One That Thirsts, Draw Nigh 19. And Can I Yet Delay 20. Come, Lord, from above, the Mountains Remove 21. God Moves in a Mysterious Way 22. Shepherd, of Souls, with Pitying Eye 23. Away, My Unbelieving Fear! 24. Peace Troubled Soul, Thou Need'st Not Fear 25. Come Sinners to the Gospel Feast 26. Thou Shepherd of Israel, and Mine 27. Be It My Only Wisdom Here 28. Come, Ye That Love the Lord 29. Happy Soul, That, Free from Harms 30. Happy the Man That Finds the Grace 31. Happy the Souls That First Believed 32. Jesus from Whom All Blessings Flow 33. Weary Souls, That Wander Wide 34. Ye Simple Souls, That Stray 35. Sinners, Believe the Gospel Word 36. Would Jesus Have the Sinner Die? 37. Let Earth and Heaven Agree 38. Jesus, Thou All-Redeeming Lord 39. Come, Let Us Anew Our Journey Pursue 40. What Are These Arrayed in White 41. Spirit of Faith, Come Down 42. Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire 43. Inspirer of the Ancient Seers 44. Author of Faith, Eternal Word 45. O Disclose Thy Lovely Face 46. And Can It Be That I Should Gain 47. My God, I Am Thine, What a Comfort Divine 48. Let All Men Rejoice, By Jesus Restored 49. My God, the Spring of All My Joys 50. Talk with Us, Lord, Thyself Reveal 51. How Happy, Gracious Lord, Are We 52. When Israel out of Egypt Came 53. I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath 54. Praise Ye the Lord! 'Tis Good to Raise 55. Away with Our Fears! The Glad Morning Appears 56. Blest Be Our Everlasting Lord 57. Jehovah, God the Father, Bless 58. Father, How Wide Thy Glory Shines! 59. Soldiers of Christ, Arise 60. Peace! Doubting Heart; My God's I Am 61. Shall I, for Fear of Feeble Man 62. Come, Saviour Jesus, from Above 63. Shepherd Divine, Our Wants Relieve 64. Jesus, My Strength, My Hope 65. Saviour, on Me the Want Bestow 66. Hark, How the Watchmen Cry 67. Ye, Who in His Courts Are Found 68. Captain of Israel's Host, and Guide 69. When Quiet in My House I Sit 70. O Thou, to Whose All-Searching Sight 71. From All That Dwell below the Skies 72. Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs 73. Praise the Lord, Who Reigns Above 74. Awake, and Sing the Song 75. Begin, My Tongue, the Heavenly Theme 76. Let Heathens to Their Idols Haste 77. This God Is the God We Adore 78. With Israel's God Who Can Compare? 79. O'er the Gloomy Hills of Darkness 80. Come Hither, All Ye Weary Souls 81. Ye Dying Sons of Men 82. Before Jehovah's Awful Throne 83. Come, Sound His Praise Abroad 84. My Soul, How Lovely Is the Place 85. Lord, We Come before Thee Now 86. Come, Dearest Lord, Descend and Dwell 87. Come, Thou Desire of All Thy Saints 88. God of My Life, to Thee I Call 89. As the Dew, from Heaven Distilling 90. O Thou, at Whose Almighty Word 91. Once More We Come before Our God 92. Come, Guilty Souls, and Flee Away 93. How Precious Is Thy Word, O Lord! 94. Arise, O King of Kings, Arise 95. Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing 96. May We, Who Know the Joyful Sound 97. O Jesus, Our Lord, Thy Name Be Adored 98. The Rising Sun Has Chased the Night 99. Ye Ransomed Sinners Hear 100. Lord, I Believe Thy Every Word 101. Let Not the Wise His Wisdom Boast 102. Father, to Thee My Soul I Lift 103. Messiah, Full of Grace 104. And Are We Yet Alive 105. All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord 106. Jesus, Lord, We Look to Thee 107. Praise Ye the Lord, My Heart Shall Join 108. Kingdoms and Thrones to God Belong 109. O Lord, Our Heavenly King 110. Lord, Thou Hast Searched and Seen Me Through 111. The Veil of Night Is No Disguise 112. Sweet Is the Memory of Thy Grace 113. With All My Powers of Heart and Tongue 114. O God, on Thee We All Depend 115. Ye Sons of Men, a Feeble Race 116. Dismiss Your Anxious Care 117. When God's Own People Stand in Need 118. When All Thy Mercies, O My God 119. How Pleasant, How Divinely Fair 120. Sweet Is the Work, My God, My King 121. Not to the Terrors of the Lord 122. Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove 123. How Happy Every Child of Grace 124. When I Can Read My Title Clear 125. Except the Lord Conduct the Plan 126. And Let Our Bodies Part 127. God of All Consolation, Take 128. Sing to the Great Jehovah's Praise 129. I Long to Behold Him Arrayed 130. On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand 131. Soon as I heard My Father Say 132. Great God, Attend, While Zion Sings 133. O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Dismission – Doxologies 134. May the Grace of Christ our Saviour 135. Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow 136. Glory to God on High 137. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Sacramental Hymns 138. Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed! 139. Twas on That Dark, That Solemn Night 140. Arise, My Soul, Arise 141. Behold the Saviour of Mankind 142. He Died; the Great Redeemer Died 143. O God, the Eternal Father 144. I Know That My Redeemer Lives 145. Gently Raise the Sacred Strain 146. Ye Children of Our God 147. Behold Thy Sons and Daughters, Lord
Baptismal Hymns