Jesus, Mighty King in Zion
234

Text: John Fellows (d. 1785)
Music: Tracy Y. Cannon (1879–1961; LDS)
Tune name: VIOLA

This hymn reaffirms the baptismal covenants we have made as followers of Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus rose to a new life as a resurrected being, so after our baptism we may rise to a life of renewed commitment. We first imitate Jesus by being baptized in similitude of his death and burial; the ensuing responsibility is to imitate him in our lives.

Though previously printed in Latter- day Saint hymnals as a hymn of unknown authorship, these lines are now known to be by an English hymn writer, John Fellows, whose collection of poetry was published in 1773. The hymn’s original title was “Believers buried with Christ in Baptism.”

But even though the writer was not a Latter- day Saint, the relevance of this hymn to Latter- day Saint thought is so great, especially in the reference to baptism by immersion, that the lines caught the attention of Emma Smith as she was compiling the 1835 hymnal, and she included it in the section of the hymnal headed “On Baptism.” (Author John Fellows was a Baptist, and thus baptism by immersion would have been a central tenet of his beliefs.)

Latter- day Saints have sung this hymn ever since Emma Smith deemed it worthy of inclusion in the 1835 hymnal. The present musical setting was written by Tracy Y. Cannon especially for the 1948 hymnal. The tune name, VIOLA, honors his sister- in- law.