God Bless Our Prophet Dear
24

Text: Bernard Snow (1822–1894; LDS); altered
Music: Harry A. Dean (1892–1987; LDS)
Tune name: EPHRAIM

If the words of our prophet are the center point from which our lives and aspirations grow, blessings and unity abound. The progression of thought in “God Bless Our Prophet Dear” teaches this vital truth.

First we invoke a blessing upon the prophet, praying for his health and comfort and asking that his words might be impressed upon the soul of each one who seeks righteousness. Then we sing of the results of obedience to his counsel: the gospel spreads “from sea to sea,” and the Saints move as one body, without disagreement or distraction, toward divine and eternal goals.

Bernard Snow wrote his words with the tune AMERICA in mind, and it was first sung with this setting. The poem appeared in the Deseret News in 1855 and has been part of Latter- day Saint hymnody since 1863. The hymn’s title in the 1950 hymnal was “Our God, We Raise to Thee,” and it was given as an alternative text to be used with the tune UTAH (“Our Mountain Home So Dear,” no. 33). The hymn’s original first verse, more appropriate to Utah Saints than to the worldwide Church, was omitted, thus making a new title necessary. The original first verse was as follows:

Our God, we raise to thee
Thanks for thy blessings free
We here enjoy.
In this far western land,
A true and chosen band,
Led hither by thy hand,
We sing for joy.

The remaining three verses were retained with minor changes. For example, the original second half of what is now the second verse used to read this way:

As one united whole
Truth burns in every soul,
While hastening to the goal
We long to see.

The editorial changes make these lines more singable and more grammatical:

Truth burns in ev’ry soul;
As one united whole,
We hasten to the goal
We long to see.

The name of the tune, EPHRAIM, honors Ephraim, Utah, where the composer lived. The tune was submitted for the 1948 hymnal but was not used until it was matched with the present text in the 1985 hymnal.