Our Father, by Whose Name
296

Text: F. Bland Tucker (1895–1984), altered
Music: John David Edwards (1806–1885)
Tune name: RHOSYMEDRE

This hymn, new to the 1985 hymnbook, is a prayer to our Father in Heaven in his role as a father— a parent who understands and values the

bonds within a family and who will bless earthly parents as they strive to fulfill their responsibilities. As he taught and blessed his Only Begotten Son, so we ask him to bless our children and our homes.

The original text of this hymn is a three- part prayer. Verse one is just as we have it in our hymnbook. Verse two is a prayer to Jesus Christ, beginning—

O Christ, thyself a child
Within an earthly home,
With heart still undefiled,
Thou didst to manhood come. . . .

And verse three is a prayer to the Holy Spirit, beginning—

O Spirit, who dost bind
Our hearts in unity,
Who teachest us to find
The love from self set free. . . .

The 1985 Hymnbook Committee felt that if the text were revised so that all three verses were a prayer to our Father in Heaven, the hymn would be more consistent with Latter- day Saint doctrine on prayer. In particular, it is not Latter- day Saint practice to address prayers directly to the Savior or the Holy Spirit.

Representatives of the estate of author F. Bland Tucker granted the right to reprint the text in altered form and made a few perceptive suggestions of their own.

The tune name, RHOSYMEDRE, is the name of the village in North Wales where composer John David Edwards served as vicar for many years. This melody has achieved some fame in a hymn prelude arrangement by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

This hymn is a welcome addition to Latter- day Saint hymnody. Although the sanctity of the family is central to our beliefs, we had few hymns in our book addressing this topic. “Our Father, by Whose Name,” with specific reference to fatherhood as well as general reference to home and family, should find much use in our home and church worship services.