Colossians 3:16; “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Before we examine the LDS hymn we’re posting today, let’s take a good look at what God has said in His word.
You’ll notice the first eight words of this verse is an instruction we should all take note of. The music we allow to run through our heads can either lead us to, or away, from Him.
By default, Mormons have already failed miserably with that admonition. They don’t allow the word of Christ to dwell within them because they’ve rejected it.
The second part of this verse tells us to teach and admonish through psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
As we look over the LDS hymn, don’t forget the words of their hymn is what they’re teaching to each other, and future generations.
Matthew Henry made the following observation about music –
‘…when we sing psalms, we make no melody unless we sing with grace in our hearts, unless we are suitably affected with what we sing and go along in it with true devotion and understanding.’ – Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible
As you’ll see below, there’s little to no melody in their words. Now the reason I’ve posted the entire hymn is threefold.
1.To show how unbiblical their teachings are.
2.To reveal the deep-seated hatred they hold in their hearts for anyone who isn’t Mormon. Christians and anyone of color seemed to be at the top of their list of people to hate.
3.To remind Christians to pray for these misguided people!
The hymn was sung at the beginning of a General Conference in 1865. William Wine Phelps was known for writing many of the LDS hymns, one of which was ‘Praise to the Man’.
Millennial Star, Vol. 27, No. 49, December 9, 1865, pp. 770-771;
THE SPIRIT
By W.W. Phelps
Oh bless us with that Spirit,
Whose form is like a dove,
That we may all do better,
And live in peace and love.
Chorus
So, fill us with that wisdom,
The world doth never know,
That we may please our Father,
In all our acts below.
Though Asia gropes in darkness,
Were virtue’s lowly priced,
And Christians sin in secret,
We’ll honor Jesus Christ.
Chorus
Though Afric’s colored servants
May lack celestial right,
We’ll honor God in glory,
And let the nations fight.
Chorus
Though millions serve the harlot,
And sin in every breath,
We’ll keep the Holy Spirit,
And shun the second death.
Chorus
Sure, heaven and hell hold millions,
Yet let us save the crumbs;
The wheat and tares must ripen,
Before the harvest comes.
Chorus
O may the Saints be perfect
As God our Father was,
When he got back to Eden,
By her celestial laws.
After reading the LDS hymn above, take another look at what Paul said in Colossians.
Colossians 3:16; “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Does it sound like they were teaching praise-worthy things?
What do they mean by ‘o may the saints be perfect as God our father was’?
Is God not perfect now?
There’s no shortage of places where you can find this hymn. Also see:
Conference Report, October 1865
Semi-Annual General Conference; Monday, October 9th, 1865, 10 a.m.
Deseret News XV, 5 (October 12, 1865)
“Journal History”, 9 October 1865
“Documentary History”, p. 924
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