Hello! “How Great the Wisdom and the Love” is a hymn that is suggested in this week’s Come Follow Me lesson entitled, “The Great Plan of Happiness” for August 5 – 11, 2024. This arrangement is a vocal solo. I had done this as piano solo which was published about a year ago: How Great the Wisdom and the Love Piano Solo. I used the same piano part I had written to build this vocal solo arrangement upon. I decided to focus on verses 1, 2 4 and 6 for this video. They seemed most appropriate to me for the context of the lesson and arrangement. The Sheet music for this arrangement can be found here: How Great the Wisdom and the Love
Thomas McIntyre was the composer of the music for this hymn. He was originally from Scotland, being born on June 30, 1832. He arrived in Utah in 1859 with a handcart company.
Eliza R. Snow wrote the text of this hymn. Here is a little about her as a poet/hymn writer. How inspiring she was, and is, for us today!
- Eliza Roxey Snow (January 21, 1804 – December 5, 1887) was one of the most celebrated Latter-day Saint women of the nineteenth century. A renowned poet, she chronicled history, celebrated nature and relationships, and expounded scripture and doctrine.
- In the midst of the Missouri persecutions in the late 1830s, Joseph Smith called on Eliza to write on behalf of her people and in their defense.4 She accepted the challenge, and by the 1850s, she became known as “Zion’s Poetess.” She wrote more than 500 poems in which she chronicled the history and beliefs of the Saints. Many of her poems became beloved hymns and were sung around pioneer campfires, in meeting rooms, and in temples. (source)
In the manual it says:
When someone we love has made a serious mistake, it can be hard to know how to respond. Part of what makes Alma 39–42 so valuable is that it reveals how Alma—a disciple of Christ who once had his own grievous sins to repent of—handled such a situation. Alma’s son Corianton had committed sexual sin, and Alma, as he had learned to do in his ministry, trusted the power of true doctrine to give his son an eternal perspective and encourage repentance (see Alma 4:19; 31:5). In these chapters, we observe Alma’s boldness in condemning sin and his tenderness and love for Corianton. And ultimately, we sense Alma’s confidence that the Savior “shall come to take away the sins of the world [and] declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people” (Alma 39:15). The fact that Corianton repented and eventually returned to the work of the ministry (see Alma 49:30) can give us hope for forgiveness and redemption when we are troubled about our own sins or the sins of someone we love (see Alma 42:29).
- 15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.
- 23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
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Media sources: ChurchofJesusChrist.org (The Savior Suffers in Gethsemane, Feed My Sheep), Brad Leishman and Steve Pierce – Nature Images and Videography.
*Reach out if you would like the sheet music for any of the arrangements I don’t have sheet music for yet and I will transcribe and post them. You can find the songs I already have sheet music for here: http://marileekaymusic.com/sheet-music/
Composers: Text: Eliza R. Snow, 1804–1887 Music: Thomas McIntyre, 1833–1914
This video is published on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MarileeKayMusic/ and short reels of the video are posted throughout the week on Instagram @MarileeKayMusic
Oh my. Your melodic variations, bridges, and background accompanying instrumentals all contributed to yet another masterpiece of inspiration to enhance the powerful message of this hymn. Amazing work, Marilee.