Friday 6 September 2013

The Spirituality Theme In Lds Poems

By Kate McMahon


Lds poems have their origin in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints and continue to form a part of their liturgical recitations and literature. They have a heavy spiritual or religious theme. The church has been in existence since the early 1800s and continues to use poetry as a tool for evangelization. They consider it an art form that brings the Holy Spirit closer to its faithful.

The other name given to this writing is Mormon poetry. An example of early publication is cited in the Elders Journal where the work of James Marsh was published. The journal was published in 1838 and was edited by Don and Joseph Carlos Smith. The poems were exceptionally beautiful and were considered outstanding in their rendition and themes.

Mormon General Conferences and talks have witnessed recitations over the years. The recitations are given by apostles and touch on spiritual themes and current affairs. Some of these verses are later transformed into music because of their presentation and how they capture the themes in the lives of the church members. An example is the poem written and recited by Elder Bruce McConkie. It was entitled I Believe In Christ and was later turned into a song.

Contemporary writers have gotten inspiration from pioneers in Mormon poetry. One of the modern day writers by the name Boyd Packer sites McConkie as his inspiration. He wrote the poem Washed Clean after an encounter with Jesus as He is described in I Believe in Christ. There are many other writers who have followed this trend.

General conferences and talks within the church circles have a lot of poetry in them. This is a passion that can be associated with the church tradition. It has been passed on from generation to the other between the faithful and church hierarchy. It is worth noting that the current leader and president, Thomas Monson, uses poetry in most of his talks and presentations. This poetry is as good as any other that is used for other purposes or by secular writers.

Mormon literature is voluminous and excellent. It comes in different categories including fiction. Literary critics have cited an admirable degree of creativity in the works of a number of writers in this group. Some use the conservative poetic style of early generations while others are dynamic and experiment a lot. The pristine nature of this poetry has seen a number of them turned into hymns.

Mormon poets can broadly be classified into traditional and contemporary depending on their eras of existence. The first group began writing in the 1830 until 1950s when the style changed. This ushered in the contemporary writers who have continued to produce excellent poetry to date. They defer because of their support themes and the audience. It is possible to see the distribution of audience across different corners of the world through their poetry.

Among the notable authors of lds poems include Eliza Snow who wrote O My Father and W Phelps who wrote The Spirit of God. Contemporary poets include Whitney Orson who has written The Epic. Other themes covered by recent day writers are violence. Every poem is laced with a spiritual dimension.




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