The Spirituality Theme In Lds Poems

By Kate McMahon


Lds poems are a project of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Their themes or topics are purely spiritual. The church began at the sunrise of the nineteenth century and has been churning poems ever since. The church considers this as an art form that is intended to bring the Holy Spirit closer to the people.

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.

Poetry has formed a major part of Mormon General Conference talks. This is a part of the tradition of the church. It is used by church apostles to expound on current affairs and offer a spiritual dimension. It is common to find the poems being turned into hymns because of the excellent manner in which they capture the teachings of this denomination. One such poem is I Believe In Christ that was written by McConkie Bruce.

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.

Early poets have dominated the literature of most of the general conferences in the church. Present day leaders have maintained the passion for poetry. The president and leader now is Monson Thomas and is said to be an avid reader. He loves the art so much and has incorporated it in most of his writings. His talks during conferences and on various occasions are filled with poetry citations. Using religion as the main theme has not taken anything away from this writing.

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.

Lds poems have their style captured in The Spirit of God that was authored by W Phelps. He is in the same category of pioneers as Snow Eliza who wrote O My Father. Contemporary poets are represented by Orson Whitney who has written The Epic. The themes tackled by present day writers are broader to include violence among others. The spiritual perspective is dominant in this poetry.




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