I awoke in the grey of the morning, and as I lay waiting for dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to entwine themselves in my mind, and I said to myself, I must get up and write these verses, lest I fall asleep and forget them. I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper. - Julia Ward Howe You know these words already, for you have heard them countless times. They are the words that became the lyrics to the famous Battle Hymn of the Republic. This hymn was being published for the first time during those same weeks and months in 1862 that Abraham Lincoln was passing through his worst trials and growing in faith like never before. It was published just when Willie (his son) was dying, when Lincoln had his Book of Mormon, when he was studying the gospel with Nurse Pomroy, and when he was praying for help and receiving answers. One of the first people to perform the hymn in public was Army Chaplain Charles Caldwell McCabe. The response to his performance was described as magical, people shouted, wept and sang together. And this part is key: Abraham Lincoln was present. As the chaplain finished, and notwithstanding the cheers of the people, one familiar voice was heard above the rest. There they saw him, tears roll[ing] down his cheeks. In that famous high-pitched voice--though this time it crackled with emotion--Father Abraham sweetly demanded, Sing it again. Which brings me to a particularly tender part of the story. You see, somewhere along the way, we changed the original lyrics. Mrs. Howe wrote, As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free. Those are the words the soldiers sang as they marched to battle. They were willing to die for that freedom that would ultimately bring in the gospel, the temple, and the fullness of Christss Atonement. And that, my friends, sums up the Civil War. That is what we should think about as we sing that repeated refrain: His truth is marching on! Excerpt from The Lincoln Hypothesis by Tim Ballard bit.ly/1ktYrXs #lincolnhypothesis #independenceday
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 02:00:01 +0000
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