The principle of personal revelation is a foundation of Mormonism, a key to our understanding of the gospel. And few places in the scriptures make this as clear as in D&C 8 and 9, which are discussed in Gospel Doctrine lesson 6. There we learn, among other things, that faith is a key aspect of personal revelation. Thus to receive personal revelation, we need to remember the Lord, as is described in the poem I selected for this lesson.
Its author, Minnie Iverson Hodapp, was a prolific Mormon poet of the first half of the 20th century. Born in Utah in 1889, she served an LDS mission to Hawaii, received a bachelor’s degree from BYU and married a german convert, Fred Hodapp, who died in 1918, leaving her to raise a son alone. Despite the challenges of a single parent, she was a frequent contributor to the Church magazines and in her later years published several books, including Cartwheels to Zion, Nauvoo Bell and Flowering Moments on Temple Square.
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May I Remember Thee
by Minnie Iverson Hodapp
- May I remember Thee, O Lord,
- With joyful innocence,
- Nor read thy dear and precious word
- With darkened countenance,
- But as the crystal streams upstart
- With bright and mirthful glee,
- With gladness and a willing heart
- May I remember Thee.
- May I remember thee, O Lord,
- But not with sighing fear,
- By sweet revealings of Thy word,
- Inspire and draw me near.
- By every dear and lovely thing
- Which all around I see
- ’Mid flowers a-bloom and birds that sing,
- May I remember Thee.
- May I remember Thee, O Lord,
- In happiness and smile,
- All graciously and willingly
- With spirit free from guile.
- ’Neath balmy skies of summer blue
- Where life is glad and free,
- With loving heart and spirit true,
- May I remember Thee.
1920
(H.T. Keepapitchinin)
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The portion of this poem most relevant to this lesson is the second stanza, where Hodapp sees personal revelation as itself something that helps her to remember the Lord:
- By sweet revealings of Thy word,
- Inspire and draw me near.
In a way this sentiment is almost paradoxical, personal revelation helps us to remember the Lord, just as remembering the Lord facilitates personal revelation. When both are working they put us in a virtuous cycle.
Perhaps a poem like this will help us find and stay in that cycle.