When Lorenzo Snow speaks of the Holy Ghost in the material included in chapter 4 of the lesson book, it is clear that he sees the spirit as a great help to us. “It would be simply foolish indeed to expect the Latter-day Saints in these days to comply with the celestial law… except they were sustained by a supernatural power.”
The idea that there is a power in the Holy Ghost is something that isn’t mentioned often. So when I saw the following poem, it resonated with me.
The author, Thomas Ward, was a fascinating early leader. A schoolteacher and baptist preacher before he joined the Church in 1840, Ward soon became an important part of the English mission, assisting with the Millennial Star and serving as its editor for a year after Parley P. Pratt left in 1842. He continued working on the Star for the various mission presidents until 1846, when he was disgraced for his role in the ill-fated “British and American Commercial Joint Stock Company” scheme. While he tried to redeem himself in the eyes of the mission leaders and the Church, he died from dropsy in March 1847.
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Then give us, O Father
by Thomas Ward
- Then give us, O Father, thy spirit of power,
- To endure and o’ercome in the battles of God;
- Let our faith be unshaken, nor fail in the hour
- When the nations are feeling the scourge of thy rod.
- Let our minds be awakened to look to the day
- When the wicked are crushed, and the kingdoms are thine—
- When thy Son shall his power and his glory display,
- Let me dwell in his brightness—his glory be mine.
Millennial Star, August 1844
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