What greater power can you acquire on earth than the priesthood of God? What power could possibly be greater than the capacity to assist our Heavenly Father in changing the lives of your fellowmen, to help them along the pathway of eternal happiness by being cleansed of sin and wrongdoing?[1]
~Adrián Ochoa
Note: This is a part of an ongoing series, the Mexico Mission Hymns Project.
Hymn Text:
“Santos, Dad Loor á Dios” by Edmund W. Richardson was initially included in the 1907 Himnario Mormón (see Figure 1). It was published in the 1912 edition of the Himnos de Sion, but was not included in subsequent editions of the hymnal. Both of the hymnals that it was published in did not indicate a tune to which it was intended to be sung, though the John-Charles Duffy and Hugo Olaiz article indicates that it was sung to the tune of “O Jesus! the giver of all we enjoy” from the Latter-day Saints’ Psalmody (GOSHEN, by Ralph Bradshaw), which can be made to fit.[2] There are a few textual variations between the 1907 and 1912 editions (see Table 1).
Figure 1. “Santos, Dad Loór á Dios” in the 1907 Himnario Mormón.
Table 1. Comparison of texts from the two editions in which “Santos, Dad Loor á Dios” was published.
| 1907 “Santos, Dad Loór á Dios” | 1912 “Santos, Dad Loor á Dios” |
| Santos, dad loór á Dios,
Himnos elevad; Alaban al Señor Por Su gran bondád. Antes en la cruz cruel Se marcó la vía De la salvación al fiel, Hoy se vuelve guía. |
Santos, dad loor á Dios,
Himnos elevad; Y alaban al Señor Por su gran bondad. Antes en la cruz cruel, Se marcó la vía De la salvación al fiel, Hoy se vuelve guía. |
| Tras la noche de dolor,
Hoy se raya luz; Huyen sombras de error Ante Gran Jesús, Quien revela Su redil A su triste grey; Y explica al gentil La divina ley. |
Tras la noche de dolor,
Hoy se raya luz; Huyen sombras de error Ante Gran Jesús, Quién revela su redil A su triste grey, Y explica al gentil La divina ley, |
| Del bautismo celestial,
Puerta del redil; Del perdón el manantial, Limpiador del vil. Sepultura con el Dios Es bajar allí, Nuevo Nacimiento es La vuelta á luz así. |
Del bautismo celestial,
Puerta del redil, Del perdón el manantial, Limpiador del vil. Sepultura con el Dios Es bajar allí, Nuevo nacimiento es Dando luz así. |
| Sacrosanta bendición
Es al pecador; Puerta á la salvación, Lo dijo el Señor. Mas, humilde á de ser, Quien pretende tal, Y resuelto á prever Contra todo mal. |
Sacrosanta bendición,
Es al pecador, Puerta á la salvación, Dijo el Señor. Mas, humilde ha de ser, Quién, pretende tal, Y resuelto á prever Contra todo mal. |
| Arrepentimiento fiel
Debe preceder; Verdadera fe en Él Preciso es tener; Estos y autoridád Dada del Señor, Dan al alma entidád En el Gran Amor. |
Arrepentimiento fiel
Debe preceder; Verdadera fe en El Preciso es tener; Estos y autoridad Dada del Señor, Dan al alma entidad En el Gran Amor. |
The author, Edmund Wilford Richardson (1884 – 1974), was the most prolific author of original Spanish hymns in the Mexican Mission hymnals, authoring 10 out of the 23 original hymns in the 1912 edition. Born to Sarah Louisa Adams and Charles E. Richardson in Wilford, Arizona, and moved to Colonia Diaz in northern Mexico in 1888. His father was a blacksmith, carpenter, and teacher in the community and went on to study medicine and Mexican law.[3] Edmund W. went on to serve in the Mexican Mission from September 14, 1910 to May 7, 1913.[4] Given that it was published in 1907, it is likely that this hymn was written while Edmund was growing up in Colonia Diaz.
Figure 2. Edmund Wilford Richardson.
Figure 3. Missionaries in Mexico Mission, ca. 1911. Front row from L to R: Edmund W. Richardson; Broughton Lunt. Back row L to R: Joseph V Elton; Willard S Huish; James Whipple; Eliseo O Jiménez.
My translation is primarily based on the 1912 edition (see Table 2).
Table 2. Translation of “Santos, Dad Loor á Dios”.
| 1912 “Santos, Dad Loor á Dios” | Prose Translation | Poetic Translation |
| Santos, dad loor á Dios,
Himnos elevad; Y alaban al Señor Por su gran bondad. Antes en la cruz cruel, Se marcó la vía De la salvación al fiel, Hoy se vuelve guía. |
Saints, give praise to God,
With elevated hymns; And praise the Lord For his great kindness. Before, on the cruel cross, The way was marked To salvation for the faithful, Today it becomes a guide. |
Saints, give praise to God above,
Sing hymns that elate. Praise the Lord, e’en Jesus Christ, For His kindness, great. Long ago, on cruel cross, He did mark the way To salvation for the Saints: That’s our guide today. |
| Tras la noche de dolor,
Hoy se raya luz; Huyen sombras de error Ante Gran Jesús, Quién revela su redil A su triste grey, Y explica al gentil La divina ley, |
After the night of pain,
Today, light is scratched; Shadows of error flee Before the Great Jesus, Who reveals his [sheep]fold To his sad flock, And explains to the Gentile The divine law. |
After the long night of pain,
Rays of light burst forth; Shadows of dark error flee From the Christ henceforth, Who reveals His sheepfold now Unto His sad flock, And explains to Gentile folks His law and His rock. |
| Del bautismo celestial,
Puerta del redil, Del perdón el manantial, Limpiador del vil. Sepultura con el Dios Es bajar allí, Nuevo nacimiento es Dando luz así. |
[The divine law] of heavenly baptism,
gate of the sheepfold, Of forgiveness the spring/fountain, Cleaner of vile things. Burial with the God It’s down there, New birth is Giving light like this. |
His first law is baptism now,
Gate of the sheepfold, Fountain of forgiveness that Cleanses from sin’s hold. We are buried with the Christ In the baptism font, Rising with a renewed life, And more light, He’ll grant. |
| Sacrosanta bendición,
Es al pecador, Puerta á la salvación, Dijo el Señor. Mas, humilde ha de ser, Quién, pretende tal, Y resuelto á prever Contra todo mal. |
Sacrosanct blessing,
It is the sinner: Door to salvation, Said the Lord. But humble he must be, Who wants such And determined to foresee against all evil. |
Baptism is a blessing for
Sinners, for it is The door to salvation’s path- This is what Christ said. Those who want to enter in Must be humble, true, And determined to endure: Evil bid adieu. |
| Arrepentimiento fiel
Debe preceder; Verdadera fe en El Preciso es tener; Estos y autoridad Dada del Señor, Dan al alma entidad En el Gran Amor. |
Faithful repentance
Must precede; True faith in him Precise is to have; These and authority Given of the Lord, They give the soul entity In the Great Love. |
But preceding baptism comes
True repentance, and Faith in God is needed too, This is His command; And authority as well, Given from the Lord, These allow the soul to join His Love, the reward. |
Music:
Like I mentioned, the music can be made to fit the text, though it does take some adaptation from the original music to make it work. Because of the pickup, though, the accents don’t line up well between the music and the text.
Here is the English translation set to the original music:
New Music:
Footnotes:
[1] Adrián Ochoa, “Aaronic Priesthood: Arise and Use the Power of God,” CR April 2012, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/04/aaronic-priesthood-arise-and-use-the-power-of-god.p17?lang=eng
[2] John-Charles Duffy and Hugo Olaiz, “Correlated Praise: The Development of the Spanish Hymnal,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 35, no. 2 (2002), 89-113.
[3] “Charles Edmund Richardson”, Las Colonias – The Mormon Colonies in Mexico, http://www.lascolonias.org/2015/11/15/charles-edmund-richardson/.
[4] “Edmund Wilford Richardson,” Church History Biographical Database, https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/chd/individual/edmund-wilford-richardson-1884?timelineTabs=all-events.
[5] La Sociedad Periódico Político y Literario wrote on February 5, 1858, cited in Fernando R. Gomez and Sergio Pagaza Castillo, Joseph Smith, Jr.: His Influence in the Mexican Press of the XIX Century (Mexico City: Museo de Historia del Mormonismo en México).
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