“Our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands our pains and our afflictions. He wants to ease our burdens and comfort us.”[1]
~Moisés Villanueva
Note: This is a part of an ongoing series, the Mexico Mission Hymns Project.
Hymn Text:
“Final”, by Joel Morales was included in the Spanish hymnals from 1912 – 1992. The 1912 hymnal indicates that it is intended to be sung to the same tune as Songs of Zion, no. 168, which was “Ye Who Are Called to Labor” by Daniel B. Towner . When printed with music in the 1942 hymnal, it was published with the tune of “A Happy Band of Children” by Edwin F. Parry. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any information about Joel Morales himself.
Figure 1. “Final” in the 1912 Himnos de Sion
Table 1. Comparison of the hymn text in different editions of the hymnal
| 1912 | 1942 |
| Ya suena la trompeta,
Los justos llaman ya, Y Cristo se presenta, Los hombres juzgará. |
Ya suena la trompeta,
Los justos llama ya, Y Cristo en su trono A todos juzgará. |
| Serán las obras jueces,
El mal á condenar; A justos dar la gloria, El bien á premiar. |
Serán las obras jueces,
El mal condenarán; A justos dar la gloria, Lo bueno premiarán. |
| En nube de la gloria,
El Cristo ya vendrá; Del hombre la historia Escrita, El tendrá. |
En nube de la gloria,
El Salvador vendrá; Del hombre la historia Escrita, él tendrá. |
| La salvación eterna,
A justos, les dará; El romperá las ligas, Y les libertará. |
La salvación eterna
A justos, él dará, Eterna paz les surte, Sus ligas romperá. |
Table 2. Hymn text translations
| 1912 Spanish | English Prose | Poetic English |
| Ya suena la trompeta,
Los justos llaman ya, Y Cristo se presenta, Los hombres juzgará. |
The trumpet sounds,
The righteous call now, And Christ appears To judge men. |
The trumpet sounds from heaven
To call the righteous ones, And Christ is soon appearing To judge His daughters, sons. |
| Serán las obras jueces,
El mal á condenar; A justos dar la gloria, El bien á premiar. |
Their works will be judges,
The evil to condemn; The just receive glory, The good to reward. |
For our works judgment comes then,
The wicked are condemned; The righteous receive glory, For good works they’ll ascend. |
| En nube de la gloria,
El Cristo ya vendrá; Del hombre la historia Escrita, El tendrá. |
In a cloud of glory,
The Christ will come; of man the story Written, He will have. |
With a great cloud of glory,
The Son of Man will come; And He will judge from records, Reviewing works therefrom. |
| La salvación eterna,
A justos, les dará; El romperá las ligas, Y les libertará. |
Eternal salvation,
He will give to the righteous; He will break the chains, And he will set you free. |
Eternal is salvation
That He will give the just; For He will break the fetters, And free all those who trust. |
Music:
Here is how the hymn might have appeared if it had been published with music in the 1912 Himnos de Sion, using the Towner tune:
And here is what it appeared like in the 1942 Himnos de Sion (the maroon-cover one just prior to the 1992 Himnos):
New Music:
Here is my reimagining of this hymn:
Footnotes
[1] Moisés Villanueva, “Favored of the Lord in All My Days,” CR October 2021, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/28villanueva.p16?lang=eng
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