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"Dearest Children, God Is Near
You".
From the book: *Our Latter-day
Hymns, the Stories and the Messages* by Karen Lynn Davidson
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This hymn directed at children has a message for all who
seek to do right:
blessings, happiness, and the instructive companionship
of the Holy Ghost come through doing what is right. The final words of
verse two could be a motto for all, young and old alike: "Cherish virtue! God
will bless the pure in heart."
The theme of this hymn test is accountability.
Our actions have consequences, and children must begin to accept this truth
from their earliest days. "Dearest Children, God Is Near You" presents this
teaching in terms that children can understand. The "recording angel"
concept on which verse two is based is an idea that can help them to
understand their personal responsibility for their words and actions. This
hymn reassures them (and us) that God is near them and desires to bless them. But
it also cautions them that he can pour out the full measure of his blessings
only if they are obedient and faithful.
The book *Yours Sincerely, John M. Macfarlane*, a volume
printed privately by the descendants of the composer of this hymn tune,
provides this information: "The story goes that a bored Charles L. Walker
amused himself during a very long Sacrament Meeting by writing some lines
which began, 'Dearest Children, God is near you.' Shortly afterward the
poem came to the attention of John M. Macfarlane, who set it to music. It
was used locally in the Sunday Schools. This song appeared initially in the
*Juvenile Instructor* on August 15, 1877.... In 1894, it was included in
the *Deseret Sunday School Song Book*, but under [the] title, 'God Will
Bless the Pure in Heart.' . . . Soon after this, the song gained a
permanent place in the L.D.S. Hymnal."
The tune name, SINCLAIR, honors John Macfarlane's mother,
Annabella Sinclair Macfarlane.
Here's what the book says about Charles Lowell
Walker:
LDS. English-born American, 1832-1904. Born in Bath, he
sailed for America in 1849, working in St. Louis and Kentucky to raise money
to help his parents emigrate. Arriving in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1855, he
went to work for his brother-in-law, Parley P. Pratt, and endured much
hardship during the difficult winters of 1855 and 1856. He became a
blacksmith, married, and was becoming comfortably settled when the call came
to settle the Dixie Cotton Mission in southern Utah. During the forty years
he lived in St. George, he composed scores of poems and songs to lift the
hearts of people in those difficult surroundings.