I hope you all got to sing Hymn #296 today–it’s an absolutely perfect Father’s Day text. Listen here or here (start at 3:35).
1. Our Father, by whose name all fatherhood is known,
Who dost in love proclaim each family thine own,
Bless thou all parents, guarding well,
With constant love as sentinel,
The homes in which thy people dwell.
2. As thou thy Child didst fill with wisdom, love, and might,
To know and do thy will and teach thy ways aright,
Our children bless, in ev’ry place,
That they may all behold thy face,
And, knowing thee, may grow in grace.
3. May thy strong Spirit bind our hearts in unity,
And help us each to find the love from self set free.
In all our hearts such love increase,
That ev’ry home, by this release,
May be the dwelling place of peace.
Text: F. Bland Tucker, 1895–1984, alt.
Music: John David Edwards, 1806–1885
By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog 
We sang it in our ward! I can’t recall singing or hearing it before, though.
As an aside, the first line reminded me of Doctor Who, because there is an episode in which they suggest that we use the word “doctor” to describe a healer because of the Doctor. Yep, that’s how my brain works, even during church.
We sang oh my father, but this one sounds more fitting
We sang it. And we love it!
Yeah, if only. Our chorister chose “Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy”, apparently because “Father” was in the title and in spite of its being a men’s choir piece. Then he wasn’t able to make it to church and neither his replacement nor the congregation knew the song; that’s how we roll!
Didn’t sing it, but I played the Vaughan Williams setting of that tune (Rhosymedre) for the organ prelude. I think only God must have known what hymn I was playing. Eh.
Good selection, but I wouldn’t know if they sang it. I stayed home and spent time with my father. My best friend just lost his dad last week and so it sobers one up quickly to the need to outwardly appreciate whenever possible.
Great song. I didn’t register whether any of our hymns had a ‘father’ theme – but I had forgotten it was Father’s Day until after sacrament meeting was over. Still, it was a great meeting.
medstudent, we sang O My Father as well, presumably since it has father in the title. I mean, honestly. Everyone knows it’s really a mother’s day hymn.
We didn’t sing it, but I was on organ duty, so I made sure to play it as postlude. My husband was asked to give the prayer in Sunday School, and he opened his prayer by wishing Heavenly Father a happy Father’s Day.
During the time I was choir director, our choir did that piece. I don’t think it’s been done since. But I’ve been MIA for the last two Father’s Days, so I may have missed it. I love that song.
Clearly, you have excellent taste, Ann ;) No wonder I like you so much!
We sang it in my ward! I think that hymn is a miracle.
The talks given in my ward were good and refreshingly candid (another miracle), but the one by the high councilor offered a good deal of instruction to men on being better fathers. That’s fine, but such material would NEVER be included in a Mother’s Day talk, even tho’ mothers need that advice as much as men (I say this as a woman and a mother; I could probably write a whole treatise on the subject). Perhaps I am changing the subject inappropriately.
bemasuja–I agree. We’ll know women are being taken seriously when the gospel of repentance is preached to them, too, instead of just modesty and self-esteem.
Where’s the *like* button? If I have to hear “Women are more naturally speerchul than men” one more time…
Of course I meant “nacherly speerchul”.
We sang it in my ward. It’s a beautiful hymn.
I don’t remember what we sang in Sacrament Meeting this week – whether it had to do with fathers or not. Why? Because I’ve been trying to block out the rest of the meeting, which included a 25-minute lecture on the law of chastity from the HC speaker. Said lecture included the statement that if people would obey the law of chastity, there would be no crime, poverty, or abortions. It also referenced the infamous Cookie Monster metaphor, wherein premarital sex is compared to a childish and impetuous Cookie Monster chooses to have a cookie now rather than $500,000 in a month. Because they’re really the same thing.
Sorry for the threadjack. I needed to complain.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the discussion in the “Marriage and Family” Sunday School class was almost enough to make our recently-returned-missionary friend think that perhaps he should never get married. It centered on how all men are complete bumbling dolts and the only reason the house functions AT ALL is because of the wise women who are there to babysit them.
I usually like my ward, but something must have been in the sacrament water this week.
RickH (18) I don’t blame that return missionary for not wanting to get married. I don’t either, but I reckon we have to. I am unhappy about the prospect of choosing an eternal companion under duress, but I suppose thems is the breaks.
Hey, any Sacrament Meeting talk that mentions one of the chaos muppets can’t be ALL bad: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/low_concept/2012/06/what_kind_of_muppet_are_you_chaos_or_order_.html
Sadly, Kristine, I have to assert that even muppets can be exploited for dreadful purposes. As with fire, they can be used for good or for bad.
Probably prompted by feelings of guilt over having begun the hijacking of this thread, my imagination just spontaneously erupted in a chorus of muppets singing the hymn originally posted. I think this was probably using the muppets for bad. Once I get over laughing, I will repent. I do dearly love the hymn.