History of the Saints

The Rise of the Latter-day Saint Music Tradition

It was July 1830 when Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, was commanded to "make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my Church. For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart." Just as Mormonism came out of obscurity and established its own religious tradition, so too did that happen with music. Over the decades the Latter-day Saints have developed their own unique music tradition. This is the story of how that tradition developed.