John Menzies Macfarlane (October 11, 1833 – June 4, 1892) was a Scottish-born

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

writer, choir director and civic leader who spent most of his life in

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

Life

Macfarlane was born in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He came to

in the early 1850s and settled in

Cedar City Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...

in 1853. In 1852, Macfarlane married Ann Chatterley. Multiple sources identified him as one of the many Iron County Militia men involved in the 1857

Mountain Meadows Massacre The Mountain Meadows Massacre (September 7–11, 1857) was a series of attacks during the Utah War that resulted in the mass murder of at least 120 members of the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train. The massacre occurred in the southern U ...

. Macfarlane served as superintendent of schools from 1866 to 1868 for

Iron County, Utah Iron County is a county in southwestern Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 46,163. Its county seat is Parowan, and the largest city is Cedar City. The Cedar City, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area inc ...

, and the leader of the choir in Cedar City which he took to

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

Erastus Snow Erastus Snow (November 9, 1818 – May 27, 1888) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1849 until his death. Snow was also a leading figure in Mormon colonizati ...

urged Macfarlane to move to St. George and start a choir there, which he did. Besides leading the choir, Macfarlane served as a district judge and worked as a surveyor and a builder. In St. George, he was involved in founding an academy in 1888 that was the predecessor to Dixie State College of Utah. Among Macfarlane's hymns are " Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains" and the music to "Dearest Children, God is Near You".

Notes

References

* Cornwall, J. Spencer ''Stories of Our Mormon Hymns'' (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975) pp. 40–41

External links

* 1833 births 1892 deaths Utah Tech University people Scottish Latter Day Saint hymnwriters Mormon pioneers People from Cedar City, Utah People from St. George, Utah People from Stirling Scottish Latter Day Saint writers Scottish emigrants to the United States American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters {{Scotland-bio-stub

Life

Notes

References

Further reading

External links