Mabel Jones Gabbott (October 23, 1910 – February 13, 2004) was an American
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 ...
hymnwriter, and the author of the words to "Lord, Accept into Thy Kingdom," "In Humility Our Saviour" and "We Have Partaken of Thy Love," all now part of the 1985 LDS English hymnbook.
Gabbott also wrote many hymns published by
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church) in its
Primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
''
Children's Songbook
The ''Children's Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' is the official songbook for children in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was first published in English in 1989. These songs are for the ...
'', 16 of which are included in the current English edition. These include "Jesus Came to John the Baptist", "Did Jesus Really Live Again", "Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus", and "He Sent His Son". She also wrote several works of poetry.
Biography
Gabbott was born in
Malad, Idaho
Malad City (also commonly known as Malad) is the only city in Oneida County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 2,095 at the 2010 census, down from 2,158 in 2000. She was raised in Malad, a city settled primarily by
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
Latter-day Saints, where the Welsh tradition of the eisteddfod was carried on. As a teenager she would often go to visit various
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
in the
stake
Stake may refer to:
Entertainment
* '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game
* ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film
* "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams''
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to read works of poetry.
Gabbott went to college and then returned to Malad to work as a teacher. When she was in her late twenties Gabbott served as a
Mormon missionary
Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
and
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
) where she met her future husband J. Donald "Don" Gabbott. Both he and her mission president,
Preston Nibley
Preston Nibley (May 26, 1884 – January 2, 1966) was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and wrote several books on the church, including several pieces of devotional literature.
Biography ...
, encouraged her to begin writing.
Gabbott worked as a secretary to
LeGrand Richards
LeGrand Richards (February 6, 1886 – January 11, 1983) was a prominent missionary and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served as the seventh presiding bishop of the LDS Church from 1938 to 1952, and ...
after her return from her mission in 1938. While in this position she had her first poem published, by the
Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...
magazine, at the urging of its editor
Belle Spafford
Marion Isabelle Sims Spafford ( Smith; October 8, 1895 – February 2, 1982), known as Belle S. Spafford, was the ninth Relief Society General President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from April 6, 1945, unti ...
. In 1941 she married Don Gabbott and left the workforce to focus on motherhood. The Gabbotts eventually became the parents of five children. Throughout the 1940s Gabbott continued to write, occasionally doing editing work for ''
The Children's Friend
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' and having some of her hymns included in the 1950 LDS hymnal.
In 1964 Gabbott took a job as manuscript editor for the ''Relief Society Magazine''. In 1965 she joined the staff of ''
The Improvement Era
The ''Improvement Era'' (often shortened to ''The Era'') was an official magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1897 and 1970.
History
The ''Improvement Era'' was first published in 1897 as a replacement t ...
''. This work prompted her literary work as well. In 1967 she wrote the poem ''Eve and I'' in reaction to what she felt was not enough emphasis on
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
in existing writings of the creation. It was also during the late 1960s that Gabbott began to write children's hymns, with 3 of her works included in the 1969
Primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
hymnbook, ''Sing With Me''.
Gabbott was on the General Church Music Committee from 1973 to 1985 serving as chair of the Text Committee for the new hymnbook. She retired from working for the LDS Church magazines in 1975. Her husband died of
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
in 1976 and much of her work was produced after this date.
It was in the 1980s that much of Gabbott's music aimed at children was published. A children's
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.
The meaning of ...
of the
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...
in 1981, her song ''He Sent His Son'', in 1982 and ''Samuel Tells of Baby Jesus'' in 1985.
*
* ''Hymns'', (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985) hymn #155
* J. Spencer Cornwall. ''Stories of Our Mormon Hymns''. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975) p. 58.
Obituary of Gabbott