William Ralph Featherston (1848–1875) was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

hymnwriter who wrote the poem

My Jesus I Love Thee My Jesus I Love Thee is a poem written by William Ralph Featherston in 1864 when he was 16 years old, although one source says he could have been just 12 years old. The first two lines of this poem are nearly the same as a hymn wri ...

. He is believed to have written the poem at the age of either 12 or 16 years. In 1876 Adoniram Gordon used the poem as lyrics for a hymn. Featherston died prior to his 27th birthday, and is not known to have written any other songs.

Inspiration

According to Tim Challies, :Not much is known about Featherston, except that he attended a Methodist church in Montreal, that he was young when he wrote the poem (12 or 16 years old), and that he died at just 27 years of age. One story about how the poem became public is that Featherston mailed it to his aunt in Los Angeles who, upon reading it, quickly sought its publication... It wasn’t until several years after Featherston’s death that

Adoniram Judson Gordon Adoniram Judson "A. J." Gordon (1836–1895) was an American Baptist preacher, writer, composer, and founder of Gordon College and Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary. Life Gordon was born in New Hampton, New Hampshire, on April 19, 1836. His ...

(founder of Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) added a melody and published it in his book of hymns, thus forever transforming this poem to a song.

References

Other sources

* Reynolds, William Jensen. Hymns of Our Faith. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1964. (p. 291) * Taylor, Gordon Harry. Companion to the Song Book of the Salvation Army. St. Albans, England: The Campfield Press, 1988. (p. 300)
Center for Church Music

External links

* Christian hymnwriters 1848 births 1875 deaths {{Christian-music-stub