Lyrics:

1. Behold the great Redeemer die,
A broken law to satisfy.
He dies a sacrifice for sin,
He dies a sacrifice for sin,
That man may live and glory win.

2. While guilty men his pains deride,
They pierce his hands and feet and side;
And with insulting scoffs and scorns,
And with insulting scoffs and scorns,
They crown his head with plaited thorns.

3. Although in agony he hung,
No murm’ring word escaped his tongue.
His high commission to fulfill,
His high commission to fulfill,
He magnified his Father’s will.

4. “Father, from me remove this cup.
Yet, if thou wilt, I’ll drink it up.
I’ve done the work thou gavest me,
I’ve done the work thou gavest me;
Receive my spirit unto thee.”

5. He died, and at the awful sight
The sun in shame withdrew its light!
Earth trembled, and all nature sighed,
Earth trembled, and all nature sighed
In dread response, “A God has died!”

6. He lives–he lives. We humbly now
Around these sacred symbols bow
And seek, as Saints of latter days,
And seek, as Saints of latter days,
To do his will and live his praise.

Text: Eliza R. Snow, 1804-1887
Music: George Careless, 1839-1932

-History: (Source: Wikipedia)

Written By: Eliza R. Snow

Eliza Roxcy Snow Young (January 21, 1804 – December 5, 1887) was one of the most celebrated Latter-day Saint women of the nineteenth century. A renowned poet, she chronicled history, celebrated nature and relationships, and expounded scripture and doctrine. She claimed to be aplural wife of Joseph Smith, Jr., was married openly for many years to polygamist Brigham Young, and was the second general president of theRelief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1866 until her death.

Born in Becket, Massachusetts on 21 January 1804, Snow was the second daughter of Oliver and Rosetta Snow. When she was two years old, her family left New England to settle on a new and fertile farm in the Western Reserve valley, in Mantua, Ohio. The Snow family valued learning and saw that each child had educational opportunities. Eliza worked as secretary for her father in his office as justice of the peace. She gained renown for her poetry in her early twenties, publishing in local newspapers, and winning awards for her work.

Eliza R. Snow wrote poetry from a young age, one time even writing school lessons in rhyme. Between 1826 and 1832 she published more than 20 poems in local newspapers, including the Ravenna, Ohio Western Courier and the Ohio Star, using various pen names. A number of Snow’s poems were set to music and have become important LDS hymns, some of which appear in the current edition of the LDS Hymnal. One of her hymns, “Great is the Lord”, was published in the first Latter-day Saint Hymnbook in 1835, the year of her baptism. In Nauvoo, Eliza R. Snow gained unique distinction as a Mormon poet featured in local newspapers, and she was later called “Zion’s Poetess.” She continued to write poems as she crossed the plains, documenting the pioneer trail and life in Utah. The first of her two volumes of Poems, Religious, Historical, and Political appeared in 1856, followed by the second in 1877. Some of her poems include:

• “How Great the Wisdom and the Love” (text)
• “Invocation, or the Eternal Father and Mother” (“Oh, My Father”) (text)
• “Be Not Discouraged” (text)
• “My First View of a Western Prairie” (text)
• “Mental Gas” (text)
• “Think not When You Gather to Zion Your Troubles and Trials are Through”
• “O Awake! My Slumbering Minstrel”
• “Truth Reflects upon Our Senses”^[4]

One of her best-known poems, “Invocation, or the Eternal Father and Mother,” was written soon after the death of her father and just over a year after the death of Joseph Smith.^[5]. This poem, renamed “O My Father“, is included in the current LDS Hymnal.

Music By: George Careless

George Edward Percy Careless (September 24, 1839 – March 5, 1932) was a prominent Latter-day Saint composer and conductor.

Careless was born in London, England.^[1] As a child he studied at the Royal Academy in London. He performed at Exeter Hall, Drury Lane and the Crystal Palace.

In the early 1860s Careless joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in 1864 he immigrated to Utah Territory. It was while on the ship crossing the ocean that he wrote a musical arrangement for Parley P. Pratt‘s hymn The Morning Breaks.

Shortly after coming to Salt Lake City, Careless became the conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as well as of the Salt Lake Theatre orchestra. He also conducted performances by the Salt Lake Opera Company. Among his students was the future conductor of the Tabernacle choir, J. Spencer Cornwall.^[2]

Besides The Morning Breaks (hymn #1), Careless also composed the music to the following hymns in the 1985 Latter-day Saint hymnal: #40 “Arise, O Glorious Zion”, #122 “Though Deepening Trials”, #145 “Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire”, #150 “O Thou Kind and Gracious Father”, #178 “O Lord of Hosts”, #186 “Again We Meet Around the Board”, #191 “Behold the Great Redeemer Died” and #192 “He Died! The Great Redeemer Died”.