Joy to the World (Phelps) facts for kids
"Joy to the World! The Lord Will Come" is a special version of the famous Christmas song "Joy to the World". This version was created by W. W. Phelps.
The song was first included in A Collection of Sacred Hymns. This was the very first songbook for the Latter Day Saint church. It was prepared in 1835 and published in February 1836. Since 1948, this adapted song has been in all English songbooks published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The changes Phelps made to the words show what the Latter Day Saint church believes about the future. They believe Jesus will return to Earth. The version of the song used in the Church's songbook today (from 1985) uses Phelps's words. However, the first two lines are still the original words by Isaac Watts.
Comparing the Songs: Phelps vs. Watts
W. W. Phelps changed the words from the original song. The original was written by Isaac Watts. Below you can see how the two versions compare. The words that are different are shown in bold.
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Joy to the world, the Lord will come! Rejoice! rejoice! when Jesus reigns! No more will sin and sorrow grow, Rejoice! rejoice! in the Most High, |
Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Joy to the world, the Saviour reigns! No more let sins and sorrows grow, He rules the world with truth and grace, |
See also
- Isaac Watts, the person who wrote the original song
