Comments on: Be Thou My Strength http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2012/08/09/be-thou-my-strength/ Where our past is never very long ago Thu, 23 May 2013 21:42:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Ardis E. Parshall http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2012/08/09/be-thou-my-strength/comment-page-1/#comment-252402 Ardis E. Parshall Fri, 10 Aug 2012 12:54:32 +0000 http://www.keepapitchinin.org/?p=16711#comment-252402 Julia, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon I post a poem written by a Latter-day Saint poet, as another way of thinking about the Mormon past (this is a Mormon history blog, after all!); on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, I post either a short story or another episode in one of serial fiction for the same purpose. There’s no reason you should recognize the poets or authors. In most cases they were just “plain Mormon folks” and not polished poets. Some of the poetry is really good, others have especially Mormon themes without being necessarily good poetry, but it all gives us access to the past.

You’re welcome to repost — I don’t have any copyright on these old poems, of course — and a link/credit would be appreciated.

You can find a list of links to other poetry already posted here by clicking on the “Topical Guide” link in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, then using your browser’s search function to go down to the “Poetry” category.

]]> By: Julia http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2012/08/09/be-thou-my-strength/comment-page-1/#comment-252335 Julia Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:37:56 +0000 http://www.keepapitchinin.org/?p=16711#comment-252335 Two thoughts as I was reading this:

1) When did the understanding of the necessity of trials as a part of this life, eloquently expressed in the second stanza? Certainly none of us looks for trials that are not ours, but it seems that in many aspects of life, the absence of trials seems to be a mark of Godliness. Whenever I find myself slipping into thinking that I am having this or that trial because I wasn’t good/smart/faithful/ prayerful/perfect enough, I have to pull myself back to

I only ask that thou wilt be
My Strength, my Shield, my Friend;
That thou wilt guide my erring feet,
In safety to the end.

2) I love the combining of the path being straight and narrow in the first stanza, and the fact that snares and thorn are ON that straight and narrow path. I have read long explanations of that concept that didn’t have the same impact as this beautiful two stanza poem.

So, is there a backstory to the poem? Should I know who Charles H Welch was?

(My personal blog has a strong bent towards poetry and creative nonfiction. Is this a poem I can repost, (with proper credit to Charles H Welch, and a link to this post as where I found it) on my blog, with my reactions to it? Or is it more appropriate to simply link here?)

Julia
poetrysansonions.blogspot.com

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