O My Father (hymn)

O My Father is a Latter-day Saint (LDS or Mormon) hymn written by Eliza R. Snow who felt inspired to write it after Joseph Smith, Jr had taught her the principle of heavenly parents. Interesting in terms of Mormon theology in that it is the one of the few authoritative references to the "Heavenly Mother", who is assumed to exist but remains otherwise officially unacknowledged. The words of the hymn follow below.

O My Father, Hymn No. 292

1. O my Father, thou that dwellest In the high and glorious place, When shall I regain thy presence And again behold thy face? In thy holy habitation, Did my spirit once reside? In my first primeval childhood, Was I nurtured near thy side?

2. For a wise and glorious purpose Thou hast placed me here on earth And withheld the recollection Of my former friends and birth; Yet ofttimes a secret something Whispered,"You're a stranger here," And I felt that I had wandered From a more exalted sphere.

3. I had learned to call thee Father, Thru thy Spirit from on high, But, until the key of knowledge Was restored, I knew not why. In the heav'ns are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason, truth eternal Tells me I've a mother there.

4. When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, Mother, may I meet you In your royal courts on high? Then, at length, when I've completed All you sent me forth to do, With your mutual approbation Let me come and dwell with you.

Text of hymn found at http://people.uleth.ca/~anderson/hymns/292.htm