“And many songs shall be heard that were dictated by thy pen ... one universal song of praise to God and the Lamb.” — A. L. Morley¹

Eliza Roxcy Snow was born January 21, 1804, in Becket, Massachusetts, but was raised in Portage County, Ohio. She was baptized into the Church in 1835 and moved to Kirtland, where she taught school for the Smith family. When her parents died, Eliza donated her inheritance to help build the Kirtland Temple. Eliza was an accomplished writer and poet and contributed her poetry to the Church’s first hymnbook, which Emma Smith and William W. Phelps compiled. ²

1. Eliza R. Snow journal, 1842-1882

2. "Snow, Eliza Roxcy," josephsmithpapers.org; Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 20, 222; Collection of Sacred Hymns, josephsmithpapers.org