BYU Studies Quarterly
Keywords
hymns, William W. Phelps, biography
Abstract
Latter-day Saints who know of William W. Phelps tend to associate him with the hymns that he wrote. In fact, the words in the title of Bruce A. Van Orden’s biography, “We’ll Sing and We’ll Shout,” are taken from one of his most famous hymns, “The Spirit of God.” As influential as his hymns have been to Latter-day Saints then and now, Phelps contributed much more than that in his efforts to build the Church. Van Orden’s book is a detailed biography of this interesting and influential writer and Church leader. The book provides insight into both his ecclesiastical contributions and his personality. Phelps was eccentric and peculiar in some regard, sometimes dressing and behaving in strange ways and stating his religious views somewhat fanatically. Through a wide array of primary and secondary sources, Van Orden illuminates these little-known aspects of Phelps’s life and provides a more complete image of him, both as an individual and as a contributor to the Latter-day Saint movement.
Recommended Citation
Cannon, Donald Q.
(2019)
"We’ll Sing and We’ll Shout: The Life and Times of W. W. Phelps By Bruce A. Van Orden,"
BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 58:
Iss.
1, Article 14.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol58/iss1/14