Joseph L. Townsend (August 9, 1849 – April 1, 1942) was a writer of many Latter-day Saint hymns including "

Choose the Right "Choose the right" is a saying or motto among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) that is taught to children and used by members of the church as a reminder to make choices that will help an individual to live r ...

" and " Oh, What Songs of the Heart".

Biography

Townsend was born in Canton,

Bradford County, Pennsylvania Bradford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,967. Its county seat is Towanda. The county was created on February 21, 1810, from parts ...

. He grew up in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. Townsend studied at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

. He came to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

in 1872 to try to improve his health. While there, he joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). Townsend later served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the church in the Southern States

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

from 1881 to 1882.Cornwall. ''Stories of Our Hymns''. p. 74 Townsend ran a

drugstore A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmaci ...

Payson, Utah Payson is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo– Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 21,101 at the 2020 census. History Pioneers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by J ...

, for 15 years. He then taught for two years at Brigham Young Academy, the predecessor of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. After that, he taught at Salt Lake City High School. He died at Utah County Infirmary in Provo. His

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

included many published works that were not made hymns.

Hymns

A number of Townsend's hymns are included in the 1985 Latter-day Saint hymnal: * #52 "The Day Dawn is Breaking" * #99 "Nearer, Dear Savior, to Thee" * #185 "Reverently and Meekly Now" * #232 "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words To Each Other" * #239 "

" * #258 "O Thou Rock Of Our Salvation" * #259 "Hope of Israel" * #271 "Oh, Holy Words of Truth and Love" * #274 "The Iron Rod" * #286 " Oh, What Songs of the Heart"

References

External links

Jerry Earl Johnston "New Harmony: The LDS 'giant' I overlooked who penned 'Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words' and 'Choose the Right'"
'' Deseret News'', Aug 2, 2017.
Joseph Longking Townsend memorial
at Find a Grave; includes a ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...

'' obituary. 1849 births 1942 deaths 19th-century American writers 19th-century Mormon missionaries American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters American Latter Day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Brigham Young Academy faculty Converts to Mormonism People from Payson, Utah University of Missouri alumni 19th-century American male writers People from Canton, Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints from Pennsylvania Latter Day Saints from Utah {{LDS-stub