Isaac Watts: The Hymn Writer Who Helped Shape the Restoration

If I asked you who contributed the most hymns to Emma Smith's 1835 hymnal, you might answer William W. Phelps or Parley P. Pratt.

Their names certainly deserve our gratitude.

But the answer might surprise you.

The writer whose words appear most often in Emma's first hymnbook wasn't a member of the Restoration at all. It was Isaac Watts.

Born more than a century before the Church was organized, Watts became one of the most influential hymn writers in Christian history. His hymns crossed denominational lines, filled churches throughout Britain and America, and eventually found their way into the first official hymnbook of the Restoration.

That fact tells us something important about Emma's assignment.

Isaac Watts: A New Kind of Hymn Writer

Before Isaac Watts, many Protestant churches sang almost exclusively metrical versions of the Psalms.

Watts respected the Psalms deeply, but he believed Christians should also sing openly about Jesus Christ—His life, His Atonement, His Resurrection, and the hope of redemption through Him.

His hymns reflected the gospel as Christians understood it through the New Testament.

That was revolutionary.

Instead of simply paraphrasing Scripture, he wrote hymns that invited believers to respond personally to the Savior with gratitude, worship, and devotion.

Many historians call him the "Father of English Hymnody." It is a title he earned.

Why Did Emma Choose So Many?

Emma Smith had an extraordinary assignment. She wasn't simply collecting favorite songs. She was creating a hymnbook for a growing church. Some hymns needed to teach. Some needed to comfort. Some prepared the Saints for sacrament worship. Others looked forward to Zion, missionary work, or the Second Coming.

Isaac Watts had already written hymns that beautifully expressed many of those eternal Christian truths. Emma wisely recognized their value.

Rather than beginning from nothing, she gathered the very best hymns available and combined them with the new revelation and new voices emerging through the Restoration.

Building on a Christian Heritage

One of the things I appreciate most about Emma's hymnbook is that it reminds us the Restoration did not appear in a spiritual vacuum.

Long before Joseph Smith knelt in the Sacred Grove, faithful Christians had loved the Savior, searched the scriptures, and written beautiful hymns expressing their faith.

Isaac Watts was one of those voices.

The Restoration did not erase that heritage.

It built upon it.

Emma's hymnbook reflects both continuity and new revelation—a beautiful blend of timeless Christian worship and the unfolding work of God in the latter days.

Still Singing Today

Many of Isaac Watts's hymns remain beloved around the world. Titles such as "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed," "Joy to the World," and "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past" continue to be sung by Christians of many traditions.

That enduring influence says something about the power of truth expressed through sacred music. Great hymns have a way of outliving the generations that first sang them.

Why This Matters

As we restored the Emma Smith Hymnal, I found myself gaining a new appreciation for Isaac Watts.

His hymns were not included simply because they were popular. They were included because they pointed hearts toward Jesus Christ. Nearly two centuries later, they still do.

Editor's Discovery

One of the greatest surprises of this project was realizing just how much the Restoration owes to faithful Christians who came before it. Isaac Watts never knew Joseph Smith or Emma Smith, yet his words helped lay the musical foundation of the first hymnbook of the Restoration. That realization has deepened my appreciation for the many believers whose faith prepared the way for what was yet to come.

Continue the Journey

Next time, we'll meet one of the Restoration's own hymn writers—William W. Phelps—and discover why his inspired words still shape the worship of Christians today.