Well, this week we have had railroad songs and a Malcolm Miller song. For our Sunday song, I will combine the 2 – Life is like a Mountain Railroad.
Author: Eliza R. Snow (1804-1887) Born on Jan. 21, 1804, in Becket, Mass., she grew up on the Ohio Frontier. She was educated in rural schools and was quick to learn reading, spelling and writing. She had a natural ability to write poetry at an early age. Eliza was converted to Mormonism at the age of 31, in 1835. After joining the Mormon Church, she moved from Ravenna, Ohio, to Kirtland, Ohio and became governess to the children of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet. in 1839 the family moved to Illinois. Eliza continued to publish her poetry and verses, including “O My Father,” a favorite Mormon hymn. n 1842, Eliza participated in the founding of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo. In June 1842, Eliza was married as a plural wife to Joseph Smith. After Smith’s death, she married Brigham Young in October 1844. She had no children in either marriage. n 1847, the Mormons migrated across the United States to a place they felt that God had led them, Utah. Eliza traveled with them, leaving a detailed diary of their trip. After they arrived in Utah, she gathered together some of her poems and had them published. The first volume was in 1856. Eliza had several of her poems set to music, but this hymn is probably the most popular. Eliza died at the age of 83 in 1887. In 1909, Charles Tillman, a Baptist layman, published the lyrics, written by Eliza R. Snow, a Mormon, and M.E. Abbey, a Baptist, and composed the music for the song we now know as “Life’s Railway to Heaven” or “Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad.” This was a risky move for Tillman, because Mormons were persecuted and he could receive a backlash from Protestants and take a chance of losing his career