Here is your chance to own a rare piece of Mormon history! This is a facsimile reproduction of the second Latter-day Saint hymnbook, which was published in 1838 and has been out of print ever since. Original editions are one of the rarest of early Mormon books-they rarely come on the market for sale, and command huge prices when they do.
This facsimile edition is a faithful reproduction made from photographic scans of the pages of an authentic original edition of the book. We have lovingly and carefully restored the text using a two-step process to ensure that this facsimile edition looks as good as a brand-new copy from 1838. First, we used advanced AI software to automatically clean, straighten, and crop the pages. Then, we carefully reviewed and edited every page by hand to remove every remaining blemish from the aged pages and to fix any faults in the text caused by the scanning process.
A Collection of Sacred Hymns was compiled by David White Rogers in 1838 and published in New York City as a way of making a hymnal available in the "outlying branches of the church" at a time when the church's first hymnal was almost impossible to obtain on the East Coast.
Rogers was not just a compiler of this work, but also one of the major authors. Of the 90 hymns in the collection, Rogers wrote 14. A Collection of Sacred Hymns was held in such high regard in the early Latter Day Saint church that on July 1, 1839, Joseph Smith and the church's Quorum of the Twelve apostles considered reprinting or adapting this as the church's new official hymn book.
Beyond his work on the hymnal, Rogers was an important figure in early Mormon history for many other reasons. After the Latter Day Saints were driven out of Missouri, Rogers was the only one to step forward to answer the call of the church's apostles for someone to return to Missouri to sell church-owned lands there. No one else was willing to go, out of fear of mob violence. Rogers braved the mobs and threats of violence, and returned having successfully completed his mission.
Additionally, Rogers is historically significant for his work as an accomplished portrait painter. Of the three portraits painted of Joseph Smith during his lifetime, two were painted by Rogers.
Following the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and the expulsion of the Latter Day Saints from Illinois, Rogers was a key figure in the exodus of the Mormon pioneers and their settlement of the West. He himself was one of the founding residents of Provo, Utah, and his descendants founded important Mormon settlements in Arizona, particularly in Lehi (modern-day Mesa), and in the Gila River Valley.
Despite the historical importance of A Collection of Sacred Hymns, and of Rogers himself, this book has been out of print and inaccessible for nearly two centuries. Rogershaven Books is proud to make it available once more. Please enjoy this unique and important piece of Mormon history.
