This is a hymn that is wonderfully dated, springing as it does from the 1857 Utah War, in which the Mormons saw themselves audaciously at war with the United States; and, when it was over, felt that they had, with God's will, been granted some kind of victory. The hymn is sung to the tune of "The Red, White, and Blue."

Up, awake, ye defenders of Zion!
The foe's at the door of your homes;
Let each heart be the heart of a lion,
Unyielding and proud as he roams.
Remember the wrongs in Missouri;
Forget not the fate of Nauvoo.
When the God-hating foe is before you,
Stand firm and be faithful and true,
Stand firm and be faithful and true,
Stand firm and be faithful and true;
When the God-hating foe is before you,
Stand firm and be faithful and true.

By the mountains our Zion's surrounded;
Her warriors are noble and brave;
And their faith on Jehovah is founded,
Whose power is mighty to save.
Opposed by a proud boasting nation,
Their numbers, compared, may be few;
But their union is known through creation,
And they've always been faithful and true.
And they've always been faithful and true,
And they've always been faithful and true,
But their union is known through creation,
And they've always been faithful and true.

Shall we bear with oppression forever?
Shall we tamely submit to the foe,
While the ties of our kindred they sever
And the blood of our prophets shall flow?
No! the thought sets the heart wildly beating;
Our vows at each pulse we renew:
Ne'er to rest till our foes are retreating,
And to be ever faithful and true,
And to be ever faithful and true,
And to be ever faithful and true;
Ne'er to rest till our foes are retreating,
And to be ever faithful and true.

Though assisted by legions infernal,
The plundering wretches advance,
With a host from the regions eternal,
We'll scatter their troops at a glance.
Soon "the Kingdom" will be independent;
In wonder the nations will view
The despised ones in glory resplendent;
Then let us be faithful and true,
Then let us be faithful and true,
Then let us be faithful and true!
The despised ones in glory resplendent;
Then let us be faithful and true!

Other 19th-century Mormon poetry