Title Leroy Robertson and the Oratorio from the Book of
Mormon: Reminiscences of a Daughter
Author(s) Marian Robertson Wilson
Reference Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999): 4–13, 84.
ISSN 1065-9366 (print), 2168-3158 (online)
Abstract Marian Robertson Wilson recounts her memories of
her father, Leroy Robertson, and of the creation of
his masterpiece, the Oratorio from the Book of Mormon.
The idea to compose an oratorio based on the Book of
Mormon first came to Robertson when Elder Melvin J.
Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles casually
suggested it to him one day in 1919. After his conversation with Elder Ballard, Robertson dedicated much of
his time to studying the Book of Mormon and choosing sections of scripture to use in his compilation. The
piece eventually received attention from LDS church
leadership and from the renowned Maurice Abravanel.
It significantly impacted missionary work, as well as
the work of other LDS composers.
Leroy Robertson
Oratorio
and the
from the
Book of Mormon
Reminiscences of a Daughter
Marian Robertson Wilson
T
he Oratorio from the Book of Mormon by Leroy Robertson
occupies a unique place in the history of music thanks to both
its form and content. Twentieth-century composers in gen-
eral chose not to write oratorios, and no one had ever before composed such a large work based on Mormon scriptures. Therefore,
when Robertson’s Oratorio appeared, it came as an unexpected,
almost anachronistic addition to our musical literature. Nonetheless,
as soon as it became known to the world, critics cross-country hailed
it as “one of the musical masterpieces of the twentieth century,” and
described it as a “stirring work of grand design” that was “sweeping,”
“surprisingly big . . . [and] powerfully dramatic.” For their part, non­
musicians—whose opinion Robertson consistently prized the most—
wrote of being “enthralled,” “flooded with an experience that was
more than music and poetry alone,” and of being overwhelmed by
“prophetic amazement . . . [and] sacred communion.”1
It became a seminal work for other LDS musicians in that it triggered their imaginations and inspired them to compose pieces similar in nature. Robert Cundick has declared Robertson’s Oratorio to
be “the father” of the many analogous works written by Mormon
composers that were soon to follow.2
Composing the Oratorio
The Idea Is Conceived
The idea for composing an oratorio based on the
Book of Mormon was first planted in young
Robertson’s mind by Apostle Melvin J. Ballard ca. 1919
as the two chanced to sit together on the old interurban
train that once ran between Payson and Salt Lake City.
Twenty-one-year-old Leroy had just spent a day giving
violin lessons in Payson and was returning to Pleasant
Grove, where he was then living with his maternal
grandparents. His tall, thin figure and earnest
demeanor must have made quite a picture as he
boarded the train, awkwardly balancing his violin case
and music-laden briefcase. The venerable Church dignitary engaged his traveling companion in conversation
without delay and soon learned that Leroy had been
enamored of music since his birth; had diligently studied Theory and Composition at Brigham Young
University while still a high school student; and cherished firm hopes of becoming a first-rate violinist as
well as a serious composer. Elder Ballard in turn told
Leroy how he himself had long hoped that someday
some musician somewhere would write an oratorio
based on scriptures from the Book of Mormon—an
oratorio as moving as Händel’s Messiah, so beloved and
well known amongst the Latter-day Saints.3
The concept instantly fired Leroy’s imagination.
However, this treasured project would be destined to lie
quietly in the back of his mind for many years, dormant
yet never forgotten. Other more immediate and pressing
demands were consuming his time. First, with Utah then
essentially a musical desert, Leroy felt an urgent need for
more advanced study outside his home state, and within
a year he did manage to get to the New England Conser­
vatory in Boston, then the premiere music school in
America. After his graduation from the Conservatory in
1923, his foremost concern was to find employment. In
short order, he became a faculty member in the Music
Department at Brigham Young University, where he
would remain for some twenty-three years (1925–1948),
steadily enlarging the University’s music curriculum and
building the first nationally known symphony orchestra
to come from the Intermountain West. Also, in addition
to Church callings—chiefly related to his talents as a
musician—he and his beloved wife, Naomi, whom he
had married in 1925, were rearing a family of four challenging children. Somehow, through it all, he was composing, ever composing, but not as yet able to devote
consistent time to the Oratorio.4
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VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2, 1999
Musical notations and text sketched by Robertson in the margins of
his Book of Mormon.
Every evening after supper,
he would go to “his chair”—a sturdy
platform rocker placed near the
living room fireplace—and here,
with long legs outstretched resting
on a convenient footstool,
he would sit poring over what
he lovingly came to call
“the good old ‘And it came to pass’.”
Leroy Robertson composing at Aspen Grove about 1939.
The Writing Begins
Only ca. 1938 did he begin continual work on this
long-gestating composition. Its overall design rapidly
took shape, and, of course, undergirding the whole structure stood the scriptures from the Book of Mormon. The
copy that Robertson chose to study while constructing his
libretto was the very one he had used during his stint as
an Eastern States missionary in the summer of 1922—
a well-worn Triple Combination, its cover in tatters.
During these late 1930s and early 1940s, the family
became increasingly aware of their father’s ongoing intensive Book of Mormon studies. Every evening after supper,
he would go to “his chair”—a sturdy platform rocker
placed near the living room fireplace—and here, with
long legs outstretched resting on a convenient footstool,
he would sit poring over what he lovingly came to call
“the good old ‘And it came to pass’.” As he sat outlining
the basic sections of the narrative and carefully marking
pertinent lines of scripture, so intently did he concentrate
that, although he was aware of what was going on about
him, he remained completely undisturbed by the constant
family hubbub. (With him so strategically located in our
path, we children could not help but traipse or chase
around him, often quite noisily.)
A perusal of his Triple Combination leaves no doubt
that Robertson was well acquainted with the entire Book
of Mormon. Notations in his copy—mostly in light black
pencil—indicate that he worked through the whole text
before selecting those parts which would come to serve
as the backbone of his narrative. Finally, at Helaman
13:5, two parallel lines, definitively drawn, clearly mark
the Oratorio’s first words, i.e., the beginning of Samuel
the Lamanite’s foreboding prophecy. In the passages that
follow, certain encircled verses as well as the term “chorus” scribbled in the margins evidence how this com
poser was already envisioning the whole work, balancing
solos and choral numbers, with the orchestra constantly
sounding in the back of his mind. Perhaps the most
intriguing pages are those upon which he sketched rudimentary musical ideas, most of which would later appear
in the Oratorio, masterfully expanded and developed in
full-blown form.5
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7
From the countless events recounted in the Book of
Mormon, Robertson chose what constitutes in the eyes of
many the supreme episode of the entire book: the appearance of the resurrected Christ on the American continent
and his ministry among the Nephites, all of which is preceded by an account of his birth and death as foretold by
Samuel. Adapting his text from Helaman and 3 Nephi,
the composer divided this immense musical drama into
three parts, with Part I based almost wholly upon the
prophecies of Samuel—his warning to the evildoing
Nephites of their ultimate destruction and his description
of the signs of the Savior’s imminent birth and inevitable
death. Part II depicts the birth of Christ, and the signs
and miracles thereof shown to the Nephites, while Part III
chronicles the destruction visited upon the Nephites due
to their iniquities, and then portrays the sudden appearance of the resurrected Christ and his ministry to the
Nephites. Underlying the entire narrative is the basic
Yea your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord
. . . for this hath the Lord caused that a curse
should come upon the land and also upon your
riches—and in the day of your poverty ye shall
cry unto the Lord:
O that we had repented. . . . Behold we are
surrounded by demons, encircled about by
the angels of him who hath sought to
destroy our souls—
Part II: The birth of Christ.
The angels did appear and declare glad tidings . . . and
miracles were wrought among the believing—
...........................................
But they who believed not hardened their hearts
and came to depend on their own strength and
wisdom for Satan did get hold upon them . . .
From the countless events recounted in the Book of Mormon,
Robertson chose what constitutes in the eyes of many the supreme episode
of the entire book: the appearance of the resurrected Christ on the
American continent and his ministry among the Nephites.
theme of the eternal conflict between good and evil, the
exploitation by Satan of our human frailties, and the
never-ending love and overwhelming triumph of Christ.
Words alone cannot express the full meaning of the
Oratorio, but in order to give a flavor of what Robertson
wrote, here follow a few excerpts from his libretto (with
all words and punctuation as found in the orchestra score
and determined by the music):6
Part I: The prophecy of Samuel.
Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the
words of the Lord, and He hath put it into my
heart to say that the sword of justice hangeth
over this people, and four hundred years pass not
away that the sword of justice falleth and heavy
destruction awaiteth . . . and nothing can save but
repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ
who surely shall come into the world and shall
suffer many things and be slain by his people.
..........................................
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VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2, 1999
Part III: The appearance of Christ to the Nephites.
Behold—I am Jesus Christ—the Son of God—I
created the heav’ns and the earth and all that in
them are. I have come to bring redemption to
save the world from sin and whoso cometh to
me as a little child the same will I receive—for of
such is the Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.
To conclude the Oratorio, Robertson composed a
noble setting for the Lesser Doxology, a text not found in
the Book of Mormon, but familiar to most Latter-day
Saints:
Glory unto the Father and the Son and [unto]
the Holy Ghost . . .
As it was in the beginning is now and shall be
forever—
World without end—Forever—World without
end—Amen.
As Robertson laid out his plan and drafted the final
script, the music seemed to come to him almost unbidden. In fact, he would later observe, “As soon as I could
get a libretto that would work, the music was there. I
didn’t have to worry about the music at all.”7
These were the years when students and colleagues
would find him seated at the piano in his BYU studio,
simultaneously playing, conducting, singing, and whist­
ling bits from the emerging Oratorio. “But it wasn’t really
whistling,” opined his listeners. Crawford Gates contributes his own vivid memories of these occasions:
While he was writing the Oratorio from the Book
of Mormon . . . I had sessions at night in that old
building [College Building on the old BYU
Lower Campus], in which he played the orchestral fabric on the piano, and sang to the top of
his lungs the passages of Samuel the Lamenite
Although the Oratorio’s basic outline would always
be at the root of Robertson’s thinking, it is interesting to
note that the various parts and myriad details of the composing would not be written in the same order that they
would finally take in the completed work. Some of the
earliest pieces to be composed come not at the beginning,
but rather, in the middle or towards the end. One such
number is the orchestral interlude, “Pastorale,” heard at
the conclusion of the scenes portraying Christ’s birth and
the signs thereof witnessed by the Nephites, placed at the
end of Part II. This tender, peaceful meditation upon that
momentous event in Bethlehem was actually first composed as the slow movement of Robertson’s Desert
Symphony, which dates from 1925. In its Oratorio version,
the piece remains virtually unchanged except for an
extended arpeggio figure in the last section, which is
given to the clarinet and is to be played softly as background motion (a real challenge for clarinetists). The
Never will I forget those moments. Indeed, at such times, what most
impressed those around Father was not his playing, singing, and “whistling,”
but rather the faraway look that came into his eyes, described by
one colleague as “a look into the cosmos.”
[sic] and others. He explained the development
of musical themes and ideas, the interlacing of
contrapuntal elements, and the weaving of
orchestral fabrics, and his concern with musical
architecture of profound dimensions.
Many years later, I myself remember one afternoon at
home when, as I passed by him, he called to me, “Mary
[sometimes he called me “Mary”], stop and listen to this.”
Then in full voice he thundered forth Samuel’s first lines,
“Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the
Lord.” So forcefully did he sing that it was as if I were
hearing Samuel himself. Never will I forget those
moments. Indeed, at such times, what most impressed
those around Father was not his playing, singing, and
“whistling,” but rather the faraway look that came into his
eyes, described by one colleague as “a look into the cosmos.” Anyone present could not help but sense that this
composer had a strong line of communication to some
power far beyond ordinary experience.8
composer would later explain that this figure—in addition to material introduced in the section preceding—was
“like a soft wind over the desert.”9 (Leroy Robertson was
no stranger to the desert, for as a youth he had herded
sheep for his own father in Utah’s West Desert and had
experienced firsthand the wind—both fierce and soft—in
the vast solitude of that land.)
Another number heard in the latter part of the
Oratorio, but which was composed during its early developing years, is Robertson’s renowned setting to the Lord’s
Prayer, and here is its story: In 1939, for a final take-home
exam in an Advanced Music Theory class, this professor
had given his students a chorale melody to harmonize.10
When, at the designated hour, they returned to submit
the assignment, their teacher stepped to the chalkboard to
show his charges various treatments they might have
tried, which was his custom. As he picked up the chalk,
the words to the Lord’s Prayer suddenly entered his mind
along with a complete setting of the chorale melody. So
rapidly did the music hit him that he could scarcely write
JOURNAL OF BOOK OF MORMON STUDIES
9
fast enough. But notate he did, nonstop from the opening
“Our Father” through the final “Amen.” Just as he finished, the bell signaling the end of class rang. Breathless,
the composer put down the chalk while his students,
equally breathless, silently filed out of the room, quite
overwhelmed by what had happened. Ever practical
Robertson immediately grabbed a sheet of manuscript
paper and quickly copied the notes from the board before
the janitors could arrive to erase everything. At home that
evening, Father gravely murmured, “Mary, I think something great happened today.” This would prove to be an
understatement, for this setting of the Lord’s Prayer
would soon go on to become one of Leroy Robertson’s
most famous and beloved works.11
The First Presidency Becomes Interested
Father was composing the Oratorio at a steady pace
when, in early 1946, the First Presidency of the Church
invited him to meet with them and show what he had
thus far accomplished with it. Accordingly, on an
evening in late February, Mother and he journeyed to
Salt Lake City as guests of honor at a private dinner
hosted by First Counselor J. Reuben Clark, Jr., with
President George Albert Smith and Second Counselor
David O. McKay also in attendance.12 After an elegant
meal punctuated by lively conversation, Leroy went to
Leroy Robertson (left) and Maurice Abravanel (center) present a
copy of the first Oratorio recording to LDS Church President David O.
McKay in 1953. Photograph courtesy Deseret News.
10
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2, 1999
the piano, and, as requested, enthusiastically played and
sang from his large Oratorio score, indicating what had
already been composed and what yet remained to be put
on paper. When the spirited composer concluded his
presentation, the three august dignitaries unhesitatingly
requested that he finish the work posthaste so as to have
it ready for the upcoming 1947 Centennial of the
Mormon Pioneers’ arrival in Utah. They proposed to
feature the Oratorio as the centerpiece of the grand celebrations already being planned.
Robertson was elated beyond expression. At last he
had the outside impetus to put his masterpiece in final
form, for, until that evening, he had indeed wondered
how he alone could amass the forces needed to perform
such a large work. Forthwith he set to writing with
extraordinary vigor while still carrying out all the regular duties required of a full-time BYU professor. In
addition, one more unexpected complication came his
way. He was granted a long overdue sabbatical leave for
the coming school year of 1946–47 in order to work on
the Ph.D. degree towards which he had been striving for
so many years. Not knowing when or if he would get
another sabbatical and strongly feeling the academic
pressure to get his doctorate, he decided to attend the
University of Southern California, where he had briefly
studied during the summer of 1936.13 Along with his
classwork, Robertson was also teaching Advanced Music
Theory, and only in his spare time could he work on
the Oratorio. After a few weeks he realized that if he
were to have this epic composition ready on schedule,
he would have to leave USC, return to Utah, and devote
all his time and energies to completing it. Therefore, in
January 1947, after a very successful first semester at
USC, he came back to Utah. However, when he inquired
about using his customary studio at BYU, he learned
that it was occupied by another. With no room on campus, he matter-of-factly set up a card table at home in
an upstairs bedroom and proceeded to write almost
round the clock. Evenings, when the bedroom was given
over to a sleeping child, he once again went to his usual
spot in the living room midst the ever-present family
turmoil, and there he sat finalizing the last details,
oblivious to all else.
The weeks passed. The Oratorio was in essence completed, save a few pages yet to be orchestrated, when one
day in March Father chanced to read in the newspaper
that Promised Valley—a musical by his student, Crawford
Gates—had been selected to be performed as the centerpiece of the 1947 Centennial. The Oratorio had obviously
been replaced, even perhaps forgotten, and no one had
told Leroy Robertson. Father never said a word to anyone,
not even to Mother. He simply put his treasured Oratorio
aside and left it lying untouched for nearly six years while
he went on to other compositions.
Maurice Abravanel Offers Encouragement
During that interim, Robertson moved with his
family to Salt Lake City. For reasons quite unrelated to
the Oratorio incident, he had accepted an offer to head
the University of Utah’s Department of Music. One
overriding factor in this 1948 decision was that the
recently revamped Utah Symphony was in precarious
circumstances, and Robertson—who had long championed Utah’s need for a professional symphony—knew
that from a strong position at the University of Utah,
he would be able to give the struggling organization
much critical help. Equally important was the fact that
he and Maurice Abravanel—appointed in 1947 as the
Symphony’s Conductor and Musical Director—had
become friends, had the same ideals, and could work
well together.14
Maestro Abravanel had first seen the Oratorio score
in June 1947, during a visit with Robertson at BYU, and
had admired the composition at once. Since that day he
had kept urging the composer to pick it up again and finish it. As further incentive, he promised to perform it
with the Utah Symphony, special soloists, and choruses
from the University of Utah. However, not until 1953,
when the Maestro announced that he had in fact scheduled a performance of the Oratorio for 18 February 1953,
did the busy composer-teacher-administrator begin to
put the last touches on paper. Now convinced that his
beloved score could at last be heard, Leroy Robertson
wrote those final notes with unsurpassed speed, getting
everything ready just under the wire.
Performances and Recordings
The Premiere Creates Local Enthusiasm
Beginning with his first season with the Utah
Symphony, Abravanel had programmed at least one great
choral-orchestral work each year, so his decision to perform the Oratorio was in keeping with an established tradition. Nonetheless, presenting the Oratorio did involve
some risk not only musically, but also financially and
politically; for although the community had previously
welcomed performances of great Catholic, Protestant, and
Jewish choral-orchestral works, when the performance of
the Oratorio from the Book of Mormon was announced,
many non-Mormon friends of the Symphony accused the
Maestro of “selling out to the Church.” The general public, however, looked forward to the event.15
The evening of the much anticipated premiere finally
arrived, and how dramatic it was. Despite a blinding
snowstorm raging throughout northern Utah, an audience of 6,000, which included high dignitaries from both
Church and State, filled the venerable Salt Lake
Tabernacle. An electrical excitement seemed to charge the
From the first tumultuous measures—
played by the orchestra and
portraying the iniquitous turmoil of
the Nephites—to the final “Glory” and
“Amen”—proclaiming the eternal
triumph of the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost—all those present
remained spellbound. As the last
chord sounded, the audience leapt to
its feet, shouting “Bravo! Bravo!”
and gave a standing ovation of some
twenty-five minutes.
air, for in the face of this unknown, never-before-heard
work, no one knew what to expect. The performers took
their places on stage; Abravanel stepped to the podium,
and after a deep breath, gave the downbeat. From the first
tumultuous measures—played by the orchestra and portraying the iniquitous turmoil of the Nephites—to the
final “Glory” and “Amen”—proclaiming the eternal triumph of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—all those present remained spellbound. As the last chord sounded, the
audience leapt to its feet, shouting “Bravo! Bravo!” and
gave a standing ovation of some twenty-five minutes
according to certain accounts. While the conductor, performers, and composer acknowledged the applause, further excitement mounted as President David O. McKay
made his way to the podium to congratulate all
JOURNAL OF BOOK OF MORMON STUDIES
11
A University of Utah / Utah Symphony performance
in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
involved.16 The oratorio based on scriptures from the
Book of Mormon, envisioned so long ago by Apostle
Melvin J. Ballard, had at last been born.
Subsequent Performances and Recordings Bring National
and International Recognition
So popular was the Oratorio that within less than
seven weeks it was performed six times, each concert a
sellout; and on 6 April, at another performance in the Salt
Lake Tabernacle, the first commercial recording was made.
In the years immediately following those exciting
weeks of 1953, Abravanel regularly brought the work to
enthusiastic Utah audiences. But it was only in 1961,
when a second recording was released nationwide by New
York’s Vanguard Company, that the work suddenly
became known far beyond Utah. Praise from critics coast
to coast gave it considerable momentum among both
Mormons and non-Mormons alike. One New York producer wanted to promote it everywhere, “no stops
12
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2, 1999
pulled,” but he foresaw one obstacle. The rather cumbersome title, Oratorio from the Book of Mormon, was not
marketable, and furthermore, its straightforward identity
with the Book of Mormon could possibly generate negative reaction. He therefore insisted that Robertson retitle
his composition, even suggesting Samuel as one possi­
bility. There is evidence that the composer may have
given the idea some consideration, for in his old copy of
the Triple Combination, on
the flyleaf facing the title
page, he did inscribe three
alternative titles: The Other
Sheep; A New Witness (this
in 1961!); and The Messiah
of America. However, he
ultimately decided that the
original title best described
what he had written and
opted against any name
change. The producer
promptly lost interest.
The last time Leroy Robertson would hear the
Oratorio in live concert was in 1968 when Abravanel, with
the Utah Symphony and choruses from BYU, presented it
in Provo. There is, however, one poignant tale yet to tell.
In July 1971, as Father lay critically ill in a Salt Lake City
hospital, Abravanel—then in Santa Barbara as Director of
the Music Academy of the West—insistently got a phone
call through to the composer’s ICU bedside, no small feat
in those days before portable telephones. The Maestro
wanted to cheer his longtime friend with the news that he
had again programmed the Oratorio for performances in
the spring of 1972 as part of the regular Symphony season. Leroy Robertson would die a few days later, reassured,
however, that this masterpiece would live on.
And live on it has, but rather sporadically, with performances here and there, from time to time. In 1978
came the historic concert and recording by the Tabernacle
Choir and Utah Symphony, Abravanel conducting. This
heartwarming occasion marked a milestone in two ways,
for it turned out to be the last time for the Oratorio to be
heard live in Utah, and also became the last recording
made by Maurice Abravanel.17
The Oratorio Becomes an Effective Missionary Tool
Because of the widespread international attention
that this recording had focused upon both the music and
the Book of Mormon, the Oratorio suddenly became a
remarkable tool for missionary work. Very soon after its
release, requests for “the Book,” i.e., the Book of Mormon,
began to arrive at the Robertson home. Other performances in Minneapolis and Chicago in December 1975—
under the direction of Clyn Barrus and mostly nonMormon performers—elicited some 200 requests for the
Book of Mormon from choir members. (With another
performance scheduled concurrently at Ricks College, we
Robertson children faced a real challenge in preparing
enough scores and parts for all concerned.)
In April 1983, a performance in the huge RLDS
Auditorium in Independence, Missouri—with nonMormon performers from the University of Missouri/
Kansas City, augmented by choir members from both the
LDS and RLDS communities—proved to be a genial ecumenical occasion. High LDS and RLDS dignitaries sat
side by side at the concert in friendship and respect,
while audience members came from America’s heartland,
some having driven from St. Louis, Chicago, and even
from as far away as New York. The most recent event featuring the Oratorio—by means of a CD recording, not a
live performance—took place in Berlin, Germany, in
March 1996, at a special program honoring the centen-
nial year of Robertson’s birth. Not only LDS members,
but many visitors and investigators came to listen and
learn of the Gospel.18
On a concluding note, let it be said that this daughter
remembers Leroy Robertson as a devout Latter-day Saint
who strove always “to keep his heart open to the Lord”
(from a prayer he offered as he christened a grandson).
He composed the Oratorio through dedicated study and
never failing inspiration, and thereby left us a work that
bears vivid witness to the divine origin of the book upon
which it is based, namely, the Book of Mormon.
Discography for the Oratorio from the Book
of Mormon by Leroy Robertson
Because it is highly unusual for a work of this magnitude to have so many recordings made and reissued so
soon after its composition, and because I constantly
receive inquiries about recordings of the Oratorio, I have
prepared this discography. Unfortunately, however, all of
these recordings are at present sold out and hence are
unavailable at this writing.
• Salt Lake City, 1953: Studio Records, produced by
Allen Duff Associates (i.e., Allen Jensen of KSL Radio and
Marion Duff Hanks), 5303–RC long play, featuring the
Utah Symphony, University of Utah Choruses, and soloists:
Désiré Ligeti, Harold Bennett, Kenly W. Whitelock, and
Naomi Farr; Maurice Abravanel, conducting.
• New York City, 1961: Vanguard, VRS 1077, featuring
the Utah Symphony, University of Utah Choruses, and
soloists: Roy Samuelsen, Kenly W. Whitelock, Jean Preston,
and Warren Wood; Maurice Abravanel, conducting.
• New York City, 1978: Columbia Masterworks,
M 35148, featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Jerold
Ottley, Director; the Utah Symphony, and soloists: Hervey
Hicks, John Prather, Clayne Robison, and JoAnn Ottley;
Maurice Abravanel, conducting.
• Salt Lake City, 1986: Music Box Press, produced by
Herold L. Gregory, MBPC 403 Stereo. This is the 1978
Columbia recording reissued on cassette tape.
• New York City, 1996: Vanguard Classics, a Division
of Omega Record Group, 08 5041 71. This is the 1961
Vanguard recording reissued as a CD, and was distributed
only in Europe.
• The BYU School of Music plans to perform and
record the Oratorio within the next few years. Tantara
Records will be the producer. 
JOURNAL OF BOOK OF MORMON STUDIES
13
ENDNOTES
Leroy Robertson and the Oratorio from the
Book of Mormon:
Reminiscences of a Daughter
Marian Robertson Wilson
1. As a musical form, oratorio resembles
opera in that it is a dramatic story set to
music, with singers portraying characters
of the plot while the orchestra provides
instrumental color and commentary; the
subject is usually taken from scripture.
Oratorio differs from opera in that it is
presented in concert form, i.e., without
staging, costumes, or acting.
Larger than most, the Oratorio from the
Book of Mormon is scored for two large
choruses, a children’s chorus, soloists, and
full orchestra. Over the years, Robertson
compiled reviews from critics and kept
letters sent to him about the Oratorio. For
the citations in the first paragraph, see
respectively: the Provo Herald, 20
February 1953; the Denver Post, 14
January 1962; Billboard Music Week (New
York City, 30 October 1961); Washington
[D.C.] Star, 10 December 1961; Apostle
Mark E. Petersen, letter to Leroy
Robertson (Salt Lake City, 19 February
1953); Dr. David Reiser, letter to Leroy
Robertson (Salt Lake City, 18 February
1953); Dr. LaMar Barrus, interview with
Marian Robertson Wilson (Rexburg,
Idaho: 28 September 1981). For all these
materials, see the Leroy J. Robertson
Collection, Special Collections
Department, University of Utah Libraries,
Salt Lake City (hereinafter LJR
Collection), and the Addendum thereto
(hereinafter Addendum).
2. Robert Cundick, conversation with
Marian Robertson Wilson (Salt Lake City,
early February 1999). At the risk of omitting important Mormon works that followed Robertson’s Oratorio, one may cite,
for example: Robert Cundick’s The Song
of Nephi, and The Redeemer; Darwin
Wolford’s Behold, He Cometh!; K. Newell
Dayley’s Immanuel; Crawford Gates’s
Visions of Eternity; and most recently,
Merrill Jensen’s Come unto Christ.
3. After this 1919 encounter, Elder Ballard—
soon to become the first chairman of the
Church’s General Music Committee—
would keep an abiding interest in Leroy
Robertson. For more details about their
relationship, see Marian Robertson
Wilson, Leroy Robertson: Music Giant
from the Rockies (Salt Lake City: Blue
Ribbon Publications, 1996), 55, 85, and
267–92. For details of Robertson’s boyhood and youth, see ibid., 7–40.
4. The children born to Leroy and Naomi
(née Maggie Naomi Nelson) are Alice
Marian, Renee, Karen Naomi, and James
Leroy (Jim). For more details about
Leroy’s years in Boston and the years following (1920–1948), see Robertson
Wilson, Leroy Robertson, 41–156. For a list
of his compositions from this period, see
Marian Robertson Wilson, Register of the
Annotated Bibliography of the
Compositions of Leroy Robertson (Salt
Lake City: Special Collections
Department, University of Utah Libraries,
1985), 49–50.
5. Not all the encircled and otherwise
marked passages found their way into the
final libretto. For example, next to the
report of the destruction suffered by the
84
Nephites upon Christ’s death one finds
penciled in the margins of Robertson’s
Triple Combination, p. 417, a striking
musical motif and this lament:
O, O this great and terrible day
The tempest, the thunder, the lightning
Our brethren are burned
Our children are buried.
However, only the first line (from 3 Nephi
9:24) appears in the final version of the
libretto; neither is the musical motif to be
heard in the Oratorio.
6. For more information about the
Oratorio’s structure, plus a comparison of
Robertson’s libretto with the scriptures
upon which it is based, and a cursory
analysis of music’s role in relation to the
scriptures, see Marian Robertson-Wilson,
“Inspired Melody and Chosen Word: The
Wedding of Music and Scripture in Leroy
Robertson’s Oratorio from the Book of
Mormon,” in The Disciple as Scholar:
Essays on the Scripture and the Ancient
World in Honor of Richard Lloyd
Anderson, ed. Stephen D. Ricks, Donald
W. Parry, and Andrew H. Hedges (Provo,
Utah: FARMS, forthcoming). Two of the
Oratorio’s subthemes may well be (1) the
fulfillment of prophecies proclaimed by
prophets of the Lord; and (2) the propensity for mortals to disregard these
prophets and to turn away from the Lord,
especially in times of prosperity.
The specific scriptural and musical references for the passages cited are: Part I:
Helaman 13:5–6/orchestra score, pp. 7–9;
Helaman 13: 22–23, 36–37/orchestra
score, pp. 12–26; Part II: Helaman 16:14,
4/orchestra score, pp. 55–57; Helaman
16:15, 23/orchestra score, p. 58; Part III:
3 Nephi 9:15, 21–22/orchestra score, pp.
121–22; the Lesser Doxology/orchestra
score, pp. 151–70.
7. For the citation and further explanation
about his developing the text, see Leroy
Robertson, “Creativity in Music . . . Other
Thoughts on Creativity” (Salt Lake City:
unpublished reprint of a manuscript
from the Institute for Behavioral Research
in Creativity, n.d.), 83. Robertson’s
remarks were later edited and published
in Expanding Awareness of Creative
Potentials Worldwide, ed. Calvin W. Taylor
(Salt Lake City: Brain Talent-Powers
Press, 1990), 124–29; for these works, see
the Addendum.
8. For the citation, see Crawford Gates, letter to Marian Robertson Wilson (Beloit,
Wisconsin: 23 February 1999), in
Robertson Wilson’s possession. Further
descriptions come from Lawrence
Sardoni, interview with Marian
Robertson Wilson (Provo, Utah: 6 July
1983); for the tape of this interview, see
the Addendum.
9. For the citation, see Leroy Robertson, letter to Karl Krueger (Salt Lake City, late
November or early December, 1949), in
the LJR Collection.
10.Chorale melodies, though akin to hymn
tunes, are usually more complicated.
Particularly well established during the
German Reformation, these melodies are
generally anonymous, familiar to congregations, and admit of many harmonizations. The chorale melody assigned by
Robertson was his own and appears
prominently in various parts of the
Oratorio—a fact quite unknown to his
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2, 1999
students.
11.For more details about the history of
Robertson’s setting to the Lord’s Prayer,
see Robertson Wilson, Leroy Robertson,
124 and 236–37. For another account of
its composition, see Charles J. Calman
and William I. Kaufman, The Mormon
Tabernacle Choir (New York: Harper and
Row, Publishers, 1979), 120.
12.This eventful dinner took place 26
February 1946. For more details about the
invitation, see The First Presidency:
George Albert Smith, J. Reuben Clark, Jr.,
David O. McKay, letter to Leroy
Robertson (Salt Lake City: 17 December
1945), in the LJR Collection.
13.For more details of Robertson’s long
quest for his Ph.D. degree, see Robertson
Wilson, Leroy Robertson, 85–88, 93–105,
111–12, 139–40, 210–16. It is interesting
to note that, when it came time for
Robertson to write the required dissertation, he simply presented his committee
with a number of his most recent compositions, from which they chose the
Oratorio.
14.For more details about this move to Salt
Lake City and Robertson’s relationship
with Maurice Abravanel, see Robertson
Wilson, Leroy Robertson, 143–44 and passim thereafter.
15.Maurice Abravanel, interview with
Marian Robertson Wilson (Salt Lake City:
5 October 1981); for the tape of this
interview, see the Addendum.
16.David O. McKay had been sustained
President of the Church 9 April 1951 following the death of President George
Albert Smith five days previous (4 April).
17.This joint effort by the Tabernacle Choir
and Utah Symphony could not have
occurred save for the goodwill of Maestro
Abravanel, Choir Director Jerold Ottley,
the Choir and Symphony managements,
and Herold L. Gregory, who served as the
unselfish linchpin holding it all together.
18.The concert in Independence, Missouri,
came about due to the dedicated diplomacy of Dr. Marian Petersen, a former
Robertson student and highly respected
faculty member in the Conservatory of
Music of the University of Missouri/
Kansas City. Her father, Apostle Mark E.
Petersen, was in attendance, as were other
General Authorities of the LDS Church,
along with their counterparts in the
RLDS Church. It should be noted that
from the time of the Oratorio’s 1953 premiere, the RLDS community has
embraced this work as part of its own tradition. The program in Berlin, Germany,
was prepared and directed by young
David Ruetz, then studying at the Berlin
Hochschule für Musik (Conservatory of
Music).
“All My Endeavors To Preserve Them”:
Protecting the Plates in Palmyra, 22
September–December 1827
Andrew H. Hedges
1. According to Oliver Cowdery, Joseph’s
prayer this evening may have been several
hours in length, which would place
Moroni’s first visit in the early hours of
22 September rather than on 21
September. Oliver wrote of the incident to
W. W. Phelps that “hours passed unnum-
bered—how many or how few I know
not, neither is he [Joseph] able to inform
me; but [he] supposes it must have been
eleven or twelve, and perhaps later, as the
noise and bustle of the family, in retiring,
had long since ceased” when Moroni
appeared. Oliver noted as well that Joseph
had “others beside him” who were sleeping during his interview with the angel.
Latter-day Saints Messenger and Advocate
1/5 (1835): 79.
2. Messenger and Advocate 2/1 (1835):
195–96.
3. Scot F. Proctor and Maurine J. Proctor,
eds., The Revised and Enhanced History of
Joseph Smith by His Mother (Salt Lake
City: Bookcraft, 1996), 111.
4. In this article, I have generally followed
Lucy Mack Smith’s well-known version of
events when a discrepancy between
accounts has arisen, unless there has been
compelling evidence for rejecting it.
Accounts that diverge widely from Lucy’s
appear in the notes.
5. Proctor and Proctor, eds., History of
Joseph Smith, 140. See p. 151 for Lucy’s
identification of this “confidential friend”
as Martin Harris.
6. Dean C. Jessee, “Joseph Knight’s
Recollection of Early Mormon History,”
BYU Studies 17/1 (1976): 32; see William
G. Hartley, “The Knight Family: Ever
Faithful to the Prophet,” Ensign, January
1989, 44.
7. Proctor and Proctor, eds., History of
Joseph Smith, 137. One might argue that
Stowell and Knight, as friends of the family, just happened to be with the Smiths
on the night of 21 September. Knight,
however, recorded how, in “the forepart of
September” of 1827, he “went to
Rochester on Buisness and returnd By
Palmyra to be there about the 22nt of
September,” suggesting he knew the sig­
nificance of the date (Jessee, “Joseph
Knight’s Recollection,” 32, emphasis
added).
8. Knight was apparently using the word
seer to refer to someone who had the ability to see or find objects hidden from natural sight (ibid).
9. Ibid., 32–33.
10.Lucy herself felt that Satan was involved
with such efforts, “stir[ring] up the hearts
of those who had in any way gotten a hint
of the matter, to search into it and make
every possible move towards preventing
the work.” Proctor and Proctor, eds.,
History of Joseph Smith, 140.
11.Ibid., 123, see p. 137.
12.Ibid., 137.
13.Ibid., 145.
14.Lucy said Joseph hid the plates “about
three miles from home” (ibid., 142),
which was roughly how far the Hill
Cumorah itself was from the Smith’s
home. This and the presumption that
Emma was waiting for him in the wagon
suggest that Joseph did not travel any
appreciable distance before hiding the
plates in the log.
15.Ibid., 142–44. Martin Harris said Joseph
hid the plates in the hollow top of an oak
tree. See Joel Tiffany, “Mormonism–No.
II,” Tiffany’s Monthly 5 (1859): 165; see
also Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith
and the Beginnings of Mormonism
(Urbana: University of Illinois Press,
1984), 217 n. 5.