Charles W. Penrose

Charles W. Penrose
First Counselor in the First Presidency
10 March 1921 – 16 May 1925
Called by	Heber J. Grant
Predecessor	Anthon H. Lund
Successor	Anthony W. Ivins
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
23 November 1918 – 10 March 1921
Called by	Heber J. Grant
Successor	Anthony W. Ivins
End reason	Called as First Counselor in the First Presidency
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
7 December 1911 – 19 November 1918
Called by	Joseph F. Smith
Predecessor	John Henry Smith
End reason	Death of Joseph F. Smith; dissolution of First Presidency
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
7 July 1904 – 7 December 1911
Called by	Joseph F. Smith
End reason	Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency
LDS Church Apostle
7 July 1904 – 16 May 1925
Called by	Joseph F. Smith
Reason	Death of Abraham O. Woodruff
Reorganization at end of term	No apostles ordained[1]
Personal details
Born	Charles William Penrose 4 February 1832 London, England, United Kingdom
Died	16 May 1925 (aged 93) Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Cause of death	Chronic prostatitis
Resting place	Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37″N 111°51′29″W / 40.777°N 111.858°W
Spouse(s)	Lucetta Stratford
Children	15

Charles William Penrose (4 February 1832 – 16 May 1925) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1904 to 1911. Penrose was also a member of the First Presidency of the church under church presidents Joseph F. Smith and Heber J. Grant from 1911 until his death.

Penrose was born in London, England; the name "Penrose" is of Cornish origin.^[2] It is said that he learned to read the Bible by the age of four. Penrose was introduced to the LDS Church and baptized at the age of eighteen on 14 May 1850, in London. He also met and married his wife Lucetta Stratford in London. The couple had 15 children.^[3]

After joining the LDS Church, Penrose was called to a seven-year mission, preaching throughout England. In 1861, he emigrated to Utah Territory. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he was asked to return to England as a missionary. Upon his return, he settled in Ogden, Utah, where he became involved in newspaper publishing. Eventually, Penrose became the editor of the LDS Church-owned Deseret News in Salt Lake City. Penrose was known for his writing, including missionary tracts and lyrics of Mormon hymns, including "God of Our Fathers", "O Ye Mountains High", and "Up, Awake, Ye Defenders of Zion".

Penrose served in the Utah Territorial Legislature. In 1880, he introduced a bill, largely at the urging of Emmeline B. Wells, that would have allowed women to serve in all public offices in the territory.^[4]

Some have claimed that Penrose was the chief author of the 1890 Manifesto. However, George Reynolds testified in the Smoot Hearings before the U.S. Senate that he, Penrose, and John R. Winder only edited and prepared for publication the text that church president Wilford Woodruff had written.

Penrose was a professor of theology at Brigham Young Academy from 1897 to 1899 and again in 1901 and 1902.^[5]

Penrose was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and ordained an apostle on 7 July 1904. He was called to fill a vacancy in the quorum caused by the death of Abraham O. Woodruff. On 7 December 1911, Penrose became Second Counselor to Joseph F. Smith in the Presidency of the Church; he replaced John Henry Smith, who died. James E. Talmage filled the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve caused by Penrose's elevation to the First Presidency. After Joseph F. Smith's death in 1918, Penrose was retained as Second Counselor by new church president Heber J. Grant. On 10 March 1921, Penrose became First Counselor in the First Presidency; he succeeded Anthon H. Lund, who had died eight days earlier.

Death

Penrose served in the First Presidency until his death in Salt Lake City from chronic prostatitis.^[6] He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

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  Grave marker of Penrose.
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  Grave stone of Penrose

Hymns

Some of Penrose poems were put to music and became LDS Church hymns. Penrose's "Up, Awake, Ye Defenders of Zion"—originally a militant hymn containing references to trials of Latter-day Saints in the central United States and the threatening United States government (ironically set to the melody for "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean")—became an anthem for Latter-day Saints during the difficulties preceding and during the Utah War of 1857–58.^[7]

Some of Penrose's lyrics appear in the current LDS hymnal, including:

• "God of Our Fathers, We Come Unto Thee"
• "O Ye Mountains High"
• "School Thy Feelings"
• "Up, Awake, Ye Defenders of Zion" (with modified lyrics, 1985)

Notes

1. Charles W. Nibley replaced Penrose in the First Presidency, but Nibley was not ordained as an apostle.
2. White, G. Pawley, A Handbook of Cornish Surnames.
3. Kenneth W. Godfrey, Charles W. Penrose.
4. Carol Cornwall Madsen, An Advocate for Women: The Public Life of Emmeline B. Wells, 1870–1920 (Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah: Brigham Young University Press and Deseret Book, 2006) pp. 186–87.
5. Wilkinson, Ernest L., ed., Brigham Young University: The First 100 Years. (Provo, Utah: BYU Press, 1975) p. 586.
6. State of Utah Death Certificate.
7. Cracroft, in Walker and Dant, pp. 149–50.

References

• Tullidge, Edward W. (1886), History of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City: Star Printing Co., pp. 140–44.
• Cracroft, Richard H., "'Oh, What Songs of the Heart': Zion's Hymns as Sung by the Pioneers", in Ronald W. Walker and Doris R. Dant, Nearly Everything Imaginable: The Everyday life of Utah's Mormon Pioneers (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8425-2397-9.)

External links

• Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages
• "Priesthood and Presidency", a pamphlet published by Penrose
• Works by or about Charles W. Penrose in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Charles W. Penrose papers, MSS SC 680 at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University