We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet

William continued faithful in his religion and did much for the benefit of the Saints in England. At this time there was little in the way of hymns specifically for the Latter-day Saint religion. William wrote many hymns, articles, and poems for the entertainment of his fellow Saints. Many of his works appeared in the Millennial Star, a Latter-day Saint Newspaper.
Harriet says, “My parents were very musical. Father played a violin, flute, and harp, and all those we had in our home. When at Grandmother's, he played the piano. He could compose music as easy as a letter. He wrote many songs for the Saints to sing at their gatherings”(Allen).

The following hymn was written in Sheffield and published in the Millennial Star on 15 Oct. 1864 p. 672.

COME LET US BE HAPPY TOGETHER
Come let us be happy together
For of all people we have most right,
And though life has its share of rough weather,
We'll try to be happy tonight.
For troubles are never to seek for
And sorrows are not hard to find,
Then let us be loving, while onward we're moving,
And ever to others be kind.

Chorus:
Come let us be happy together,
For of all people we have most right,
And though life has its share of rough weather,
We'll try to be happy tonight.

In social enjoyment together,
We have met to be happy tonight,
And we know that our Heavenly Father,
Is pleased when his children do right.
Then let us be governed by wisdom,
In all that we say, or we do,
And if wisdom doth guide us, our Father won't chide us
And crown us with blessings anew.

We will sing and rejoice and be cheerful,
Grow wise as time passes away,
While the wicked are trembling and fearful,
Our faith will increase day by day;
For there is light in the Gospel of Jesus,
There is life, endless life to be found,
And all who receive it and faithfully live it,
Shall with its rich blessings be crowned.

Let the world call this work a delusion,
We know that its Author is God,
We shall rise while they sink in confusion
O'erthrown by His chastening rod;
Then let us be humble and prayerful,
Be true to the Cause we've obeyed,
Then let them deride us, God's Spirit shall guide us,
And nothing shall make us afraid.

We know that Jehovah has spoken,
And sent us the Gospel again,
And the signs of the times now betoken,
That Jesus will soon come to reign.
With Him we'll be happy together
On earth through the great thousand years,
Then brethren be humble and ready
And worthy when Jesus appears.
William Fowler

This next hymn was written in Cheltenham and was published in The Latter-day Saints Millennial Star Vol 17 p 464.

THE SETTING UP OF GOD'S KINGDOM
Once more from the heavens Jehovah has spoken
His voice clears the mist which for ages had spread
O'er the minds of the people, but not it is broken—
No longer by priestcraft the honest are led.

Chorus:
The Stone from the Mountain has now begun rolling,
And never will stop till it fills the whole earth;
And Babylon's death-knell has now begun tolling,
While Zion increases in wisdom and worth.

Hark, hear ye the Kingdom of Heaven,
Hark, hear ye the voice of the Prophet proclaiming—
“Repent ye, the Kingdom of Heaven's at hand;
The harvest is ripe, and the vintage wants gleaning,
The tares with the wheat now no longer must stand.”

The Ensign is lifted, the Temple is rearing,
To which for salvation the Gentiles shall seek,
The time is at hand for the Savior's appearing,
The earth will ere long be possessed by the meek.

The vision of Daniel is surely fulfilling,
The toes of the Image now feel the Stone's weight,
The Gospel is gath'ring the faithful and willing,
The path of the Savior will soon be made straight.
Rouse, rouse from your slumbers, O ye foolish virgins;
Up, up, trim your lamps, let them burn bright and clear;
Let Zion be ready, the Savior is coming,
The great day of vengeance is now drawing near.
William Fowler

This hymn was published in The Latter-day Saints Millennial Star Vol 17 p 32.

ZION
O Zion, thy praise
We'll sing in sweet lays,
And lift up our voices in these latter days.
The Righteous to thee
For refuge shall flee,
While princes afar off thy glory shall see.

A fire by night,
Thy dwellings shall light,
While sinners shall tremble and gaze with affright;
And from the sun's ray
To screen thee by day,
A cloud for a covering above thee shall stay.

When Jesus shall come
To the Saints' happy home,
He'll call forth the righteous that lay in the Tomb;
But the wicked shall stay
Until the last day,
E'er they from their graves shall be called away.

With Jesus we'll reign,
When He comes again;
We then shall be free from all sorrow and pain.
Then Saints, let us pray-
Great God, haste the day
When to Zion's blest land we shall hasten away.
William Fowler

The most famous of all his hymns would be “We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet.” This hymn was inspired by William's strong testimony after first receiving a tract with Joseph Smith's testimony in it (Chene' 2003). William had a Testimony of Joseph Smith and of his successor, Brigham Young. He was ever thankful to God for restoring his Gospel to the earth.
William wrote 'We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet' sometime between 1860 and 1863.
An elderly man once approached William's daughter Florence (Adair) after she was grown and told her that William brought the first two verses of the song to him and asked his opinion of it. The man told him that it was very good as far as it went, but that it did not sound complete. William latter added the third verse and the man told him it sounded all right.
Joseph F. Smith reported that while he was serving a mission in England [1860-1863], “Brother Fowler brought his song to meeting where it was sung for the first time” (Smith). The choir learned the song and sung it. It was sung to a tune that William knew called “The Officer's March” by Caroline Sheridan Norton. Florence Cheney wrote that Joseph F. Smith was Branch President at the time.
The hymn was very popular and it was published in 1863 in the 12th edition of the LDS hymnbook. Today every Latter-day Saint knows and loves the song “We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet” It is sung at every conference of the Church and represents the testimonies of faithful saints everywhere.
One man told Ellen that William would never really die as long as the Church still sung his hymn.

WE THANK THEE O GOD FOR A PROPHET
We thank thee, O God, for a prophet
To guide us in these latter days.
We thank thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.
We thank thee for every blessing
Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.
We feel it a pleasure to serve thee,
And love to obey thy command.

When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us
And threaten our peace to destroy,
There is hope smiling brightly before us,
And we know that deliverance is nigh.
We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.
We've proved him in days that are past.
The wicked who fight against Zion
Will surely be smitten at last.

We'll sing of his goodness and mercy
We'll praise him by day and by night,
Rejoice in his glorious gospel,
And bask in its life giving light.
Thus on to eternal perfection
The honest and faithful will go,
While they who reject this glad message
Shall never such happiness know.
By William Fowler