John Lyon

John J. Lyon (4 March 1803, Glasgow – 28 November 1889) was a Scottish Latter Day Saint poet and hymn writer.

Biography

Early years John J. Lyon was born to Thomas Lyon and Janet McArthur, a poor and illiterate family in the slums of Glasgow. He was the only child of Thomas and Janet's four children to live to adulthood. Thomas' sister Margaret, who had lost all of her children, adopted five-year-old John in order to alleviate some of her brother's monetary expenses. After less than a year, young Lyon returned to Glasgow after the passing of Margaret's wealthy husband. A year or so later, his father died.

At age eight, Lyon began attending school and did so for only a year and a half. That was the extent of his formal childhood schooling. Lyon's lack of schooling as a child pushed him to make sure that his children were well-educated. His children were weavers as he was, but they learned to read and write at an early age. Each night Lyon and other church leaders lead the saints (and anyone else who wanted to participate) in prayer and gospel sermons. Because of these daily sermons and good relations between voyagers, all 48 non-Mormon passengers were baptized, including the captain and crew, making this specific emigration voyage unique. On 23 April 1853 the International docked in New Orleans. On their last day on the International, Lyon was appointed to lead the 237 Ten Pound Saints (referring to the fact that they each paid ten pounds for the journey to Zion). All of these works were written between 1854 and 1885.