DID YOU KNOW - Hannah Cornaby wrote Who's on the Lord's Side? Who?

Hannah Last (1822-1905)

Hannah Last was born March 17th, 1822 in Suffolk, England and from her own autobiography she writes, "I was early taught by my parents to love that Being, who has made the earth so beautiful, and provided so much for His creatures dwelling thereon; thus I was early led to admire and reverence the Creator through His works." 

As you can see, she had a wonderful poetic way with words. In fact, at the time of her death in 1905, she was Poet Laureate of Utah.

I would like to share with you one of her poems that many of you might find familiar.

Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
We wage no common war,
Cope with no common foe.
The enemies awake;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

We serve the living God,
And  want his foes to know
That, if but few, we're great;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
We're going on to win;
No fear must blanch the brow,
The Lord of Hosts is ours;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

This is the type of courage it took for her and her husband, Samuel, to join the church. Not long after they were married, they were introduced to a book about the "Mormons", which gave a very unflattering account of the church, it's history and teachings. Hannah wrote, "Although the book was written to show the fallacy of "Mormonism", it made a deep impression on my mind. My husband and I read it together carefully and thoughtfully, and we arose from its perusal, satisfied of the divine mission of Joseph Smith.

Her poem continues:

The stone cut without hands 
To fill the earth must grow.
Who'll help to roll it on?
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Our ensign to the world
Is floating proudly now.
No coward bears our flag;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

The pow'rs of earth and hell
In rage direct the blow
That's aimed to crush the work;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Truth, life, and liberty,
Freedom from the death and woe,
Are stakes we're fighting for;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

Like Joseph Smith, Hannah was troubled with all the different religions when she wrote, "Accustomed as I was to read my bible, it was impossible not to see many discrepancies between the teachings of the religious sects and those of the Savior." She would take long walks with her husband and they would discuss the gospel and pray for answers to the many questions they had concerning the gospel. It was during the darkest time of her life the spirit whispered to her, "Fear not, for I am with thee."

The Lord has armies great
Which at his bidding go.
His chariots are strong;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
When he makes bare His arm
To lay the wicked low.
Then is the time to ask;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

It was the beginning of February, 1852 on a cold storming evening that Hannah invited a man who was seeking a little shelter from the storm under the awning of their store. "I invited him to come in for better protection from the weather, which he did, expressing his thanks, but assuring me that if I knew who he was, I probably would not welcome him under my roof. He introduced himself as George Day, a Latter-day Saint Elder and he had come to their town with authority from God to preach the gospel. Hearing this, Hannah rushed to get her husband and they began to hear the gospel. They at dinner and continued their discussions till late that evening, and started again early the next morning where they left off. They were so excited about the message they were hearing that they invited all their neighbors, positive that they would feel the same spirit, but to her amazement she writes, "But they could hardly refrain from abusing him and us, and called us fools for listening to such lies - but we were too happy to be angry at such strange conduct."

Samuel was baptized shortly thereafter, but Hannah needed to wait for awhile due to the birth of her first child. As soon as her health would permit, she set an appointment to be baptized. But, when the time arrived, a mob gathered and grew throughout the day till they numbered many hundred and threatened them with what they would do if any attempt was made to go in to the water. Samuel tricked the mob and got out of the house and Hannah snuck out after dark. When the mob realized what had happened, they rushed to the water to stop the baptism.

"Before we reached the water's edge," she wrote, the whole horde was upon us, and my husband baptized me amid a shower of stones. We appealed for the protection of the police who were present, but they would not help. We made our way back as best as we could, followed by the mob, and, although the stones whizzed around us, thick as hail, not one touched us and we reached home in safety, thanking God for our miraculous deliverance; determined more than ever, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to adhere - through evil, as well as good report - to the principles we had embraced."

Then rally to the flag
Our God will help us through.
The victory is ours,
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Stainless our flag must wave
And to the nation show,
The olive branch of peace;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Now is the time to show
We ask it fearlessly,
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

Descendancy
Hannah Last (1822-1905)
Edith Hannah Cornaby (1852-1913)
Hannah Caroline Powell (1882-1975)
Allen Williams (1905-2000)
LaVon Williams (1932-2015)
Diane Finlinson

Source: Talk written by Tom Miller and used by several of his children for Sacrament Mtg.