{"id":46434,"date":"2024-02-08T22:29:59","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T05:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=46434"},"modified":"2025-06-12T22:07:29","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T04:07:29","slug":"placentero-nos-es-trabajar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2024\/02\/placentero-nos-es-trabajar\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPlacentero nos es trabajar\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\u201c<\/span>Placentero nos es trabajar<\/span><\/a>\u201d, \u201cDespedida\u201d, or “Oh, How Great Is Our Joy<\/a>” is one of the more popular hymns that is included in Latter-day Saint hymn books, written by a Latter-day Saint, but not in the English hymnal at this time. Hence, I\u2019ve been <\/span>consistent in pointing it out as a likely candidate<\/span><\/a> for inclusion in the forthcoming hymnal. While <\/span>I\u2019ve talked about this hymn in the past<\/span><\/a>, this post will serve two purposes\u2014first, it is going to be where I pick up the Mexican Mission Hymns<\/a> series. Second, it’s also a co-post for a recent interview with John A Gonzalez\u2014the grandson of Andr\u00e9s Carlos Gonz\u00e1lez, who is the author of the hymn\u2014at the Latter-day Saint history blog <\/span>From the Desk<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

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History of the Hymn:<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Andr\u00e9s Carlos Gonz\u00e1lez was the author of \u201cPlacentero nos es trabajar.\u201d As his grandson summarized:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Andr\u00e9s Carlos Gonz\u00e1lez \u2026 was born and raised in the small town of Nadadores, Coahuila, M\u00e9xico. He was one of more than fifteen children of Juan and Juliana Gonz\u00e1lez. His father was a teacher by profession (and unique in that he was the only Protestant in town,) unlike his staunch Catholic mother.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It was Andr\u00e9s\u2019s older brother, Manrique, who eventually determined Andr\u00e9s\u2019s destiny. Manrique left home as a young adult searching for more significant opportunities and finally found work in the Latter-day Saint colonies in the nearby state of Chihuahua. Writing home, Manrique shared his experiences and his happiness in the colonies. Intrigued, Andr\u00e9s left home at seventeen and, following the path his brother forged, eventually joined the Church, falling in love and marrying. His bride, Minnie Spencer, was born and raised in the colonies to parents who had moved from Utah to help colonize the area with other Church members from Utah.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n

Manrique Gonz\u00e1lez<\/span><\/a>, it should be noted, also contributed a hymn to the Mexican Mission hymnbook. In any case, John Gonzalez wrote some of the reasons that Andr\u00e9s is signficant:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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In terms of Church service, Andr\u00e9s was the first native Mexican to serve as a full-time missionary called from Church headquarters, wrote the words to a beloved hymn in the Spanish hymnal, and was the \u201cfirst\u201d Mexican to serve in several other significant callings. His progeny includes children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who are committed members of the Church, served full-time missions, served in many leadership roles, and one who is an emeritus General Authority Seventy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n

Andr\u00e9s represented many firsts for native Mexican members of the Church.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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The story of the time when “Placentero nos es trabajar” was written happened during the mission that Andr\u00e9s served. As John wrote:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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In 1910, Andr\u00e9s was a young married man with a wife, a three-month-old son, and a job as a bookkeeper for the Pajarito Mining Company when he received a letter from \u201cBox B\u201d in Salt Lake City. \u201cBox B\u201d was the post office address of the Church\u2019s Missionary Department\u2014the return address that signaled to every young Latter-day Saint man that he was being called on a mission.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It was not unusual for single or married men to receive a mission call from \u201cBox B\u201d at that time, but in the 80-year history of the Church to that date, none of those missionaries had been native Mexicans. Andr\u00e9s was called to serve in the Mexico Mission. When it came time for him to report, he kissed his wife and young son goodbye and began walking south. It took 24 days of hitchhiking on wagons and donkeys and walking to reach Mexico City. For two years, he would preach the gospel, mostly in cities within a day\u2019s travel of the capital\u2014Cuernavaca, Ozumba, Atlautla, San Pablo, and Amecameca.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n

During that time, he had to work around the unfolding Mexican Revolution:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Andr\u00e9s spent most of his mission in smaller towns near Mexico City. Catholicism still dominated those towns, and missionaries were not always a welcome sight. One day, Andr\u00e9s and his companion decided to reach out specifically to Protestants, hoping that those who had left Catholicism might be more open to hearing the message of the restored gospel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Andr\u00e9s and his companion stood on a street corner. They began singing a familiar Protestant hymn, \u201cSweet By and By,\u201d from a tune by American Civil War composer Joseph P. Webster. Since he grew up in the home of his Protestant father, Andr\u00e9s was familiar with the hymn. The idea of the two missionaries singing backfired when a group of Protestants surrounded them and said they had no right to sing that hymn. The crowd warned the missionaries that if they ever tried to sing that hymn in public again, they would be arrested.The next day, the two missionaries were back on the same corner singing a different hymn. Police were summoned, the war of words escalated, and Andr\u00e9s and his companion were thrown in jail.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That night, sitting in a jail cell and wondering if he would become one of the many people who simply \u201cdisappeared\u201d when arrested during the revolution, Andr\u00e9s found hope in the music and sentiment of Sweet By and By. He spent the night writing new lyrics to the tune, praising the work of those who spread the gospel and promising a sweet reward for the faithful in the next life. Andr\u00e9s\u2019 words and Webster\u2019s music were published in the first Latter-day Saint Spanish hymnal in 1912 under the title Despedida (\u201cFarewell\u201d). Later the name was changed to Placentero nos es trabajar (\u201cIt is pleasant for us to work\u201d). It would become a standard for Spanish-speaking Mormon congregations into the 21st Century. It is Hymn 88 in the current Spanish Church hymnal.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n

Thus, the hymn “Placentero nos es trabajar” came to be.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Andr\u00e9s made his way home after he was released from his mission and ended up moving to El Paso, Texas. There, he and Minnie raised a family and served faithfully in the Church for the remainder of their lives. For more on <\/span>Andr\u00e9s Carlos Gonz\u00e1lez<\/span><\/a>, feel free to head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog <\/span>From the Desk<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Hymn Text<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Table 1. <\/span>Lyrics in Spanish-language hymnals over the years.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
1912<\/strong><\/td>\r\n1940<\/strong><\/td>\r\n1992<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Placentero nos es trabajar,
En la vi\u00f1a del gran Rey Jes\u00fas,
Y honroso nos es predicar,
A su pueblo, su ley y su luz.
Por su luz, por su luz,
Placentero nos es trabajar,
Por su luz, por su luz,
Moriremos con El sin pesar.<\/td>\r\n		Placentero nos es trabajar,
En la vi\u00f1a del gran Rey Jes\u00fas,
Y honroso nos es predicar,
A su pueblo, su ley y su luz.
Por su luz, por su luz,
Placentero nos es trabajar,
Por su luz, por su luz,
Moriremos con \u00e9l sin pesar.<\/td>\r\n		Placentero nos es trabajar
En la vi\u00f1a del gran Rey Jes\u00fas,
Y honroso nos es predicar,
A Su pueblo, Su ley y Su luz,
Por Su luz, por Su luz,
Placentero nos es trabajar.
Por Su luz, por Su luz,
Moriremos con El sin pesar.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
La palabra de Dios escuchad,
Con ahinco, fieldad y fervor;
Para siempre jam\u00e1s recordad,
Su pureza, verdad y amor.
Con amor, con amor,
La palabra de Dios escuchad,
Con amor, con amor,
La bandera de Dios empu\u00f1ad.<\/td>\r\n		La palabra de Dios escuchad
Con ahinco, fieldad y fervor;
Para siempre jam\u00e1s recordad
Su pureza, verdad y amor.
Con amor, con amor,
La palabra de Dios escuchad,
Con amor, con amor,
La bandera de Dios empu\u00f1ad.<\/td>\r\n		La palabra de Dios escuchad
Con ah\u00ednco, lealtad y fervor.
Para siempre jam\u00e1s recordad
Su pureza, verdad y amor.
Con amor, con amor,
La palabra de Dios escuchad.
Con amor, con amor,
La bandera de Dios empu\u00f1ad.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
El momento de ir vino ya;
Si guardamos la fe del gran Dios,
Nos veremos a\u00fan m\u00e1s all\u00e1.
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1,
\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1,
Moraremos con el vero Dios.<\/td>\r\n		\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
El momento de ir vino ya;
Si guardamos la fe del gran Dios,
Nos veremos a\u00fan m\u00e1s all\u00e1.
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1,
\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1,
Moraremos con Dios en amor.<\/td>\r\n		\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
El momento de ir vino ya.
Si guardamos la fe en el gran Dios,
Nos veremos a\u00fan m\u00e1s all\u00e1.
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1.
\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1,
Moraremos con el Dios en amor.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Meter is 9.9.9.9.6.9.6.9, with stress on every third beat<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Table 2.<\/span> Text of the hymn translation:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
1912 Spanish<\/strong><\/td>\r\nProse English<\/strong><\/td>\r\nPoetic English<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Placentero nos es trabajar,
En la vi\u00f1a del gran Rey Jes\u00fas,
Y honroso nos es predicar,
A su pueblo, su ley y su luz.
Por su luz, por su luz,
Placentero nos es trabajar,
Por su luz, por su luz,
Moriremos con El sin pesar.<\/td>\r\n		It is pleasant for us to work
In the vineyard of the great King Jesus,
And it is honorable for us to preach,
To his people, his law and his light,
By your light, by your light,
It is pleasant for us to work
By your light, by your light,
We will die with Him without regret.<\/td>\r\n		It is pleasant to work with the Lord
In the vineyard of Jesus, our king,
And an honor to preach his great word,
To his people, his law we will bring.
In his light, in his light,
It is pleasant to work with the Lord,
In his light, in his light,
We will die without guilt through his word.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
La palabra de Dios escuchad,
Con ahinco, fieldad y fervor;
Para siempre jam\u00e1s recordad,
Su pureza, verdad y amor.
Con amor, con amor,
La palabra de Dios escuchad,
Con amor, con amor,
La bandera de Dios empu\u00f1ad.<\/td>\r\n		Listen to the word of God
With determination, faithfulness and fervor;
Forever remember,
His purity, truth and love.
With love, with love,
Listen to the word of God,
With love, with love,
Take up the flag of God.<\/td>\r\n		Hear the word of our God unto you;
Come with fervor, great zeal and belief,
And forever remember anew,
The uprightness and love of our chief.
With God’s love, with God’s love,
Hear the word of our God unto you,
With God’s love, with God’s love,
Grasp the banner of God and be true.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
El momento de ir vino ya;
Si guardamos la fe del gran Dios,
Nos veremos a\u00fan m\u00e1s all\u00e1.
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1,
\u00a1Oh hermanos, adi\u00f3s, pues adi\u00f3s!
M\u00e1s all\u00e1, m\u00e1s all\u00e1,
Moraremos con el vero Dios.<\/td>\r\n		Oh siblings, goodbye, oh, goodbye!
The time to go has come;
If we keep the faith of the great God,
We’ll see each other in the beyond.
Beyond, beyond,
Oh siblings, goodbye, oh goodbye!
beyond, beyond,
We will dwell with the true God.<\/td>\r\n		Oh, dear brothers and sisters, farewell!
For the time we must leave has arrived;
If we stay in the faith and do well,
Past the veil we shall meet there revived.
Past the veil, past the veil,
Oh, dear brothers and sisters, farewell!
Past the veil, past the veil,
With our God, we forever shall dwell.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Music<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The tune for the hymn is “In the Sweet By and By.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n