{"id":46628,"date":"2024-03-03T16:19:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-03T23:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=46628"},"modified":"2024-03-03T16:34:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-03T23:34:55","slug":"la-obra-ya-empieza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2024\/03\/la-obra-ya-empieza\/","title":{"rendered":"“La Obra Ya Empieza”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“La Obra Ya Empieza”<\/a> was one of the original hymns included in the 1907 Himnario Morm\u00f3n (the first Spanish-language hymnbook in the Church). Written by the prolific hymn-writing colonist Edmund Richardson, it was originally a text with no tune specified for singing. In the 1940s red hymnbook, it appeared with an unidentified tune for the first time. When the current hymnbook came out in 1992, this hymn was not included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Note: This is a part of an ongoing series, the Mexico Mission Hymns Project<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hymn Text:<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Table 1. <\/strong>Variations in text of “La obra ya empieza” over the course of Church Publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1907<\/strong><\/td>1912<\/strong><\/td>1942<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
La obra ya empieza
   Que prometi\u00f3 Jes\u00fas;
Al pueblo Lamanita
   Va la divina luz.
Su Salvador les quita
   Su larga ceguedad;
El \u00e1breles la senda
   Que va \u00e1 la verdad.<\/td>		 La obra ya empieza
   Que prometi\u00f3 Jes\u00fas;
Al pueblo Lamanita,
   Va la divina luz.
Su Salvador les quita
   Su larga ceguedad;
El \u00e1breles la senda
   Que va \u00e1 la verdad.<\/td>		 La obra ya empieza,
   Que prometi\u00f3 Jes\u00fas;
Al pueblo lamanita
   Va la divina luz.
Su Salvador les quita
   Su larga ceguedad,
Y \u00e1breles la senda
   Que va a la verdad.<\/td><\/tr>
De almas hay millares
   Que viven en el Sud,
Que son de esa sangre
   Y aman la virtud;
Ya hace mucho tiempo
   Que andan en error;
De nuevo por su propio,
   Les junta su Se\u00f1or.<\/td>		De almas hay millares
   Que viven en el Sud,
Que son de esa sangre
   Y aman la virtud;
Ya hace mucho tiempo
   Que andan en error;
De nuevo por su propio,
   Les junta su Se\u00f1or.<\/td>		De almas hay millares
   Que viven en el sur;
Que son de esa sangre
   Y aman la virtud.
Ya hace mucho tiempo,
   Que andan en error,
De nuevo por su propio,
   Los junta su Se\u00f1or.<\/td><\/tr>
Sus siervos alumbrados
   De celestial saber,
Guiados por el Cielo,
   Le hacen conocer,
Al pueblo Lamanita,
   El plan de Redenci\u00f3n,
A fin de que alcanzen
   Eterna salvaci\u00f3n.<\/td>		Sus siervos alumbrados
   De celestial saber,
Guiados por el Cielo,
   Le hacen conocer,
Al pueblo Lamanita,
   El plan de redenci\u00f3n,
A fin de que alcancen
   Eterna salvaci\u00f3n.<\/td>		 Sus siervos alumbrados,
   De celestial saber;
Guiados por el cielo
   Le dana conocer
Al pueblo lamanita,
   El plan de redenci\u00f3n,
A fin de que alcancen
   Eterna salvaci\u00f3n.<\/td><\/tr>
Tambi\u00e9n los Mexicanos
   Ya pueden alcanzar
De \u00c9l la misma dicha
   Que quita su pesar;
Son de la misma sangre
   El \u00e1males igual,
Si fieles son sin mancha
   Saldr\u00e1n al d\u00eda fiel.
<\/td>		Tambi\u00e9n los Mexicanos
   Ya pueden alcanzar,
De El, la misma dicha
   Que quita su pesar;
Son de la misma sangre,
   El \u00e1males igual,
Si fieles son sin mancha
   Saldr\u00e1n al d\u00eda final.<\/td>		Tambi\u00e9n los Mexicanos
   Ya pueden alcanzar
De \u00e9l la misma dicha
   Que quita su pesar.
Son de la misma sangre,
   El \u00e1males igual,
Si fieles son, sin da\u00f1o
   Saldr\u00e1n de todo mal.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Table 2.<\/strong> Translation of the text of “La obra ya empieza.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spanish (1912)<\/strong><\/td>English Prose<\/strong><\/td>English Poetic<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
La obra ya empieza
   Que prometi\u00f3 Jes\u00fas;
Al pueblo Lamanita,
   Va la divina luz.
Su Salvador les quita
   Su larga ceguedad;
El \u00e1breles la senda
   Que va \u00e1 la verdad.<\/td>		The work already begins
    What Jesus promised;
To the Lamanite people,
    Goes the divine light.
Your Savior takes away
    His long blindness;
And opens to them the path
    That goes to the truth.<\/td>		The work begins already, 
That Jesus promised them\u2014
The Lamanites, a people\u2014
The light divine, a gem.
Your Savior takes away now
The blindness o’re their eyes;
To them, the pathway opens
That leads to truth, the prize.<\/td><\/tr>
De almas hay millares
   Que viven en el Sud,
Que son de esa sangre
   Y aman la virtud;
Ya hace mucho tiempo
   Que andan en error;
De nuevo por su propio,
   Les junta su Se\u00f1or.<\/td>		There are thousands of souls
    Who live in the South,
Who are of that blood
    And love virtue;
It has been a long time
    That they are in error;
Again for your own,
    They are joined by their Lord.<\/td>		Now there are thousands of souls
In the Americas
Who are of Lamanite blood
And who do love virtue;
But for a very long time
In error they have lived;
Again, now on His own time
Their Lord, His bond revived.<\/td><\/tr>
Sus siervos alumbrados
   De celestial saber,
Guiados por el Cielo,
   Le hacen conocer,
Al pueblo Lamanita,
   El plan de redenci\u00f3n,
A fin de que alcancen
   Eterna salvaci\u00f3n.<\/td>		His servants are enlightened
    By heavenly knowledge,
Guided by Heaven,
    They make known,
To the Lamanite people,
    The plan of redemption,
In order for them to reach
    Eternal salvation.<\/td>		His servants are enlightened
By heav’nly knowledge and
Are guided by our Father
To go proclaim firsthand
To Lamanite descendants
The plan of saving grace, 
So they may know the Way and
Eternal life embrace.<\/td><\/tr>
Tambi\u00e9n los Mexicanos
   Ya pueden alcanzar,
De El, la misma dicha
   Que quita su pesar;
Son de la misma sangre,
   El \u00e1males igual,
Si fieles son sin mancha
   Saldr\u00e1n al d\u00eda final.<\/td>		Also the Mexicans
They can already reach,
From Him, the same
That takes away your grief;
They are of the same blood,
The same species,
If the faithful are without blemish
They will leave the final day.<\/td>		And Mexicans also,
Already they can reach
The same eternal bliss
That takes away your grief;
They are of Israel’s blood and
Of Lamanite descent.
And if the faithful are clean, 
The Last Day, they’ll ascend.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Published Music<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The following is the tune from the 1942 hymnal using the text from the 1912 hymnal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n