Luacine Clark Fox, daughter of J. Reuben Clark Jr., a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than 28 years, wrote the lyrics and composed the music to the hymn “Love One Another”.

Fox was an avid writer who frequently wrote poetry and other literature. Her father took notice and one day called her in to his office to talk about her writings. The event was recorded in a Deseret News article and an excerpt follows:

She said her father had big desk. And she knew this was an “official” moment because he stayed behind it to talk with her.

“Luacine,” she remembered him saying, “I’ve been reading your poems and I think you have a future. In fact, I think you could probably sell them and make some money with your talent.”

She said she just looked down at the floor. After a moment, she looked up. “Thank you,” she said, “I promised the Lord if he would give me joy I would never try to make money with my writing.” She said her father looked at her for the longest time.

“He had that big lower lip,” she said. “And he kept thrumming it with his index finger.”

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, he spoke. “Well, Luacine,” he said. “What can I say? I guess you’re stuck with joy.”

Years later, when she was in her 40s, Fox was working on a cantata when the words and music for “Love One Another” streamed into her mind as if angels were singing it for her. She said she wrote the hymn down as she heard it and never changed a note or word. And along with the hymn, she said, came sweet feelings of peace and joy.

Because Fox was willing to take “joy” as a reward, her hymn has kindled that same joy in the souls of millions of Latter-day Saints.

In the video below, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs the song during an episode of Music & the Spoken Word: