I "Snow" What You Mean

I just took a few minutes to gaze outside the window toward the Great Salt Lake, and, out of the blue, one of my favorite hymns came to mind:

The wintry day, descending to its close,
Invites all wearied nature to repose,
And shades of night are falling dense and fast
Like sable curtains closing o'er the past.
Pale through the gloom the newly fallen snow
Wraps in a shroud the silent earth below
As though 'twere mercy's hand had spread the pall,
A symbol of forgiveness unto all.

"The Wintry Day, Descending to Its Close," written by Elder Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is not one of those hymns you will often hear sung in church at really any point in the year. Very few people (who I know of) have ever heard or sung it. But it remains one of my favorites.

There is a lot of symbolism in the song. The most important, I believe, is the comparison of newly fallen snow to the Atonement. After all, white is a symbol of purity, and snow, like the Atonement, seems to cover everyone and everything when you look out at it.

Despite all of the trouble caused by falling snow - after all, who really enjoys driving through that slushy, slippery stuff? - there are moments when snow is a thing of beauty.