I had a lovely conversation yesterday with the wife of now deceased Brother Duane E. Hiatt, the composer of the Primary song Follow the Prophet. I absolutely loved visiting with his sweet wife as she shared his experiences writing the song, serving a mission together, and raising their large family of 10 songs and 5 daughters!
Sharon shared with me her husband’s story behind writing the song Follow the Prophet and that he used to have the stories shared on a website, which unfortunately kept getting taken over by hackers. That resource isn’t available to us anymore.
I did a quick search to see if I could find Brother Hiatt sharing his story anywhere, and stumbled across his YouTube channel with these gem videos! Most of these videos have under 200 views, and that’s a shame! There’s a lot of history and an example of strong faith within these videos and I wanted to share them so they’d be easier to find!
The Story Behind Follow the Prophet
Brother Duane Hiatt share he’s personal experience and story behind writing Follow the Prophet song that was included in the Children’s Songbook.
Hiatt share that he was asked in 1987 by the Church Music Committee to write a song that could be included in a new songbook. They had three things in mind, they wanted the song to:
- Be about the Old Testament prophets
- Have the feeling of a Jewish folk song
- And to make it a happy, upbeat song
You’ll love to hear the story of Stillman Pond, a pioneer who’s tough experience crossing the plains inspired the famous phrase, “follow the prophet.”
Verse 1: What can we learn from Adam?
Adam was the first prophet to live in this world, but began long before then! We are grateful for Adam and his sacrifices and hard things to help keep the commandment to multiple and replenish the Earth.
You’ll enjoy a mini recreation of the scene with his family and then a sing-along for the verse about Adam!
Verse 2: What can we learn from Enoch?
Now let’s see what we can learn from the prophet Enoch with Brother Hiatt. Don’t we all which we could live in a city like the one at the time of Enoch? There are great lessons in the society and community they created on how we can be better towards each other. Sing this verse along with the family as you remember this prophet!
Verse 3: What can we learn from Noah?
Learn from Brother Hiatt as he shares about the most spoken about prophet Noah – and his ark! He was a great example of great faith through his entire life and did many important works.
You’ll get to see lots of Duane’s fun personality as he re-enacts a scene with Noah. This video then ends with a sweet family sing along for Noah. This one was my favorite of all of his videos!
Verse 4: What can we learn from Abraham?
Are there things we can learn from the prophet Abraham? He had great faith and trust in the Lord, even being willing to give up the gift he most treasured, his beloved Son.
You’ll love his adorable young grandchildren that share about how their parents, and Heavenly Father, help them. Then join in with the family sing along on this verse!
Verse 5: What can we learn from Moses?
Did you know the journey from Egypt to Israel is an 11 day journey walking? It took Moses and his people 40 years to make the journey as they took the time to learn the lessons they needed! See more on what we can learn from Moses and remembering the Lord. Take a journey with Brother Hiatt’s family as they complain along a hike through the wilderness, just like the children of Israel.
You’ll also find a sing along verse with the family singing about Moses. Then, hear additional insights from his teenage granddaughter share her perspective of the apostles.
Verse 6: What can we learn from Samuel?
Do you think there are things you can learn from the prophet Samuel? There are lots of lessons from this prophet, but one great lesson is that we can learn that Heavenly Father will talk to each of us – any age and position. Join in singing with the family for the Samuel verse! You’ll also hear from two of his sweet grandchildren with their experiences with faith and missionary service.
Verse 7: What can we learn from Jonah?
Add extra depth to the Jonah verse of Follow the Prophet as you discuss this prophet together. Did you know that Jesus compared his death and resurrection to Jonah’s experience? Then, see the video with a family sing along and extra insights from one of Brother Hiatt’s grandchildren about why we should repent, just like Jonah needed to.
Verse 8: What can we learn from Daniel?
Listen to the composer share some added commentary about the prophet Daniel! Then, you’ll find his grandson’s experience feeling the Holy Ghost and a family sing along of the Daniel verse!
Verse 9: What can we learn from prophets today?
How do we apply what we can learn from the prophet today? “He will not lead us astray!” The prophets have been warning us to be careful in these difficult last days and the challenges we’ll face. As we trust in the prophets we will be able to avoid many of the traps from Satan and his helpers.
You’ll see his entire family singing along to his song, what a lovely tribute to him, and an example of all the blessings this sweet man received in his life for following the words of the prophets.
How Should I Use these Videos?
Singing Time doesn’t give us enough time to utilize these videos in Primary, but you can share these videos with your Primary family to watch at home along with their Come Follow Me study.
Or use one of these ideas to help you use these videos to enrich your singing time prep:
- Watch the video about the prophet verse you plan to teach.
- Study about the life of the prophet verse before teaching it to gain your own insights and testimony to share.
- Start the video at just the sing-along part of the video and sing with the composer’s family!
- Create a sing-along video with your Primary, following Brother Hiatt’s example!
- Invite the children to share something they have learn from each of these Old Testament examples we have.
- Ask the children for ways that they have (or can) follow the prophet.
- Come up with your own brief story to share about the things you have learned from each of the prophets along with your testimony – then sing the verse together.
For more ways to use videos in singing time, head over to see this post with wonderful I Love to See the Temple Music Videos!
What other fun ways will you use this Follow the Prophet Story & Sing videos in your singing time?
