<P> "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" (originally titled "The Stranger and His Friend") is a seven - stanza poem written in 1826 by James Montgomery . The words of the poem have since been adopted as a Christian hymn . </P> <P> Montgomery wrote "The Stranger and His Friend" in December 1826 while travelling in England on extended trips in horse - drawn carriages . Montgomery did not write the poem with the intention of it being set to music . </P> <P> New York City preacher George Coles set the poem to music he wrote . The hymn was adopted by some Christian congregations in the United States and the United Kingdom . </P> <P> "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" was a favorite hymn of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement . The hymn was introduced in the church by apostle John Taylor, who learned the hymn in 1840 as a missionary in England . Taylor included the hymn in the Latter Day Saints' Manchester Hymnal, which was used in England from 1840 to 1912 . The hymn was also included in the church's 1841 hymnal published in Nauvoo, Illinois . Unlike the version in the Manchester Hymnal, the hymn in the Nauvoo hymnal included music composed by Taylor . The hymn was originally written as a Christmas hymn . </P>

Lds hymns a poor wayfaring man of grief