R. Paul Thompson

Reed Paul Thompson composed the music to “Rejoice, Ye Saints of Latter Days,” hymn #290 in the 1985 Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University. His master’s thesis was titled “Eighty Years of Music in St. George, Utah, 1861–1941.”

Thompson was born on January 31, 1926, in St. George, Utah, and died on May 2, 2007, also in St. George. He married Geniel Parry in 1950.

He served as temple president of the Seattle Washington Temple, with his wife as matron. He served as president of the Washington Tacoma Mission, as Young Men general board member, stake president and counselor, regional representative, regional welfare agent, and temple worker. He is a former division director in the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education; principal, Utah School for the Blind; and executive secretary of the American Association of Instructors of the Blind.[1]