[1] Originally named "Deseret", it is hymn number 5 in the current LDS Church hymnal.

The lyrics to the hymn were written by Johnson in 1853, five years after Brigham Young preached on Ensign Peak as the Mormon pioneers first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

[2] Even though Johnson's journal contains more than 700 hymns, "High on the Mountain Top" is his most notable contribution to LDS music.

For God remembers still His promise made of old That he on Zion's hill Truth's standard would unfold!

His house shall there be reared, His glory to display, And people shall be heard In distant lands to say: We'll now go up and serve the Lord, Obey his truth and learn his word.