Well, this was a big surprise! In searching newspapers, we came across two articles by the same writer that expressed the proof that Sam was the actual composer for “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” It turns out that Anthony Showalter was the music teacher and Sam the student, so credit was never given properly.
To see the articles involved, use these links:
What makes this story even more interesting is that the same thing happened to my grandfather. He wrote the music to “Carry the Glad News,” but it was published by his music teacher, and credit never given to his students.
This is common practice to this day. Teachers regularly use their student’s work and never credit their students for the work they did. Yet, if the teacher were ever plagiarized, there is all kinds of stiff penalties! This is an area where inconsistencies will be held against the teachers in God’s day of judgment.
Showalter is credited for having written thousands of hymns, but the question is, how many did he actually write? Now it is true that the work of a student is the product of the teacher, because it has to meet the instructions and rules of harmony. However, it is still the work of the student, and the teacher was paid for the work. In essence the student should be able to retain title to his work and receive the credit due.
Having done a lot of living on college campuses, and knowing a lot of professors, I am not at all pleased with the pompous pride they carry around. Frankly, if they had to get real jobs, they would starve to death. It is a rare day to find a professor that actually knows what he is talking about and doing what he teaches. Most teach because they are incapable of doing the work. It used to be that students would go to the skilled experts of a craft, and learn from them, working with them and for them. They thus learned real skills. Nowadays, students go to a temple (institution) of “learning” to sit at the feet of the most incompetent among mankind. It is no wonder the students graduate and are completely incapable of doing anything more than toe kissing and paper pushing. True skills are not learned in a classroom, only theory and useless philosophies of useless people.
So another great hymn composer goes down in history as unknown and uncredited. What if Showalter is not in heaven at all? Did he later repent? His end of life looks pretty sad. Was this problem just the tip of the iceberg of sin in his life? How much did Sam grow not being credited? Did it cause him to really apply the message and lean on the arms of the Savior? Just think, if you love the Lord and seek to live a holy and separated live, you will get to ask such questions in heaven!
