Ebenezer Beesley (1840-1906), director of the Tabernacle Choir throughout the 1880s, was a prolific writer of hymn tunes — eleven of his melodies remain in our hymnal today, including such favorites as “High on the Mountain Top,” “Sing We Now at Parting,” and “God of Our Fathers We Come unto Thee.” He composed music for the Juvenile Instructor, compiled songbooks for the Mutual Improvement Associations and the Sunday Schools, and generally employed his time and talents for the musical betterment of Zion.

This arrangement of “When Christ Was Born in Bethlehem” was published in the 1927 Latter-day Saint Hymns.

(I think you can read the words clearly enough, but I’ll include the words as text on these posts to make the words visible to Google.)

When Christ was born in Bethlehem,
’Twas night, but seemed the noon of day;
The stars, whose light
Was pure and bright,
Shone with unwav’ring ray,
Shone with un’wav’ring ray;
But one, one glorious star,
But one, one glorious star
Guided the Eastern Magi from afar.

Then peace was spread throughout the land;
The lion fed beside the lamb;
And with the kid, to pasture led
The spotted leopard fed,
The spotted leopard fed;
In peace the calf and bear,
In peace the calf and bear,
The wolf and lamb reposed together there.

As shepherds watch’d their flocks by night,
An angel brighter than the sun,
Appeared in air, And gently said,
Fear not, be not afraid,
Fear not, be not afraid.
For lo! beneath your eyes,
For lo! beneath your eyes,
Earth has become a smiling paradise.