Louis F. Moench

Who was Louis F. Moench?

Louis Frederick Moench was the founder of Weber Stake Academy and the father of education in Northern Utah, on the same level of importance as John R. Park and Karl G. Maeser to the development of education in Utah.

Moench was born in Neuffen, Germany. He was educated in Germany, but before completing studies at a gymnasium came to Chicago with his family. He eventually graduated from Bryant & Stratton College there. He then headed west with the intention of becoming an educator in California. However he stopped in Salt Lake City and through the kindness of the people there came to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a short time Moench was an instructor at the University of Deseret and then moved to Ogden, Utah.

In Ogden, Moench was supervisor of the city and county schools. He also was for nine years the principal of the Weber Stake Academy. He was succeeded as head of the academy in 1902 by David O. McKay.

Moench also served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Switzerland and Germany. While on this mission he published many materials in German. The most notable of these was the hymn "Hark, All Ye Nations" set to music by George F. Root. This hymn became the most loved hymn of the German-speaking Latter-day Saints and was translated into English and published as part of the 1985 version of the LDS hymnbook.