Kanesville Tabernacle

Kanesville, Iowa, was a settlement built in 1847 as the first group of Saints continued West to the Salt Lake Valley from Winter Quarters, Nebraska. Located just across the Missouri river from Winter Quarters, Kanesville was named in honor of Thomas L. Kane. The Saints continued to gather to Kanesville out of Nauvoo, Illinois, while Brigham Young led the first group of Saints to the Salt Lake Valley.

After the first group of Saints had managed to make it to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, Brigham Young returned to the Kanesville area with most of the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 31, 1847. After much discussion, the members of the Quorum were inspired to reorganize the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. Brigham Young was set apart as the new president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Since the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, three years earlier, the Church had been successfully led by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostleswith no prophet at the head. They were able to accomplish a great deal by continuing to work together. They had completed the Nauvoo Temple before leaving Illinois, which meant that many Saints were able to receive their temple blessings before heading West. They had also led the evacuation of Nauvoo and had directed the building of the settlements in Iowa and Nebraska before finally settling in the Salt Lake Valley. Missionary work had successfully continued in Great Britain. However, the time had come for a prophet to again lead the Church, and when the Lord directed that the time was right, a new First Presidency was sustained with Brigham Young as the prophet and he called Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards as his two counselors. More men were called to fill the vacancies left in the Quorum of the Twelve.

An official Church gathering was planned to have the members of the Church sustain their new leaders on December 27, 1847. A tabernacle was built in less than three weeks in Kanesville for this purpose. Henry W. Miller directed 200 men in the construction of the 60′ x 40′ building. It was built to accommodate about 1,000 people and was later used for many public functions. However, the sustaining of the new prophet was the most important event to take place there and was an extremely significant one in the history of the Mormon Church.

The original Kanesville Tabernacle stood for only two years. It was made of Green Cottonwood, which shrinks when it dries. The shrinking caused the roof to actually separate from the walls of the building by about fourteen inches. In addition, when the tabernacle was built, the ground was frozen. However, when spring came and the ground thawed, it was discovered that the tabernacle had been built on top of a spring. The building rapidly deteriorated and was eventually dismantled. A replica was built in 1996 very close to the original site (though not on top of the spring). Those in charge of the replication wanted the building to be as accurate as possible, so they even built it out of Green Cottonwood. Accounting for the shrinkage of the wood, they put in a jack system to lower the roof onto the walls after the wood had dried. The Kanesville Tabernacle stands as a reminder of the importance of recognizing the prophet and leader of the Lord’s church on the earth today.

Winter Quarters

After the Saints built up a thriving community in Nauvoo, Illinois, they were surrounded by angry mobs wishing to drive them out. The Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith, though not unexpected, was a turning point for the Saints, and they knew they would have to leave Illinois. Church leaders had already been discussing moving west to the area of the Rocky Mountains and had been talking to explorers and studying what maps were available at the time.

As persecution increased, the Saints realized they would have to leave Nauvoo even earlier than originally planned. Instead of leaving in April of 1846, an emergency meeting was held by Church leaders and they decided to leave immediately. The exodus of the Saints west began on February 4, 1846. Those who left early had been able to make the most preparations for their journey, though most things were still unknown. Though safety from persecution was the deciding factor in such a quick evacuation, the desire to go ahead and prepare for the rest of the Saints who would follow was also a factor for the first group to leave.

It was the middle of winter and very cold. One of the first boats to carry people over the Mississippi river was sunk when an ox kicked a hole in it. Two weeks after the first Saints crossed, a miracle occurred. The Mississippi river froze over solid, allowing the Saints to cross with their wagons without the peril of boats. The cold snap brought the blessing of the frozen river, but it was also very hard on the Saints, most of whom were not prepared for the harsh conditions, which awaited them in the Sugar Creek encampment where those who had crossed the river gathered before continuing on their journey.

While early estimates placed the length of the journey to the Rocky Mountains at about 4–6 months, Iowa endured a very wet spring. In some places the mud came up to the wagon beds making progress nearly impossible. It took the Saints 131 days (just over four months) just to get across Iowa. They were forced to stay in the settlements of western Iowa for the winter of 1846–47 before they could make it to the Rocky Mountains. The settlement where they endured this winter was called Winter Quarters, located on the west side of the Missouri River in Nebraska. Nearly 3,500 Saints gathered at this settlement during that winter, surviving in crowded, makeshift shelters which were no match for the bitter cold and which housed 10–15 people each. Malaria ravaged the people in the summer and when winter came it brought cholera, scurvy, night blindness, and severe diarrhea.

During the first winter here, one in twelve died for a total of 369 burials. About 37 percent of the population was sick at the same time and nearly half of the deaths were children under the age of 3. It was truly a time of testing and trial for the Saints who had to endure it. Still, work went on. The men planted crops for those coming after their group would have passed on. The women continued their daily chores and the people held activities such as dances, theological discussions, parties, and of course Church meetings. Faith grew and the Saints grew closer together.

On May 12, 1846, the U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico. Secretary of War William Marcy authorized Colonel Stephen W. Kearny to recruit and enlist Mormon men to go fight in California, and in June 1846, Captain James Allen travelled to the Mormon encampments in southern Iowa to recruit 500 men. Wilford Woodruff said, “I had some reasons to believe them to be spies and that the President had no hand in it. We however treated them with civility and directed them on to Council Bluffs to lay the case before the President.”

It is little wonder that the Saints were dubious at this request of a government which had repeatedly refused to help them in their intense persecutions. However, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards “decided it was best to meet Captain Allen in the morning and raise the men wanted.” These men recognized the opportunity of enlistment for men to earn money which they sorely needed to move the Saints West. In addressing the Saints regarding the issue, Brigham Young said, “Let the Mormons be the first men to se their feet on the soil of California. . . . This is the first offer we have ever had from the government to benefit us.” Over several days, the 500 men were raised. Called the Mormon Battalion, these men fulfilled their duties but were blessed to never have to fight in the war with Mexico. They did receive the capital that the Church needed, and all the families they left behind were miraculously provided for and looked after. It was only after the Mormon Battalion left that Winter Quarters was fully developed.

Eventually the settlement at Winter Quarters was abandoned and the Saints finished their outfitting in Kanesville, Iowa, across the Missouri River. Thousands of pioneers benefited from this experience of the first group of Saints. All those who travelled west to settle were able to learn from the Saints’ experiences and knowledge. Of course, it was especially beneficial to the other Mormon settlers who came after them, but the United States owes much of its settlement in the west after this period to the sacrifices of this first group of Mormon settlers.

In 1847, a smaller group left Winter Quarters for the Rockies. It took 111 days for them to reach the Salt Lake Valley. Immediately men began planting and building. Almost as soon after arriving, Brigham Young and a small group turned around to head back to Winter Quarters and send the rest of the Saints on their way. Four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young chose a temple site.

Over the years, 100,000 Mormons travelled to Salt Lake City; 85,000 of them came from outside of the United States. As the railroads expanded and the Transcontinental Railroad was eventually finished, the journey was cut from 3 months to 3 days. Saints continued to pour into the Salt Lake Valley and to spread out in their developments. Winter Quarters, which was called the “Valley Forge of Mormondom” by John Young, Brigham’s son, was an area which required great sacrifices from those who lived there. These sacrifices led to great blessings for those who endured, and they in turn were able to bless all those who came after them.

Today a temple stands next to the cemetery at Winter Quarters as a reminder of all the blessings and freedoms for which those who died here were fighting.

(Quotes taken from Church History in the Fulness of Times Student Manual.)

Rebuilding the Church in Germany after WWII

After World War II, Germany was one of the most torn-apart countries. Despite the roll which Germany had played in World War II, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon Church) were concerned for all who had suffered in the war and were anxious for the German Saints. As soon as they were permitted, they sent help, but before the Church was able to get there, many Saints pulled together to help rebuild their land, focusing a good deal on their religion and pulling fellow members together.

In Hamburg, Germany, two brothers who were members of the local branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were instrumental in helping to rebuild the Church in their area. On July 27, 1943, Hamburg was heavily bombed by more than 700 Allied aircraft in what was called Operation Gomorrah. The bombing created a firestorm with winds reaching 150 miles per hour and temperatures reaching 1500 degrees Fahrenheit resulting in the deaths of 40,000 people.

Gerhard Fricke was twenty years old at the time of the bombing, but had escaped military service due to a speech impediment. His mother had joined the Mormon Church in 1910 and he and his younger brother, Harald, were both active in the local congregation. The entire family was miraculously preserved during the bombing, but afterwards both brothers were drafted into the army, with Gerhard being sent to the Western Front and Harald to the Eastern. Both were essentially prisoners of war for quite some time after the war ended, but both eventually made it back home.

Harald was a prisoner in Russia for one and a half years. When he was too sick to keep on, the Russians sent him home. After a four-week journey during which many others died, Harald finally made it hoe. After their returns, both boys became active in the Church again. Harald served as a bishop for 15 years and on the high council for 22 years. Now, at age 83, he continues to keep up the Hamburg Ward building.

Upon Gerhard’s return, he married and he and his new wife left a nice, new apartment to answer a call from their local congregational leader to restore the meetinghouse they had been allotted by the government. Any buildings were hard to come by, and the villa they were permitted to use was in shambles. Gerhard and his wife moved into this building and slowly rebuilt the whole thing. This building still serves as the meetinghouse for the Altona Ward in Hamburg, Germany. Through the Frickes’ continued dedication, the building is now protected under law as a state monument. Though Gerhard and his wife retired as the building’s caretakers nearly twenty years ago, they still live near it and continue to care for it. It is the dedication and sacrifice of such people as these which helped to strengthen the Church in Europe after World War II, bringing hope to people whose world had been destroyed and torn apart. The Church was able to bring much-needed aid to thousands through the efforts of the faithful Saints there.

New Virtual Tours of Church History Sites

Craig Ostler and John Livingstone, among other Brigham Young University Religious Education professors, have come together to work on a wonderful new project: Hallowed Grounds Sacred Journeys. The early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spans a vast area of the United States, plus significant areas in other countries and on other continents; in short, far too wide spread for most Church members to be able to personally visit most of these sites.

Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys is a non-profit group which has already produced a hardcover book entitled Hallowed Ground, Sacred Journeys: Salt Lake City, Ensign to the Nations, which includes a DVD covering more than 50 historic sites in Salt Lake City, Utah. The scope of the group goes far beyond Salt Lake City, however.

Participants travel to significant Church history sites all over the United States and document them. These reports are then posted on an interactive website, byuvirtualtours.blogspot.com. This blog is updated weekly with information on a different historical site, “complete with documentary video and stories and pictures based on the scholarly work of Brigham Young University Religious Education professors.” This is such a wonderful gift to so many people, especially people who live half the world away who have no chance of being able to visit these places in their lifetimes. This blog is able to bring these sites to the world. People can see, hear, and feel the significance of these places for themselves from the comfort of their own homes or meetinghouses.

When the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first organized themselves, they were commanded to build a city unto God: Zion. Though Zion was originally defined as Jackson County, Missouri, the Saints were persecuted and forced to leave this area. They were also forced to leave their settlements in Ohio and Illinois. Eventually they left what was then the boundary of the United States and settled in the Utah Territory, eventually gaining statehood and admission into the United States of America. Their history is one of suffering, perseverance, and faith. Now any who are interested can follow the trek of the Saints and see where and how they lived.

Wilford Woodruff’s 1880 Revelation

During the period of the extreme and unrelenting prosecutions under the anti-polygamy acts of Congress, President Wilford Woodruff spent much of his time among the churches in Arizona and southern Utah. On January 26, 1880, having retired for some days in the mountains, fasting and praying, he obtained important revelations from the Lord concerning the work of the Twelve Apostles and events which would happen affecting both the Church and the nation. These were submitted to President John Taylor and the Council of the Apostles and were accepted by them as profitable for doctrine, for comfort, for light as to the future, and for encouragement in the work of the ministry. Following is President Woodruff’s account of receiving revelation.

During the month of January, 1880, I was at Sunset, Arizona, with Brother Lot Smith and the brethren with him who were trying to establish a Branch of the United Order at that place. At this time the Government, through its officers, were using every means in its power to enforce the Edmunds-Tucker and anti-polygamy law with the evident intent on the part of the officers to break us up as an organized community. Being away from President Taylor and my Quorum, I felt deeply distressed in mind concerning our conditions as a people. While thus exercised I went into “the Wilderness”, a region of country called by this name, situated about forty miles west of Sunset, and while there I stopped with two young men who were herding sheep belonging to the people of Sunset. I remained with them ten days, reading the revelations of God as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, and praying fervently unto the Lord to reveal to me His mind and will concerning Zion. On retiring to bed on the night of the 25th of January, 1880, I found myself wrapt in vision, and the next morning the following revelation was given to me of the Lord which I wrote at the time:

Thus saith the Lord unto my servant, Wilford Woodruff, I have heard thy prayer and will answer thy petition. I will make known unto thee my will concerning the nations who encumber the land of promise and also concerning Zion and her inhabitants.

I have already revealed my will concerning this nation through the mouth of my servant Joseph, who sealed his testimony with his own blood, which testimony has been in force upon all the world from the hour of his death.

What I the Lord have revealed in that testament and decreed upon this nation and upon all the nations of the earth, shall be fulfilled, saith the Lord of hosts. I the Lord have spoken and will be obeyed. My purposes shall be fulfilled upon this nation and no power shall stay My Hand. The hour is at the door when My wrath and indignation will be poured out upon the wicked of the nations.

Their murders, blasphemies, lying, whoredoms, and abominations have come up before my face and before the heavens, and the wrath of my indignation is full.

I have decreed plagues to go forth and waste my enemies, and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute my heritage.

The devil is ruling over his kingdom and my spirit has no place in the hearts of the rulers of this nation, and the devil stirs them up to defy my power and to make war upon my Saints. Therefore let mine Apostles and mine Elders who are faithful obey my commandments which are already written for their profit and guidance.

Thus saith the Lord unto My servant, John Taylor, and My servant Wilford Woodruff, and My servant, Orson Pratt, and to all the residue of mine Apostles; Have you not gone forth in My name without purse or scrip and declared the Gospel of life and salvation unto this nation and the nations of the earth and warned them of the judgments which are to come as you have been moved upon by the power of the Holy Ghost and the inspiration of the Lord?

You have done this year by year for a whole generation, as men count time. Therefore your garments are clean of the blood of this generation and especially of this nation.

Therefore, as I have said in a former commandment, so I the Lord say again unto My Apostles: Go ye alone by yourselves, whether in heat or in cold and cleanse your feet in water, pure water, it matters not whether it be by the running streams, or in your closets; but leave these testimonies before the Lord and the heavenly hosts; and when you have all done this, then gather yourselves together in your Holy places and clothe yourselves with the robes of the Holy Priesthood and there offer up your prayers according to my Holy Law.

Let him who presides be mouth and kneel at the Holy altar, and there let mine Apostles bring all these testimonies before my face and before the heavenly hosts and before the justified spirits made perfect. And thus saith the Lord unto you, mine apostles, when you bring these testimonies before me, let them be presented by name as far as the Spirit shall present them unto you: The Presidents of the United States, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Senate and Houses of Congress of the United States, the Governors of the States and Territories, the judges and others sent unto you, and all men and persons who have taken any part in persecuting you or bringing distress upon you or your families, or who have sought your lives, or sought to hinder you from keeping my commandments or from enjoying the rights which the constitutional laws of the land guarantee unto you.

And what I the Lord say unto you, mine Apostles, I also say unto my servants- the Seventies, the High Priests, the Elders, the Priests and all my servants who are pure in heart and who have borne testimony unto the nations. Let them go forth and cleanse their feet in pure water and bear testimony of it unto their Father who is in heaven.

And then, saith the Lord unto mine Apostles and mine Elders, when ye do these things with purity of heart, I the Lord will hear your prayers and am bound by oath and covenant to defend you and fight your battles.

As I have said in a former commandment, it is not my will that mine Elders should fight the battles of Zion, for I will fight your battles.

Nevertheless, let no man be afraid to lay down his life for my sake, for he that layeth down his life for my sake shall find it again and have eternal life.

The nation is ripened in iniquity and the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full and I will not stay my hand in judgments upon this nation or the nations of the earth.

I have decreed wars and judgments upon the wicked and my wrath and indignation are about to be poured out upon them and the wicked and rebellious shall know that I am God.

As I the Lord have spoken so will I fulfill. I will spare none who remain in Babylon, but I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts. As I the Lord have suffered, so will I put all enemies under my feet. For I the Lord utter my word and it shall be obeyed.

And the day of wrath and indignation shall come upon the wicked.

And I say again, woe unto that nation or house or people who seek to hinder my people from obeying the Patriarchal law of Abraham, which leadeth to Celestial Glory, which has been revealed unto my Saints through the mouth of my servant Joseph, for whosoever doeth these things shall be damned, saith the Lord of Hosts, and shall be broken up and wasted away from under heaven by the judgments which I have sent forth, and which shall not return unto me void.

And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed, and with famine and plagues and earthquakes and the thunder of heaven and the vivid lightenings shall this nation and the nations of the earth be made to feel the chastening hand of an Almighty God until they are broken up and destroyed and wasted away from under heaven, and no power can stay my hand. Therefore, let the wicked tremble; let them that blaspheme my name hold their lips, for destruction will swiftly overtake them.

All that I the Lord have spoken through the mouths of my Prophets and Apostles since the world began, concerning the last dispensation and fullness of times, concerning my Church, which has been called out of the wilderness of darkness and error, concerning the Zion and kingdom of God and concerning Babylon the great, and what I have spoken through the mouth of my servant Joseph, shall all be fulfilled.

And though the heaven and earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall be fulfilled, saith the Lord.

These revelations and testimonies are before you. Let my Saints search the Word of the Lord and treasure up wisdom and be prepared for that which is to come.

As I have decreed, so shall my judgments begin at the House of God.

There are those in my Church who have a name among you who are adulterers and adulteresses, and those who blaspheme my name and those who love and make a lie, and those who revel and drink with the drunken.

If they do not speedily repent of this wickedness and abomination, they should be severed from the ordinances of my house, saith the Lord.

There are many who have need to repent, whose hearts are set upon the things of this world, who aspire to the honors of men and do not honor the Priesthood, nor seek to build up the Kingdom of God as they should. Neither do they learn and comprehend:

That the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

Such should repent and turn unto the Lord, and seek for the Holy Spirit to guide them.

Judgments will begin upon my house, and from thence will they go forth unto the world and the wicked cannot escape.

Blessed are the pure in heart for my blessings await them in this life and eternal life in the world to come.

Thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant and Apostles who dwell in the flesh. Fear ye not your enemies. Let not your hearts be troubled. I am in your midst. I am your advocate with the Father. I have given mine angels charge concerning you. Mine eyes are upon you and the eyes of your Heavenly Father and the Heavenly Hosts and all justified spirits made perfect are watching over you. Your works are manifest before the face of my servants who have sealed their testimony with their blood, and before all my servants of the Apostles whom I have taken unto myself.

The veil is taken from off their faces and they know your works. They await your coming when you have finished your testimony in the flesh. Therefore, be ye faithful until I come. My coming is at the door.

Call upon the Lord in mighty prayer, ask and you shall receive. Whenever you agree as touching anything and ask the Father in my name, it shall be given unto you. Seek diligently to build up Zion and to magnify your high calling and your enemies shall not prevail over you. Zion shall not be moved out of her place. Zion shall prevail against her enemies.

My people shall not be hindered in the building of my temples unto my Holy Name, if they will hearken unto my voice and do as I command them.

The blood of my servants Joseph and Hyrum and of mine Apostles and Elders which has been shed for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, cries from the ground for vengeance upon the nation which has shed their blood. But their blood shall speedily be avenged and shall cease to cry unto me, for the hour of God’s judgment is fully come and shall be poured out without measure upon the wicked.

But hearken and hear, O ye Apostles, Elders and people of my Church, to the Word of the Lord concerning you, that for all the blessing that I will pour out upon you and the inhabitants of Zion and the judgments and destruction upon the wicked, I will be inquired of by you to ask the Father in my name to do and to perform these things for you as I told all the House of Israel by my servant Moses, that they should ask at my hand for all those blessings which I the Lord have promised unto Israel in the latter days.

And as I the Lord ordained mine Apostles who were with me in my ministry and promised them that they should sit upon twelve thrones, judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel, so I say unto you mine Apostles, who I have raised up in these last days that I have ordained you to bear record of my name, and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles first, and then to the House of Israel. I have also ordained you to sit upon thrones and judge the Gentiles and the inhabitants of the earth unto whom you have borne testimony of my name in the day and generation in which you live. Therefore, how great is your calling and responsibility before me. Therefore, gird up the loins of your minds and magnify your calling in the fear of God, and prepare ye for the coming of the Son of Man, which is nigh at the door.

No man knoweth the day nor the hour, but the signs of both heaven and earth indicate His coming, as promised by the mouths of my disciples; the fig tree is leafing and the hour is nigh. Therefore, prepare yourselves, O ye Saints of the Most High God, with oil in your lamps, for blessed is he that watcheth for the coming of the Son of Man.

Again, hear ye the Word of the Lord, O ye mine Apostles whom I have chosen in these last days to bear record of my name and lead my people Israel until the coming of the Son of Man.

I the Lord have raised up unto you my servant John Taylor to preside over you and to be a lawgiver unto my Church. He has mingled his blood with that of the martyred Prophets. Nevertheless, while I have taken my servants Joseph and Hyrum unto myself, I have preserved my servant John Taylor for a wise purpose in me.

I have also taken many others of the Apostles unto myself, for I take whom I will take, and preserve in life whom I will preserve, according to the counsel of mine own will.

And while my servant John Taylor is your President, I wish to ask the rest of my servants of the Apostles the question, although you have one to preside over your Quorum, which is the order of God in all generations, do you not, all of you, hold the apostleship, which is the highest authority ever given to men on earth? You do. Therefore you hold in common the Keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world.

You each of you have the power to unlock the veil of eternity and hold converse with God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ and to have the ministrations of angels

It is your right, privilege and duty to inquire of the Lord as to His mind and will concerning yourselves and the inhabitants of Zion and their interests.

And whenever any one of you receives the word of the Lord, let it be written and presented in your councils and whatever by united consent you deem wisdom to be presented unto the people, let it be presented by the President, my servant John Taylor, as the word of the Lord. In this way you will uphold him and strengthen his hands, as all the burden should not lie upon one man.

For thus saith the Lord, all mine Apostles should be full of the Holy Ghost, of inspiration and revelation to know the mind and will of God and be prepared for that which is to come. Therefore let mine Apostles keep my commandments and obey my voice and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

Fear not, for lo, I am with you until I come and I come quickly. Even so, Amen.

Wilford Woodruff’s Biography

Faithful Saints Complete Impossible Trek

On Saturday, October 24, 2009, a group of nearly 500 gathered at Bluff, Utah, to commemorate the journey their Mormon ancestors had made 130 years before. In 1879, the then-president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Taylor, called a small group of Mormon settlers to leave the homes and land they had already settled in Parowan, Utah, and to travel across the state to southeastern Utah to settle a hard area. It is a testament to the faith of these Saints that they did not blink in the face of adversity, but heeded the call of their prophet.

It took this group of Saints six months to cross an area now known as Hole-in-the-Rock; a place so called because they literally had to cut into the rock to make a trail for their wagons down the seemingly sheer cliff. After this part of the journey they had to cross the Colorado River. Then they were met with land that their scouts told them would be impossible to cross. These Saints were not faint of heart, however. They arrived at their destination of Bluff in April 1880.

The Saints did not take long before

they built up a community of about 40 homes and a fort. They were then requested by President Taylor to build communications with the local Native American tribes of Ute and Navajo. By their faith and heeding of the prophet’s call, this group managed to fulfill the Lord’s will.

On Saturday this group’s descendants gathered to dedicate a memorial to President Taylor and to their ancestors who sacrificed so much for what they knew to be right. Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles attended the event to dedicate the memorial. Elder Perry spoke of President Taylor’s courage, of his ability to communicate, and

of his faith, reminding the group that these three characteristics had influenced their ancestors and could still influence us today.

When President Taylor became president of the Church, he was faced with the challenge of expanding and settling the state. He had to call people to make difficult journeys, to settle harsh areas, and to try and make peace and build strong relations with local Native American tribes. These challenges were just as hard for the people he called to face them as they were for President Taylor himself. The fort that this group of Saints’ descendants has built up will stand as a reminder of their courage.

As Elder Perry prepared to dedicate the statue of President Taylor at Bluff Fort, he said, “It is fitting today we place this statue of John Taylor here in this historic community. It will stand as a reminder to all who visit of the faith of those who sacrificed so much to bless us with a heritage to turn our thoughts to the past to give us the firm resolve to have the faith to face the future with a bright determination of hope and courage.”

Bluff Fort has been reconstructed by its inhabitants’ descendants. Eleven cabin replicas are now there for visitors to see what life was like when the settlers arrived.

The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is full of stories of people like those who left their comfortable homes (after travelling across the United States) to settle an entirely new area. Members of this Church are still full of the same faith today as were their forbearers before them. As Elder Perry eloquently said, “We have been blessed to have our roots firmly grounded by the sacrifice of noble pioneer heritage. Through their extraordinary efforts and inspired leadership, an empire has emerged out of a desert. Their strong traits of courage, industry, faith, and determination have given us a legacy which we can look upon with great pride. It is proper we build monuments to remind our and future generations of our special pioneer heritage. It is a heritage of inspired leadership that is directed by the hand of God through his holy prophets.”

Source: “Faith conquers ‘impossible trek,’” Shaun D. Stahle, LDS Church News, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009.

The Helmuth Hübener Group

The Helmuth Hübener Group has become somewhat famous in Mormon culture as a group of teenage boys who took it upon themselves to resist the Nazi regime. While they did do this, a personal account from the last-surviving member of the group, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, brings to light the heroism as well as the innocence and naivety of these boys as well as the price each of them paid.

Schnibbe recalls how the rise of the Nazi regime was viewed by most as a good thing in the beginning. Though not everyone liked them, they did vastly improve the economy and morale of the country. Growing up in Hamburg, Schnibbe was aware of the intense, of later hidden, dislike of the new regime. However, along with this, Schnibbe remembers how the regime went after the youth immediately, filling them with propaganda and having them do military drills, though the children did not all realize at the time what was going on.

Karl-Heinz credits his father’s sarcastic comments about the Nazis for his own cynicism and dislike of them. He was encouraged to think, judge, and act for himself. Karl-Heinz had many experiences which warned him of the way things were going. One such experience involved seeing a group of Jews being herded onto a train. They were surrounded by SS (Schutzstaffel, German for “Protective Squadron,” and Hitler’s police) men who were jeering at them as well as spitting on them. He was very disturbed by this, but this was nothing to his experience after Krystallnacht, or “The Night of Broken Glass,” which was an organized ransacking of Jewish communities all across Germany. Thousands of Jews were arrested and countless businesses were destroyed. Karl-Heinz had to walk through this area on his way to work and witnessing the effects of such hatred influenced him greatly in his decision to join Helmuth Hübener in his underground movement.

Interestingly, none of the three boys (Karl-Heinz, Helmuth, and Rudi Wobbe) saw themselves as heroes at this time. Helmuth was the mastermind behind the project. He had a short-wave radio that one of his brothers had brought home from the war. Most radios at this time in Germany were government issued and could only pick up government stations. With the short-wave radio, though, Helmuth could pick up the BBC broadcasts. After listening for some time, Helmuth became convinced that everything the Nazi regime was telling its people was propaganda and lies. The BBC broadcasts told all fatalities, including their own, and the German casualties were much higher than the regime had been reporting. Helmuth was a very intelligent boy and quickly became convinced there was no way Hitler could win the war he had started. He then felt an intense need to share the truth with those around him.

Helmuth, Karl-Heinz, and Rudi were three friends whose parents attended the same branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they spent a lot of time together. Helmuth was very cautious in his maneuvers and initially invited his two friends separately to get a feeling for where they stood on the matter. Karl-Heinz remembered Helmuth saying he needed to educate them politically and posed questions that made them think and reevaluate what they were being told. Karl-Heinz became convinced after his first time listening to the BBC broadcast that Germany was lying to its people. He went back again and again, whenever he got the chance, to listen. It was illegal to listen to these broadcasts, and in some cases the death penalty was the consequence for listeners, so they had to be very careful. They only listened at night when Helmuth’s grandparents had already gone to bed.

Because Karl-Heinz could not listen every night, he asked Helmuth, who was adept at shorthand, to record some of the broadcasts. In some ways, this led to the flyers that Helmuth later produced. The first flyers he gave to Karl-Heinz to distribute were small and said things like, “Down with Hitler!” along with a short message to pass the flyer on. When Helmuth first asked Karl-Heinz to distribute some of the flyers, Karl-Heinz was so disturbed and upset by the possible consequences of what they were doing that he came down with diarrhea. Helmuth encouraged him to distribute the flyers in telephone booths, mailboxes, etc. Soon after this first distribution, Karl-Heinz found out that their friend Rudi was in on the plan as well. Helmuth had already decided to put more information in his pamphlets and carry on a resistance by spreading the truth. Neither Karl-Heinz, nor Rudi, was immediately up for this undertaking, but eventually both became involved. Their efforts must have paid off somewhat, because the number of flyers turned into the SS was remarkably small for how many flyers were distributed.

One thing pushing Helmuth was that he had been raised to tell the truth. He knew most people did not even have the opportunity to listen to the broadcasts, but if he got the information out there, people could decide for themselves what to do with it. In the beginning, the boys made a pact that if one of them were to get caught, he would take the blame for all of them and not tell the authorities about the other two. They knew what they were doing was dangerous, but they were still naive in many ways. As the war continued and blackouts and air-raids became common, the boys had ample time to think about the state of the country, which certainly pushed them to get the truth out to more people. They knew they would never overthrow the government, but Helmuth said, “What we can do is to warn the people. We can wake them up, we can bring them to the point of asking questions and saying: ‘Wait a minute, something is not right. I want to hear that myself.’ And when enough people hear the truth or are interested in the truth, then who knows?” (When Truth Was Treason: German Youth against Hitler, p43.)

Despite Helmuth’s caution, he was overheard by an informant at work urging a French-speaking coworker to translate one of his pamphlets. After a brief investigation, Helmuth was arrested on February 5, 1942. Helmuth had been active outside of his group with Karl-Heinz and Rudi, but, in order to protect them, he had told them nothing of his other activities. The first Karl-Heinz and Rudi heard of the arrest was at church on the following Sunday. They were both immediately sick with fear, not knowing if Helmuth would break down and tell the SS about them. After waiting in suspense for two days, Karl-Heinz was arrested at his work. He was brought home, where his escorts searched his home, but found nothing. He was then taken to Gestapo (German secret police) headquarters, where he remained for several days being mentally tortured, physically beaten, and constantly interrogated. His parents did not find out until the next day what had happened to Karl-Heinz, after they contacted his boss and explained Karl-Heinz had not come home the night before.

Karl-Heinz still did not know how much Helmuth had told the police about his involvement, so he said as little as he could. He eventually passed Helmuth in a hallway after being interrogated and Helmuth gave him a small smile and winked at him, letting him know that he had kept the agreement to accept full responsibility. It was only after two days of torture that Helmuth had mentioned their names in passing, along with his colleague’s, Gerhard Düwer. He told police that these boys had listened or read a flyer once, but that was all. They were each still severely punished, but after months of questioning and torture, Helmuth was sentenced to death. He was only seventeen years old, as was Düwer. Rudi was sixteen, and Karl-Heinz eighteen. Karl-Heinz was sentenced to five years of imprisonment, Rudi to ten, and Düwer four, though their sentences proved to be much worse than that.

Karl-Heinz recalled the trial and how “cool, clear, and clever Helmuth was” (When Truth Was Treason: German Youth against Hitler, p69). Later, Karl-Heinz realized Helmuth knew long before the verdict that he would be put to death. Helmuth wanted to show his superiority to the jury and judge and to “conduct himself with courage and dignity.” After several more months in prison, Helmuth was beheaded at 8:13 p.m. on October 28, 1942.

In the beginning, the boys were transferred to Glasmoor, a prison labor camp. During their imprisonment, the boys met some officials who were sympathetic and kind to them, in some instances even saving their lives. In other instances, they were treated brutally and nearly starved to death multiple times. From Glasmoor, they were transferred to an aircraft factory in Poland. In January of 1944, when they could all tell that it would only be a matter of time before Germany lost the war, they left Poland to return to Germany on foot. Gerhard nearly died from frostbite and freezing to death, but they all made it back. Then a recruiting group came through and drafted Karl-Heinz into the army just four weeks before the end of the war. Gerhard and Rudi were spared due to frostbite and a longer sentence, respectively. Though it was a blessing that Karl-Heinz never had to fight, his group was soon captured by the Russians and brought by train to Russia to serve in labor camps there. Conditions were worse than imaginable and many of the POWs died from the cold and lack of food.

Even in Russia, however, Karl-Heinz found friends. His heart was softened toward the people despite their hatred of the Germans, because he saw firsthand the suffering the war had caused them. Even so, he found much friendship among many of the Russians, and friends took care of him and helped him survive. Day after day, month after month, year after year, the prisoners were told they would soon go home, but they were only transferred to other work camps. Finally, in 1944, Karl-Heinz was informed he would be going back to Germany, but the trip took several months, and he was still very sick from malaria and malnutrition. After nearly getting stuck in East Germany due to an infection he contracted on the train home from a sliver, Karl-Heinz arrived in Göttingen where he had to stay at a university hospital for eight weeks to be treated. He left for a week to attend his brother’s wedding, and the strain nearly killed him. For his journey back to the hospital to complete his recovery, he was showered with goods obtained from the relief efforts of the Church, which he brought back to the hospital to share with those who were still in such dire straits.

Though Karl-Heinz survived his imprisonment, it took him several years to heal both physically and spiritually, but he still had to develop psychologically. He had been imprisoned when he was still a boy and had then become hardened in the prison system in order to survive. He still had many more trials to face. In Karl-Heinz’s words, “It was a prison psychosis. . . . I did not know what to do with my freedom . . . I went into the penal institution as a teenager and remained a teenager. I never grew up; in that time I never developed as a person. I lived entirely for myself and was totally egoistic. I was lewd, crude, and rude. I feared that my soul was crippled for life, that I actually would never be able to become fully human again. . . . People think, when they come home, everything will be well again, but nothing is well again. It is a terrible struggle. When I was a child and was torn away from home, the world was a completely different place, there was a dictator and a war. Now, when I came home, there was peace and a democratic society. In the meantime seven years had passed. People were different; times had changed. I could not fit into the pace of modern postwar life” (When Truth Was Treason: German Youth against Hitler, p136–137).

After a few more years, Karl-Heinz immigrated to the United States and is much happier. The story that he has preserved and shared of the courageousness of four boys who risked their lives to spread the truth is more than inspiring. Karl-Heinz said, “I very often think about Helmuth and our resistance work. The longer I live, the more I see in the world around me, the more I recognize how right Helmuth was to do what he did, and the more I admire him. Because I survived, I consider it my duty not to let Helmuth’s life and death fall into oblivion” (When Truth Was Treason: German Youth against Hitler, p141).

Pioneers by Ship

While most Mormon pioneers travelled by foot and wagon across the United States, and later by rail when the railroad was completed, there were a few Saints who sailed from the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States. One of the most famous of these groups was the group that travelled on the Brooklyn from New York to San Francisco. The Brooklyn carried a total of 238 passengers on its voyage which departed on February 4, 1846: 70 men, 68 women, and 100 children. Most of the 238 passengers were Mormon, but a few were just general passengers.

The Saints who travelled on this ship did so in response to a call from Elder Orson Pratt, who was the presiding apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the eastern states, when he heard the Mormons were to leave Nauvoo, Illinois. The Saints were put under the direction of Samuel Brannon, who was the publisher of the Mormon paper The Prophet. Most of the Saints who went along were farmers and mechanics. They took with them all the tools they would need to build a new colony from scratch. They also brought the printing press used for The Prophet as well as a 179-volume collection of books.

The 177-day and 24,000-mile voyage encountered many exciting events. One major storm in the Atlantic Ocean started them off on their journey after only four days at sea, which was followed by another when they reached the Pacific Ocean. In between, they were stuck in calm waters for several days. One passenger, Augusta Joyce Corcheron, described these experiences as follows:

As for the pleasure of the trip, we met disappointment, for we once lay becalmed in the tropics, and at another time we were “hatched below” during a terrific storm. Women and children were at night lashed to their berths, for in no other way could they keep in. Furniture rolled back and forth endangering limb and life. The waves swept the deck and even reached the stateroom. . . . Children’s voices were crying in the darkness, mother’s voices soothing or scolding, men’s voices rising above the others, all mingled with the distressing groans and cries of the sick for help, and, above all, the roaring of the wind and howling of the tempest made a scene and feeling indescribable.

Captain Abel W. Richardson called the Atlantic storm the worst he had ever seen. He was convinced the ship was going to go down, but when he went below deck to inform his passengers of the situation, he met their faith. One woman said, “We were sent to California and we shall get there.”

A total of eleven passengers died on the voyage, mainly due to scarlet fever, consumption (tuberculosis), diarrhea, and dehydration. Laura Goodwin, who died due to a fall during the Pacific storm, was buried in a cave during the stop at Juan Fernandez Island, while the other ten were buried at sea. The ship had been headed for Valparaiso, Chile, and the storm they hit blew them nearly all the way back to Cape Horn. This was a blessing in disguise, because the Saints were able to bathe, do laundry, obtain fresh fruit and potatoes, catch and salt fish, get general supplies, and obtain 18,000 gallons of fresh water. If they had done this at Valparaiso it would have cost them hundreds of dollars, whereas they were able gather most things themselves on the island which inspired Robin Crusoe.

Arriving in Yerba Buena, later renamed San Francisco, on July 31, 1846, the Saints discovered that the United States had taken over the village only three weeks earlier. The Saints were forced to remain in that area until the main body of the Saints decided where to settle, ultimately the Salt Lake Valley, in 1847. The group founded New Hope 70 miles east of Yerba Buena. Six months after their arrival, the Saints were joined by several members of the Mormon Battalion. Only about one-third of the original Brooklyn Saints joined the Saints in Utah after they settled there.

The Brooklyn Saints brought much to the San Francisco area, including the first public school, bank, newspaper, post office, and library. They also brought and grew the first wheat in the area. By 1847, there were more than 500 Saints in California and San Francisco’s population was predominantly Mormon. The efforts and sacrifices made by the Brooklyn Saints helped them to reap many blessings which not only helped New Hope grow, but which helped the Church grow and gain a foundation in new colonies as well.

Sources:

Ships, Saints, and Mariners: A Maritime Encyclopedia of Mormon Migration, 1830–1890. Conway B. Sonne. p. 32–34.

“Voyage of the Brooklyn.” Joan S. Hamblin. Ensign. July 1997. p. 16.

Hyrum Smith

In adulthood, Hyrum Smith was described as being five feet, eleven inches tall and as weighing about 190 pounds. He and Joseph were of similar builds and very much resembled each other physically. They were also completely devoted to each other in the gospel. John Taylor, the third president of the Church, described Hyrum in the following way:

“[He] is a man of sterling integrity, deep penetration and brilliant talents. He is well versed in politics and [is] as unchangeable as the everlasting hills. He is a man of probity and virtue, and an unwavering patriot.” After Hyrum’s death, Taylor said of him, “If ever there was an exemplary, honest and virtuous man, the embodiment of all that is noble in the human form, hyrum Smith was the representative” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 251).

Being the brother of Joseph Smith, Hyrum often does not receive quite as much recognition now as does the Prophet. However, Hyrum lived a life of perfect integrity and sacrificed just as much as Joseph did for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph would surely be the first of many to praise Hyrum’s unassuming dedication to the gospel and to the building of the kingdom of God on the earth today. Examining Hyrum’s life a bit more closely reveals a hero who is still an example to those of us living today.

Birth and Growing Up Years

Hyrum Smith was born to Lucy Mack and Joseph Smith Sr., on February 9, 1800, in Tunbridge, Vermont. Hyrum was the Smiths’ third son, but the oldest died at birth. Alvin, to whom Hyrum became very close, also died young, at the age of 25, on November 19, 1823, admonishing Hyrum to take care of the family as the now oldest son living. Joseph Smith Jr. was born nearly six years after Hyrum on December 23, 1805.

Hyrum attended Moor’s School in Lebanon, Connecticut, in 1811, which he attended for a couple years as a promising student. However, an outbreak of typhus fever caused him to have to return home in 1813. The entire Smith family soon became infected and thirteen-year-old Hyrum tried to provide what comfort he could to them. After Joseph’s apparent recovery from the illness, however, it became apparent that complications from his illness had led to a severe infection in his leg which required surgery. It was weeks before they found a doctor willing to operate without amputating, and Hyrum, seeing how exhausted his mother was from caring for the family, offered to tend to seven-year-old Joseph. Lucy described Hyrum as sitting by Joseph’s side “almost day and night for some considerable length of time holding the affected part of [Joseph's] leg in his hands, and pressing it between them, so that his afflicted brother might be enabled to endure the pain which was so excruciating” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 7). Even then, Lucy noted Hyrum as “rather remarkable for his tenderness and sympathy.”

In 1820, when Joseph was fourteen years old, he had a vision of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, which he eventually shared with his family. The bond between the brothers was strong, and Hyrum never doubted that Joseph had seen and heard what he claimed he had. They were still a poor, hardworking family, though, and all the Smith children developed strong work ethics. Alvin’s death in 1823 was the first of many losses in Hyrum’s life which he used to show empathy to those around him. He was never too busy to comfort someone who had suffered a loss.

Despite constant hard work, the Smith family suffered several financial setbacks. After Hyrum had left home, his family lost their home. He and his first wife, Jerusha, welcomed the whole family in to their small log house. Hyrum was sufficiently educated to qualify him to teach school, which he did at different times to help support his family. His flawless and unquestionable character was enough recommendation to grant him acceptance into the Mount Moriah Mason Lodge No. 112.

A Witness to the Book of Mormon

Though The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had not yet been organized, persecution had already arisen against the Smith family and any who believed Joseph’s story. In 1827, Joseph was entrusted with the plates from which the Book of Mormon would eventually be translated. When people heard rumors of these gold plates, they tried every means to get them from Joseph (though they supposedly discredited everything Joseph said, they apparently still believed in the plates) and persecution intensified. As Joseph translated the plates, with Oliver Cowdery acting as his scribe, they came across doctrines which they would approach the Lord about in prayer. Baptism was one of these ordinances. After receiving the priesthood, Joseph and Oliver baptized each other, and Hyrum was baptized in early June 1829. Early in July, Hyrum and seven others—together known as the Eight Witnesses—were invited to share Joseph’s burden in being a witness of the plates and of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon.

Hyrum was always in tune with the Spirit of God. This sometimes led to promptings and impressions which enabled Hyrum to sense danger and confront it. While the Book of Mormon was being printed, one Sunday afternoon, Hyrum had a distinct feeling that something was not right at the printing office. He confided his feelings to Oliver Cowdery, who was hesitant to go to the office, because it was Sunday and the office was closed. Hyrum acted quickly, however, and upon arriving at the printing office, discovered a man with hostile feelings to Joseph Smith printing his newspaper with excerpts of “Joe Smith’s Gold Bible.” The man had special permission to use the office on Sunday, but was breaking the law printing copyrighted material he found in the manuscript for the Book of Mormon. Hyrum and Oliver finally persuaded the man to cease his printing, thus preserving the integrity of the Book of Mormon. This is one example of many of Hyrum following the promptings of the Spirit.

With the organization of the Church in 1830, Hyrum was told his duty would be unto the Church forever (D&C 23:3). He was also counseled to continue learning the gospel before preaching it, being told he would be called to preach when it was time (D&C 11:15). Hyrum’s commitment to the gospel was such that he would set aside whatever he was doing to help an individual grow in the gospel. Parley P. Pratt sought baptism at Hyrum’s hand and Hyrum welcomed him into his home and discussed teachings of the gospel into the night. Hyrum even walked twenty-five miles with Parley the next day to see him baptized by Oliver Cowdery. At another time, Hyrum was told by a father whose daughter wanted to be baptized that whoever baptized her a Mormon would “do so at his peril.” Hyrum replied respectfully but fearlessly, “Mr. Tyler, we shall not baptize your daughter against your wishes. If our doctrine be true, which we testify it is, if you prevent your daughter from embracing it, the sin will be on your head, not on ours or your daughters” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 73). Mr. Tyler pondered this, decided to counsel his daughter, and left the decision up to her. She was baptized soon thereafter.

The Kirtland Temple and the School of the Prophets

In 1833, Joseph received a directive for Hyrum from the Lord counseling him and the brethren to build a house of the Lord and to form the School of the Prophets for the instruction of all Church leaders. In the course of the School of the Prophets, the Word of Wisdom was revealed to Joseph Smith. Though the Word of Wisdom did not become a strict commandment for many years, Hyrum remained a strong advocate of following the Lord’s counsel in this matter for the rest of his life.

In June 1833, brethren gathered to discuss the construction of the temple they had been commanded to build. After some deliberation of their own ideas, Joseph revealed to them the plan the Lord had given him. They immediately set to work clearing the ground which had been set aside for the building. Hyrum ran to his parents’ house and grabbed a scythe. On his way back out, his mother asked where he was going with the scythe. His response, as recorded by Lucy, shows his typical zeal and dedication to the work: “We are preparing to build a house for the Lord, and I am determined to be the first at work.” After the men had cleared the grain from the field, Lucy went on, “Hyrum commenced digging a trench for the wall, he having declared that he would strike the first blow upon the house” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 86).

Hyrum was a strong example to the men in Zion’s Camp on their trek to help their fellow Saints in Missouri. When members of the camp began to complain that others were not working as hard as they ought, they were shown the error of their ways by Hyrum’s firm but gentle counsel. After being shown how murmuring affected the camp, one brother recalled, “We saw the evil, felt humble, and readily confessed to each other and to God and with uplifted hands covenanted to forget and forgive all that had passed and [to]do so no more” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 97). The men viewed Hyrum as an authoritative leader. Hyrum’s example also enabled him to reprimand the men without being a hypocrite; all Church members felt this and respected Hyrum for it. Upon the men’s return from Zion’s Camp, work on the temple began again.

In all the service Hyrum gave the Church, he was supported by his wife, Jerusha. He was often gone for extended periods on Church business and missions, but she never complained. They had also lost a daughter, Mary, when she was a toddler. They both sacrificed a great deal for the Church. In 1835, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was formed, as was the Quorum of the Seventy. Nearly all these men were chosen from the ranks of those who had served under and learned from the Prophet in Zion’s Camp. Though Hyrum was not called to either quorum at this time, he was called to the presidency of the High Priesthood. He was given a blessing while being ordained to this office; a blessing which foreshadowed coming events. He was told:

“Thou shalt have power to escape the hand of thine enemies. Thy life shall be sought with untiring zeal, but thou shalt escape. If it please thee, and thou desirest thou shalt have the power voluntarily to lay down thy life to glorify God” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 112).

As Hyrum continued his service in the Church, he also continued his education. Joshua Seixas, a Jew by birth who had been converted to the gospel, taught Hyrum Hebrew until Hyrum gained the ability to read and translate fluently. Hyrum loved to learn and used his education wisely.

Hyrum Smith: Part II

Hyrum Smith Part II

A Peacemaker

Hyrum’s mild manner and impeachable character allowed him to serve as a peacemaker even in his own family. At a time when his younger brother William became very upset with Joseph after being rebuked by him, Hyrum tried to bring William around. Joseph recorded that Hyrum “was perfectly satisfied with the course I had taken in rebuking William in his wickedness, but he is wounded to the very soul, because of the conduct of William; and although he experiences the tender feelings of a brother towards him, yet he can but look upon his conduct as an abomination in the sight of God” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 142). Though it took some time and more hard words from William, the brothers and family as a whole became reconciled. Having kept a cool head, Hyrum was able to bring peace back to the relationship after William acknowledged his faults and returned to the family. In situations regarding gossip or misunderstandings, Hyrum counseled the Saints to seek out the individual who had wronged them and seek to settle the matter between the two of them. He knew from observation that anger and malice led to more hate.

In October 1837, Hyrum was once again away from home on a Church assignment. Jerusha was pregnant with their sixth child and gave birth to her on October 2. Sadly, Jerusha passed away less than two weeks later, leaving five living children whose father was away from home. This took a heavy toll on Hyrum, who had loved his wife very much. Just over two months later, on Hyrum’s return home, Joseph counseled him with a revelation from God to marry again without delay so his children would not be motherless. The Lord counseled Hyrum to marry Mary Fielding, who was thirty-six at the time. Mary and Hyrum had a strong marriage and she continued to support him in his Church callings, just as Jerusha had done. They married on December 24, 1837.

Hyrum’s kind nature prompted him to take many people into his home. In fact, when he left Kirtland, Ohio, in 1838, he recorded that his family consisted of ten individuals. He did not identify those who were not his immediate family members, but at least one stayed under his family’s roof after their relocation to the Salt Lake Valley after Hyrum’s death. Such a character as Hyrum’s could hardly go unnoticed by those outside of the Church. Said one Presbyterian minister from Kirtland, “Whatever other Mormons may have been, Hyrum was a perfect gentleman” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 167).

Mormon Liberty Jail

Imprisonment in Liberty Jail

In October 1838, the Saints were driven from Missouri by the infamous extermination order from Governor Lilburn W. Boggs. Joseph was betrayed by a leader in the Mormon militia and was arrested. The army, led by Colonel Hinkle, soon went to Hyrum’s house and arrested him as well. Torn from his family when they needed his help so much, Hyrum spent the next five and a half months imprisoned with Joseph while their families, along with all the Saints, were expelled from their homes and the state in the middle of winter. Though his life was in danger, Hyrum’s faith never wavered. He knew his cause was just and that God was on his side. As the prisoners were being moved for their trial, they were exposed to the elements as well as severe abuse. They were put through a sham trial and imprisoned in Liberty Jail in Clay County. To add insult to injury, some of the leaders of the mobs fighting against the Church were former Church leaders turned apostate, many of whom had once been close friends of Hyrum and Joseph. Olivery Cowdery, who had also left the Church, ransacked Hyrum’s home in his absence, showing forged bills of pretended debts, robbing the already poor and prostrate family in their defenseless state. During this time, however, Joseph and Hyrum grew even closer. Several attempts to escape failed, but finally their jailers took pity on them, knowing of their innocence as well as the corruption of the government in their court proceedings. In transit, the jailers allowed the prisoners to escape. Hryum later recalled this experience, stating his gratitude for his faithfulness in adversity.

Soon after their experience with angry apostates and their incarceration, Hyrum was called to serve as the assistant president of the Church under Joseph. He took on many leadership responsibilities when Joseph was absent, but always stepped down when Joseph was there to preside. At times like this, Hyrum gained a greater appreciation of the burden Joseph carried in the mantel of being the living prophet on the earth.

Hyrum was always ready to plead for mercy on behalf of those who came to Church leaders seeking forgiveness. One such penitent was Orson Hyde, for whom Joseph recommended disciplinary action. However, upon hearing that both Hyrum and Heber C. Kimball pleaded on Hyde’s behalf, he withdrew his motion. Such was the degree to which Joseph held Hyrum’s good opinion that he granted Sidney Rigdon an extended probation, even after Rigdon had worked openly against the prophet. Though Hyrum’s mercy was complete, in this case his judgment was ill founded. Sidney eventually left the Church.

Mormon Nauvoo Temple

Death of His Father

After the death of Joseph Smith, Sr., on September 14, 1840, Hyrum was called to fill his father’s role as the Church Patriarch, giving patriarchal blessings to worthy Church members who requested them. This life-long calling required even more time, but Hyrum was always willing to set aside what he was doing to fulfill the work of the Lord and to comfort individuals who need bolstering of faith. Said the Lord of Hyrum, “Blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me” (D&C 124:91).

After the Saints moved yet again, this time to Nauvoo, Hyrum became a brevet major general in the Nauvoo Legion. Hyrum continued to function in his role as Church Patriarch. At Joseph’s request, Hyrum wrote a letter of reprimand to the Saints in Kirtland about collecting money for a religious newspaper when the direction from the Lord clearly stated all money which could be spared to go to the completion of the Nauvoo Temple. Hyrum’s language was unmistakable and direct while remaining unoffensive. Hyrum knew the importance of completing this temple, which would allow the Lord to shower down eternal blessings upon faithful Saints.

Not only could Hyrum be direct in his correction of others; he could stand correction himself when it was necessary. At a meeting in Joseph’s home, Hyrum spoke on the importance of the scriptures, admonishing that “We must take them as our guide alone.” After Hyrum sat down, Brigham Young, the president of the Twelve, stood, piled the books of scripture on top of each other, and said, “I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for all those books for my salvation without the living oracles. I should follow and obey the living oracles for my salvation instead of anything else” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 250–251). Instead of being offended or growing angry, Hyrum stood and acknowledged his oversight in not including the living oracles and asked pardon. Such was his character.

Hyrum instructed the brethren to preach nothing but the basic principles of the gospel to the world: faith, repentance, baptism, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. He taught:

“Beware what you teach! For the mysteries of God are not given to all men; and unto those to whom they are given they are placed under restrictions to impart only such as God will command them; and the residue is to be kept in a faithful breast, otherwise he will be brought under condemnation. by this God will prove his faithful servants, who will be called and numbered with the chosen” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 318).

The Martyrdom

As persecution in Nauvoo increased, the city council declared the Nauvoo Expositor a nuisance due to its libelous slander. Since the charter which had been granted to the city gave the city council the right declare nuisances and to “prevent and remove the same” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 336). The council’s actions were within legal bounds and were, they believed, for the safety of the people. However, this act set into motion events which culminated in the martyrdom. Thinking only their lives were in danger, Joseph and Hyrum decided to leave for the West, expecting the Saints to join them later, and hoping that this action would stem the tide of violence coming against the Saints. When they were requested to return, Hryum remembered the power his blessing had given him to choose to lay down his life, even though it meant leaving his family. Both Hyrum and Joseph knew that a return meant death, but they both went willingly, sealing their testimonies with their blood.

Four men were present in Carthage Jail the morning of June 27, 1844. Joseph and Hyrum Smith were both killed by an angry mob of men, but Willard Richards and John Taylor escaped alive. Much has been said of Joseph’s sacrifices, but an editorial which appeared in the Times and Seasons offered this eulogy on behalf of Hyrum:

“In thus descanting upon the glory of General Joseph Smith and the cowardly disgrace of his assassins, let his noble minded brother Hyrum have no less honor shown him: he lived so far beyond the ordinary walk of man, that even the tongue of the vilest slanderer could not touch his repuation. He lived godly and he died godly, and his murderers will yet have to confess that it would have been better for them to have a mill stone tied to them, and they cast into the depths of the sea, and remain there while eternity goes and eternity comes, than to have robbed that noble man of heaven, of his life” (Hyrum Smith: A Life of Integrity, Jeffrey S. O’Driscoll, 359).

Hyrum Smith: Part I

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