Brigham Young was born to John and Nabby Young at Whitingham, Vermont, in 1801. At about age 16, Brigham was told by his father that he was old enough to go out on his own and provide for himself. His mother had just passed away.

His father, John Young, later moved to the area of Mendon, New York. Eventually, Brigham and his ailing wife, Miriam, also moved to Mendon on the back part of his father’s property. They were all practicing members of the Reformed Methodist Church.

In 1832, Brigham, Miriam, John and all of Brigham’s immediate family joined the Church of Christ, later The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All stayed active in the LDS Church throughout their lives.

According to Larry C. Porter, Brigham built a house for his father on his father’s property in Mendon. For some reason, that structure was subsequently divided in two. Half was moved across the street with each part facing the other from opposite sides of Cheese Factory Road. Over time, both portions were added on to, essentially creating two new homes. Both of those altered structures still stand. (See Larry C. Porter, “Brigham Young: The Man for the Hour Will Be Ready Whenever the Hour Strikes,” BYU Speeches, Jan. 27, 1998.)

They are owned by the LDS Church, but they are used as private residences.

Kenneth Mays is a board member of the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and a retired instructor in the LDS Church’s Department of Seminaries and Institutes.

Ashley Morales

Frequently whimsical and overly optimistic about how much time it will take to do things, Ashley Morales is deeply passionate about the gospel and all kinds of creativity. Her hobbies include philosophically analyzing nearly every book, play, video game, and movie that she consumes, writing music and short stories, promising herself that she will finish writing her novels, going to sleep too late, eating foods she’s never tried, putting off cleaning her house, browsing Zillow, spending as much quality time as possible with her wonderful husband, trying to be a good mother to her fantastic children, and never finding the balance between saying too much and too little. One day, she hopes to leave a positive mark on the world and visit every continent (except Antarctica) with her family.

Fear not, friends! This question need not keep you up at night any longer. In the fourth chapter of Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley, we can read about the reflections of our beloved former prophet on this very subject. He believed that “each of us is a pioneer in his own life, often in his own family.” Basically, honoring and becoming pioneers requires that we actively nurture the following five essential characteristics within ourselves.

Working Together, by Olinda H. Reynolds. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

Faith in Jesus Christ

This is the solution to almost every problem that arises in our path from mortality to exaltation, so we’re used to hearing it. However, President Hinckley offered some revealing insights into what it means by recounting the experiences of the pioneers.

He pointed out, “It was through eyes of faith that they saw a city beautiful [Nauvoo] when they first walked across the swamps of Commerce, Illinois.” After persecution and the death of Joseph Smith, he remarked, “Again, it was by faith that they pulled themselves together under the pattern he had previously drawn and organized themselves for another exodus.” President Hinckley further noted that when the pioneers trekked across the American Midwest, it was “with faith [that] they established Winter Quarters on the Missouri [River]” and continued moving west despite the suffering and death that defined their stay. Finally, President Hinckley observed, “It was by faith that Brigham Young looked over [the Salt Lake] valley, then hot and barren, and declared, ‘This is the place.’”

Quoting Paul explaining that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), President Hinckley extolled the pioneers’ ability to bring their faith to reality through hard work and confidence in God. Faith is more than simply acknowledging that the Lord is able to do what He says He can do. Living with eyes of faith means being able to perceive the “evidence of things not seen”—a thriving city in a swamp, new beginnings in death, springtime in a horrible winter, and Zion in a desert. Pioneers have faith to see what can and should be, guided in their optimism by their conviction that if the Lord could create wine out of water, prophets out of common folk, and saints out of sinners, then He can surely make a beacon out of a barren valley and a rolling church out of a few struggling handcart pullers.

The Lord Himself embodied this kind of faith. For example, He was able to see world-changing apostles in lowly men, including humble fishermen. His Atonement attests to the enormous potential He saw in each person for whose sins and afflictions He suffered.

Calling of the Fishermen (Christ Calling Peter and Andrew), by Harry Anderson. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

Faith means to see what cannot be seen—and then to act upon it. Pioneers have this kind of faith.

Active Involvement in the Building of Zion

The hardships endured by the pioneers are nearly unimaginable to us. Many of us live in a time and place in which modern conveniences are commonplace, and we rarely feel the stings of plague, starvation, and fatal exhaustion.

Expressing his admiration of Brigham Young and the pioneers, President Hinckley remarked, “They were tired. Their clothes were worn. Their animals were jaded. The weather was hot and dry—the hot weather of July. But here they were, looking down the years and dreaming a millennial dream, a grand dream of Zion.”

Consider everything that you own and enjoy—your job, house, furniture, electricity, plumbing, entertainment center, social prestige, etc. Imagine leaving every single shred of it behind. What would compel you to do that? What could possibly be worth giving all of that up?

If you would do it for a place where people are “pure in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21) and “of one heart and mind and [dwell] in righteousness” with “no poor among them” (Moses 7:18), then you may be a pioneer. If Zion—the City of Holiness, in which all things are consecrated for the kingdom of God—is your ultimate goal, then you may be a pioneer.

Pushing, Pulling and Praying, Bound for Zion, by E. Kimball Warren. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

As President Hinckley observed regarding the pioneers’ westward movement, “It was an arduous and fearsome journey. They had doubts, yes. But their faith rose above those doubts. Their optimism rose above their fears. They had their dream of Zion, and they were on their way to fulfill it.”

Zion represents the pinnacle and the ideal of Latter-Day Saint life. Pioneers dream of and prioritize Zion.

Willingness to Sacrifice

Closely related to the concept of Zion is the principle of sacrifice, especially with regard to your materials, time, and even life, so that you can benefit other people. President Hinckley used the example of the plight of the Willie and Martin handcart companies to illustrate this point.

When they were nearing the Salt Lake Valley but in real danger of perishing, President Hinckley recalled that Brigham Young organized rescue efforts while declaring, “That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people… I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the Celestial Kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains.”

Helping the Martin Handcart Company across the Sweetwater River, by Clark Kelley Price. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

Although he was grateful that many of us don’t have to pass through the same kinds of afflictions that the pioneers did, President Hinckley was quick to remind us that we should not rest comfortably. He said, “There are so many who are hungry and destitute across this world who need help… We have some of our own who cry out in pain and suffering and loneliness and fear… There are so many young people who wander aimlessly… There are widows who long for friendly voices… There are those who were once warm in the faith, but whose faith has grown cold.” Fervently, he encouraged us to be a church where “strong hands and loving hearts will warm them, comfort them, sustain them, and put them on the way of happy and productive lives.”

Like the pioneers who risked their own safety to help their struggling brothers and sisters in the Willie and Martin handcart companies, we are called to make sacrifices to reach out and improve the circumstances of those around us. Dangers must be braved, luxuries must be disregarded, and pride must be extinguished in favor of being a source of light and hope to others.

Sacrifice is the spirit of Zion and the legacy of our Lord. Pioneers exemplify it.

Honor Those Who Came Before You

Imagine working diligently to create something beautifully and passing it on to your posterity as a special heirloom, expecting them to cherish and perhaps improve upon it. Instead, they simply neglect or even destroy it.

No doubt this was a concern for the pioneers. They persevered through persecution, poverty, sickness, and death to preserve the gospel and find a place to live the ways of God peacefully, praying that their descendants would carry on their work. Nevertheless, the church continues to deal with enemies and see precious souls of infinite worth become discouraged and fall away.

The Church has grown miraculously against all odds, but it could still grow much faster and become stronger if we make greater efforts to respect our pioneer heritage. That’s not limited to people who can trace their genealogy to anyone who pushed a handcart across the plains. President Hinckley explained, “Whether you have pioneer ancestry or came into the church only yesterday, you are a part of this whole grand picture of which those men and women dreamed. Theirs was a tremendous undertaking. Ours is a great continuing responsibility. They laid the foundation. Ours is the duty to build on it.”

Handcart Pioneers Arrive in Salt Lake, by Clark Kelley Price. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

The pioneers themselves were building on foundations that had preceded them. The Bible and Book of Mormon abound with the teachings of prophets and disciples who passed on their wisdom and knowledge of doctrine to anyone who would listen and take heed. They broke the cycle of apostasy, refusing to dishonor the saints of the ancient past by letting the gospel become lost. Even at the cost of their lives and comfort, they were determined to uphold the cause of the Lord.

Keep building on what has already been built so far. That’s the pioneer way.

Share Your Testimony Through Word and Deed

Of course, the best way to build upon that which came before you is to be a missionary. Those who can serve formal missions are encouraged to do so, but everyone is expected to do something to keep the work of the Lord rolling forward with a growing momentum.

With reverence toward the example of the pioneers, President Hinckley declared, “As great things were expected of them, so are they of us… We have a charge to teach and baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The Lord Himself commanded, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

Their willingness to bear the scorn of the world and the harshness of the elements constituted the bearing of the pioneers’ testimonies to the children of God. If you are to be a pioneer, the question is not whether you will share your testimony with the world, but rather how.

Carrying the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people is our duty and privilege. Pioneers accept that responsibility with humility and courage.

Tag! You’re It. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

Do You Have What It Takes?

Handcarts were heavy. So is the mantle of discipleship. However, when we learn from the early pioneers of this dispensation, we will find our hearts and spirits changed enough to wear that mantle well.

Do you have the faith to see what cannot be seen? Do you dream of Zion above all else? Will you sacrifice everything for that dream and the betterment of your brothers and sisters around the world? Will you honor your predecessors and share the gospel with all who will listen? Can you be a pioneer?

Thanks to President Gordon B. Hinckley and his inspiring direction, we may be able to pass Pioneering 101 and start on our way toward becoming pioneers in our own right.

Pioneers Catching Fish, by Sam Lawlor. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

Ashley Morales

Frequently whimsical and overly optimistic about how much time it will take to do things, Ashley Morales is deeply passionate about the gospel and all kinds of creativity. Her hobbies include philosophically analyzing nearly every book, play, video game, and movie that she consumes, writing music and short stories, promising herself that she will finish writing her novels, going to sleep too late, eating foods she’s never tried, putting off cleaning her house, browsing Zillow, spending as much quality time as possible with her wonderful husband, trying to be a good mother to her fantastic children, and never finding the balance between saying too much and too little. One day, she hopes to leave a positive mark on the world and visit every continent (except Antarctica) with her family.

On the 170th anniversary of the Saints entering the Salt Lake Valley, a longtime question has now been answered. How long after Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley was land surveyed and designated as the official location of Temple Square? A week? A month? According to a recently discovered journal belonging to pioneer surveyor Jesse Carter Little, the location of Temple Square was known the day pioneers entered the valley, July 24, 1847.

The Church Office Building in Temple Square. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

In April, Rob Thurston of Provo, Utah, age 60, made an amazing discovery about his great-great-grandfather, Jesse Carter Little. He found his ancestor’s journal containing entries made along the journey west to the Salt Lake Valley. But the journey to acquiring the journal was an adventure in and of itself.

“When I was a young boy about age 7, I used to go down to Manti, Utah, to where my grandmother lived,” Thurston said. “In her old house I used to like to play hide-and-seek and hide under the stairs.”

In the small confines of the room under the stairs, Thurston remembers seeing an old cream-colored box filled with aged letters and photographs. At the time, the letters were of particular interest because of the stamps that could be cut out and added to his stamp collection.

It wasn’t until this past April that memories of the cream-colored box came flooding back in Thurston’s mind. “I asked my mother whatever happened to the box,” he said. “She wasn’t exactly sure but recalled that it was given to a BYU professor to take a look at. The professor was contemplating writing an article about the items in it and also indicated he would see if they held any worth.”

The only problem with the box was it was given to the BYU professor, who Thurston declined to name, in 1977, 40 years ago. “I thought, ‘That’s it, they’re gone,’” Thurston said. “And to top it all off, my mother could not remember the name of the BYU professor.”

After a lot of hard work, Thurston found out the name of the professor, who, fortunately, was still working at Brigham Young University. He called the professor and mentioned the cream-colored box. Sure enough, the professor still had the box and remembered his mother. Thurston made an appointment to see him.

At the office of the BYU professor, Thurston recovered the box. It had been on a shelf for many years. “I remember what the professor told me,” said Thurston. “’There really isn’t anything in there. I didn’t see anything of value. Go ahead and take it.’”

Thurston took the box home and opened it. It held more than 180 items.

“Not knowing exactly what I had, I took the box to a document expert to help me understand. I was told that there were a number of significant things.”

The box contained a treasure trove of journals, letters and photographs from Thurston’s ancestors. “It gave depth to my ancestors I knew nothing about,” he said.

“There was a letter from Brigham Young I was excited about and a bunch of letters from an ancestor named Jesse Carter Little. He was the one ancestor I knew. He helped found the Mormon Battalion, and he met with President James K. Polk to get funds to help the Saints come west.”

The pinnacle of the discovery was an 1846 journal kept by Jesse Carter Little from the first pioneer company coming across the plains with Brigham Young. It contained tons of detailed information about the company’s trek west. “He recorded how many miles they went, where they reached, location names and coordinates for longitude and latitude with a sextant and compass,” Thurston said.

The most interesting entry was the one dated July 24, 1847. Little was in the advance party that entered the valley, and he recorded the following on two lines in his journal. Line one reads: “Salt Lake Valley 114 miles from Fort Bridger.” The second line reads: “Northern boundary of the Temple Square 40 degrees latitude and 111 degrees longitude.”

To check the accuracy of Little’s journal, the distance from the address of Fort Bridger to the address of Temple Square was calculated using Google Maps. It yielded 118 miles versus the journal’s 114. Plugging the longitude and latitude coordinates from Little’s journal into the U.S. government’s NASA website latitude/longitude finder yields the location of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“For the last 85 years these treasured items were either under the stairwell of an old house or in the office of a BYU professor. Finding these items was important. In my family, we are calling this the miracle of the cream-colored shirt box.”

Walking to General Conference in Temple Square. Courtesy of the LDS Media Library.

Ryan Morgenegg is a writer for Deseret News.

Ashley Morales

Frequently whimsical and overly optimistic about how much time it will take to do things, Ashley Morales is deeply passionate about the gospel and all kinds of creativity. Her hobbies include philosophically analyzing nearly every book, play, video game, and movie that she consumes, writing music and short stories, promising herself that she will finish writing her novels, going to sleep too late, eating foods she’s never tried, putting off cleaning her house, browsing Zillow, spending as much quality time as possible with her wonderful husband, trying to be a good mother to her fantastic children, and never finding the balance between saying too much and too little. One day, she hopes to leave a positive mark on the world and visit every continent (except Antarctica) with her family.

Brigham Young: Taking on the Visage of Joseph Smith

After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the apostles gathered in to Nauvoo from their missions. Sidney Rigdon, estranged from the Church, now wanted to be its “guardian.” He called a conference for a certain date, but it was scheduled by Elder Marks a bit later, for Thursday, August 8, 1844, after Brigham Young and other apostles finally arrived in Nauvoo.

The meeting’s purpose was to sustain a new leader of the Church. Rigdon had met with the apostles, who were united quickly.  The apostles firmly felt they held all the keys of the kingdom.

Rigdon claimed to have had a vision, an extension of the one he shared with Joseph that became Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It failed to impress the Brethren. Wilford Woodruff recorded in his journal that Sidney’s statement was a “long story. It was a kind of second class vision.”

A solemn assembly was called for later that day.

On that day a miracle occurred before the body of the Church—Brigham Young was transfigured before the people, and the succession crisis of the Church was resolved…. Sidney Rigdon spoke for an hour and a half about his desires to be the guardian of the Church, but he awakened no emotion and said nothing that marked him as the true leader. Brigham Young told the audience that he would rather have spent a month mourning the dead Prophet than so quickly attend to the business of appointing a new shepherd. While he was speaking, he was miraculously transfigured before the people.

People of all ages were present, and they later recorded their experiences. Benjamin F. Johnson, twenty-six at that time, remembered, “As soon as he [Brigham Young] spoke I jumped upon my feet, for in every possible degree it was Joseph’s voice, and his person, in look, attitude, dress and appearance was Joseph himself, personified; and I knew in a moment the spirit and mantle of Joseph was upon him.”

Zina Huntington, who was a young woman twenty-one years old at that time, said “President Young was speaking. It was the voice of Joseph Smith—not that of Brigham Young. His very person was changed. … I closed my eyes. I could have exclaimed, I know that is Joseph Smith’s voice! Yet I knew he had gone. But the same spirit was with the people.”

This miracle brought the Saints in unison under the leadership of Brigham Young. Read more in Church History in the Fulness of Times.

Brigham Young: True Religion Means Rescuing Stranded Pioneers

“As the Saints prepared for general conference in Salt Lake City in October 1856, everyone assumed that the arrival of the third handcart company ended the immigration that year. But Franklin D. Richards, who had come into the valley two days prior to the conference, announced that two more handcart companies and two ox-cart supply trains were still on the plains and desperately needed food and clothing to finish the journey.

“When Brigham Young learned that these companies were still on the plains, he spoke to the Saints who had gathered for general conference. The meeting was actually held on 5 October, one day before the conference officially convened. Brigham Young said:

“The text will be, ‘to get them here.’ …

“I shall call upon the Bishops this day, I shall not wait until to-morrow, nor until next day, for 60 good mule teams and 12 or 15 wagons. …

“I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the celestial kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains.”

The response was impressive. Sixteen wagon loads of food and supplies were quickly assembled; and on the morning of 7 October, sixteen good four-mule teams and twenty-seven hardy young men (known as Brigham Young’s “Minute Men”) headed eastward with the first provisions. More help was solicited and obtained from all parts of the territory. By the end of October, two hundred and fifty teams were on the road to give relief” (Church History in the Fulness of Times).

Thomas B. Marsh: His Apostasy and Return to the Church

Thomas B. Marsh had once been President of the Twelve but lost his testimony, rebelled against the Church, and left. Penitent, he made his way to Salt Lake City and was invited by Prophet Brigham Young to speak to the membership of the Church in the Bowery in Salt Lake on Sunday, September 6, 1857.

Brother Marsh said,

I have sought diligently to know the Spirit of Christ since I turned my face Zionward, and I believe I have obtained it. I have freTquently wanted to know how my apostacy began, and I have come to the conclusion that I must have lost the Spirit of the Lord out of my heart.

The next question is, “How and when did you lose the Spirit?” I became jealous of the Prophet, and then I saw double, and overlooked everything that was right, and spent all my time in looking for the evil; and then, when the Devil began to lead me, it was easy for the carnal mind to rise up, which is anger, jealousy, and wrath. I could feel it within me; I felt angry and wrathful; and the Spirit of the Lord being gone, as the Scriptures say, I was blinded, and I thought I saw a beam in brother Joseph’s eye, but it was nothing but a mote, and my own eye was filled with the beam; but I thought I saw a beam in his, and I wanted to get it out; and, as brother Heber says, I got mad, and I wanted everybody else to be mad. I talked with Brother Brigham and Brother Heber, and I wanted them to be mad like myself; and I saw they were not mad, and I got madder still because they were not. Brother Brigham, with a cautious look, said, “Are you the leader of the Church, brother Thomas?” I answered, “No.” “Well then,” said he, “Why do you not let that alone?”

Well, this is about the amount of my hypocrisy–I meddled with that which was not my business. But let me tell you, my brethren and friends, if you do not want to suffer in body and mind, as I have done,–if there are any of you that have the seeds of apostacy in you, do not let them make their appearance, but nip that spirit in the bud; for it is misery and affliction in this world, and destruction in the world to come (BYU.edu).

Wilford Woodruff: The End of Earthly Polygamy

Under the Edmunds-Tucker Acts, the U.S. government hoped to end polygamy. The Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887 also included provisions aimed at destroying the Church as a political and economic entity. The law officially dissolved The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a legal corporation and required the Church to forfeit to the government all property in excess of fifty thousand dollars.

Many of its leaders, husbands, and fathers were imprisoned. Wives were forced to testify against their husbands, voting rights were curtailed, and life became very difficult for the Saints.

Wilford Woodruff was 80 when he began to lead the Church. Although arrests and imprisonments caused families to suffer, the greatest problem for the Church was its inability to acquire and hold the funds necessary to build temples, do missionary work, publish material, and provide for the welfare of the Saints. It was the end of August when President Woodruff received confirmation that the U.S. government, in spite of an 1888 agreement promising that temples would not be disturbed, was going to confiscate them.

President Woodruff said later that the Lord had shown him by revelation exactly what would take place if plural marriage did not cease. The utter destruction of the Church. After a great spiritual struggle, Woodruff drafted  the Manifesto, now Official Declaration 1 in the Doctrine and Covenants, ending polygamy among the Saints.

General conference convened Saturday morning, 4 October 1890, and lasted three days. It was on the third day of the conference that President George Q. Cannon announced the Manifesto and then asked Orson F. Whitney, then bishop of the Salt Lake City 18th Ward, to read the document. The Saints in attendance, recognizing the authority of the Prophet and the Brethren, unanimously accepted it (from Church History in the Fulness of Times).

Lorenzo Snow: Pay your Tithing

Even after Prophet Lorenzo Snow attached the punishment of excommunication for those still practicing polygamy, the Church did not recover financially. The Church went about $300,000 in debt as a direct result of the Edmunds-Tucker Act. It was also taking care of the families of men jailed for plural marriage, as well as their legal fees and court costs and its own legal expenses.

Tithing revenues had declined in the 1880s because members had been reluctant to contribute when the federal government was confiscating the money. The Church was forced to borrow money from worldly financial institutions. President Lorenzo Snow prayed long and hard about the situation, desiring to use the Church’s resources for forwarding the Lord’s work, and to bring it to a sound financial situation.

He visited Southern Utah during a period of terrible drought. On Wednesday, 17 May 1899, at the opening session of the conference in the St. George Tabernacle, President Snow told the Saints that “we are in your midst because the Lord directed me to come; but the purpose of our coming is not clearly known at the present, but this will be made known to me during our sojourn among you.”

LeRoi C. Snow, son of the President, who was reporting the conference for the Deseret News, recalled what happened: “All at once father paused in his discourse. Complete stillness filled the room. I shall never forget the thrill as long as I live. When he commenced to speak again his voice strengthened and the inspiration of God seemed to come over him, as well as over the entire assembly. His eyes seemed to brighten and his countenance to shine. He was filled with unusual power. Then he revealed to the Latter-day Saints the vision that was before him.”

President Snow told the Saints that he could see that the people had neglected the law of tithing and that the Church would be relieved of debt if members would pay a full and honest tithing. He then said that the Lord was displeased with the Saints for failing to pay their tithing and promised them that if they would pay their tithes the drought would be removed and they would have a bounteous harvest.

Under inspiration, he had set in motion the program that would, by 1907, completely free the Church from debt. Many Saints testified that not only were the windows of heaven opened to save the Church, but those who followed this divine law were spiritually and temporally blessed as well (Church History in the Fulness of Times).

Boyd K. Packer: Spiritual Crocodiles

Stories always make for the most memorable General Conference talks, and this one by Boyd K. Packer stays with the listener forever. We sometimes think we know the lay of the land and fail to see the dangers around us and fail to heed those who do.

Elder Packer gave this talk in April 1976 and aimed it especially toward the youth of the Church.

“The antelope, particularly, were very nervous. They would approach the mud hole, only to turn and run away in great fright. I could see there were no lions about and asked the guide why they didn’t drink. His answer, and this is the lesson, was ‘Crocodiles.’

“I knew he must be joking and asked him seriously, ‘What is the problem?’ The answer again: ‘Crocodiles.’

“Nonsense,” I said. ‘There are no crocodiles out there. Anyone can see that.’”

Bruce R McConkie: His Final Testimony

Actually called The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, this moving talk is remembered with affection and gratitude by all who heard it. Bruce R. was dying of cancer at the time. He delivered this talk in April General Conference, 1985, and died a short time later on April 19th. This was his final, emotional testimony.

“And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

“I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

“But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.”

Ezra Taft Benson: Beware of Pride

President Ezra Taft Benson delivered this address in April 1989 General Conference. It is a landmark talk on the evils of pride.

BONUS: BYU Devotionals by Hugh B. Brown

Profile of a Prophet

God is the Gardener

It is important not only that you keep growing but that you be versatile, adaptive, and unafraid to venture. In other words, be up to date. Seek to obtain a certain flexibility of mind that will inspire you to listen, to learn, and to adapt as you move forward into a new and ever-expanding universe.

Original Content Link can be found here.

Megan Finley

In between writing short stories she’ll never finish and marathoning Marvel movies, Megan Finley is often found missing the loves of her life, her two cats Leia and Loki. Her passion for “geek culture” extends into her passion for academics, as she is an optimistic MA student with plans to be the next Professor X (with hair). Her life’s dream is a simple one—to drink a hot chocolate in every Disney park in the world.

The following article by Scot and Maurine Proctor first appeared on LDSMag.com on February 1, 2017.

In this article, published yesterday, we talked about how Lucy’s Preliminary Notes were extensively edited before they became the book we have had for years in the Church. Many readers asked, “Did Brigham Young edit Lucy’s book, and if so why?” Here’s the answer.

For the most compelling book on Church history you’ll ever find, you need turn no further than Lucy Mack Smith’s own story about her son, Joseph Smith, captured in The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by His Mother. If you love Joseph Smith, this is simply a book you can’t miss. It has always been a treasure to us.

As we explained in an article yesterday, Lucy told her story to a scribe, young Martha Knowlton Coray, in the bleak winter following her sons’ deaths at Carthage.

Then Martha and her husband, Howard, substantially edited Lucy’s raw notes, called the Preliminary Manuscript, into essentially the version that we have had for decades. But you might hear the hesitation in the word “essentially”—because there was a long and somewhat dramatic journey from the Coray’s work to the bookshelf.

Though the publishing of Lucy’s book was important—because the clamor to know everything they could about Joseph was great, two other projects consumed the energies and resources of the Saints in 1845.

Their enemies had never let off the persecution. They had formed “wolf packs” to hunt the Saints; they had burned homes beyond Nauvoo, sending a flood of refugees into the city; they had harassed the Twelve with lawsuits and now Nauvoo had been turned into a workshop to build wagons to flee the city. Packing to leave everything they owned while they continued to build a temple absorbed the Saints that winter, and Lucy’s manuscript naturally took a backseat.

Years before Lucy died, some of her effects were left in the hands of her son, William Smith, among them being the manuscript copy of this history prepared by the Corays. The document fell into the hands of Isaac Sheen, who was at one time a member of the Church, in Michigan. When, in September, 1852, Apostle Orson Pratt went on a mission to England, he called on Mr. Sheen on his way East, and being shown the manuscript copy, he purchased it for a certain sum of money, took it to Liverpool with him, where, without revision and without the consent of knowledge of President Young or any of the Twelve, it was published under his direction in 1853..” ⁽¹⁾

The 1853 edition of Lucy Smith’s history was called Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet and His Progenitors for Many Generations and quite faithfully followed the Coray’s revised manuscript. It was a popular book among the British Saints, and in 1854 became available in Great Salt Lake City to the applause of the Deseret News: “This new and highly interesting work should be possessed by all Saints who feel in the least degree interested with the history of the latter-day work.” ⁽²⁾

But George A. Smith, Lucy’s nephew and the Church historian, had some major reservations about the book. In an 1859 letter to another nephew of Lucy’s, Solomon Mack, he raised his concerns, suggesting that the “shocking massacre” of her two sons had affected her mind. George A. Smith wrote: “Although she endured this privation in a manner truly astonishing to her friends, yet we could not conceal from ourselves, that these terrible blows had made visible inroads upon her mind, as well as upon her bodily strength…In the last fifteen years, she got events considerably mixed up…I would be pleased to learn your opinion of Mother Smith’s history of her family, as far as you are acquainted with it.” ⁽³⁾

Brigham Young and his counselors expressed a similar reservation, saying that when the history was written, “Mother Smith was seventy years old, and very forgetful.” They suggested that “her mind had suffered many severe shocks” and that “she could, therefore, scarcely recollect anything correctly that had transpired.” ⁽⁴⁾

As George A. Smith continued to study the book and compared it to other sources, he began to feel there were factual mistakes, or at least the need to double-check stories for accuracy. For instance, in Lucy’s history she tells a story about how three strangers showed up unexpectedly and spread David Whitmer’s fields with plaster of paris, thus allowing him to leave for Harmony to meet Joseph Smith for the first time. George A. wrote to David Whitmer to verify the story, but received no response. In the early months of 1859, George A. and assistant historian Wilford Woodruff continued to write inquiries to check the details of the book for accuracy.

Thus, questions about the book had been simmering in the minds of the Brethren for several years before 1865, when Brigham Young decided to recall it. In a rather dramatic gesture the First Presidency said, “We wish those who have these books to either hand them to their Bishops for them to be conveyed to the President’s or Historian’s Office or send them themselves, that they may be disposed of.” ⁽⁵⁾ The First Presidency’s worry seemed to be over perpetuating inaccuracies that they were certain dotted Lucy’s history. “We do not wish incorrect and unsound doctrines to be handed down to posterity under the sanction of great names,” they wrote, “to be received and valued by future generations as authentic and reliable.” ⁽⁶⁾ Brigham Young did not wish to suppress the book permanently, but to revise it and reissue it in what he hoped would be a more correct form.

In a journal entry, Wilford Woodruff detailed what President Young’s intent was: “He said he wished us to take up that work and revise it, correct it; that it belonged to the Historian to attend to it; that there was many false statements made in it, and he wished them to be left out, and all other statements which we did not know to be true, and give the reason why they are left out.” ⁽⁷⁾ Though it is not entirely clear what “false statements” leaped out at Brigham Young, many of his concerns clearly came from doubting Lucy’s capacity at her advanced age and given her health to get the story straight.

Time and scholarship would show that this assessment was refutable. Those who visited Lucy in Nauvoo during the last years of her life often reported her to be alert and mentally acute. Artist Frederick H. Piercy, who drew scenes of the Mormon trail still in use today, stopped by the Mansion House, and carefully observed Lucy. “I could not fail to regard the old lady with great interest. Considering her age and afflictions, she, at that time, retained her faculties to a remarkable degree. She spoke very freely of her sons, and with tears in her eyes, and every other symptom of earnestness, vindicated their reputations for virtue and truth.” ⁽⁸⁾

Enoch Bartlett Tripp, visiting her in November 1855 in one of the last months of her life, also commented on her memory: “I called upon the Prophet’s Mother and found her in a lonely room in the eastern part of the house in her bed and very feeble. Upon approaching her bedside and informing her who I was, she arose in her bed and placing her arms around my neck kissed me exclaiming, ‘I can now die in peace since I have beheld your face from the valleys of the mountains.’ She made many inquiries after the Saints and remarked that she took much comfort in riding out with me and my wife in the days that I taught school here.” ⁽⁹⁾

Far more significant than the anecdotal reports, however, are the modern studies conducted by Richard Lloyd Anderson on Mother Smith’s history. Checking other journals, newspaper accounts, non-Mormon church records, vital records, and independent recollections for verification, he found that the great majority of what Lucy states tests very well.

He noted: “The preliminary and finished manuscripts give about 200 names. With the exception of a small percentage of indefinite names, nearly all can be verified, including some spectacular memories clear from her New England childhood. Her percentage on dates is not as good, probably reflecting her interest in people more than calendar years-yet when mistaken, she is typically within a year or two of the precise time.

“Obviously an event itself was more vivid to her mind than the exact point of its occurrence. So Lucy’s history is reliable but not an infallible source. How to tell? To reiterate a critical point, she will be a prime source when speaking from personal observation and only secondary when relaying what others have told her.” ⁽¹⁰⁾

Beyond accuracy, other factors influenced the 1865 recall of the book. Living in a time as we do today when succession in the Church Presidency is calm and orderly, the death of a prophet, signaling a predictable change, it may be difficult to imagine the splintering confusion, and emotion that followed the death of Joseph Smith for the everyday Saint.

Claims and counter-claims to the Presidency divided parts of the Church, and though the vast bulk of the members followed Brigham Young, fragmented groups congregated around others like Sidney Rigdon, James Strang, and Lyman Wight.

Since William Smith, Joseph’s brother, had made his own rival claim to be Joseph’s successor, Lucy Smith’s positive portrayal of him in her history probably concerned Brigham, and stood as just another evidence to him that the book contained distortions. Through Lucy’s eyes we see William as a valiant missionary, a fighter for the restored gospel, and a recipient of revelation in a dire moment in Missouri. In reality, William was volatile, unstable, and controversial. He had a checkered past, having often been at odds with his prophet brother. Disagreeing with Joseph during a meeting in Kirtland, enraged William attempted to throw him out and inflicted him with an injury that Joseph felt occasionally for the rest of his life. During the dark days at Far West when Joseph was taken to Liberty Jail, William exclaimed, “Damn him, Joseph Smith ought to have been hung up by the neck years ago and damn him, he will get it now anyhow.” ⁽¹¹⁾

In his last encounter with Joseph in spring 1844, William asked him to give him a city lot in Nauvoo near the temple. Joseph said he would do it with great pleasure if he would build a house and live upon it there, but he would not give him this lot, worth one thousand dollars, to sell. William agreed to the terms, and within hours an application was made by a Mr. Ivins to the recorder to know if that lot was clear and belonged to William, for the Prophet’s brother had sold it to him for five hundred dollars. Joseph, hearing this, directed the clerk not to make the transfer, and William’s last words to Joseph were threatening.

After the death of his brothers, a somewhat humbled William petitioned to be ordained the Presiding Patriarch of the Church, a position he had legitimate claim to as the oldest lineal descendant of the Smith family. He was ordained to that position on May 25, 1845, but within a few days, he claimed this gave him the right to succeed Joseph as the leader of the entire Church, and by October 1845, he was excommunicated.

An aspiring man has to find a home for his aspirations, and William went looking. Expelled from the Church, he temporarily became a leader with James Strang’s group. Excommunicated there, by 1850 he began teaching that legitimate leadership for the Church had to come from within the Prophet’s immediate family. Since Joseph Smith III was too young, he suggested he should be sustained as president pro tem “guardian of the seed of Joseph,” until the boy came of age. By 1854 he was seeking to be restored to his former position as an Apostle in the Church, and then after 1860, when Joseph Smith III was sustained as president of the Reorganized Church in Plano, Illinois, he hoped to find a high office in the new organization.

Given this background, no wonder the First Presidency’s 1865 recall of Lucy’s book was so strong in singling out William: “Those who have read the history of William Smith, and who knew him, know the statements made in that book respecting him, when he came out of Missouri, to be utterly false.” ⁽¹²⁾ The timing of the recall was probably also significant, coming so soon after Joseph’s sons had newly organized a church and were advancing succession claims. Brigham didn’t want Lucy’s book to bolster their effort. He may have felt the same way about the book’s rosy portrayal of Emma, who supported her sons in the Reorganized Church.

After the recall, President Young appointed a revision committee consisting of Geroge A. Smith and Judge Elias Smith, both cousins of the Prophet and men who were thoroughly knowledgeable in Church history. George A. had been studying the book for years, and Elias had been an editor of the Deseret News. They poured over the book, consulted with others, made deletions and corrections right in the text and in the margins of copies of the book and completed the work to the satisfaction of President Young. Ironically, after that storm that had whirled around Lucy’s history, only a small amount of the material was changed, and then not significantly. She had not been in the great error previously assumed.

According to Howard Searle these changes primarily included the following: “(1) Several favorable references to William Smith were deleted or changed. (2) Six out of eighteen references to Emma Smith were omitted, although the deletions appear rather incidental. A glowing eulogy of Emma…was left intact. (3) Many corrections were made in dates and names, especially in the genealogical data of chapter nine. (4) Some misstatements and misconceptions of Mother Smith were corrected. Her exaggerated role in the construction of the Kirtland schoolhouse…was revised in both copies of the history which were used by the revision committee. (5) Some profanity and gross statements (made by the Missouri persecutors and reported by Hyrum to a court of law) were edited out of the history. (6) Words were changed to clarify meaning and improve the grammar. (7) A few additions were made to expand parts of the narrative…(8) Statements that seemed unfavorable to the image of Joseph Smith or the Church were omitted. (9) Some references of purely family interest were left out.” ⁽¹³⁾

The version containing George A. and Elias Smith’s revisions lay essentially forgotten until 1901, when the General Board of the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association sought to publish it in their monthly magazine, the Improvement Era. President Lorenzo Snow gave his permission as Church President just before he died in October 1901, and the series began in the November 1901 magazine and continued through the next year.

Lucy’s grandson Joseph F. Smith, who had become the prophet, wrote a preface for the history: “By the presentation of this work to the public, a worthy record is preserved, and the testimony of a noble and faithful woman-a mother indeed, and heroine in Israel-is perpetuated.“ ⁽¹⁴⁾ A new generation who did not face the pressures and dissensions of the old, brought a new outlook to the history.

Finally, in order to give Mother Smith’s history a wider audience, it was published again in 1945, edited by Preston Nibley, assistant Church historian, who made very few changes but added a few footnotes for the sake of the context. Today’s reader can find both the 1853 and 1945 edition in libraries and bookstores.

When Lucy sat down with Martha Jane, she certainly had no idea of the controversy that would sizzle around the simple recounting of her life’s story, and the sets of hands it would pass through before it was enjoyed by a large audience. But it may not have surprised her either. Life had taught her that good things always come with a cost.

1. Joseph F. Smith, Introduction to “History of the Prophet Joseph, by His Mother, Lucy Smith,” Improvement Era 5 ( November 1901): 1-2
2. Deseret News, November 16, 1854
3. George A. Smith to Solomon Mack, in Manuscript History of Brigham Young, February 23, 1859, p. 204
4. Millennial Star27 (October 21, 1865):658
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid. p. 659.
7. Wilford Woodruff Journal, February 13, 1859, LDS Church Archives
8. Frederick H. Piercy, Route from Liverpool to Great Salt Lake Valley (1855; reprint Cambridge, Mass,: Harvard University Press, 1962), p. 94
9. Enoch Bartlett Tripp’s Journal, vol. 1 to December 31, 1844, BYU Special Collections.
10. Richard Lloyd Anderson, “His Mother’s Manuscript: An Intimate View of Joseph Smith,” Brigham Young University Forum address, January 27, 1976.
11. Wilford Woodruff Journal, February 13, 1859, LDS Church Archives
12. Millennial Star 27, (October 21, 1865), 658
13. Searle, “Early Mormon Historiography,” pp. 420, 422.
14. Smith, Introduction to “History of the Prophet Joseph,” p. 3

Original Source:  Article by Scot and Maurine Proctor. Content link: LDSMag.com. 

Megan Finley

In between writing short stories she’ll never finish and marathoning Marvel movies, Megan Finley is often found missing the loves of her life, her two cats Leia and Loki. Her passion for “geek culture” extends into her passion for academics, as she is an optimistic MA student with plans to be the next Professor X (with hair). Her life’s dream is a simple one—to drink a hot chocolate in every Disney park in the world.

This article titled “The Quincy Miracle: How One Town Saved Thousands of Mormon Refugees” by Glenn Rawson appeared in the 19 Movember 2016 edition of LDS Living.com.

On October 27, 1838, Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued an extermination order forcing thousands of Latter-day Saints to leave Missouri by March 8, 1839, or be killed. But where could they go?

“The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace,” Executive Order 44 declared. Thousands of Missouri militia forces were called out; they surrounded the Latter-day Saint settlement of Far West and demanded that the Mormons leave the state according to the governor’s order.

But where could more than 10,000 people go on a moment’s notice as winter approached? They were already on the western frontier of the United States. They couldn’t go south; that would take them deeper into Missouri. They couldn’t go west; that was Indian Territory. They couldn’t go north; that was Iowa Territory, which was sparsely settled at best. The shortest and most direct route out of Missouri was due east, across the Mississippi River and into Illinois. Based on invitations from a few Church members already living in Quincy, Illinois, it was decided that the main body of the Latter-day Saints would join the handful already in the town.

To hasten the Mormons’ departure, mobs continued to prey on them, plundering, pillaging, raping, and burning. Joseph and Hyrum Smith were taken prisoner along with other Church leaders, and it was announced that they would be held until every Mormon had left the state. Joseph Holbrook commented, “We found that there was no more peace or safety for the saints in the state of Missouri. If the Church would make haste and move as fast as possible, it would aid much to relieve our brethren who are now in jail as our enemies were determined to hold them as hostages until the Church left the state. Every exertion was made in the dead of winter to remove as fast as possible” (Pamela Call Johnson, Joseph Holbrook, Mormon Pioneer, Journal).

By December 1838, the Mormons began to move with whatever conveyance they could obtain, leaving behind much of what they owned. Brigham Young invited the Mormon brethren to covenant to assist the poor in leaving the state, and he did his best to gather resources to help them leave. He would not rest until all were safely out of Missouri.

By the bitter cold of January 1839, there were hundreds of men, women, and children strung along a 200-mile trail leading east. The weather was forbidding. At times the snow fell as much as a foot deep, accompanied by wind and bitter cold. At other times their way was marred by rain and deep mud. None had adequate food or clothing. Some were barefoot—their way across the prairie was marked by bloody footprints. Not all would survive the flight from Missouri. And Joseph Smith Sr., who became ill during the exodus to Quincy, would die later in Nauvoo because of it.

By February, hundreds of Mormon refugees lined the west bank of the Mississippi River. Wagons filled with families and all they owned would pull to the river’s edge, drop their human cargo and their meager belongings in the snow before turning back to help evacuate more of their fellow Saints.

At times the mighty river was impassable, as large chunks of floating ice prevented boat traffic on the river. Under these conditions, the Mormons were trapped: ahead was the impenetrable river, and behind were the Missourians, terrorizing them at every turn. Their only option was to hunker down and wait for the river to freeze so that they could cross over to Illinois on the ice.

Town of Quincy, by Kirt Harmon. Image courtesy of Glenn Rawson.

Meanwhile, from across the river, citizens of Quincy saw firsthand the miserable drama of human suffering. The Quincy Whig documented, “A large number of families are encamped on the opposite bank of the Mississippi waiting for an opportunity to cross. . . . If they have been thrown upon our shores destitute, through the oppressive people of Missouri, common humanity must oblige us to aid and relieve them all in our power.”

Sometimes the shelter for the refugees consisted of nothing more than a blanket thrown over a low-hanging limb. It was under these conditions that one Latter-day Saint woman, Martha Thomas, gave birth in a bed comprised of a rope contraption under quilts hung over a tree.

Notwithstanding the risk, a delegation of Quincy residents braved their way across the river, bringing blankets and supplies. When they inquired of the Mormons what they needed, they were told:

“If we should say what our present wants are, it would be beyond all calculation, as we have been robbed of our corn, wheat, horses, cattle, hogs, wearing apparel, houses and homes, and indeed of all that renders life tolerable. . . . Give us employment. Rent us farms. And allow us the protection and privileges of other citizens” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976 reprint), 3:269–70).

The river alternately froze and thawed throughout January and February. In late February 1839, the temperature dropped and the river froze solid. The Mormons still stuck on the Missouri side braved the ice and crossed. Eleven-year-old Mosiah Hancock talked of struggling to walk across the clear and slippery ice barefoot. As he neared the eastern bank, the ice began to break up.

“Father said, ‘Run Mosiah!’ and I did run,” the boy remembered. “We all just made it on the opposite bank when the ice started to snap and pile up in great heaps and the water broke through” (Mosiah Hancock, Autobiography).

The relief Mormons felt after finally being free of the terrors of Missouri was so great that some dropped to their knees on Quincy’s shores and offered prayers of thanksgiving; others kissed the ground. Some made camp on the banks of the river while others struggled up the bluffs to Washington Park, the main square of Quincy, where they set up makeshift tents. Wilford Woodruff described the following scene:

“I saw a great many of the saints, old and young, lying in the mud and water, in a rainstorm, without tent or covering. . . . The sight filled my eyes with tears” (“Wilford Woodruff History, from His Own Pen,” Millennial Star).

The citizens of Quincy had compassion on the beleaguered Saints, especially the suffering women and children, and determined to take them in. The cry for compassion was led by Quincy’s mayor and founder, John Wood.

Quincy’s mayor and founder, John Wood. Image courtesy of Glenn Rawson.

Orville Browning, another of Quincy’s leading sons and an eyewitness of the Saints’ suffering, declared, “Great God! Have I not seen it? Yes, my eyes have beheld the blood stained traces of innocent women and children in the drear winter, who had traveled hundreds of miles barefoot through frost and snow, to seek refuge from their savage pursuers” (History of the Church, 4:368).

Compassion overwhelmed the people of Quincy, and as they had done before and would do again, they took in the homeless and ministered to the suffering. They brought the Mormons into their homes, shops, and even their barns. Every space that could be made hospitable was opened to the suffering Saints. The Mormons filled Quincy to overflowing before spreading out into other communities in Adams County. John Lowe Butler described the kindness that so typified the people of Quincy:

“The old gentleman came to me and told me to bring my family up to one of his houses and we could live in it until we had been there a little while so that we should have a little time to look about us and get a place. . . . He never charged us anything for what we had. There were three or four other families living close to us that were Mormons. They were living in his houses that were joining ours. He treated them all with kindness. It seemed a new thing to us to be treated with so much kindness” (John L. Butler, “A History of the Biography of John L. Butler”).

The small community of Quincy, numbering fewer than 2,000 people, somehow absorbed more than 5,000 Mormons, giving them not only shelter but also food, clothing, and jobs. When the Quincy citizens couldn’t provide any more from their own stores, they sent out pleas for assistance as far away as Washington, D.C.

The Mormons would never forget what was done and by whom. A statement by the First Presidency proclaimed, “It would be impossible to enumerate all those who in our time of deep distress, nobly came forward to our relief and like the Good Samaritan poured oil into our wounds and contributed liberally to our necessities” (“Proclamation to the Saints Scattered Abroad, January 15, 1841,” History of the Church).

In April 1839, Joseph Smith escaped prison in Missouri and found his way to his family in Quincy.

For the brief period of three months, Quincy, Illinois, was the headquarters of the Latter-day Saints. Some of the Saints made their homes among the good people of Quincy. Some citizens of Quincy—including Ezra T. Benson, great-grandfather of President Ezra Taft Benson—joined the Mormons and traveled on with them.

Image courtesy of Glenn Rawson.

By May 1839, Joseph Smith and the first wave of Saints had moved 50 miles north of Quincy to Commerce, where they began building the foundations of a new city that would later be called Nauvoo. All but a handful of Mormons eventually left Quincy and settled in Nauvoo or other places in Hancock County.

But the miraculous kindness of Quincy didn’t stop there. Seven years later, in the fall of 1846, when the Mormons left Illinois for a new home in the Rocky Mountains, it was the citizens of Quincy who rallied. They loaded barges with food, clothing, and supplies, sailing the Saints up-river and aiding even the poorest of the Mormons in their exodus to the West.

The legacy of Quincy will endure as one of great humanitarian compassion. The deeds of Quincy’s citizenry will live forever in the hearts of many who descended from those Mormons sheltered and saved in Quincy in 1839. Joseph Smith himself summed up the deeds of Quincy’s citizens and their place in history: “They burst the chains of slavery and proclaimed us forever free! Quincy, our first noble city of refuge when we came from the slaughter in Missouri and with our garments stained with blood, should not be forgotten” (History of the Church, 4:292).

Lead image by Julie Rogers (courtesy of Glenn Rawson).

Guest Author

This article by Jerry Borrowman, author of “How 4 Feet of Plywood Saved the Grand Canyon” appeared in the 6 July 2016 online edition of LDS Living.com.

In today’s world, the internet is a vital invention that has completely changed the face of communication and commerce—it’s hard to imagine the world without it. But the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the west desert of Utah had a similarly revolutionary effect on 1869 commerce and communication, dropping travel costs from $1,000 to $65, eliminating the need for dangerous maritime passages via Panama and Cape Horn, and increasing wealth and resources. It was celebrated in every major city in America: the Liberty Bell pealed in Philadelphia, 100 cannons were fired in New York City, and a parade three miles long wound through Chicago. Even the former Confederate States of America joined in the celebration of the East joining the West.

But what is not generally known is the crucial role Brigham Young and the Latter-day Saint settlers of Utah played in this monumental task. In fact, when award-winning historian Stephen Ambrose was asked what his biggest surprise was while researching the building of the transcontinental railroad, he replied without hesitation, “That’s easy—Brigham Young.”

When pressed for more detail, he added, “I had no idea what an efficient and dynamic leader Brigham Young was. In my opinion, he could have been a successful leader, even president of the United States. The way he organized his people to help finish the Union Pacific Railroad was remarkable.”

Unexpected Support

Many in the political establishment assumed Brigham Young would oppose a railroad through the Utah Territory since it would open the land to outsiders. Coming just a few years after the “Utah War” when General Albert Sidney Johnston had moved against the Mormons with a large contingent of the U.S. Army to impose order on the territory, it’s no wonder President Young was suspicious. But by 1868, when the Union Pacific Railroad was approaching the eastern borders of the Utah territory and the Central Pacific was making its way east from Nevada, rank-and-file Mormons were conflicted. On the one hand they wished to keep their relative isolation, but on the other hand, in order to prosper, they needed trade with the outside world.

Ultimately, however, Brigham Young was enthusiastic about the railroad connecting Utah to the rest of the world and even purchased shares of Union Pacific stock when it was first made available to the public. He had several motives for this support. First, it would make it easier for Latter-day Saint immigrants from England to make their way to Utah, incurring a much lower cost than traveling by wagon train or handcart.

Second, it would open markets in the eastern states to Utah farm produce while allowing easier transport of finished goods into the territory. Finally, even in those early days, President Young recognized that tourism to the magnificent Wasatch Mountains and the natural wonder of the Great Salt Lake would be a great economic boon to the area. The Latter-day Saints needed cash and trade in their growing communities.

The Latter-day Saints Join the Railroad Project

Brigham’s early efforts to influence the railroad, however, had little effect until the rails reached Evanston, Wyoming, on the Utah border. At this point, the Union Pacific (building westward) and the Central Pacific (building eastward) were in an all-out construction war with each other. Both companies were anxious to build track as far west or east as possible before Congress declared the final meeting point because each mile of track laid resulted in a direct cash payment to the company, as well as the grant of substantial amounts of real estate.

When the competing railroads reached the borders of Utah, though, they sorely needed qualified workers to lay tracks. Existing workers were increasingly abandoning the project to return home since Utah was about as far from civilization as anyone could get in 1868, and replacements were hard to come by.

Both railroad companies tried to strike a deal with the Latter-day Saints for labor. But after Thomas Durant of the Union Pacific sent a telegram to Brigham Young in May 1868, proposing a contract for the Saints to complete grading work from the Wasatch Mountains to the valley floor of the Great Salt Lake and allowing President Young to name his price, that was that.

Young replied immediately in the affirmative, setting terms which included free rail transportation for any Latter-day Saint emigrants en route from England who were willing to work on the railroad project. Durant accepted, and Brigham immediately sent out a call to area congregations to send as many able-bodied men as possible to work on the grading and tunneling projects. Within a month, work was underway in Echo Canyon, to the east of Ogden, Utah.

Financial Troubles

But in spite of Durant’s generous offer, the Prophet ended up personally financing the work while they waited for their cash payments to arrive from  New York.    The railroad company was pretty good about getting supplies and equipment to the more-than-3,000-man workforce, but it was always slow to send money for payroll.

And while many of Brigham’s critics thought he intended to exploit his own people by signing a profitable contract and then hiring his religious followers for a pittance, he actually tapped out his personal finances to make payments to the laborers when reimbursement from the Union Pacific didn’t arrive. In fact, at one point, he had advanced more than $130,000 of his personal funds even after the railroad sent $100,000 in payment.

Still, the Saints worked around the clock on both the grading and tunneling through the hard granite mountains. They burned great piles of sagebrush at night to provide light to the workers so they could keep going. These hardworking Saints ended up providing some of the best grading, tunneling, and roadbed preparation in the entire system.

The Second Deal

At this point, the Central Pacific Railroad was desperate. Now nearly 700 miles east of San Francisco, it was hard to get workers to lay the track in the high Utah desert and salt flats. California Governor Leland Stanford pleaded with the Utah Saints for additional workers to supplement the Chinese workers that had blasted the many tunnels through the Sierra-Nevada Mountains.

Finally, President Young sent word to all the bishops, asking for more men to grade across the desert north of the Great Salt Lake toward Ogden. The work was grueling and relentless, but men who were still unemployed relished the chance to earn an income—especially since their prophet-leader promised them it would be good for Utah and the Church in the long run.

Even as the arduous work drew to its finish, the two railroads continued competing. If it hadn’t been so expensive, it would have almost been humorous. For example, consider the folly that even after the two railroad companies met in the desert west of Ogden, they kept grading past each other for many miles, each billing the government for duplicate track. Congress finally stepped in and declared Promontory Point as the official termination point for each line.

United at Last

On May 10, 1869, an official ceremony was held at Promontory Summit, where California Governor Leland Stanford swung a pick to drive the golden spike into the last rail that joined the two lines. The country erupted in jubilation as America was finally united.

The rest is history. Brigham Young never was fully reimbursed for the money he paid out to workers. Instead, he accepted track and rolling equipment to build an extra rail line from Ogden to Salt Lake City. The LDS Church was also given a large grant of stock in the Union Pacific, which it held well into the 20th century. Virtually all the positive predictions President Young made in connection with the railroad came true: Utah was lifted out of an economic depression and the railroad ended the Saints’ isolation. Not only that, but the country was also reunited after the devastating division and bitterness of the Civil War. And it was in large part thanks to Brigham Young and the Latter-day Saints.

[Photo from Getty Images]

Guest Author

Above is an infographic from The Trek West page of history.lds.org.

The first section shows major events that took place in the lives of pioneers before and after they survived the trek to the Salt Lake Valley. The graphic depicts the timeline of the lives of two pioneer women whose lives spanned a 200-year period.

Mary Ann Pulver VanLeuven (28 March 1768 – 7 April 1861) was approximately 84 years of age and a widow when she crossed the plains with the Robert Wimmer Company. Prior to embarking on the trek west, she witnessed many events from the Declaration of Independence to the first Saints departing Nauvoo, Illinois, and following Brigham Young to Utah. She was the daughter of John and Mary Ann (Spenser) Pulver. She married John VanLeuven in 1790. He passed away in 1847.  She was also the mother of 12 children: Cornelius, John, Ransom, Frederick Matthew, David, Carson, Davis, Ann, Elizabeth “Betsey”, Calvin, and Benjamin. Benjamin and Frederick took her to San Bernardino, California, by wagon train. She was captured by Indians en route and stripped naked before they where able to rescue her. They were among the first to bring oranges and citrus to Southern California. Many of their descendents still live in the area.

Hilda Anderson Erickson (11 November 1859 – 1 January 1968) was born in Ledso, Skaraborg, Sweden. She was the daughter of Pehr Anderson and  Maria Kathrina Larson Anderson. She was the wife of John August Erickson and had 2 children, Amy Dorothy Erickson Hicks and John Perry Erickson. She had 3 siblings, John Pehr, Claus, and Charles Pehr Anderson. She trekked across the United States as a young girl. During her lifetime she witnessed events from the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad to the first successful human mission to space.

The second section of the infographic shows a day in the life of a pioneer traveling with a wagon train. In order to accomplish everything that needed to be done in a day’s time, the pioneers had to make a schedule to include making all of their food from scratch, as well as taking care of any accidents that might occur and repairs to their wagons.

The third section of the infographic is a Then and Now comparison.

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

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Although the Mormon Battalion never engaged in an actual battle, it earned a rightful place in the history of the West. The march and the service rendered was instrumental in helping the U.S. secure much of the American Southwest to include new territory in several Western states. Of particular noteworthiness was the Gadsden Purchase of much of southern Arizona in 1853. The march also opened a southern wagon route to California, and veterans of the battalion played significant roles in the westward expansion of California, Utah, Arizona, and other parts of the West.

The Longest Historical Infantry March

In 1846, the United States was actively engaged in the Mexican-American War. James K. Polk, then President of the United States, called for 500 to 1,000 Mormon volunteers to march to Fort Leavenworth (present-day Kansas) and then to California on a one-year U.S. Army enlistment. On Saturday, 18 July 1846, muster was held for the Mormon recruits, and on Monday, 20 July 1846, on the Little Pony River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the Mormon Battalion began their trek, which would cover approximately 1,850 miles by the time they reached San Diego, California.

The battalion arrived at Fort Leavenworth (Kansas) on 1 August 1846, where they were outfitted with the necessary accoutrements, and received a military clothing allowance of forty-two dollars. As military uniforms were not required, many of the recruits sent their clothing allowances to their families who were back in the camps in Iowa. Members of the battalion honored their military assignment – some served for one to three years, while others served for nearly a decade.

A Call to Arms

Susan Easton Black, a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, in her article about the Mormon Battalion in the Utah History Encyclopedia recounts the beginning days of the battalion:

In July 1846, under the authority of U.S. Army Captain James Allen and with the encouragement of Mormon leader Brigham Young, the Mormon Battalion was mustered in at Council Bluffs, Iowa Territory. The battalion was the direct result of Brigham Young’s correspondence on 26 January 1846 to Jesse C. Little, presiding elder over the New England and Middle States Mission. Young instructed Little to meet with national leaders in Washington, D.C., and to seek aid for the migrating Latter-day Saints, the majority of whom were then in the Iowa Territory. In response to Young’s letter, Little journeyed to Washington, arriving on 21 May 1846, just eight days after Congress had declared war on Mexico.

Little met with President James K. Polk on 5 June 1846 and urged him to aid migrating Mormon pioneers by employing them to fortify and defend the West. The president offered to aid the pioneers by permitting them to raise a battalion of five hundred men, who were to join Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, Commander of the Army of the West, and fight for the United States in the Mexican War. Little accepted this offer.

Colonel Kearny designated Captain James Allen, later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, to raise five companies of volunteer soldiers from the able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in the Mormon encampments in Iowa. On 26 June 1846 Allen arrived at the encampment of Mt. Pisgah. He was treated with suspicion as many believed that the raising of a battalion was a plot to bring trouble to the migrating Saints.

Allen journeyed from Mt. Pisgah to Council Bluffs, where on 1 July 1846 he allayed Mormon fears by giving permission for the Saints to encamp on United States lands if the Mormons would raise the desired battalion. Brigham Young accepted this, recognizing that the enlistment of the battalion was the first time the government had stretched forth its arm to aid the Mormons.

On 16 July 1846 some 543 men enlisted in the Mormon Battalion. From among these men Brigham Young selected the commissioned officers; they included Jefferson Hunt, Captain of Company A; Jesse D. Hunter, Captain of Company B; James Brown, Captain of Company C; Nelson Higgins, Captain of Company D; and Daniel C. Davis, Captain of Company E. Among the most prominent non-Mormon military officers immediately associated with the battalion march were Lt. Col. James Allen, First Lt. Andrew Jackson Smith, Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke, and Dr. George Sanderson. Also accompanying the battalion were approximately thirty-three women, twenty of whom served as laundresses, and fifty-one children.

A Fulfilment of Prophecy

Brigham Young, then President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called the “Mormon” Church by the media and others), prophesied that not a single battalion member would be lost to hostile action. However, twenty members died due to the privations they suffered, with the first being Samuel Boly who died only twenty-eight miles from Council Bluffs.  It is also reported that not a single shot was fired by the Mormon Battalion except at a herd of rampaging bulls. The battalion arrived in San Diego, California on Friday, 29 January 1847.

Stanley B. Kimball, a professor of history at Southern Illinois University, in the conclusion to his article “The Mormon Battalion March, 1846–47” states:

The battalion filled its enlistment term with performed routine garrison duty in San Diego, San Louis Rey, and Los Angeles, until being discharged 16 July 1847. Some reenlisted for six months, but most made preparation for joining the pioneers in the Great Basin. They pushed north and picked up the Old California Trail east of San Francisco. Some decided to winter at Sutter’s Fort—and were present when gold was discovered in January 1848. Those who had gone on arrived in Salt Lake Valley 16 October 1847.

Historic Sites and Monuments

There are several historic sites associated with the Mormon Battalion. These include the Mormon Battalion Memorial Visitor’s Center in San Diego, California; Fort Moore Pioneer Memorial in Los Angeles, California; and the Mormon Battalion Monument in Memory Grove, Salt Lake City, Utah. Monuments have also been built in New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, and trail markers have been placed on segments of the battalion route.

The Mormon Battalion Historic Site of San Diego which was established in 2009 has been chosen to receive the California Historian of the Year Commercial Award which will be presented at the Conference of California Historical Societies on Saturday, 21 June 2014 in Los Angeles, California. The newly restored facility includes interactive displays, hands on activities, and entertaining presentations for people of all ages. Those who visit the site are also able to relive the trials and accomplishments of the Mormon Battalion through journals of members of the battalion.

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

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Eliza Roxcy Snow is one of the most revered women in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (frequently misnamed the “Mormon Church”). She was an incredible woman who, once she found the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, dedicated her life building up the kingdom of God on the earth.

Early Life of Eliza Snow

Eliza was born on January 21, 1804, in Becket, Massachusetts. She was the second daughter of Oliver and Rosetta Pettibone Snow. She was raised in a financially successful home and was well educated. Unusually for the time, Eliza was even employed as her father’s secretary for a period, proving herself quite capable. At different times in her life, she was also employed as a seamstress and schoolteacher.

Eliza is perhaps most famous for her poetry, but if she made any money with her poetry before she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she did not make money for her poetry after her conversion. She believed it was a gift from God which she had a duty to share for free. Her first poem was published in 1825. Though there was a brief period of intense sorrow in her life, from about 1836 to 1838, where there is no record of her writing any poetry at all, for the most part, she continuously wrote poetry her entire life.

In 1828, Eliza encountered a suitor through her writings. He offended her, however, when he published a very presumptuous poem about her in the Western Courier, of which he was the editor. Though he pursued her with courtship, she denied him. This was several years before she joined the Church, but looking back at her early life, she said:

I remained single; and why, I could not comprehend at the time. But, when I embraced the fulness of the Gospel, in recalling the events of my past life, I felt, and still feel to acknowledge the kind overruling hand in the providences of God in that circumstance, as fully as in any other in my mortal existence; I do not know that one of my former suitors have received the Gospel, which shows that I was singularly preserved from the bondage of a marriage tie which would, in all probability, have prevented my receiving, or from the free exercise of religion which has been, and now is dearer to me than my life. (“Sketch,” in Beecher, Personal Writings, 16.)

Many members of Eliza’s family joined the Church. Eliza’s sister Leonora and their mother, Rosetta, joined first. It took more than four years for Eliza to be certain that was a step she wanted to take herself. She was 31 when she was baptized in 1835. Almost immediately upon being baptized, Eliza and her family began to experience the persecution that was the lot of the early Saints. Over the years, Eliza’s parents and some of her siblings distanced themselves from the Church due to the persecution. Eliza, however, remained faithful and valiant all her life.

Her love of poetry and writing made Eliza a well-known figure among the Saints almost immediately. She published poetry frequently in the Saints’ newspaper, the Deseret News. She also wrote many hymns, some of which are still sung and loved by the Saints today. In Nauvoo, Illinois, she was called to serve as a secretary for the first meetings of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo. This organization, now known simply as the Relief Society, is the largest women’s organization in the world.

In Kirtland, Ohio, Eliza was present at the dedication of the temple there, which experience had a profound impact on her. There are many records of the miraculous things that happened at the dedication, and Eliza counted herself lucky to have been a part of it. She even gave her inheritance to the building of the Kirtland Temple and supported herself by teaching school. It was in Kirtland that Eliza’s younger brother Lorenzo visited her and eventually joined the Church as well. He became the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1898.

After increased persecution had caused the Saints to flee Ohio and settle in Missouri, tensions began to build in their new communities. These tensions in Missouri culminated in the Saints once again begin driven from their homes. Much later in life, as Eliza was writing for the Juvenile Instructor, a periodical for young Latter-day Saints, she tried to capture the state of affairs in a manner which a child could comprehend. She wrote of her family’s dog, Jack.

We had a very large watch-dog, which my father took with him from Ohio, on purpose to guard the wagons while we were traveling. As soon as my brother Lorenzo [who had been very ill] was strong enough to walk out, and carry a rifle, he amused himself by hunting turkeys, which were very abundant in that part of Missouri. Whenever he went on those little hunting excursions, the watch-dog, Jack, was sure to accompany him. Some dogs seem quite sensible, as my young readers will understand, and Jack was uncommonly smart, and seemed to realize that his master had but little strength—he would walk as stilly as possible, at my brother’s heels, until they came in sight of game, when he would place himself directly in front, and raise his head sufficiently, then hold his head perfectly still for his master to rest the rifle on his head, to shoot.

. . . Jack was highly prized by all the family, and although a dog, he was worthy of respect, because he was a true friend. . . . We had learned that Jack could be trusted, and when we knew that we were surrounded by mobocrats, we could lie down at night, feeling pretty safe, knowing that no one could approach the house, until the faithful dog had given the alarm.

I think by this time, my little friends are feeling enough interest for the dog Jack, to wish to know what became of him. I will tell you. Our Missouri neighbors (if I may call those neighbors who were plotting our destruction) saw that Jack was true to us, and they were afraid of him, and tried to entice him away, but when they found it impossible to coax him to leave us, they shot him. We all felt very sorry to lose poor Jack, and two of my younger brothers dug a grave and buried him with all the formalities that the occasion called for, and, with great childish lamentations, pronounced him a martyr. (Snow, “Little Incidents for Little Readers,” Juvenile Instructor, November 15, 1866, 2; as quoted in Eliza: The Life and Faith of Eliza R. Snow, by Davidson and Derr.)

Days in Nauvoo and Plural Marriage

In late 1838, Joseph Smith personally asked Eliza to once again use her poetry to uplift the Saints. She rose to the occasion, though it was not easy for her, and wrote poetry the rest of her life. After the Saints were driven from Missouri, they settled in what became Nauvoo, Illinois, and, for a brief time, enjoyed peace and prosperity. Eliza loved Nauvoo and enjoyed her time there. She lived with Joseph and Emma Smith for a time.

She considered the privilege of receiving her temple endowment in the completed Nauvoo Temple one of the most important of her life. She served as an ordinance worker both in the Nauvoo Temple and later in Salt Lake at the Endowment House, helping other women who were receiving their temple ordinances. She loved the temple and working in the temple.

Another eternally significant event for Eliza took place during her time in Nauvoo. On June 29, 1842, she was sealed to Joseph Smith as a plural wife for time and eternity, “in accordance with the Celestial Law of Marriage, which God has revealed” (Snow, “Sketch,” in Beecher, Personal Writings, 17). Eliza was one of the first women to enter into plural marriage, and the principle was not shared with many until much later because public opinion was so violently opposed to it.

Pretty much everyone who first heard the principle was opposed to it, including Joseph Smith himself. He did not want to implement the practice, and postponed doing so as long as he could, but it is a testament to the truthfulness of the principle that those who were asked to live it had very spiritual, personal witnesses from the Holy Ghost that the principle was from God. Eliza was no exception to this.

She recorded that at the outset the idea was “very repugnant to my feelings.” The thought of Old Testament polygamy would be reinstated was not favorable to nearly anyone raised in a Western culture. However, over time, Eliza said that she became converted through faith and revelation. She said, “As I increased in knowledge concerning the principle and design of Plural Marriage, I grew in love with it.” She defended the principle the rest of her life and called it a “precious, sacred principle” (Personal Writings, 17).

Records show that Emma Smith vacillated in her public opinion of plural marriage. After Joseph Smith’s martyrdom, she declared that he had never taught the principle, which everyone close to him knew to be false. Still, out of respect for Emma, it wasn’t until after Emma Smith’s death and after Brigham Young’s death (Eliza’s second husband) that Eliza took Joseph’s name and was known until her death as Eliza R. Snow Smith. Eliza was a believer in the principle as it was revealed by God and defended it until her death. However, judging from her stalwart behavior, it is more than likely she would have been an advocate for the transition from plural marriage back to monogamy which the Church eventually followed under God’s direction. She believed the prophets were men called of God who spoke in God’s name and followed them in faith.

Persecutions raged so strongly in Illinois that Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were eventually martyred on June 27, 1844. The Saints were once again forced to flee their homes. Those who had killed Joseph expected his death to be the end of the Mormon movement, but they misunderstood the Saints’ faith. It was not Joseph Smith they worshipped. It was and is Jesus Christ who leads His own Church. Brigham Young was called by God to lead the Saints to the West and to be the second prophet of our day. Eliza accompanied the Saints on the long, arduous journey. It was filled with misery and death, but upheld by faith and determination. The journey began on February 12, 1846 and didn’t end until October 1847.

Women had few opportunities to support themselves at this time, and Eliza was married to Brigham Young for time only (until death do they part) in October 1844. A marriage of time gave Eliza protection and a home, though due to circumstances this wouldn’t actually be the case for two more years, once the Saints were settled in the Salt Lake Valley. Mormon doctrine teaches that marriages for eternity are what provide everlasting blessings, but a woman can only be sealed to one man. Since Eliza had already been married to Joseph for eternity, the marriage to Brigham Young was more to provide for her financially than it was to secure those eternal blessings.

The Saints Settling in Utah

Though the experience was a long and difficult one, Eliza did not complain much about the long trek to Utah, nor did the other Saints. Amidst intense suffering, their faith in God was solidified to a point where it could not break. Lifelong friendships were forged which helped to build the kingdom in what became the Utah Territory. It took many years, but the Saints made the desert blossom as a rose.

After living with a few different women, Eliza moved to the Lion House in Salt Lake, Brigham Young’s large home. She had her own room here, but helped with the children and around the house. She recorded that she was very happy there and loved to be with all the children. She was an excellent seamstress and devoted nurse.

Eliza continued to write poetry and published her first volume of poetry in 1856. Brigham Young called on her myriad talents several times to help further organize the Relief Society in 1867­–68. Two years later, he called her to establish a new organization for younger women, which was originally called the Retrenchment Associations and then the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Associations. She encouraged women to meet together and to edify their minds. She helped Mormon women develop cooperative stores in the different settlements, produce their own newspaper (the Woman’s Exponent), manufacture silk in their homes, and even helped many women attend medical colleges. Remaining very vocal about the gospel and its doctrine, Eliza continued to use both poetry and prose to reach people who were not members of the Church.

Much later in her life, in October 1872, Eliza had the opportunity to journey with several Church leaders to different parts of Europe and the Holy Land. It was one of the crowning points of her life. She shared her experiences with the sisters of the Church, who had helped fund her trip, by sending them articles and poems to publish in their paper.

It is hard to fathom that a single woman could have accomplished so much in one lifetime, but Eliza did not even stop there. In 1878, she and two other women decided to come up with an organization to help the young children of the Church. With full support from Church leaders, the women began organizing the children in different settlements. These became known as the Primary Associations. Today it is simply called Primary. The organization teaches children the principles of the gospel through lessons, activities, and music.

Continuing her pattern of service until the end of her life, Eliza took a trip from November 1880 to March 1881 to visit five Utah counties and strengthen the people in each. It was a difficult and uncomfortable journey at the best of times, but at her age it must have been an ordeal. She loved to visit with the sisters and the youth, though.

Her death on December 5, 1887, brought sadness to all who knew her. Her absence was felt keenly, but she left a legacy for members of the Church which continues today. Her faithfulness and endurance are an example to the world.

Sources:

Eliza: The Life and Faith of Eliza R. Snow, by Karen Lynn Davidson and Jill Mulvay Derr.

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.