Jacob Schipanboord, who served as the acting mission president, had done great work among the Saints. However, the war had taken its toll on many of the 3,200 members leaving them bitter, angry, and resentful towards their former enemies, the Germans. Many of the Saints were without food and clothing. Branches were in desperate need of staffing, administration, and adequate housing. Bombs had annihilated the mission home in The Hague which was in need of windows, doors, repairs, and furniture. And the institution of full-time proselyting was also necessary. Thus, the Netherlands Mission was in dire need of repairs, both temporal and spiritual.

The tiny country of Holland began experiencing the terrors of World War II in late 1940 when the German occupation with its tanks and soldiers overran the country in only five days. By obliterating the center of Rotterdam, including the LDS chapel there, the German Luftwaffe hoped to break any Dutch resistance in the first major air strike aimed at a city – a blitzkrieg that would ultimately claim the lives of 40,000 civilians.

Nazi troops occupied Holland for five traumatic years leaving many of the Dutch citizens torn between loyalty to their countrymen and survival by any means necessary. Many of them, to protect family and friends, cooperated with the German regime, others resisted, and still others did both. Numerous Dutch soldiers, resisters, and Jews were either executed or taken to prison camps. Among them was Anne Frank.

In the aftermath of the war, the Dutch received welfare relief from the United States and instructions about the welfare plan. As a means to sustain life, they decided to plant potatoes. President Zappey tried to get the people to work together for the good of the community by growing potatoes and green vegetables to help feed the poorest among them. During the war, every family had a vegetable garden to grow vegetables. The elderly and the physically challenged however did not and as a result, many of them starved to death.

After some months, word came that the people could expect an abundant harvest of potatoes. Then one day, President Walter Stover of the German Mission came and told of the hunger and desolation of the Saints in Germany. President Zappey asked the Dutch members to give some of their potato harvests to help feed the Germans. Though feelings of animosity still lingered among many of the members, they agreed to help the Saints in Germany.

In the first weeks of November 1946, ten trucks with more than 70 tons of potatoes started to the border where they met with opposition from the Dutch government which prohibited the export of its valuable food resource. President Zappey and then President of the European Mission, Elder Alma Sonne, tried for days to get permission to deliver the food to the German members. President Zappey appealed to many of the government officials preaching a message of brotherly love for those who were once enemies. He finally received permission to proceed, but only on the condition that the potatoes were to be eaten and not planted.

Eventually, 90 tons of donated potatoes and 60 tons of donated herrings were shipped to Germany. A few years later when the North Sea flooded and those same Dutch members were in need, the German Saints showed their gratitude by sending welfare supplies to the Netherlands.

This tender act of kindness and forgiveness from the Dutch Saints falls directly in line with the teachings of the Apostle Paul to the Saints in Ephesus. He taught, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). The Lord Himself also taught, “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27).

Additional Resource: Pioneers in Every Land

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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In 1795, Knight married Polly Peck. Five years later they were living in Vermont, and in 1808, they moved to Colesville, New York. Along with his second wife, and thirteen children, he established a sawmill in Colesville.

He first met Joseph Smith while Joseph was working for Josiah Stowell in 1825. Joseph was 20 years of age at the time. In late 1826, he hired Joseph to do farm work and to work at the sawmill. Joseph told the Knight family about seeing God the Father and the Son six years earlier near Palmyra, New York, and also about the Gold Plates he was preparing to receive. The Knights were impressed with his story.

Joseph Knight Sr. was also instrumental in Joseph Smith’s courtship with Emma Hale. “I paid him the money and furnished him with a horse and cutter [sled] to go and see his girl.” The Prophet even used Knight’s wagon to retrieve the gold plates from the Hill Cumorah.

Joseph Knight Sr. was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 28 June 1830. All his children, their spouses, his sister, and three of his wife’s siblings along with their spouses joined the church. The Knight family constituted the Colesville Branch, the first branch of the church. Hyrum Smith served as the first Branch President, followed by Newel Knight, one of Knight’s sons. They met in the Knight family home.

The Knight farm was the location of the Prophet Joseph Smith being arrested for the first time on 28 June 1830 following the organization of the church. Charged with “being a disorderly person by preaching the Book of Mormon, and setting the country in an uproar,” he was put on trial, but acquitted of the charges against him.

Knight died at the age of 74 in Mt. Pisgah, Iowa on 3 February 1847, after the Saints’ expulsion from Nauvoo, and before reaching Utah.

The Joseph Knight Sr. home in Nineveh, New York (formerly Colesville) located 23 miles north of the Priesthood Restoration Site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in what was once Harmony, Pennsylvania, underwent a 12-year restoration process. The home, owned by Raphael Mecham, one of the directors of the restoration project, and his brother-in-law, Steve Glenn, located at 1963 E. Windsor Road, Nineveh, New York 13813, and is now open for public tours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 2-6 p.m. on Sundays.

They purchased the home in 2004 after it had fallen into severe disarray, however, due to foreclosure laws, they did not take ownership of the home until August 2005. Once they had ownership, they invited the Painters family to help with the restoration project.

According to Mecham, the original plan was to renovate the home, but in 2006, they received a spiritual prompting that the house should be restored and preserved. Approximately 75 to 100 people assisted in restoring the home – people including an electrician, a blacksmith, and missionaries on their preparation days.

According to a 3 June 2016 Deseret News article, Mecham stressed the importance of knowing church history to “appreciate the depth and breadth of the Restoration.” He further stated that understanding the history “magnifies the faith and it strengthens testimony.”

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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Late one fall evening after Heber and Vilate Kimball had retired to their bed, they were awakened suddenly by an urgent knocking at their door. A neighbor, John Greene, who lived just 100 steps away, stood at the door and bade them come out and behold the scenery in the heavens.”

They did so, and it was a beautiful starlit night, so exceptionally clear and brilliant that Heber said he could “see to pick up a pin.”

As the little group watched, a white smoke formed on the eastern horizon, and slowly began to rise upward. As it did so, it formed itself into a belt spreading across the sky toward the southwest, and it was accompanied by the sound of a rushing mighty wind.

Gradually, that belt flattened out and broadened across into a bow—like a rainbow, becoming transparent with a bluish cast, and stretching from horizon to horizon.

“In this bow an army moved, commencing in the east and marching to the west. They continued marching until they reached the western horizon. They moved in platoons, and walked so close that the rear ranks trod in the steps of their file leaders until the whole bow was literally crowded with soldiers.”

They were dressed in the full battle gear of 19th century soldiers—muskets; bayonets, and were so clear and distinct that Heber and the small group of neighbors could distinguish the features of their faces, and hear the jingle of their equipage as they moved.

Shortly, the entire bow from horizon to horizon was crowded and filled with marching men, the sound of that marching reaching clearly to the ears of the astonished onlookers.

Heber later described the event this way:

“No man could judge of my feelings when I beheld that army of men, as plainly as ever I saw armies of men in the flesh; it seemed as though every [the very] hair of my head was alive.”

“When the front rank of soldiers reached the western horizon a battle ensued.” The noise of the rush of men, and the clash of the arms was distinct and unmistakable. Heber and his friends looked upon this scene for hours, until it gradually disappeared.

Heber’s wife, somewhat afraid, turned to one of the older men in the group and asked, “Father Young, what does all this mean?”

“Why, it’s one of the signs of the coming of the Son of Man,” he replied in a lively and pleased manner.

And indeed it was. The night that Heber and his friends in Mendon, New York saw the vision and Brigham Young and friends saw it in Port Byron, New York was September 22, 1827—the same night that the angel Moroni delivered the plates of the Book of Mormon into the hands of the prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is truly the Marvelous Work and a Wonder.

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.

of-common-sense.site123.me/

Millions of people worldwide, both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and non-members alike, have come to know Brother Joseph again. Many revere him as a prophet, seer, and revelator, while others are critical of him and defame his name. Nevertheless, with all of the information that has been collected and published about his life, there are still some interesting factoids about the life of Joseph Smith that are rarely, if ever, mentioned. Here are some unusual facts about Joseph Smith that most people probably never knew.

Joseph Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont, the fifth of eleven children born to Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith on 23 December 1805. By 1817, Joseph and his family moved to the “burned-over district” of western New York, an area repeatedly swept by religious revivals during the Second Great Awakening. Views about organized religion differed among family members, but they did believe in visions and prophecies.

His mother described him as “much less inclined to the perusal of books than any of the rest of the children, but far more given to meditation and deep study.” Various people described Joseph as “remarkably quiet,” and “taciturn,” and “proverbially good-natured,” and “never known to laugh.” The first little-known fact about him is that according to one of his acquaintances in Palmyra, New York, O. Turner, Joseph had “a jovial, easy, don’t-care way about him,” and he had an aptitude for debating moral and political issues in a local junior debating club.

A second fact that many people may not be aware of concerns Joseph’s genealogy. Through his mother’s line, he is related to such well-known people as George W. Bush, Winston Churchill, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John P. Morgan, Mitt Romney, Richard Nixon, and David Marriott.

He met and fell in love with Emma Smith from Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, whom he married in 1827. Another trivia fact is that Emma refused to let Joseph in her garden because she believed that dozens of people would gather around to be near him, and they would trample all of the plants.

It appears that Joseph was also a pet lover and owned two dogs. Reports state that his favorite dog was named Major, and Sylvester Smith threatened to kill it while on Zion’s Camp march. He also had a bulldog named Baker.

What the angel Moroni told him in the vision that his “name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues” rang true in Hiram, Ohio. He was tarred and feathered there, and during the ordeal, he chipped a tooth causing him to speak with a slight whistle for the rest of his life.

How many people would ever think that such a great leader as Joseph Smith would have stage fright? One of the original twelve apostles in the early Church, Heber C. Kimball, reportedly often heard Joseph Smith say that his legs often “trembled like Belshazzar’s when he got up to speak before the world, and before the Saints.”

Unbeknownst to Joseph during his lifetime, several of the people whom he had a close association with such as Parley Pratt, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, and Harold B. Lee were his cousins. Brigham Young, the second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, was his fifth cousin.

On 28 June 1830, in route to New York, Joseph was arrested and falsely accused by people purporting that he owed them money. He was given a hearing, found to be innocent, and subsequently released. Events such as this occurred six times in the course of one day, and in each instance, the charges were dropped. After the last hearing, Joseph returned to Kirtland.

Finally, a fact that some may already be aware of is that decoy caskets were used at Joseph and Hyrum’s funeral after the martyrdom in the Carthage jail in Carthage, Illinois. There was a $1,000 reward for the head of Joseph Smith, so the caskets were filled with sandbags to try and prevent the bodies from being desecrated. Later, the bodies of the two brothers were buried in secret.  “In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!” (Doctrine and Covenants 135:3). The chorus of the LDS hymn Praise to the Man written by William W. Phelps is a fitting closing commentary on the life of Joseph Smith:

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.

** Information for this article was taken from the article titled “10 Rare Facts about the Prophet Joseph Smith” by Aleah Ingram posted on 29 May 2016 on LDS Daily.com.

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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The experiences that the first seven missionaries to Britain had when they arrived in Preston, England in July 1837, exemplified Lehi’s counsel to his son. Upon their arrival one of the missionaries, John Goodson, went to find lodgings. They obtained lodging in the house of a widow who resided on the corner of Fox Street and St. Wilfrid Street. Joseph Fielding referred to them as “comfortable private lodging.” (Fielding 1:17). The missionaries provided their own food which the widow cooked for them. The top two floors of the three-floor home which still stands today, served as the mission home. A week after the missionaries arrived, and on the day when the first British baptisms were about to take place, an amazing event occurred within the lodgings.

An article by Peter Fagg for the 7 March 2016, online edition of LDSMag.com, takes the different accounts of the event and puts them all together in chronological order.

Heber C. Kimball’s account

Sunday, July 30th, about daybreak, Elder Isaac Russell…. came up to the third story, where Elder Hyde and myself were sleeping, and called out, ‘Brother Kimball, I want you should get up and pray for me that I may be delivered from the evil spirits that are tormenting me to such a degree that I feel I cannot live long, unless I obtain relief.

I had been sleeping on the back of the bed. I immediately arose, slipped off at the foot of the bed, and passed around to where he was. Elder Hyde threw his feet out, and sat up in the bed, and we laid hands on him, I being mouth, and prayed that the Lord would have mercy on him, and rebuked the devil. While thus engaged, I was struck with great force by some invisible power, and fell senseless on the floor. (Whitney p. 129-131)

Orson Hyde’s account

His [Heber’s] voice faltered, and his mouth was shut, and he began to tremble and reel to and fro, and fell on the floor like a dead man, and uttered a deep groan. I immediately seized him by the shoulder, and lifted him up, being satisfied that the devils were exceedingly angry because we attempted to cast them out of Br. Russell, and they made a powerful attempt upon elder Kimball as if to dispatch him at once, they struck him senseless and he fell to the floor… (Elder’s p. 4)

Heber C. Kimball Continues His Account

The first thing I recollected was being supported by Elders Hyde and Richards, who were praying for me; Elder Richards having followed Russell up to my room. Elder Hyde and Richards then assisted me to get on the bed, but my agony was so great I could not endure it, and I arose, bowed my knees and prayed. I then arose and sat up on the bed, when a vision was opened to our minds, and we could distinctly see the evil spirits, who foamed and gnashed their teeth at us. (Whitney p. 130-131)

In 1856, Heber related the account to a congregation in the Salt Lake Tabernacle and told them that the evil spirits he saw had “full formed bodies” – hands, eyes, facial features, hair on their heads, and ears. (See Journal of Discourses Vol. 3 mar 2, 1856, p. 229). His account continues:

We gazed upon them about an hour and a half (by Willard’s watch). We were not looking towards the window, but towards the wall. Space appeared before us, and we saw the devils coming in legions, with their leaders, who came within a few feet of us. They came towards us like armies rushing to battle They appeared to be men of full stature, possessing every form and feature of men in the flesh, who were angry and desperate; and I (Kimball) shall never forget the vindictive malignity depicted on their countenances as they looked me in the eye; and any attempt to paint the scene which then presented itself, or portray their malice and enmity, would be vain. I perspired exceedingly, my clothes becoming as wet as if I had been taken out of the river. I felt excessive pain, and was in the greatest distress for sometime. (Whitney p. 130-131)

Orson Hyde’s Fight Against the Principalities of Darkness

In the Bible, in John 10:10, scripture teaches, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Therefore, as scripture also teaches in Ephesians 6:12, we must realize that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Nevertheless, all is not lost, for the faithful are promised that “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20).

These verses of scripture were born true to Orson Hyde as he further recalled that as Heber lay senseless on the floor and upon the bed after being laid there, that he stood between Heber and the devils and fought them face to face, until they began to depart from the room. He stated that the “last imp that left turned around to me as he was going out and said, as if to apologize, and appease my determined opposition to them, ‘I never said anything against you!’ I replied to him thus: ‘It matters not me whether you have or have not; you are a liar from the beginning! In the name of Jesus Christ depart!’ He immediately left, and the room was clear.” (Whitney 131). Orson’s actions exemplify what James taught in James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Joseph Fielding’s Account Substantiates What Orson Hyde Experienced

They [the demons] however kept their distances, but turned their heads toward Bro. Hyde; one looking at him said distinctly, but with a murmuring tone, slowly demure, I never spoke against you.  He said there seemed to be legion of them.  He was alarmed, but very much disgusted.  He could scarcely bear to speak of them. (Fielding, p. 23)

Upon returning home, Joseph Smith declared to Heber, “At that time, you were nigh unto the Lord: there was only a veil between you and Him, but you could not see Him. When I heard of it, it gave me great joy, for I then knew that the work of God had taken root in that land. It was this that caused the devil to make a struggle to kill you. (Whitney p. 132)

From his own experiences in the Sacred Grove (See Joseph Smith History 1:15-17), Joseph was able to teach Heber an important truth about the satanic attack in Preston. He stated, “The nearer a person approaches the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishment of His purposes.”   (Whitney p.132)

Lehi’s further counsel to his sons is applicable to us at this hour. Said he:

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit.

And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom (2 Nephi 2:27-29).

* Information for this article was obtained from a 7 March 2016 article published in the online edition of Meridian Magazine by Peter Fagg titled A Satanic Attack on the First Missionaries in Preston, England.

* See also: 175 Years of Mormon Missionaries in England by Keith L. Brown

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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The Two Distinguished Lecturers – Margaret Blair Young and Darius Gray

Margaret Blair Young and Darius Gray first met in July 1998. Soon after, they began collaborating on research projects that chronicle the lives of African-American Saints in the early history of the Church. In the course of their work, they have been blessed with “manna from Heaven” in the form of rare documents and other snippets of information that have helped them piece together the stories of theses brave and heroic men and women who proved to be steadfast and immoveable even in the midst of trials and adversity.

Darius Gray is a convert to the Church (1964). In the years prior to the 1978 Revelation on the Priesthood being received and removing the restriction of African-American males being ordained to the Priesthood, he was a member of the presidency of the Genesis Group. After the revelation was given in 1978, he became President of the Genesis Group.

Gray recalled that shortly after becoming a member of the Church, he learned that there were approximately 300-400 Black members out of a membership of 2.5 million at that time. This was the equivalent of less than half of 1 percent. He commented, “I felt very isolated. I did not see others who looked like me, did not see others who reminded me of my parents or people I had grown up with, churches I had attended.” As he learned about Black Latter-day Saint pioneers, he was able to make the connection.

For 30 years, Margaret Blair Young taught literature and creative writing at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Feeling that there was something missing in her life and career, in 1998, she went to the temple earnestly seeking something that she might do “that would matter.” That experience combined with a priesthood blessing that she received from her husband, inspired her to begin writing black history. She was somewhat apprehensive about the undertaking as she felt that a white woman writing about black history would seem like “appropriation.”

Margaret first heard of Darius when she listened to his testimony on a cassette tape. They met for the first time when she was invited to be on a panel in observance of the 20th anniversary of the 1978 revelation. Darius was also there and introduced himself afterwards. It was at his suggestion that they later began coauthoring books, including a novel trilogy about Black Mormon pioneers. Darius commented, “God does indeed work in mysterious ways, and when you least expect it. It has been a process. Working in partnership with someone writing books is a challenge. With two people who are strong-willed, opinionated, and with differing viewpoints, it takes God’s intervention to bring it all together.”

During their presentation on 18 February, which was in observance of February being Black History Month, Young and Gray focused on the lives of three prominent African-American Mormon pioneers – Elijah Abel, Jane Manning James, and Green Flake.

Elijah Abel

There are some people who make their mark on history, and then they seem to fade off into the sunset without anyone ever getting to know much, if anything, about them or the contributions that they made. One such person in Latter-day Saint history is Brother Elijah Abel.

Elijah was born on 25 July 1810 in Washington County, Maryland to Andrew and Delilah Abel. It is likely that his family were slaves. There is some historical evidence that he used the Underground Railroad to escape slavery into Canada.

He eventually found his way to the first settlement of the Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, where he was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in September 1832 by Ezekiel Roberts. He also became a personal friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was blessed during his lifetime to assist in the construction of temples in Kirtland, Nauvoo, and Salt Lake City. In 1842, in Cincinnati Ohio, he married Mary Ann Adams and they had eight children.

Elijah Abel was the first African-American Elder and Seventy during this dispensation. He was ordained an Elder on 3 March 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio by Zebedee Coltrin. He was ordained a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy on 20 December 1836 in Kirtland, Ohio by Zebedee Coltrin and became a “duly licensed minister of the Gospel” for missionary work in Ohio. His ordination was certified in Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1839, he was made a member of a Nauvoo Seventies Quorum. He was also the first Black missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Listed as a “minister of the gospel” in an 1837 edition of Messenger and Advocate, he served missions to Canada and New York in 1838, and another mission to Ohio shortly before his death.

He died on Christmas Day, 25 December 1884, at the age of seventy-four, only two weeks after his return from a proselyting mission in Ohio, where he had become ill through exposure. He is buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. His obituary which appeared in the Deseret News on 26 December 1884, makes specific note of his Priesthood, as it had become controversial. Darius Gray told the audience, “The detail is significant. I love that they recognized then, in 1884, that at some point in history people would want to know that this man truly was ordained to the priesthood.”

Jane Manning James

Jane Elizabeth Manning James, born on 22 September 1822, in Fairfield County, Connecticut, was one of the first people of African descent to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She never lived as a slave, but was a servant in a white farmer’s home.

She became a member of the Presbyterian Church, but after hearing the teachings of two Mormon missionaries she was converted. She was baptized in Connecticut in 1842, and left from Buffalo, New York, with a group of Saints, including eight other members of her family, to join the Saints in Nauvoo. However, her family became separated from the group when they were denied passage on a ship. As others boarded the ship, Jane and her family began an arduous journey of nearly 800 miles on foot to Nauvoo, arriving in late 1843. Jane recalled the journey:

We walked until our shoes were worn out, and our feet became sore and cracked open and bled until you could see the whole print of our feet with blood on the ground. We stopped and united in prayer to the Lord, we asked God the Eternal Father to heal our feet and our prayers were answered and our feet were healed forthwith.

Joseph and Emma invited her to live with them and she found work in their home helping Emma, staying for many months. After Joseph was martyred in the Carthage jail in Carthage, Illinois in 1844, Jane lived with Brigham Young’s family until the trek west. She married Isaac James, another free Black and member of the Church, and they left Nauvoo with the Saints. She and James had eight children. Throughout the entirety of her life, Jane remained faithful to her steadfast testimony of the restored gospel, even in the midst of poverty and other life’s challenges. She died on 16 April 1908, and President Joseph F. Smith spoke at her funeral.

Green Flake

Green Flake was born into slavery in Anson County, North Carolina in January 1828. He was given to James and Agnes Love Flake by James’s father, Jordan Flake, as a wedding gift.

He was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of 16 in the Mississippi River by John Brown on 7 April 1844, but remained a slave and took the name of his master, James Madison Flake, a Southerner who converted to the Church. He accompanied the Flake family to Nauvoo, Illinois.

Darius Gray pointed out to the audience that it was Green Flake who drove the wagon in which President Brigham Young was riding when he first laid sight on the Salt Lake Valley. Darius further pointed out that it was Green Flake to whom Brigham Young said, “This is the right place; drive on.”

During their lecture, Margaret and Darius shared a note written by Green Flake in response to an invitation that he had received inviting him to attend the 50-year jubilee honoring the 1847 pioneers. The note read, “Dear friend: I reseved you most kind and wellcom leter and ticket and was glad to rseved it and I will bee down to the Julile. Yours truly, Friend Green Flake.” Margaret also shared the following words attributed to Green Flake at a Pioneer Day celebration in Ohio:

Being a slave is all right—if you just want to be a slave, that is. But many of the colored folks wanted a better life if they could find one. Most everyone don’t want to be a slave and be in bondage to another, because you cannot have even your own thoughts and dreams. You cannot plan for the future when all decisions get made by someone else.

Brigham Young had Green Flake freed in 1854, and he died a faithful member.

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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Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it (John 14:12-14).

Then in Luke’s account of the gospel, as recorded in the ninth chapter, we learn, “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2).

In modern-day times, the Lord’s servants are still called to go forth under His authority to proclaim the gospel and to heal the sick. Two accounts of modern Apostles on the Lord’s errand who healed the sick by restoring sight to a blind person can be found in the ministry of Elder Matthew Cowley and President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Elder Matthew Cowley – Miracle among Maori People

Elder Matthew Cowley (2 August 1897 – 13 December 1953) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1945 until his death. He was affectionately known as the “Polynesian Apostle” because of his intimate knowledge of the Polynesian culture and the Māori language. In 1914, at the age of 17, he was called to serve as a missionary in New Zealand, and because of his vast knowledge of the culture and understanding of the language, he was called upon to revise the translation of the Book of Mormon into the Māori language. The revised edition appeared in 1917. His mission was extended two years beyond the then standard three years to also translate the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price into Māori with the assistance of Wiremu Duncan and Stuart Meha. The translated versions of the scriptural texts appeared in 1919.

In 1938, Cowley was called to serve as President the Church’s New Zealand Mission among the Maori people. One Sunday when a father brought a nine-month-old baby forward to him, requesting that he be given a name and a blessing, he had the following experience:

I said, ‘All right, what’s the name?’ So he told me the name, and I was just going to start when he said, ‘By the way, give him his vision when you give him a name. He was born blind.’ It shocked me, but then I said to myself, why not? Christ said to his disciples when he left them, ‘Greater things than I have done shall you do.’

I had faith in that father’s faith. After I gave that child its name, I finally got around to giving it its vision. That boy is about twelve years old now. The last time I was back there I was afraid to inquire about him. I was sure he had gone blind again. That’s the way my faith works sometimes. So I asked the branch president about him. And he said, ‘Brother Cowley, the worst thing you ever did was to bless that child to receive his vision. He’s the meanest kid in the neighborhood; always getting into mischief.’ Boy, I was thrilled about that kid getting into mischief!” Miracles, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year (5 Apr. 1966, rebroadcast from a speech delivered 18 Feb. 1953), 9

President Gordon B. Hinckley – Miracle in Hong Kong

Gordon B. Hinckley (23 June 1910 – 27 January 2008) served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 12 March 1995 until his death, being the oldest person to preside over the Church in its history. Church members revered him as a prophet, seer, and revelator. His presidency was noted for building temples, with more than half of existing temples (as of 2015) being built under his leadership. He also oversaw the reconstruction of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple and the construction of the 21,000 seat Conference Center located in Salt Lake City, Utah. During his tenure, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” was issued and the Perpetual Education Fund was established.

He shared the following miracle in the restoration of sight:

I recall once when I arrived in Hong Kong I was asked if I would visit a woman in the hospital whose doctors had told her she was going blind and would lose her sight within a week. She asked if we would administer to her and we did so, and she states that she was miraculously healed. I have a painting in my home that she gave me which says on the back of it, ‘To Gordon B. Hinckley in grateful appreciation for the miracle of saving my sight.’ I said to her, ‘I didn’t save your sight. Of course, the Lord saved your sight. Thank Him and be grateful to Him.’” Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley (1997), 343

Miracles, both small and great, appear around us every day. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taught us, “Miracles are not always so immediate. At times we thoughtfully wonder why the miracle we have so earnestly prayed for does not happen here and now. But as we trust in the Savior, promised miracles will occur.”

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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History records that during the winter of 1857-1858, approximately one-fourth of the United States Army (2,500 soldiers) camped near Fort Bridger, Wyoming, and waited for spring when they planned to fight their way through Echo Canyon — not barring the Utah militia and the fortifications that were already in place there. From Echo Canyon, they were to travel over Big Mountain and eventually arrive in the Salt Lake Valley.

Why was the U.S. Army sent to Utah? What was the response of the Mormons when they learned that the Army was on its way to Utah? What fortifications did the Army make in Echo Canyon? Why didn’t any fighting take place? Historians have long pondered such questions. The answer to those questions can be found on four (36”x 46”) plaques of high pressure Laminate placed in Echo Canyon on I-80 at the mouth of Echo Canyon, across from the Visitor Information Center at rest area #170.

Wikipedia gives a little more clarification on the events that took place in 1857-1858 in its article on the Utah War.

President James Buchanan sent U.S. forces to the Utah Territory in 1857-1858. This became known as the Utah Expedition. The Mormons, learning of the impending arrival of the U.S. military forces, feared that they were sent to annihilate them, and made preparations to defend themselves. Though the objective was to avoid bloodshed and loss of life, both sides prepared for war. Firearms were manufactured or repaired by the Mormons, scythes were turned into bayonets, and long-unused sabres were burnished and sharpened.

The Mormons’ strategy was to hinder and weaken the forces rather than engaging them directly. It is recorded that Daniel H. Wells, Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion, instructed Major Joseph Taylor:

On ascertaining the locality or route of the troops, proceed at once to annoy them in every possible way. Use every exertion to stampede their animals and set fire to their trains. Burn the whole country before them and on their flanks. Keep them from sleeping, by night surprises; blockade the road by felling trees or destroying the river fords where you can. Watch for opportunities to set fire to the grass on their windward, so as, if possible, to envelop their trains. Leave no grass before them that can be burned. Keep your men concealed as much as possible, and guard against surprise.

The Mormons were able to block the entrance of the U.S. Army into the Salt Lake Valley, and weakened them by cutting them off from receiving provisions. The confrontation between the Nauvoo Legion and the U.S. Army involved some destruction of property and a few brief skirmishes in what is today southwestern Wyoming, but no battles occurred between the contending military forces.

The rest of the story is that the United States Army (comprised of 3,000 men by the time they reached the Salt Lake Valley), under the command of Colonel Johnston, passed down South Temple and did not stop until they reached the west side of the Jordan River. A few days later, they moved 40 miles south and established Camp Floyd, and by mid-1861, the soldiers of the U.S. Army had left Utah to participate in the Civil War.

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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A New Generation of Historians Needed

According to Deseret News, J.B. Haws, a professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University who spoke at the conference on Saturday, 6 June 2015, commented:

However, my sense of it is that this current era — this current moment — is something rather different than that Camelot era. It feels less experimental and more mainstream, even as it is as bold and daring — in terms of historical output and publishing — as anything that came out of the 1970s.

Haws further explained that at the end of the Arrington period journalists and other outside observers had noticed a tension “between professional historians and some in the church’s hierarchy over how much humanness should come through in the biographies of prophets.” He also stated that it was “an external controversy more than this internal, philosophical tension that really brought the complex interplay of faith and history in Mormonism into national consciousness.”

At various times, the true origin of The Church of Jesus Christ has been questioned by outside sources. Unfortunately, those with fraudulent intent, such as Mark Hoffman, who used forged documents from 1980-1985 in an attempt to discredit the validity of the Church’s traditional narrative about its origins, have left indelible marks and have given false impressions about the Church. In a further attempt to cover up his deceitful acts, Hoffman perpetrated bombings which claimed the lives of two persons. Haws stated, “The lasting mid-1980s media impression was that the LDS Church, secretive and shadowy, guarded its archives with deadly seriousness — and because of this, Mormonism looked different in the public’s eyes.” This reaction was reflected in the difference between a poll taken in 1977 which found that 54 percent of Americans favored Mormons, and a poll taken 14 years later, in 1991, which found that only 27 percent of the American people favored Mormons.

A Dramatic Shift in the tides of the Mormon History Controversy

The tides of the Mormon history controversy seemed to shift favorably when then Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley, did an interview with Mike Wallace on “60 Minutes” in the spring of 1966 in which he expressed a new attitude of openness in the Church’s hierarchy. Also, in 1977, during the sesquicentennial reenactment of the Mormons’ cross-country pioneer migration, national and international attention was focused once again on Salt Lake City and on Mormon history. During that time, the Church graciously opened its doors and invited scores of journalists visiting Salt Lake City to view its records.

About the same time, Richard Bushman, professor of history at Columbia University, was beginning his work on a biography of Joseph Smith which he titled “Rough Stone Rolling.” He convened the first of what would become an annual summer seminar for graduate students at BYU. His original intent was to gather archival material for his book, however, that did not pan out as planned. Nevertheless, the seminars were successful in several unprecedented ways: (1) a network of young scholars was formed, (2) students had a chance to be introduced to leading practitioners, and (3) a venue was created to explore questions of faith and scholarship.

Haws further commented about the seminar:

This seminar and its participants are making a significant mark on the way Mormonism is being presented in this new century, not only because of positions in classrooms across the country, but also through their rapidly proliferating publications.

New Leading Voices on Mormonism

He also stated that alumni from the seminar such as Kathleen Flake, newly appointed to the Mormon Studies chair at the University of Virginia; Patrick Mason, Howard W. Hunter chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in California; and David Holland, now at Harvard Divinity School, are listed among the leading voices on Mormonism in the academic world.

According to the Deseret News article, Bushman is quoted as having said, “Their prominence as media sources has come because they are fearless … they feel perfectly confident in speaking about Mormon topics in a scholarly venue. They know the voice; they know the kind of learning they need in order to speak authoritatively.”

Haws also pointed out that historians who studied with Bushman are now filling positions in the Church’s History Department. Some of these people include recently appointed Assistant Church Historian and Recorder Reid Neilson; Matthew Grow, director of publications overseeing the monumental Joseph Smith Papers project, and staff members Mark Ashurst-McGee, Jed Woodworth and Steven Harper.

He attributes many factors that helped bring about a new openness in Church history to include the way the internet has changed the world.

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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Wilford was known as a conservative religious man, and also as one who was actively engaged in the social and economic life of his community. He became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 31 December 1833. At that time, the Church, still in its infancy, numbered only a few thousand Saints who resided around Kirtland, Ohio. As an adult, he was a farmer, horticulturist and stockman by trade, and wrote extensively for periodicals for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Wilford Woodruff and the St. George Temple

The St. George Utah Temple, originally named the St. George Temple, and the only temple completed during Brigham Young’s 30-year tenure as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the oldest operating temple of the Church and the first built in Utah. It was privately dedicated on 1 January 1877 in a series of three dedicatory prayers: the baptistry by Wilford Woodruff, the main floor by Erastus Snow, and the sealing room by Brigham Young, Jr. The St. George Utah Temple is also the first temple where endowments for the dead were performed, and it is also there that temple ordinances were put into a written form for the first time.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen, former president of the St. George Utah Temple and emeritus General Authority, during a presentation titled “Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and the St. George Temple” at the Church History Museum in 2014 noted that “the temples in Kirtland, Nauvoo and St. George were all necessary for bringing about the restoration of important priesthood keys and ordinances.”

While serving as President of the St. George Utah Temple, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America appeared to Wilford Woodruff in the temple asking why their temple work had not been performed on their behalves. He recorded in his journal that the signers of the Declaration of Independence, along with General George Washington, appeared to him in the temple on two consecutive nights and said:

You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God. (Wilford Woodruff, in a Conference Report, April 10, 1898; Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 160-61; Wilford Woodruff Journal, August 21, 1877.)

He further stated in his journal that he called upon Brother John D.T. McCallister to baptize him for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, as well as fifty other renowned men, for a total of 100, to include John Wesley, Christopher Columbus, and others. He goes on to say that baptisms for every President of the United States were performed with the exception of three; “and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them.” (JD 19:229, September 16, 1877.)

“On the same day these ordinances were performed, President Woodruff records in his journal that he baptized brother McAllister for 21, including Gen Washington & his forefathers and all the Presidents of the United States that were on my list except Buchanan, Van Buren & Grant….Sister Lucy Bigelow Young went Forth into the font and was baptized for Martha Washington and her family and seventy (70) of the Eminent women of the world….There were baptized in all to day 682” (Woodruff, Journal 7:367-69)–Arnold K. Garr, Epilogue, Christopher Columbus, p. 71-73.)

He also recorded that George Washington, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus were ordained High Priests at the time.

During the 68th Annual General Conference of the Church which was held in April 1898, President Woodruff recounted the sacred experience:

I am going to bear my testimony to this assembly, if I never do it again in my life, that those men who laid the foundation of this American government and signed the Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits, not wicked men. General Washington and all the men that labored for the purpose were inspired of the Lord.

Another thing I am going to say here, because I have a right to say it.  Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence, with General Washington, called upon me, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.  Men are here, I believe, that know of this, Brother John D. T. McAllister, David H. Cannon and James S. Bleak.  Brother McAllister baptized me for all those men, and then I told these brethren that it was their duty to go into the Temple and labor until they had got endowments for all of them.  They did it.  Would those spirits have called up on me, as an Elder in Israel to perform that work if they had not been noble spirits before God?  They would not. (Wilford Woodruff, Conference Report, April 1989, pp. 89-90.)

Eminent Men and Women Baptized in the St. George Temple

Temple work was performed on behalf of the following well-known and respected men and women in the St. George Utah Temple in August 1877 (Vision of Former Eminent Men in The St George Temple; Compiled By Glen W. Chapman- January 2002)

Founding Fathers: William Hooper(NC), Joseph Hewes (NC), John Penn(NC), Button Gwinnett(GA), Lyman Hall(GA), George Walton(GA), Edward Rutledge(SC), Thomas Heyward Jr.(SC), Thomas Lynch(SC), Arthur Middleton(SC), Samuel Chase(MD), William Paca(MD), Thomas Stone(MD), Charles Carrol(MD), George Wythe(VA), Richard Henty Lee(VA), Thomas Jefferson(VA), Benjamin Harrison(VA), Thomas Nelson Jr.(VA), Francis Lightfoot Lee(VA), Carter Braxton(VA), Robert Morris (PA), Benjamin Rush(PA), Benjamin Franklin(PA), John Morton(PA), George Clymer(PA), James Smith(PA), George Taylor(PA), James Wilson(PA), George Ross(PA), Caeser Rodney(DE), George Read(DE), Thomas McKean(DE), Philip Livingston(NY), Francis Lewis(NY), Lewis Morris(NY), Richard Stockton (NJ), John Witherspoon(NJ), Francis Hopkinson(NJ), John Hart(NJ), Abraham Clark(NJ), Josiah Bartlett(NH), William Whipple(NH), Matthew Thornton(NH), Samuel Adams(MA), John Adams(MA), Robert Treat Paine(MA), Elbridge Gerty(MA), Stephen Hopkins(RI), William Ellery(RI), Roger Sherman(CN), Samuel Huntington(CN), William Williams(CN), and Oliver Wolcott(CN).

Note: Temple work was not done for John Hancock or William Floyd as it had already been completed previously.

Presidents of the United States: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Knox Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson.

Note: Temple work was not done for James Buchanan, Martin Van Buren, or Ulysses S. Grant.

Other eminent men baptized by Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Utah Temple in August 1877 include: Sir Edward Gibbon, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Oliver Goldsmith, Henry Grattan, Humboldt, Alexander von Irving, Washington Jackson, Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Johnson, Samuel Ju~rez, Benito Pablo Kemble, John Philip Liebig, Baron Justus von Livingstone, David Macaulay, Thomas Babington Nelson, Lord Horatio O’Connell, Daniel Peabody, George Powers, Hiram Reynolds, Sir Joshua Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich von Scott, Sir Walter Seward, William Henry Stephenson, George Thackeray, William Makepeace, Vespucci, Amerigo Webster, Daniel Wesley, John Wordsworth, William Parepa, Count Dimitrius, Martha Washington and her family, John Washington(Great Grandfather of George Washington), Sir Henry Washington, Lawrence Washington (Brother of George Washington), Augustine Washington (Father of George Washington), Lawrence Washington (Father of Augustine), Lawrence Washington, Daniel Park Custis, John Park Custis (Son of Daniel and Martha Parke Custis), and Martin Luther.

Eminent Women baptized include: Jean Armour (1767—1834) of Scotland, Jean Armour Burns (Wife of Robert Burns) (1759—1796), Jane Austen (1775—1817) of England, novelist, Mary Ball (1708—1789) of America, Mary Ball Washington (Mother of George Washington) (1732—1799), Sarah Bernard (1800—1879) of England, Sarah Barnard Faraday (wife of Michael Faraday (1791—1867), Charlotte Bronte (1816—1855) of England, novelist, Felicia Dorothea Browne (1793—1835) of England, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806—1861) of England, poet, (wife of Robert Browning) (1812—18?), Martha Caldwell Calhoun (d. 1802) of America (       mother of John Caldwell Calhoun) (1782—1850), Martha Parke Custis (1755—1773) of America (Daughter of Martha Washington) (1732—1802), Martha Dandridge Washington (1732—1802) of America (wife of George Washington) (1732—1799),  Rachel Donelson Jackson (1767—1828) of America (wife of Andrew Jackson (1767—1845), and Abigail Eastman Webster (1737—1816) of America (mother of Daniel Webster (1782—1852), to name but a few. Temple work was performed for a total of 70 eminent women.

Of the sacred experience, James G. Bleak, Clerk to Brigham Young, wrote:

I was also present in the St. George Temple and witnessed the appearance of the Spirits of the Signers….the spirits of the Presidents….and also others, such as Martin Luther and John Wesley….Who came to Wilford Woodruff and demanded that their baptism and endowments be done. Wilford Woodruff was baptized for all of them. While I and Brothers J.D.T. McAllister and David H Cannon (who were witnesses to the request) were endowed for them. These men… laid the foundation of this American Gov., and signed the Declaration of Independence and were the best spirits the God of Heaven could find on the face of the earth to perform this work. Martin Luther and John Wesley helped to release the people from religious bondage that held them during the dark ages. They also prepared the people’s hearts so they would be ready to receive the restored gospel when the Lord sent it again to men on the earth.” (Personal journal of James Godson Bleak-Chief Recorder of the St. George Temple.)

Modern Guidelines for Temple Work

Although Wilford Woodruff was prompted by the Lord to do the temple work for these famous men and women, that is not Mormon practice today. Now, Mormons are directed to seek out the records of their direct ancestors and perform eternal ordinances for those in their own family line. They are directed NOT to perform vicarious temple work for famous people now dead, or for Holocaust victims or any others not related to them.

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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