David W. Patten was the first apostolic martyr of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marking in blood a legacy that defined what it means to give all for the faith.  At his funeral, Joseph Smith remarked that “There lies a man that has done just as he said he would—he has laid down his life for his friends.” His entire life was dedicated to mankind, up until and including his martyrdom.

Image via mormonnewsroom.org

Conversion And Missions

David W. Patten was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1832. In 1830, after hearing of the publication of the Book of Mormon, he read only the preface and the testimony of the Three Witnesses before he was convinced that the book was true. Two years later, he heard that his brother John Patten had joined the Church, and he rode three hundred miles to Fairplay, Indiana, and was baptized by his brother.

David hit the ground running. Two days after he was baptized, he was made an elder and sent on a mission to the Michigan Territory. He had hardly any money or food, instead relying on the hospitality of those he found on his way. He was joined by another recent convert named Joseph Wood, and the two of them took the territory by storm.

David immediately set himself apart as a man of great faith and empathy towards others. He was known on his mission for his healing abilities; many would come to him seeking a blessing, and through their faith and his faith in his Heavenly Father, he laid his hands on their heads and cured them of their illnesses. Such were the miracles of his blessings that Abraham O. Smoot said, “he never knew an instance in which David’s petition for the sick was not answered.”

In total, David W. Patten served twelve missions for the Church. He was ordained a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835, only three years after his baptism. He was known for his resilience against the mob persecution that began in Missouri. Such was his dedication and fearlessness in defending and preaching the gospel that other members of the Church began to refer to him as Captain Fear-Not.

He would seal this title with his death.

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Martyrdom

On October 24th, 1838, a Missourian mob kidnapped three Saints and planned to kill them that night. At midnight, 75 members of the Church, led by Captain Fear-Not, armed themselves and prepared a daring rescue mission against the mob to rescue their brethren.

David wanted to surprise the mob and take back the prisoners through intimidation alone, but when they came near Crooked River, a mob member standing guard fired a shot and hit Patrick O’Banion, who fell. Captain Patten, leading a separate group of about 15 men away to flank the mob, heard the shot and came to the rescue.

The Battle of Crooked River commenced. Several men were wounded, and Gideon Carter was killed instantly. The Missourians were situated behind a riverbank, holding a tactical position that allowed them to fire into the Mormon army.

Patten, seeing the hearts of his men falter in the face of terrific gunfire, led a charge against the mob position, taking his sword and leading with the battle cry of “GOD AND LIBERTY!!!” The Missourian line broke, but not before Patten was shot and mortally wounded.

He died several hours after the battle. On his deathbed, he quoted Paul in saying that, “I feel that I have kept the faith, I have finished my course, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, which the Lord will give me.” Moments later, he died.

Unbeknownst to most, David W. Patten died exactly the way he wanted to. He had once remarked to the Prophet that he had a great desire to die the death of a martyr. Joseph was sorry when he heard this, and he told David that,  “when a man of your faith asks the Lord for anything, he generally gets it.”

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Fear Not And Serve

Captain Fear-Not was a man of great faith, but he wielded that faith in the service of others.

In these last days, it’s not enough to have faith in the gospel. Faith isn’t an endgame, it’s a step towards fulfilling our destiny in life, which is to serve our fellow man to the best of our ability. We may not have to die for one another, but we should certainly be prepared to, and this kind of valor is only attained along the path that David W. Patten paved: a lifetime of service and sacrifice.

If we can walk that path, maybe one day we can earn a title as cool as Captain Fear-Not.

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Lead image of Elizabeth McCune from history.lds.org.

This article by Kathryn Jenkins Gordon appeared in the 22 June 2016 online edition of LDS Living Magazine.

Let’s consider a woman who really “took one for the sisters.” If you’ve ever visited Salt Lake City, you are likely familiar with the McCune Mansion—the extravagant, red sandstone, 21-room manor perched on a hill just off Main Street. It was originally built as a home for Latter-day Saints Alfred and Elizabeth Ann Claridge McCune, who reared some of their nine children there.

Its affluent and elaborate design was a far cry from the more modest, humble homes in Nephi, Utah, where Elizabeth Ann grew up. It’s an even greater leap going from the humble lifestyle of a Mormon missionary in the streets of London to being grande dame of such a mansion, but that’s exactly what Sister McCune did. And she did it all despite a husband who decided later in life that he wanted to leave the Church.

On July 1, 1872, Elizabeth Ann Claridge married her high school sweetheart, Alfred William McCune, in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. Alfred spent the next three or four decades building an incredibly successful career in railroad and mercantile ventures, resulting in him becoming one of the wealthiest men not just in Utah, but in the West. Sadly, along the path to wealth, he lost interest in the faith he and his wife had grown up with.

Not so for Elizabeth, who was always busy working on projects of her own. In 1905, she was appointed by Governor William Spray to be a trustee of the Utah State Agricultural College (later Utah State University) in Logan. For the last two of her ten years of service at the college, she acted as vice president. As far as Church service was concerned, she was a temple worker in the Salt Lake Temple and a genealogy expert who traveled twice to Europe to gather genealogical records. She served as a member of the general board of the Young Women Mutual Improvement Association, a member of the Church’s Genealogical Society, and in 1911 she was called to the Relief Society General Board.

A Life-Changing Speech

By the time Elizabeth turned 45 years old, she was the mother of seven. Her 19-year-old son, Raymond, was serving a full-time mission for the Church in Great Britain when Alfred decided to take his family on an extended European trip. Elizabeth was thrilled at the chance to meet up with her son along the way. She even invited Raymond and some of the other missionaries to stay in the house the McCune family was renting in England. The Elders held regular street meetings on a beachside promenade, and Elizabeth and her daughter Sarah Fay became habitual participants.

On October 28, 1897, the Saints from the London area assembled at Clerkenwell Town Hall for the Church’s semi-annual London Conference. Mission President Rulon S. Wells and his counselor, Joseph W. McMurrin, took turns addressing those present. Sister McCune remembered it as a hall bursting at the seams with “saints and strangers” and “some very distinguished people.”

During the afternoon session, President McMurrin decided to address an outspoken anti-Mormon head-on, speaking about the falsehoods the man and his daughters were spreading about Mormon women being confined in ignorance and degradation. Sitting in her seat, Elizabeth thought, Oh, if we only had one of our good woman speakers from Utah to take advantage of this grand opportunity what good it might do! Little did she know that she would soon be that speaker.

The thought had scarcely crossed her mind when President McMurrin pointed to her and announced, “We have with us just now, a lady from Utah who has traveled all over Europe with her husband and family, and hearing of our conference, she has met with us. We are going to ask Sister McCune to speak this evening and tell you of her experience in Utah.”

Surveying her audience, she started with boldness. She later recorded: “I told them I had been raised in Utah and knew almost every foot of the country and most of the people. I spoke of my extensive travels in America and in Europe, and said that nowhere had I found women held in such esteem as among the Mormons of Utah.

“Our husbands are proud of their wives and daughters; they do not consider that they were created solely to wash dishes and tend babies,” she continued, “but they give them every opportunity to attend meetings and lectures and to take up everything which will educate and develop them. Our religion teaches us that the wife stands shoulder to shoulder with the husband.”

Sister Elizabeth McCune, the visitor from Utah and mother of seven, had done more in a few sentences to put down the dissenters than had all the Elders combined. When the meeting drew to a close, she was mobbed by strangers who wanted to compliment her and ask her questions. One told her, “I have always had a desire in my heart to see a Mormon woman and to hear her speak. Madam, you carry truth in your voice and words.”

A Major Change to Missionary Work

President McMurrin thought about Elizabeth and her captivating effect on audiences so much that he wrote to the First Presidency. His plea was straightforward: that if “a number of bright and intelligent women were called on missions to England, the results would be excellent.”

On March 11, 1898, after some discussion, the First Presidency decided to call and set apart single sister missionaries; for the first time in Church history, single women would be given certificates authorizing them to preach the gospel.

At the April 1898 general conference, President Cannon announced the decision to the body of the Church. He noted that while sister missionaries could not administer ordinances, “they can bear testimony; they can teach; they can distribute tracts, and they can do a great many things that would assist in the propagation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

On April 1, 1898, Amanda Inez Knight and Lucy Jane Brimhall were set apart as the first single, certified, female proselyting missionaries in the history of the Church—in large part due to the way Elizabeth McCune spent her summer vacation and stood for her beliefs.

Guest Author

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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This article which was written by Aleah Ingram appeared on LDSDaily.com on 21 April 2016. This is an excerpt.

During the Kirtland era, when the gathering of new converts to northeast Ohio was at a peak, crippling poverty was a serious issue. One of the proposed solutions was to establish a bank, which would allow the Church to raise money and provide credit for the struggling Saints. However, the timing of the venture was not fortuitous. Due to the recent legislature, the bank wasn’t able to get the charter they needed. Requests for all new banks, which were doubling during the Kirtland era, were being denied across Ohio.

Instead, the brethren decided to open the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company. Its doors opened January 2, 1837. Before the year was over, the bank would be forced to close as financial panic gripped the country and opposition grew. The experience would prove to be a refiner’s fire for many Church members; apostasy would lead many to leave and speak out against Joseph Smith and other Church leaders.

Read the rest of the article

Guest Author

Newly converted to the restored gospel, Laura Clark Phelps and her husband, Morris, gathered with the Saints to Jackson County, Missouri, in March 1832. There, in a borrowed tent, Laura gave birth to their third child, a daughter that family lore claims was the first Mormon girl to be born in Independence. The Phelps family was soon driven with the rest of the Saints from Jackson County into clay County, and finally to Far West, Missouri.

As persecution against the Saints escalated, confrontations with mobbers became increasingly harsh. Laura’s daughter Mary Ann recalled: “they [the mobbers] would even come into her yard and shoot the chickens and kill the pigs. Mother had her house full of women and children, in the meantime, who had been driven from their homes by the enemy. These women wanted mother to go into the woods to escape the mob, but she told them ‘No,” that if she had to die, she would die in her own home, so they decided to stay with her.”

During those dark and threatening times in 1838, Laura’s husband, Morris, was arrested and thrown into the Richmond Jail with Parley P. Pratt and four others while Joseph and Hyrum Smith and five others were taken to Liberty Jail. Laura’s daughter Mary Ann noted: “Father was told many times that if he would burn his Mormon Bible and quit the Mormon church he could go free. . . but he chose to be firm in his religion; so he was held in prison all winter, and mother had to support her family the best way she could; her provisions and everything had been destroyed by the armies.”

Amazingly under such circumstances, Laura managed to visit her husband every two weeks and take him provisions so he had something to eat besides the prison food that was often inedible. On one of those occasions, she discovered that Heber C. Kimball had also come to visit the prisoners. He recalled the event in his journal: “On our arrival at Richmond, I went directly to the prison to see Parley, but was prohibited by the guard, who said they would blow my brains out if I attempted to go near him. In a few minutes, Sister Morris Phelps came to me in great agitation and advised me to leave forthwith, as Brother Pratt had told her that a large body of men were assembled with tar, feathers, and a rail, who swore they would tar and feather me, and ride me on the rail.”

Elder Kimball later expounded: “When my life was sought at Richmond, and my brethren in prison had great anxiety on my account, she interceded with my pursuers, who were nearly thirty in number, and actually convinced them that I was another person, altogether, and the pursuit was stopped.” Laura’s courageous spirit may have saved his life.

After Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued the infamous extermination order, Laura packed up her children and what few possessions she could and left Missouri. With her husband still in jail, she drove a wagon from Far West, Missouri across the Mississippi River to Quincy and then Commerce, Illinois, and then back across the Mississippi to Montrose, Iowa, where her family settled in an abandoned building that had been used to stable horses.

Despite the distance, Laura was determined to return to Missouri to see her husband and attend his trial. Her brother, John Wesley Clark, joined her for the 150-mile journey on horseback. They arrived in Columbia, Boone County, Missouri, where Morris, Parley P. Pratt, and King Follett had been transferred. Laura found that Orson Pratt, brother of Parley, had also come to attend the court proceedings. They yearned for the freedom of their family members, and the Lord had a plan for their liberation. Parley recorded that before Orson and Laura arrived, “The Lord had showed me in a vision of the night the manner and means of escape [from jail]. Mrs. Phelps had the same things shown to her in a vision previous to her arrival.”

The daring escape attempt required great courage and resolve. The plan was for Laura to arrange boarding for a few weeks with the family of the jail keeper, who occupied part of the building that held the prison. This served the double purpose of lowering the jail keeper’s guard and making Laura’s horse available (along with her brother John’s horse and Orson Pratt’s horse) for the three prisoners to make their escape.

The breakout was carefully planned. The prisoners were to await the opening of their upstairs cell door by the jailer. Parley P. Pratt recounted the strategy:

“Mr. Follett was to give the door a sudden pull, and fling it wide open the moment the key was turned. Mr. Phelps being will skilled in wrestling was to press out foremost, and come in contact with the jailer; I was to follow in the centre, and Mr. Follett, who held the door, was to bring up the rear, while sister Phelps was to pray.”

Laura’s daughter related the adventure:

“Mother said she sat in back on the bed in the kitchen, and pretty soon she could hear steps and a rumbling noise, heard the jailer call out, and she said his wife rushed up stairs to where he was (she weighed about two hundred pounds). The jailer had father clinched, but father jumped down two pair of stairs, six steps each, and with the jailer’s wife hanging on to one of his arms. He would get rid of her when he jumped, but she would clinch him again when she reached him. . . Mother said. . . she thought she could pray if she could do nothing else. She thought she was whispering a prayer, but they said she hollered just as loud as her voice would let her, and she said, ‘Oh! Thou God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, deliver Thy Servant.’ Father said he felt as strong as a giant when he heard those words; he just pushed the jailer and his wife off as if they were babies and cleared himself.”

Meanwhile, Orson and Laura’s brother John held the horses at the agreed-upon meeting point. Morris and Parley were able to get away, but King Follett was captured on Laura’s horse, which was strong evidence of her participation in the plot. As news of the escape spread, Laura faced alone the wrath of a mob who gathered around the prison.

It is remarkable that Laura chose to remain at the scene, her own life at risk. According to Parley: “They threatened her with instant death, and finally turned her out of doors in the dusk of the evening. . . Being a stranger and without money, friends, or acquaintances in the place, she knew not where to go or what to do. She finally sat down in the open air in the midst of the mob, by whom she was assailed, cursed, insulted, threatened, and abused in the most unfeeling manner for some time.”

A little boy who witnessed the scene heard the jailer threaten to “put [Laura] out of the way” if she were not gone by dark. The boy ran home and returned with his parents, who were appalled at the cruelty directed at Laura. The Richardson family took pity on her and gave her refuge in their home.

They proved to be true friends. The next day they returned to the jail and collected items belonging to Morris. They searched until they found Laura’s sidesaddle, which the mobsters had vandalized. After a few days, Mr. Richardson located her horse, which had been abused by the mob in their pursuit of Morris and Parley after the recapture of King Follett. Mr. Richardson repaired the saddle and nursed the horse back to health. Laura’s daughter Mary Ann recorded, “Mother stayed with these good people ten days; never heard a word as to whether father was dead or alive, but mother was a woman with lots of faith and courage.”

Laura was determined to return to her family in Iowa, despite the Richardsons’ concerns about the dangers for a woman traveling alone through unsettled country where bandits roamed. Finally, they all agreed that Laura would travel a good part of the way with the mail boy, settling out early in the morning and ride late into the night. Leaving the Richardsons with a Book of Mormon and a hymnbook, Laura began the journey.

Traveling alone for the last leg of her journey, Laura entered an area of thick woods just as darkness began to fall. Her daughter wrote, “She said this was the first time her courage failed her, she had such a lonesome, dismal feeling come over her. . . and she did not know what would accost her.” Then, amazingly, she saw a man approaching on horseback. It proved to be King Follett’s son who had been sent to find out if Laura had ended up in prison because no one had heard from her. Together they traveled to Quincy, Illinois, where Morris was recovering from his eight months in prison and three days without food or rest during his escape. Laura also found that Orson Pratt and her brother John had safely arrived there after walking more than a hundred miles from Columbia, Missouri. King Follett was eventually released from jail several months after his recapture on account of his age and his not being a Church leader.

Laura and Morris still feared for Morris’s safety and did not dare to stay long with the kind of people in Quincy. After only a few days, they left their children with neighbors and traveled to Kirtland, Ohio, to visit Morris’s family. They attempted to teach his Phelps relatives the gospel but to no avail.

After a lengthy time away from Illinois, the family was reunited in July 1840, but their season of happiness was short-lived. Laura’s daughter Mary Ann recalled: “We moved to a town twenty miles from Nauvoo called Masedonia, here we located and soon all were our friends. . . We lived there about a year and a half, which were the happiest days of our lives; then my mother was taken sick and died, leaving her five children, three girls and two boys, the baby one and a half years old. We were all heartbroken and did not know how to manage without mother. She was buried in Nauvoo. . . Hard work and exposure had broken her health.”

Among the many tributes given at Laura’s funeral, Heber C. Kimball said, “She was one of the first who embraced the gospel. . . [and] manifested to the world that no sacrifice was too great for her to make for the cause which she had espoused.” The Prophet Joseph Smith said “her salvation was sure.” An entry about her in the compiled History of the Church concluded simply, “Her rest is glorious.”

Guest Author

First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1880.

This article written on 14 April 2016 by the LDS News Room appeared in the 18 April 2016 online edition of Meridian Magazine.

George Q. Cannon was one of the best-known Latter-day Saints in the last half of the 19th century. His record covers half a century, a period in which he served as a Church editor and publisher, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a territorial delegate in Congress and a counselor to Church Presidents Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow.

The first online installment of the journal of the Mormon leader has been released to the public by the Church Historian’s Press, an imprint of the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The free publication, “The Journal of George Q. Cannon,” is available at churchhistorianspress.org.

“The George Q. Cannon journals are among the most important sources of Latter-day Saint history during the latter half of the 19th century,” said Richard E. Turley Jr., assistant Church historian, and recorder and coeditor of the previously published volumes of Cannon’s journals.

George Q. Cannon prison visit.

“We are delighted as a department to make these remarkable records available to Church members and historians at this time,” said Reid L. Neilson, assistant Church historian, and recorder.

Cannon’s extensive 50-volume journal is one of the most insightful and detailed records in Mormon history. The journal will also be of great interest to scholars of American political and religious history as well as the history of the U.S. West. The total journal contains roughly 2.5 million words. The 1855 to 1875 release contains roughly 270,000 words.

“[President Brigham Young blessed me that] I should be blessed in writing and publishing, and when I should take up the pen to write I should be blessed with wisdom and the Lord would inspire me with thoughts and ideas that what I should write and publish should be acceptable to the people of God,” said Cannon.

Covering 1849 to 1901, Cannon’s journal provides an unfiltered look not only into his remarkable life but also into central Latter-day Saint leadership at a time when the Church was undergoing great change. He began his journal during his mission to Hawaii as a young man and continued writing until nearly the end of his life.

The journal provides insight into many significant events in Latter-day Saint history. The first three volumes of Cannon’s journal, covering 1849 through 1854, were previously published in two print volumes: “The Journals of George Q. Cannon: To California in ’49” and “The Journals of George Q. Cannon: Hawaiian Mission, 1850–1854.”

The initial online release of Cannon’s journal starts where those books left off, beginning with the entry of May 10, 1855, and extending through 1875. Transcripts of additional portions of the journal will be released in later stages. Eventually, all volumes of the journal will be transcribed and published on the Church Historian’s Press website.

Some passages of the original journal will be withheld in accordance with policies of the Church History Library, where the journal is housed, to redact sacred, private and confidential information, including details about temple ceremonies and names of individuals involved in Church disciplinary councils.

Cannon employed secretaries to help him keep the journal, and extensive portions of it were typed rather than written by hand. Many events were recorded right after they happened, such as an interview in June 1862 with United States President Abraham Lincoln.

In a bid for Utah statehood, representative Latter-day Saints held a constitutional convention in Salt Lake City in the spring of 1862. On April 16, the convention nominated George Q. Cannon to serve as senator of the proposed state. Returning from England, Cannon proceeded to Washington and there met with President Lincoln in the midst of the U.S. Civil War.

Elder Cannon said of President Lincoln, “He looks much better than I expected he would do from my knowledge of the cares and labors of his position, and is quite humorous, scarcely permitting a visit to pass without uttering some joke. He received us very kindly and without formality. … He was quite noncommittal respecting our admission [to statehood], having no wish seemingly to commit himself upon the subject.”

In January 1873, Cannon made a journal entry about the political plight of the Latter-day Saints. “The modern politician is a moral coward. He has not the courage to defend a weak, unpopular side, especially if the question of ‘Mormonism’ be involved. They are as afraid of being suspected of having any sympathy with that, as they would be of the contagion of small-pox.”

The 50-year time span covered in the journal allows readers to see wide-sweeping change not only in the Church but also in politics, technology, travel, and other areas. Topics found in the journal include Cannon’s many travels in the United States and Europe; his counsel to and relationships with his family, which consisted of six wives and 43 children; his meetings with congressmen and senators; his close relationships with Church leaders and his counsel to Church members; his life in prison after being arrested for practicing plural marriage; his financial dealings; and his devotion to the Church.

A short-term exhibit featuring original journals, photographs and other historical documents titled “George Q. Cannon: A Mighty Instrument” will be on display at the Church History Library from April 12 to May 13.

Previous publications of the Church Historian’s Press include a dozen volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers and a collection of documents chronicling the history of the Relief Society in the 19th century.

Guest Author

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.

of-common-sense.site123.me/

Did you know that there were special dedicatory sessions of the Salt Lake Temple set aside just for children?

Primary kids throughout the Church had sacrificed to contribute to the temple that took 40 years to build, so President Wilford Woodruff set aside five special sessions on April 21 and 22, 1893, exclusively for young Primary and Sunday School children. By the end of the five sessions, between 1,300 and 1,400 children and their teachers had attended. Among those attending was a young LeGrand Richards, who would later become a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Here are two rare images of this historic Church event:

Images from byustudies.byu.edu, from Wallace B. Broberg and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel.

Guest Author

1.  When President Monson was born in Salt Lake City in 1927, some of the original Mormon pioneers were still living there.  In fact, when Gary E. Stevenson — the youngest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — was born in Utah in 1955, at least one was still living. Hilda Erickson, who came to Utah in the last wagon train to leave from Nebraska  in 1866, died in 1968 at age 108.
2.  Even if Marvin J. Ashton, Bruce R. McConkie, David B. Haight, James E. Faust and Neal A. Maxwell were still living, President Monson would still be president of the Church.

3.  In the year 2000, 34 temples were dedicated. That’s the same number of temples dedicated from 1830 to 1984.
4.  When today’s youngest full-time missionaries were born in 1997, only one-third of today’s operating temples existed.

5.  Speaking of thirds, one-third of the 12 apostles served as full-time missionaries in England. Three (Elder M. Russell Ballard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder Quentin L. Cook) served as young men; Elder Robert D. Hales served in England as a mission president. Former Church president Gordon B. Hinckley also served in England.
6.  Today, there are as many temples operating, announced or under construction in Africa as there are in the state of Arizona. 
7.  If the first stake in Russia were a child, it would only be a Sunbeam.
8.  The first stake in India would still be in nursery.
9.  The first stake in Ukraine would be just graduating from Primary.
10.  And the first stake in Democratic Republic of Congo would be a missionary.

11.  Though the first baptisms for the dead were performed in Nauvoo in 1841, the first endowments for the dead were not performed until 36 years later in St. George (1877).
12.  The first Church building in Mexico was in use before the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated. It was first utilized in 1886; the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated seven years later in 1893. 

13.  However, temple ordinances were not presented in Spanish until 1945 in the Mesa Arizona Temple.
14.  The first Church building in Mexico was in use before the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated. It was first utilized in 1886; the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated seven years later in 1893. 
15.  However, temple ordinances were not presented in Spanish until 1945 in the Mesa Arizona Temple.

16.  The Church’s 1 millionth full-time missionary was called sometime during 2007.
17.  The Church’s 100th apostle was called in 2015 (Dale G. Renlund).
18.  The Young Women organization operated for six years before the Young Men organization was created. (Young Women was founded in 1869; Young Men was founded in 1875).
19.  There are almost 100 more missions today than there were stakes worldwide in 1960 (406 missions today and 319 stakes in 1960).
20.  Relief Society is the oldest Church auxiliary, organized in 1842. Fittingly, the Primary organization is the youngest auxiliary. It was founded in 1878.

*Most information from MormonNewsroom.com, the Deseret News Church Almanac, or “The Timeline History of Mormonism from Premortality to the Present” by Christopher Kimball Bigelow.

Guest Author

…or re-living the journey of my ancestors

I probably spend about an hour a day on Facebook: scanning the feed, commenting sarcastic quips (which I’m sure everyone appreciates), hitting the like button once too often, even doing those quizzes as to which Disney Princess I am most definitely NOT. I love the feeling of community: being linked to friends and family I haven’t seen in years and getting a [non-stalker and totally legal] peek into their day to day’s ups and downs.  I don’t mind the “Eeyore” posts about life’s realities or that bragging posts have now taken over the “my kid’s an honor student” bumper stickers. Bring on the selfies, baby pics, life lessons learned, the inspirational and the “aren’t you glad you aren’t this stupid” memes and yes, even the politics because it’s what makes us different that makes social media so interesting… and addicting.

Along with all the social media outlets a new-age journal concept has emerged.  Ready-to-order books of your Instagram photos, Facebook posts and every pic ever downloaded can be made and delivered to your doorstep with a touch of a button. These not only make for great keepsakes and coffee table fodder but the tangible books have the potential to outlast your life, your children’s lives and even their children’s lives. A whole new root has branched off the Genealogy Tree and I for one am embracing it.

One of my earliest examples of the importance of keeping a journal stems back 4 generations when in Christmas of 1993 my Grandparents gave each of their children and grandchildren a published autobiography of my Great, Great Grandfather: William A. Moody.

I admit I wasn’t so intrigued with the book “Years in the Sheaf” at the self centered phase of my 14 year old existence.  Of all the times I perused and  halfheartedly read I never did find out the meaning of the title but over the years I have found out the significance of the spirit of the book.

How sweet has it been for me to have this family treasure: a constant reminder of resilience and persistence that I can learn from and apply.  I have grown with him, laughed with him, metaphorically pee’d my pants in fear and cried when his struggles seemed too much.

He starts the adventure with a quick glimpse into his childhood and of his misadventures: one being when he was 20 yrs old and brazenly wrestled and eventually killed a four-prong buck with his bare hands: walking away a train wreck of scars and bruises and the biggest grin.  When I was twenty I killed my first and only mouse by means of an old school ACME mouse trap, laced with peanut butter: never again.

At age 24 he was called on his first mission to Samoa. Exotic jungle islands, language barriers and physical stresses were written with humility and gratitude. His wife, Adelia, was allowed to go with him and 3 days after the birth of their baby girl, Hazel, Adelia died from complications. There he was: far away from home, the loss of his first love and a baby to care for all the while being true to his missionary work. The kneeling, sobbing prayers of his grief gave way to personal growth and comforting faith that God heard him, that He knew him and that He would not abandon him.

Through-out his life he tenderly reflected on his loves and losses. He was married five times, widowed four times and had a total of seven children.  At the birth of his first son he wrote: “Although I am sure I showed no disappointment at the birth of my five fine girls, still I did yearn for a son, and was overwhelmed when little Rupert arrived.”

A year later he was called on his second mission to Samoa stemming for two and a half years (1908-1910). Without flourish and pomp he recorded his work and efforts all the while singing praises to his Savior for whom he owed everything too.

Years and chapters pass of his achievements, gains and losses of ordinary life. Once again, with the same humility and sweetness he had to account for yet another heart-ache:

“A distress that long scarred my heart was caused by the fact that my son pleaded and begged to be allowed to remain with us and not return to Thatcher with the girls. ‘Papa, don’t send me back. I want to stay with you.’ he sobbed, winding his arms about my neck. I was hard put to refuse him, but common sense dictated that I not indulge his whim. I pointed out that only two weeks of school remained in the term, and after he had completed his lessons and got his credit, he could come and spend the entire summer with us.

‘We’ll be waiting for you,’ I said

But as though he had some presentiment of fate to come, he would not go, and I finally had to force him gently to loosen his arms from around me, and I sent him away weeping.

He never returned.

The following Sunday he walked from Thatcher to the farm, a distance of six miles, and during the day, while leading a horse with a rope, he was somehow jerked and thrown on his head. The rope, broken and knotted, was still clutched in his hand when they found him. We rushed to his side, but he was dead upon our arrival.

The sorrow of our final parting of his life lingers vividly with me, though so many years have come and gone.

Rupert Moody, born January 12^th, 1907; died April 20^th, 1918.”

How wonderful it has been for me to read and share in my ancestor’s life. The closeness I felt, the connection of family and the influence he has had on my own testimony is something I want to pass on to my son. For Braden to have a written account of my testimony of our Savior and the life’s experiences that have built my faith is the mark I want to leave for my child, his children and their children.

Megan Ann Steyskal

Megan is a thirty-something single mom blogger who lives in Portland, OR. She has worked in Pharmacy for the past 15 years and spends her free time free-lance writing for parenting blogs and completing her novel. When in “time-out” (of her own accord) she reads and writes, then reads some more. You can find her blog at The Accidental Librarian.

theaccidentallibrarian.com