Makes Preparations to Die

Pronounced Dead

Priesthood of God Steps In

A Call Heard Beyond the Veil

Unwilling to Come Back

 Ella’s Story

“I could see people from the other world and hear the most delightful music and singing that I ever heard. This singing lasted for six hours, during which time I was preparing to leave this earth, and I could hear it all through the house. At 10:00 my spirit left my body. It took me some time to make up my mind to go, as I could hear and see the folks crying and mourning over me. It was very hard for me to leave them, but as soon as I had a glimpse of the other world I was anxious to go and all care and worry left me. “I entered a large hall. It was so long that I could not see the end of it. It was filled with people. As I went through the throng, the first person I recognized was my grandpa, Hans Peter Jensen, who was sitting in one end of the room, writing. He looked up, seemed surprised to see me and said: ‘Why! There is my granddaughter, Ella.’ He was very much pleased, greeted me and, as he continued with his writing, I passed on through the room and met a great many of my relatives and friends.

 Hears the Command to Return

The Pain of Coming Back

 Converses with Friends and Relatives

 Meets a Little Friend

Guest Author

In 1839, the Mormons purchased a small town named Commerce located in Illinois on the banks of Mississippi River. Commerce was a name given to the area by land speculators hoping to cash in by naming the place something they thought would attract settlers. The Mormons occupied this area from 1839 to 1846. Shortly after moving to the area, they renamed the town of Commerce to Nauvoo. “Nauvoo” is a Hebrew word with an anglicized spelling. The meaning of the word is “beautiful place” and is derived from the scripture found in Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”

The site of the future city of Nauvoo was hardly a beautiful place. It was a swamp on a bend of the Mississippi River and was infested with mosquitoes. Many Mormons suffered bouts with malaria and even death. Through much diligence the Saints persevered. They were able to eventually drain the swamp and construct a beautiful city. In those days, Nauvoo was the largest city in the State of Illinois. It exceeded the size of Chicago which was merely a dusty little cow town.

Although Nauvoo was primarily a Mormon community, the Catholic Church had been active in the area as early as 1820. Traveling priests had planted apple orchards on the west side of the river, however, they did not have a regular presence in the area until 1840. The Catholic parish record tells us that the two groups got along well.

During the time when the Mormons occupied Nauvoo, the Catholics were permitted to celebrate Mass in the Mormon Mansion House on Main Street, in the Mormon Hall of Seventies, located on Parley Street, and in the Mormon temple, commonly referred to as the Nauvoo Temple, where a place was set aside for the Catholic people of the vicinity (Pamphlet excerpt, pg.1 “Highlights of the SS Peter and Paul Parrish. Nauvoo Illinois, 1986).

Joseph Smith befriended a Catholic priest named Father Aleman. He was a priest in the neighboring McDonough County. Their interaction in the 1880’s is recorded in the Catholic NRI History File.

Needing to visit a parishioner, Father Aleman approached Joseph Smith and asked him for help. Smith provided him with ferry service and a carriage to his destination. He reportedly said of Aleman “The priest attends to their people faithfully….and mind their own business, whereas the other preachers are continually bothering the Latter-day Saints.”

Even though the Mormons thought they had found a place of refuge, the violence and persecution followed them to Nauvoo, and in 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred in the Carthage jail in Carthage, Illinois. Even after the martyrdom of the Prophet, the persecution continued and Brigham Young and other Church leaders fled the United States for Mexican territory with the blessing of the Mexican Government. The Mormons settled in numerous places including the Salt Lake Valley. When the Mexican American War culminated with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1849, the Mormons were again within U.S. territory. After the war, the Mexican Government extended invitations to repatriate Mormon citizens who were affected in former Mexican territories.

Parley P. Pratt, one of the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, owned a General Store and stayed behind to assist Mormons in their preparation for the Westward trek.  In 1848, Pratt sold his store to a Catholic priest named Father James Griffith for $900. Griffith was the first resident pastor in Nauvoo and he used the store for a rectory and church building. In 1873 the first Catholic Church built in the traditional style was completed in Nauvoo.

** This article was written by Mel Chandler

Primary Bibliography:

“Highlights of the SS Peter and Paul Parrish,” Nauvoo Illinois, 1986. Pamphlet excerpt, pg.1.

Larmer, Rev Father John, History of McDonough County c. 1880 with photocopy in NRI History File.

Cannon, Janath R.  Nauvoo Panorama Nauvoo Il:  Nauvoo Restoration Inc. 1991.

Additional Resource:

The Lord Jesus Christ in Mormonism

Guest Author

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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Tolstoy, Mormonism, and the “American Religion”

Leo Tolstoy wrote in his diary, “God is that infinite All of which man knows himself to be a finite part.”

The late Elder David B. Haight, serving as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in his message titled “He Is Not Here. He Is Risen,” shared the account of a conversation in 1892 between Count Leo Tolstoy and Andrew D. White who was the United States Foreign Minister to Russia at that time.

In the course of that conversation, Tolstoy said to White, “I wish you would tell me about your American religion.” White replied that there is no state church in America and that each person is free to practice the religion of his choosing. Tolstoy, becoming somewhat annoyed, replied, “I know all of this, but I want to know about the American religion. … The church to which I refer originated in America and is commonly known as the Mormon Church. What can you tell me of the teachings of the Mormons?” White then admitted that he knew very little about the Mormons or their faith.

Tolstoy, displeased with the ambassador’s response, then said:

Dr. White, I am greatly surprised and disappointed that a man of your great learning and position should be so ignorant on this important subject. Their principles teach the people not only of heaven and its attendant glories, but how to live so that their social and economic relations with each other are placed on a sound basis. If the people follow the teachings of this church, nothing can stop their progress—it will be limitless.

There have been great movements started in the past but they have died or been modified before they reached maturity. If Mormonism is able to endure, unmodified, until it reaches the third and fourth generation, it is destined to become the greatest power the world has ever known.

A Special Gift from a Prophet’s Daughter

Leo Tolstoy will long be remembered as a great novelist, short story writer, and dramatist, but perhaps what should be remembered most about this literary genius whom Russians consider to be of the same caliber as Shakespeare in world literature, is the fact that he was a thinker. In his middle-age years after facing a devastating life crisis, he became engrossed in reading, thinking about, and writing about the pressing ethical, social, and religious issues of his day, with particular concentration on religious issues. It is said that in his quest to find answers to religious and moral questions, he penned some 7,000 letters in his lifetime.

Leland A. Fetzer, in his article titled “Tolstoy and Mormonism” wrote the following about Tolstoy:

One of the characteristics of Tolstoy’s thoughts in his later years, when he was convinced that his mission lay in the moral conversion of mankind, was a profound commitment to religious belief. Tolstoy was convinced, quite simply, that to live was to believe. He accepted the existence of God, and, indeed, without the surety of God’s presence, he says, he would have shot himself in the birch woods on his estate or hanged himself in his study; the existence of God justified his own existence. What is more, he believed that God is accessible to all men of all social classes and all races and the celebration of His presence might take many forms.

In his quest for religious truth he became acquainted with Mormonism. His first mention of the subject can be found in his diary when he was a young writer known only to Russian readers, as he was traveling in Western Europe in 1857. He wrote again on the subject in an essay published near the end of life in 1901.

There were no missionaries in Russia during Tolstoy’s lifetime, however, according to Emily Schmuhl, reporting for Mormon Times, Tolstoy had a copy of the Book of Mormon in the library at his estate, Yasnaya Polyana. How did he obtain this precious volume? Frederick and Nataliya Felt, who at that time were attending the Laurel Ward of the Silver Spring Stake in Washington, D.C. set out to find an answer to that question after being told about the Book of Mormon in Tolstoy’s library by a Russian member. They went to Yasnaya Polyana, now a Tolstoy museum located four hours south of Moscow, to learn more about the book. Nataliya had a vested interest because she was born in Moscow, Russia, and has knowledge of the language and the country’s rich literary history. In a Deseret News article dated 22 June 2010, she commented, “I knew and respected Tolstoy’s works before I joined (the church),” Nataliya said. “I was really happy to know such a talented writer took an interest in the church.”

The Deseret News article continues:

A librarian at the museum searched her records and photocopied a catalog reference to the Book of Mormon. “It identified the exact cabinet, shelf and volume number,” Frederick said.

More importantly, the reference indicated that the book was a gift given to Tolstoy by Susa Young Gates, daughter of Brigham Young, women’s rights advocate and a writer once referred to by R. Paul Cracroft as “the most versatile and prolific LDS writer ever to take up the pen in defense of her religion.”

“It was surprisingly heavy,” Frederick said. He identified the copy as an 1881 Second Electrotype Edition published in Liverpool, England.

Gates’ inscription simply read: “Count Leo Tolstoy, from Susa Young Gates. Salt Lake City, Utah.”

He noted that other than the inscription, there were no other notes on any of the pages.

The curator helped the Felts consult Tolstoy’s diary where they found an entry mentioning that he had received the book from Gates and had “read the book.”

It is not clear however, if Tolstoy read the Book in its entirety or only in part.

Susan McCloud, in her 21 September 2014 Deseret News article “Leo Tolstoy’s view of Mormons as teaching ‘The American Religion’” commented:

Tolstoy believed that worship of God and our approach to God can be varied, but that God is there — and accessible to all men of all classes and conditions. He was curious, and sought for religious truths wherever he went, with whatever group or nationality of people he encountered. Rejecting organized religion himself, he was known for his support of and concern for those who did strive to practice their religion — especially for religious minorities who were struggling or suffering persecution.

Thus, his keen interest in Mormonism. Brigham Young’s daughter had been enthralled by an article that she had read in the June 1887 issue of Century, which was a leading magazine of that time. Prior to writing Tolstoy, he had spoken in an interview of the U.S. government’s measures to crush polygamy, and according to Leland A. Fetzer’s article “Tolstoy and Mormonism,” she was amazed and wrote Tolstoy that “extensive as your reading and knowledge is, it should still reach so far, and compass so seemingly small a factor in the world’s present history.”

She sent him a copy of the Book of Mormon along with her letter which told of the history of Mormons from their point of view. Susa sent a total of three letters to Tolstoy which were answered by his daughter, Tatyana, as was his custom in responding to correspondence. According to Fetzer’s article, Tolstoy referred to the “beautiful letter of the American woman” in his journal.

Although he found the letters to be intriguing, according to the 21 September 2014 Deseret News article “Leo Tolstoy’s view of Mormons as teaching ‘The American Religion,” “When he read the book Susa sent on Joseph Smith he found what he called deception in it, as he did in all organized religion.”

Leo Tolstoy: A Man of Deep Thought and Reasoning

When Tolstoy met with Andrew D. White in March of 1894, and the discussion turned to the subject of Mormonism, White recalled the following as published in McClure’s Magazine (April 1901) and quoted in “Tolstoy and Mormonism”:

He thought two thirds of their religion deception, but said that on the whole he preferred a religion which professed to have dug its sacred books out of the earth to one that pretended that they were let down from heaven … he spoke of the good reputation of the Mormons for chastity, and asked me to explain the hold of their religion upon women.

Thomas J. Yates, once a student at Cornell University, also shared his account of the meetings between Tolstoy and White which was published by the Improvement Era in February 1939. It is also reported that upon returning home, White secured a set of LDS Church works for the Cornell University library.

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a thinker. And though he abhorred organized religion, he maintained a determined interest in Mormonism, and considered it to be a religion that would flourish and influence the world as no other religion ever had before. Of all the religious sects in America, Leo Tolstoy considered Mormonism to be the “American Religion.”

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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Mormons believe that ancestors of some Native Americans were the first people that the Savior ministered to when He appeared in the Americas after His resurrection.

Lamanites and Nephites in the Book of Mormon

One of the groups of people mentioned in the Book of Mormon is the Lamanites, described as rivals to a more religious people known as the Nephites. The introduction to the Book of Mormon states that the Lamanites were “among” the ancestors of the American Indians.

According to the text, the Lamanites are descendants of Laman and Lemuel, two rebellious brothers of a family of Israelites who crossed the ocean in a ship around 600 BCE. Their brother, Nephi, is portrayed as founding the rival Nephites. The text states in 2 Nephi 5:20-22 that after the two groups separated from each other, the Lamanites received a “skin of blackness” as a sign of their being cut off from the presence of the Lord, and so that they would “not be enticing” to the Nephites.

Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence. And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.

After centuries of wars among the two groups, Jesus Christ appeared and converted all of the united Lamanites and Nephites to Christianity. However, after about two centuries, many of the Christians began to fall away and identified themselves as Lamanites (see 4 Nephi 1:20), while those who remained true to the faith, identified themselves as Nephites. The Book of Mormon describes a series of great battles which ultimately occurred, ending with the Lamanites annihilating all of the Nephites (see 4 Nephi 1:35-39). The Lamanites, from whom some present-day Native Americans descend, remained to inhabit the American continents.

Native Americans in the Events of the Last Days

The following is cited from the article “Native Americans” in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism:

The Book of Mormon contains many promises and prophecies about the future directed to these survivors. For example, Lehi’s grandson Enos prayed earnestly to God on behalf of his kinsmen, the Lamanites. He was promised by the Lord that Nephite records would be kept so that they could be “brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation” (Enos 1:13).

The role of Native Americans in the events of the last days is noted by several Book of Mormon prophets. Nephi prophesied that in the last days the Lamanites would accept the gospel and become a “pure and delightsome people” (2 Nephi 30:6). Likewise, it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that the Lamanites will at some future time “blossom as the rose” (Doctrine and Covenants 49:24).

After Jesus’ resurrection in Jerusalem, he appeared to the more righteous Lamanites and Nephites left after massive destruction and prophesied that their seed eventually “shall dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity” (3 Nephi 21:5). He also stated that if any people “will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob [the descendants of the Book of Mormon peoples], unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance”; together with others of the house of Israel, they will build the New Jerusalem (3 Nephi 21:22-23). The Book of Mormon teaches that the descendants of Lehi are heirs to the blessings of Abraham (see Abrahamic Covenant) and will receive the blessings promised to the house of Israel.

Mormon Missionaries and the Shoshone

In 1853, Mormon settlers established an outpost in Shoshone country known as Fort Supply where a number of Shoshone sought refuge among the Mormons during the winter months. Envisioning this as an opportune learning experience, the Mormons sought to learn as much as possible about the natives’ marriage customs, burial rites, and the tribal roles of medicine men. In addition, they also studied the Shoshone language.

Brigham Young, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ at that time, established the Southern Indian Mission and stressed that missionaries needed to learn the languages of the Indians in order to teach them. In 1855, 27 men were called to serve as missionaries in territories north of Utah which were inhabited by the nations of the buffalo-hunting Indians of the Bannock, Shoshone, and Flathead.

The missionaries began their work and settled on the banks of the Salmon River in Idaho to work with the Bannock, with the mission itself being located near a site where the Bannock, Shoshone, Nez Perce, and Flathead met each summer for gambling and horse-trading. The Native Americans were friendly towards the missionaries and ensured them that they were welcomed to use the land for farming. Part of the missionary efforts included holding classes to learn the Shoshone language, and as a result of their efforts, they soon baptized 55 Indians.

However, as the Latter-day Saints had become well accustomed through the many years of persecution in their history, along with the sweetness came the bitter, as not all Indians welcomed them with open arms. In 1858, a Mormon mission in Idaho, Fort Lehmi, was attacked by a war party of about 200 Bannock and Shoshone warriors leaving two Mormons dead and five wounded. The Indians took as their bounty 250 cattle and 29 horses. As a result of the attack, the mission was abandoned.

According to an article titled “19th Century Mormon Missionaries & the Shoshone”. . . .

In 1873 Mormon missionaries under the leadership of George Washington Hill traveled to southern Idaho where they baptized about 100 Shoshone and Bannock. Speaking to the Indians in their own language, Hill told them about the Book of Mormon and depicted its story by placing pictures on a scroll. The baptized Indians were then settled on farmland near Brigham City, Utah. The Indians named the new community Washakie, after a Shoshone Chief.

In 1875, Shoshone chief Pocatello traveled to Salt Lake City where he demanded to be baptized by the Mormons. In addition to Pocatello, five other Shoshone men and four Shoshone women are baptized. Pocatello predicted that many more would follow seeking spiritual salvation.

In 1875, a Mormon missionary gathered a number of Shoshone on a spot between Malad and the Bear River in Idaho. They put in 140 acres of corn, wheat, and potatoes. The missionary then began a series of evangelical meetings which resulted in 574 baptisms.

The article further points out:

The Mormon missionary, Amos Wright, explained to the Shoshone the contents of the Book of Mormon, their relationship to the Lamanites, and the promises that God made to them. Wright spoke to them in broken Shoshone, but in spite of this his talk made such an impact upon those assembled that 87 requested baptism. Washakie and 17 of his family members converted. Wright baptized 422 Shoshone during a four-week time period.

Mormons in the Land of Native Americans – Yesterday and Today

After the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Carthage, Illinois jail in 1844, his successor, Brigham Young, made the decision to move the Saints to the Great Basin. In doing so, the Church’s policy toward Native Americans became a matter of utmost importance. As the Saints began their trek west, Young admonished them to “treat the American Indians fairly and take up the duty to convert them whenever possible.”

The interaction between the Mormons and the Native Americans remained friendly until conflicts began to evolve over the use of the limited resources that were available. Young’s plans to move to the Great Basin had not taken into consideration that the Native Americans were already using its resources to full capacity.

According to the historical narrative as recounted in an article titled “Mormons and Native Americans: A Historical Overview” in the Online Nevada Encyclopedia:

As Mormons poured into Salt Lake City, settlers appropriated rivers, streams, and springs. They fenced off productive land and used up raw materials such as pine-nut bearing trees. This caused no immediate conflict, but upon discovering their loss, members of the local Ute tribe demanded access to their resources and, when denied, simply did what they had long done and took what had been theirs.

As the Mormon population grew, tensions escalated. Infertile soil and a lack of water made it impossible to quickly create dense, sedentary settlements, so Young sent newcomers farther from Salt Lake City. Unwilling to change plans, he advised against provoking the Native Americans, but soon allowed ruthless punishment of any Indian caught stealing or harming a settler or his property.

In a short time, church leaders authorized attacking American Indians who refused to give up their resources without a fight. Church leaders argued that Native Americans who resisted were actually rejecting Christ’s message and, by refusing, justified retribution.

In Search of Native American DNA

The fact that there are perhaps many people who are descendants of Native Americans is of no surprise, however being able to find DNA in order to prove such ancestral ties can present another challenge as one reader on Ancestry.com whose great-great-grandmother was one-fourth Cherokee (Tiptendille Tribe-TN) recently found out and wrote in and asked the question, “Where is my Native American DNA?” The reply that the reader received was “the traces of Native American DNA in your test may be too small to detect.” The following explanation was given to help the reader better understand why this may be the case:

If your great-great-grandmother was ¼ Cherokee, then it was her grandparent that was 100% Native American. And that would be your 4th-great-grandparent. Now your great-great-grandmother would get 50% of her DNA from her mother and 50% from her father. To make this easy, let’s divide by 2 for every generation.

Using the information given above as a reference, it then follows that the amount of the great-great-grandmother’s DNA that the reader is likely to have is about 1.5625% which is not necessarily enough to detect Native American ethnicity.

Ancestry.com further recommended finding an older generation on the family line to have tested, as well as having brothers, sisters and cousins tested. They also suggested that, “Even if you find the DNA connection, you will still want to follow the paper trail.”

Native Americans Embrace Mormon Way of Life

The interaction between Mormons and Native American peoples today is somewhat different. Missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sent to teach the gospel on Indian reservations. As a result, the Church has witnessed significant growth in membership among various tribes as churches of other faiths in the surrounding area continue to struggle in maintaining a sizable membership. For example, membership in the Tube City Stake in Arizona which covers 150 miles of Navajo and Hopi lands, has increased by 25 percent since 2008.

One of the main principles that Latter-day Saints teach the Navajo people is how to be self-reliant. In an October 2013 New York Times article titled “Some Find Path to Navajo Roots through Mormon Church,” the following is reported:

To attract followers, Larry Justice, a white man who is the President of the Tuba City Stake, took a page from the lives of Navajo ancestors and began a gardening program to teach people how to live off the land.

He and a handful of church volunteers teach gardening techniques, distributing seeds from a plot behind the church building here. The program started with 25 gardens four years ago, each made by Navajos next to their homes. There were 1,800 gardens last month, and by next year 500 more are to be created in Tuba City and communities all around it, Mr. Justice said.

Participants learn how to fertilize the soil, parched by years of drought. They learn to build fences to keep out the animals that roam the land. They learn what to harvest and when: melons and grapes in the summer, squash and cabbage in the fall.

“Their grandparents knew how to farm. Their parents forgot it. We’re working to make sure the young people learn it,” Mr. Justice said as he escorted visitors through the chapel, which was so crowded one recent Sunday that a divider was removed to make way for more seats. “It’s important to teach our people to be self-reliant.”

According to the statistical reports of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there are presently 15,082,028 members world-wide, divided among 29,253 congregations, with the Book of Mormon being translated into 189 different languages. Of the total Church membership, approximately one-quarter live in South America.

Converts living on the Navajo reservation declare that becoming Mormon has helped them to draw closer to the fundamental Navajo values of charity, camaraderie, and respect for the land. Even though Mormonism often compels them to leave behind rituals that have long defined their identity, like a medicine man’s healing ceremonies or the cleansing in sweat lodges, speaking through a translator, one of the converts, Nora Kaibetoney, explained, “There is a feeling of “reconnecting to our traditions.” Another convert, 64-year-old Ms. Smith who was baptized while she was still in high school, commented, “In Navajo culture, the most important things we have are life and our family. Converting wasn’t about turning away and embracing an entirely different tradition; it was about reconnecting.”

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/

John Whitmer was a member of the famed Whitmer family who played important roles in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which church is often inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon Church”). Although all but the mother of the Whitmer family, who died early, eventually either officially left the church or simply stopped participating in it, the family members are still respected for their early and essential contributions and for consistently confirming their testimonies even after they left.

John Whitmer was born on August 27, 1802, in Pennsylvania. His parents, Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman, were members of the German Reformed Church in New York, where they moved just before 1810. John was the third child and, like his brothers, grew up working the family farm. John was confirmed a member of the German Reformed Church on April 5, 1822, with his brothers Christian and Jacob.

John Whitmer’s Introduction to Mormonism

John’s brother David met Oliver Cowdery while visiting Palmyra, New York. The two learned of a man named Joseph Smith, who was translating an ancient record recorded on gold plates. David and Oliver were both very curious about this document, and Oliver decided to travel to meet Joseph Smith in person in order to learn more. He did so and sent three letters to David testifying of the truthfulness of these religious documents. Oliver asked David if he and Joseph Smith could come to live in the Whitmer home for a time to continue the translations. Cowdery was now assisting Joseph in the role of scribe and persecutions were making the work difficult.

Although the family was at first hesitant (mainly because David would need to go and get the two men, taking him from his farm work), a small miracle showed them God wanted this to happen. David was able to finish several days’ work in one day. He went for Joseph and Oliver, with Joseph’s wife, Emma, joining them later.

Mary Whitmer, David and John’s mother, was burdened by the extra work inherent in having additional people in her home. She received a heavenly visitor who showed her the plates on which the records were written. She never again felt overwhelmed by the work and she, unlike most of her family, retained her faithfulness in the gospel her entire life.

John Whitmer: Witness to the Book of Mormon

All the Whitmers eventually gained testimonies of the work. John served for some time as a scribe for Joseph Smith, helping to move the work of translation along much more quickly. In 1829, Oliver Cowdery baptized John Whitmer, probably in Senaca Lake in Senaca, New York. John and seven others, many of whom were related to him, were chosen by God to be witnesses of the work, were allowed to see and handle the gold plates, and were instructed to record their official testimonies of them. John’s testimony is recorded in the front of the Book of Mormon:

Testimony of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon

When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized on April 6, 1830, John was one of the people (of whom six were required by New York law to organize a new church) who was blessed to become an official member that day. John received revelations through Joseph Smith specifically for himself and also received a call to missionary work. He was instructed by revelation to carry out his regular labors and to study the scriptures as well.

John went with Joseph Smith back to Pennsylvania, where Joseph normally lived at that time, to assist in copying revelations received. While they were there, they learned that Oliver Cowdery wanted to change a revelation that had been received. Not entirely understanding the role of a prophet in God’s church, Oliver felt that he could command the prophet to change the revelation in the name of God, essentially placing himself in the position of a prophet.

Joseph and John returned to New York to find that most of John’s family sided with Oliver Cowdery. They liked his version of the revelation better than the one Joseph had actually received. Joseph worked to teach them that there could be only one living prophet in order to avoid the confusion the world already faced in religion and that we had to accept the word of God even when we preferred something different than what God taught. Eventually, they all understood the importance of a single prophet.

Unfortunately, the Whitmers and Oliver again fell prey to false doctrine. This time it was Hiram Page who claimed to be receiving revelations through a seer stone. He managed to convince the Whitmers and Oliver that he really was receiving them from God, even though his “revelations” contradicted established doctrine and the New Testament. Joseph spent most of a night before a church conference in prayer to God in order to learn how to handle the problem.

At the conference a revelation was read explaining that only Joseph Smith could receive revelation for the entire church. Everyone can receive it for issues relating to his or her own sphere of influence, but not for the entire church. Each person attending the conference had this revelation confirmed to them personally by the Holy Ghost and accepted it, even Page himself.

John Whitmer: Serving the Lord

Despite these lapses, which would occur again, the Whitmers were valiant workers in organizing the church. They provided tireless service and made it possible for the church to function.

John Whitmer received, in 1830, a missionary call to serve in Ohio.

In 1831, John received a call to replace Oliver Cowdery as Church historian and recorder. He was hesitant to accept the call, admitting that he would rather not do it. However, he also noted that if God really wanted him in the position, he would accept it. Joseph Smith prayed and received a revelation concerning the call.

Behold, it is expedient in me that my servant John should write and keep a regular history, and assist you, my servant Joseph, in transcribing all things which shall be given you, until he is called to further duties. Again, verily I say unto you that he can also lift up his voice in meetings, whenever it shall be expedient. And again, I say unto you that it shall be appointed unto him to keep the church record and history continually; for Oliver Cowdery I have appointed to another office. Wherefore, it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful, by the Comforter, to write these things. Even so. Amen (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 47).

From 1831 to about 1847, John Whitmer worked on writing a history of the Church. In 1833, he married Sarah Maria Jackson in Missouri, where the Mormons had gathered. A few months later, a mob converged on Independence, Missouri, where many Mormons lived, and began threatening them as the mob searched out church leaders. John and several other leaders offered to go peacefully if the mob would spare the rest of the community.

John and the others were ordered to leave the city. John moved to Clay County, where he was, in 1834, named assistant president of the church in that area, serving under his brother David. He attended the Kirtland Temple dedication in Ohio and was also appointed to oversee the sale of some church-owned property.

John Whitmer: Weakened by Trials and Temptation

As persecution and trials increased, many valiant people began to falter. John and his brother David, as well as William W. Phelps, were charged with appropriating properties they were to buy for the church with church funds. They put the titles to some of these lands in their own names. They ignored repeated warnings against such behavior, and so were excommunicated on March 10, 1838. As church historian and recorder, John had possession of important church documents, which he refused to return, even after several warnings and a revelation commanded him to do so.

In 1838, John participated in an event that made even himself ashamed. Joseph Smith received a revelation that was merely a command, not a prophecy. The apostles were instructed to gather at the temple lot near the end of April to receive instructions for departures to various missionary assignments. John Whitmer joined with a member of the mobs that had persecuted the Mormons (including John himself before he had left the church) and several other people who had left the church. They went to the Committee on Removal and read the revelation aloud to Theodore Turley, mocking it as a false revelation because the apostles would not all be able to arrive by that date. They announced that if the apostles did, by chance, arrive in time, they would kill them. They tried to convince Turley to denounce Joseph Smith. When he refused, they mocked him intensely. John was ashamed, by this time, of his participation in this meeting. Theodore Turley, knowing John had been a witness to the gold plates, asked John if he still held to the testimony he had once given. John said he did and knew the Book of Mormon was true.

When the Mormons were forced out of the city again by the mobs, John Whitmer stayed behind. Mormons were forced to sell their properties for minimal amounts, and John took advantage of these sales, refusing to pay a fair price for the properties he purchased. However, although he never returned to the church, he continued to uphold his statement about having seen the gold plates.

Confirmed Testimony of the Book of Mormon

In 1861, a missionary visiting him heard his testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, of Joseph Smith’s role as a prophet, and even a commitment to Brigham Young’s work as a prophet. He simply couldn’t bring himself to ask forgiveness, even though he was sorry he had ever left. Shortly before his death, a missionary from the Reorganized Church, an offshoot of the main church, challenged him to become a Mormon again. John had tears in his eyes as he expressed a hope that the time would come when they would all see eye to eye. In the history of the church, which he had refused to return to the church, he wrote after his excommunication, “Therefore I close the history … hoping that I may be forgiven of my faults … not withstanding my present situation, which I hope will soon be bettered and I find favor in the eyes of God and all men his saints.”

Sources:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007.

Richard Lloyd Anderson, The Whitmers: A Family That Nourished the Church, Ensign, August 1979

Keith W. Perkins, “True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers,” Ensign, February 1989

The Joseph Smith Papers

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

The descendants of Joseph Smith are gradually returning to their roots. Joseph Smith was the first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes nicknamed Mormons.

Joseph’s descendants spent many generations away from the Church. The children of some of his brothers’ families were members—largely those of brother Hyrum—but most had gone in other directions.

The division of the family began early on. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by mobs in 1844. This led to a division in the Church over who should become the next prophet. In the end, a miracle led to the people recognizing Brigham Young as the new prophet, but not everyone was happy with that. Several splinter groups formed. The mainstream group of Mormons fled Illinois and headed for what later became Utah, following Brigham Young. Hyrum’s widow took his children and joined the Saints in the West; this group is the one whose descendants are largely in the Church today.

Joseph Smith’s Descendants Leave Mormonism

Joseph’s widow, Emma, had some disagreements with Brigham Young, possibly fueled by the grieving process and the complex need to separate family and church possessions. When the Saints moved on to Utah, Emma chose to remain behind. Joseph’s mother, who was widowed, also stayed, too old and frail to make the difficult journey, and Emma helped to care for her.

One group of dissidents felt that the Church leadership should be handed down from father to son. They wanted to hold the leadership for Joseph Smith’s oldest surviving son until he was old enough to take over. He was initially not interested, but eventually agreed to accept the position. This church became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and still operates today, although under a new name and a growing process of distancing itself from its roots.

Joseph’s brother William had been excommunicated and his brother Samuel died just over a month after Joseph and Hyrum died. Samuel had suffered injuries trying to warn his brothers of danger. His widow went west, but continued on to California. Joseph’s other brothers were all dead and the sisters stayed in Illinois.

The family was now scattered around the country and in days of difficult communication, those who did not go to Utah largely did not stay members of the Church or did not raise their families to stay. After a few generations, many had forgotten their roots.

Joseph Smith’s Descendants Becoming Mormon

Then things began to change. Kenny Duke is a descendant of Joseph Smith’s sister Catherine. He learned about his heritage from an uncle who was a leader in the Reorganized Church. Kim Smith learned about Joseph Smith, her direct ancestor, from her grandmother, who had pictures of Joseph and Emma in her home. Kim felt drawn to them and learned that there was a great deal of animosity in the family coming from this lineage. She was taught to hate Brigham Young and was even taught that Brigham had planned Joseph’s murder, but she began to research the subject for herself. The result of this research was that she found the truth, became converted, and became a Mormon.

Michael Kennedy was given a school assignment to write about an ancestor. His father showed him a box of things related to Joseph Smith. It was the first Michael had heard of his third-great grandfather. As he was looking through the box, two men knocked on his door. He answered and learned they were from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They asked to speak to his father. While they waited for his father, the missionaries noticed the items spread out and asked about them. He explained they were related to his ancestor, Joseph Smith, who had founded the Mormon Church. He did not know the church the missionaries belonged to was sometimes inadvertently called the Mormon Church, but the missionaries became quite excited and obtained permission to return with discussions that would help Michael learn about the church his ancestor had led.

The miracle of two missionaries showing up just as he was examining these items was even greater because the missionaries were there only as part of a test designed to decide which areas to open to missionary work. The test determined that his area was not productive enough, since only two families agreed to learn about the church, his and one other. A girl in the other home, Darcy Dodge, was so enthusiastic she wanted to be baptized the day she met the missionaries, although they insisted she finish the lessons.

However, Michael had not had a good relationship with organized religion and quickly lost interest. The missionaries learned that Darcy knew him and asked her to help interest Michael. She got his mother to invite him to stay in the discussions, which he did. However, he told the missionaries he would decide when he was eighteen. He got baptized and then left for college, thinking he was done with the Mormons.

At the very moment his father called to tell his aunt, who had been the person behind collecting the artifacts, about the baptism, a man sent by the prophet to find all of Joseph Smith’s descendants was sitting in her house. He reported the baptism to the prophet, who was then Harold B. Lee. President Lee asked to meet with Michael. In time, he became the first descendant of Joseph Smith to receive the Melchizedek priesthood, fulfilling a prophecy made that said that priesthood would be restored before the family would be gathered together again.

Read Michael Kennedy’s telling of his conversion.

Gradually, other descendants of Joseph began to find their way back to their family’s religion. These descendants also made peace with Brigham Young’s descendants. The Smith descendants now hold regular reunions. Initially, there was an agreement to avoid the topic of religion at these reunions, since most were not Mormons, but today, so many have been baptized that a church service is part of the reunion.

The annual reunions and the gradual return of descendants to the Church are God’s answer to a prayer uttered by Joseph Smith long ago:

O God, let the residue of my father’s house…ever come up in remembrance before thee and stand virtuous and pure in thy presence, that thou mayest save them from the hand of the oppressor, and establish their feet upon the rock of ages, that they may have place in thy house and be saved in thy kingdom, even where God, and Christ is, and let all these things be as I have said, for Christ’s sake. Amen (Joseph Smith, Jr., Documentary History of the Church 1:466–467).

Sources:

The Michael Kennedy Conversion Story

Scot and Maurine Proctor, Why Prophets Have Prayed for Joseph Smith’s Posterity, August 9, 2013

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

David Whitmer was born January 7, 1805, near Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. While he was young, his parents, Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman, moved to western New York. A reporter who met his father in 1885 wrote that Peter raised his family as “a hard-working, God-fearing man, a strict Presbyterian [who] brought his children up with rigid sectarian discipline” (Chicago Tribune, 17 Dec. 1885).

David Whitmer

The Whitmer family were active Church goers in the German Reformed Church. David’s mother was born in Germany. David’s three older brothers were confirmed members of that church. However, in 1829, the family began to hear of a young man named Joseph Smith, who was gaining attention for his teachings about a new book of religious scripture called the Book of Mormon. David, still living at home with his parents, met a man named Oliver Cowdery. Both men were curious about Joseph Smith and even more curious about the book. They learned that Joseph Smith was translating the book in Pennsylvania, and Oliver Cowdery decided to go there and find out about the book directly from its translator. He promised to keep David informed as to what he learned.

Oliver wrote three letters to David during this time. In his first letter, he told David he was not only convinced the book was true, but he had volunteered to act as Joseph Smith’s scribe, helping the work advance much more quickly. A second letter also emphasized Oliver’s belief that the book was authentic and quoted portions of it. The third letter changed the lives of the Whitmer family forever. Oliver asked if he and Joseph could come to David’s home to work on the translation. The work and even the life of Joseph Smith was in danger from people who were afraid to let the new book come to light.

Joseph Smith Moves to David Whitmer’s Home

David took the request to his family. His parents were concerned because David had a great deal of work to do and taking time to go for Joseph and Oliver would hamper the family’s efforts. They decided David shouldn’t go unless God required it of him. David accepted his parents’ request but then took the problem to God in prayer. He asked that God help him complete his work in record time. He was able to do two days’ work in one day. This convinced his father that God intended David to bring the men to their home. He told David he could go for them as soon as he’d finished the fertilizing.

Whitmer Home

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery moved into the Whitmer home and Emma, Joseph’s wife, joined them not long after. This created a great deal of work for Mary, David’s mother. One day, as she was going to milk the cows, an angel appeared and told her that because her contribution to the work was so great, she was entitled to receive a personal testimony that what they were doing was truly God’s work. She was shown the gold plates on which the book was written in ancient times. Although her sons would later serve as official witnesses to the reality of those plates, Mary actually saw them before any of the men in her family. She found that the work no longer seemed to be a burden to her.

David Whitmer Sees the Gold Plates

David Whitmer was later permitted to view the plates and other sacred objects as well, while an angel held them. He signed his name to a testimony of this vision. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ in 1829.

David’s home was the center of historically significant events—the work of translation, many visions and revelations, and the first conference of the Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which many continue to inadvertently refer to as the “Mormon Church,” was formally organized in the Whitmer home. David was listed as one of the first six members, helping to fill a legal requirement for the organization of churches.

David Whitmer took several missionary trips with Joseph Smith, but after a time, he was chastised by revelation for being too focused on worldly things. He was instructed to return to his father’s home for a time.

The Whitmer family faced some trials in their work with the Church. While Joseph was back in Pennsylvania translating, Oliver Cowdery decided a revelation which had been received needed to be changed. He did not, of course, have that authority, since revelations come from God to a prophet. However, he persisted and also convinced the Whitmers that he was right. Joseph returned to their home and helped them to understand that the revelations must be written as given by God and not according to the desires of men.

However, Hyrum Page, a church member, claimed to be receiving his own revelations through a seer stone. He convinced Cowdery and the Whitmers these were true revelations. They did not yet understand how God worked and that having multiple prophets would only lead to confusion, which is why there could only be one at a time. Page’s so-called revelations contradicted the New Testament and modern revelations. After a revelation came to Joseph Smith explaining how revelation works, Page and the Whitmers, as well as others who had believed them, renounced Page’s claims.

In 1831, David Whitmer married Julia Ann Jolly. Later that year he was called to serve a mission to Missouri. He and his missionary companion, Harvey Whitlock, were to preach as they journeyed to Missouri. Near the end of the year, David traveled to Ohio, where he became a high priest in the Church, and then he and his wife moved to Missouri.

David Whitmer Defends Mormonism at Gunpoint

The Mormons encountered intense persecutions in Missouri. David Whitmer, along with other men, was forced into the ironically named Independence Square with a bayonet at his back, where he had his clothing removed and he was tarred and feathered. He was ordered to denounce the Book of Mormon or face death. Other men clicked their guns to reinforce the order but David boldly testified of the Book of Mormon. The captors let him go.

The Whitmer family moved to Clay County. There, two of David’s brothers died as a result of persecution, one leaving a young wife and the other a wife and small children. A third died later of a leg infection. David’s mother was a faithful member all her life.

The remaining Whitmers began to have problems with their faith as a result of the many trials they had to bear and the new financial challenges arising in the young church. David was appointed to oversee the Church in Missouri and helped to select the first apostles, but when he began to challenge various aspects of Mormon doctrine, his membership was called into question. He was invited to meet with church leaders to work out the problems, but he refused. He was excommunicated for various reasons, including writing letters calling himself the president of the church, even though he’d been removed from his responsibilities in the church. He had become very vocal in his attacks on the church and its leaders.

The Whitmer Family Falters

When the Mormons were forced by mob activity to leave Missouri, the Whitmers stayed behind. David moved to Richmond, where he served as mayor for a year. He retained his testimony of the Book of Mormon, however. In 1878, two Mormon apostles visited him in Missouri. He was asked about his testimony and reiterated the vision in which he was shown the gold plates. Again, in 1882, a young Mormon missionary named Matthias Cowley visited him and also asked to hear his testimony. He gave it, but Cowley wrote that it was given as a duty. He felt that David Whitmer knew what was true but had lost sight of the joy the gospel can bring when it is fully lived.

In 1888, the American Cyclopedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica claimed that David and two other witnesses had denied ever having seen the plates. David was nearing death at that time, but publicly refuted those claims. He testified that none of the witnesses, including those who had left the church, had ever denied those sacred experiences.

It having been represented by one John Murphy, of Polo, Caldwell County, Mo., that I, in a conversation with him last summer, denied my testimony as one of the three witnesses to the ‘Book of Mormon.’

To the end, therefore, that he may understand me now, if he did not then; and that the world may know the truth, I wish now, standing as it were, in the very sunset of life, and in the fear of God, once for all to make this public statement:

That I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof, which has so long since been published with that Book, as one of the three witnesses. Those who know me best, well know that I have always adhered to that testimony. And that no man may be misled or doubt my present views in regard to the same, I do again affirm the truth of all my statements, as then made and published.

‘He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear’; it was no delusion! What is written is written, and he that readeth let him understand. (See Keith W. Perkins, “True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers,” Ensign, February 1989.)

After the Mormons left Missouri, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now known as the Community of Christ, attempted to convince David Whitmer to join with them. However, he felt they were not properly informed of what Joseph had really taught. David disliked centralized authority and felt Joseph had fallen as a prophet just before David left the church. William McClellan and some of his relatives convinced David to join them in forming a new church to continue where they felt Joseph had left off. David became president of this church, but in time, he and the others recognized they were operating without authority from God. The church had only a few members and dissolved after its last surviving member, Jacob Whitmer’s granddaughter, passed away.

Sources:

Every Person in the Doctrine and Covenants by Lynn F. Price, Cedar Fort, 2007.

Richard Lloyd Anderson, The Whitmers: A Family That Nourished the Church, Ensign, August 1979

Keith W. Perkins, True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers, Ensign, February 1989

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

When most people think of Latter-day Saint or Mormon pioneers, they think of settlers from the Eastern United States or immigrants from Europe.  However, other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently called the Mormon Church) left their homelands to follow the Lord and His prophet as well. Polynesians responded to the prophet’s call to gather to Zion in the late 1800’s.

Mormon Missionary Serving in Hawaii

Brigham Young, then president of the Church, called my great, great uncle John Anderson West to leave Parowan, Utah, to preach the gospel in the Hawaiian islands in the late 1850’s and again 14 years later.  In his journal, John recorded his initial difficulty in communicating with the islanders.  With divine help, he slowly learned Hawaiian.  He loved the humble, hospitable people. During his first mission, missionary work progressed slowly.  When he returned again in 1870, many locals converted to Mormonism.

One convert gave John a horse to use while he traversed the vast Big Island. John recorded how a recent volcanic eruption had totally wiped out villages where he had once taught the gospel and he mourned the loss of friends who perished. The converts were faithful and endured great hardship as they converted to Christianity.

Pacific Islander Emigration to Utah

Converts left the Pacific Islands and emigrated to Utah. The leaders of the Church found a place in Utah’s Skull Valley, about 75 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, for the Pacific Islanders to settle. They named the settlement Iosepa (Yo-see-pa) honoring President Joseph F. Smith who was one of the first missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands, and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Though many parts of the Pacific Island’s leeward shores are desert-like, the Islanders had never experienced jarring winters which compromised the settlers’ health. Outbreaks of smallpox, diphtheria, pneumonia, and leprosy took a heavy toll. The emigrants creatively tried to adapt their traditional food to Utah food options, even substituting flour and cornstarch for poi. They tried to grow seaweed, as well as other more traditional mainland crops. However, crop failures forced many men to seek work as gold and silver miners. They created Kanaka Lake, a small reservoir, for swimming and recreational activities. Iosepa’s grid pattern streets were lined with yellow roses.

Richard Poulsens’ A History of Iosepa, Utah, reminisced that

The Polynesians were especially proud of their luaus, where they dressed in traditional costumes and performed the songs and dances of the islands along with their Gosh Ute Indian neighbors from the adjoining Reservation. On these occasions large feasts were prepared consisting of pigs and sheep cooked in an imu (underground oven), along with the making of laulau by wrapping carp (raised in their reservoir) inside corn husks. The traditional island poi was replaced with a substitute concoction that used cornstarch and flour.

In 1911, Utah historian J. Cecil Alter wrote,

Iosepa is perhaps the most successful individual colonization proposition that has been attempted by the Mormon people in the United States… There are 1,120 acres practically all in use and half as much more is being brought under the magic wand of the Hawaiian irrigator.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported, “As many as 200 [residents] lived [in Iosepa] from 1889 until 1917. Many then returned to their homeland, drawn by the LDS temple going up in Laie, Hawaii.”  Iosepa was deserted in 1917.

Remembering Iosepa’s Polynesian Mormon Pioneers

Vermin Hawes, a descendant of Iosepa settlers, coordinated a Memorial Day event in 1980 at Iosepa to repair and beautify the area. Polynesians now gather annually on Memorial Day at Iosepa for a three-day festival celebrating the pioneers’ history with memorial services, games, and a luau.

Late LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated a bronze bust Polynesian warrior monument to the memory of the settlers of Iosepa on August, 28, 1989.

Visitors continue to pay tribute to the Polynesian converts’ memories in Iosepa. Celebrating Utah’s 2013 Pioneer Day at Iosepa, Jacob Fitisemanu from Taylorsville, Utah, imagined being part of the original settlement and reflected,

There is a spiritual connection whenever we come here. We try to be reverent when we come here. We understand it.

They made it work. They were very spiritual people who managed to survive. They brought water to town from the top of the mountain four or five miles away for an irrigation system. They were an industrial people.

The converts of Iosepa settled their portion of Utah’s barren wilderness to be closer to the Salt Lake City Temple so they could participate in sacred Mormon temple rituals. The courage born of their faith enabled them to overcome the challenges of bitter winters and unusual food and culture. When a temple was built in the Hawaiian Islands, they returned to worship and build up the Church in Hawaii.

Having lived in Hawaii, I know that the Polynesians’ incredible faith in Jesus Christ and His Church continues today. They diligently spread the Savior’s love and aloha to others through food, friendship, and a constant invitation to learn of and worship the Savior in His holy temples throughout the Pacific Islands.

dwhite

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

George Laub is one such ordinary man who joined the Church early on and remained faithful throughout his life. However, he is not a man with whom most Mormons today are familiar. A journal of his is preserved in the LDS Church Archives and is quite instructional.

A man without a great deal of education, George Laub did the best he could with what he had, and he learned more as he went along. He, like Joseph Smith, learned more through the Holy Ghost than he had opportunity to learn in a formal education setting. His journal is in the language of a frontiersman, but his faith is like Job’s.

George Laub’s Personal Accounts of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young

George Laub’s personal accounts of many of Joseph Smith’s and Brigham Young’s sermons provide excellent documentation of some things that may otherwise have been lost, including a sermon from Hyrum Smith on the “plurality of gods.” Laub also recorded his own version of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s famous “King Follett Discourse” from April 7, 1844, which “explores startling ideas about the nature of God and the universe and about man’s eternal identity and potential godhood” (“George Laub’s Nauvoo Journal,” edited by Eugene England, BYU Studies, 1978).

After the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred, the Church was thrown into a bit of turmoil. Who was to succeed Joseph Smith as the president and prophet? A miracle occurred in August 1844, which is well recorded by several witnesses, but George Laub’s appears to be the earliest record of the event. Sidney Rigdon had been claiming to be the rightful successor to Joseph Smith, but at a meeting with a large congregation, Brigham Young addressed those present. As George Laub records it, “his [Brigham Young’s] Voice was the Voice of Bro. Joseph and his face appeared as Joseph’s face.”

Laub’s journal, which commences with his personal summary of his life up to the point of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, contains many evidences of his willingness to make personal sacrifices for his faith. He not only went to Nauvoo to gather with the Saints, but also records of the Mormon Exodus from Nauvoo in the middle of winter. He lost his infant son due to the harsh conditions.

George Laub’s Continued Sacrifices for the Truth

Even after arriving in Utah, Laub continued to make sacrifices. He used his skills as a joiner (carpenter) to build mills for the industry of the Saints. In 1863, after building a nice home for himself in Salt Lake and settling there with his family, he left his residence behind at great financial sacrifice in order to obey a call issued from the Lord through Brigham Young to settle St. George, Utah. He even served as foreman in the construction of the tabernacle in St. George.

Later, he passed up a very lucrative job to build houses for lead miners at Silver Reef in order to serve as a carpenter in the construction of the Salt Lake Temple.

Read George Laub’s Personal History

Thanks to Eugene England, this valuable journal of George Laub’s is now available edited and online. Read for yourself his amazing personal experiences and his steadfast testimony of the importance of the Church. Let yourself be inspired by George Laub’s experiences. Read for yourself the book of scripture that helped convert him to the gospel, the Book of Mormon.

I am grateful for men and women like George Laub who sacrificed so much to help build the kingdom of God on the earth. These people made so many sacrifices to stand up for what they believe in. We today are also called to make great sacrifices, though they are often difficult in different ways. In reading of the faith of early Saints, I am inspired to move forward with conviction in helping to continue building the kingdom of God on the earth and spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

dwhite

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