Shadrach Roundy was a bodyguard for Joseph Smith during the Prophet’s tumultuous final years. He was described as being “fully six feet tall, raw-boned and muscular, weighing slightly less than two hundred pounds.” He was known for being “positively fearless and full of integrity…Such was his character that he would rather have died than fail to do his duty” He didn’t wear a cape, but it wasn’t hard to imagine Shadrach Roundy as a pioneer Superman, a defender of faith in the face of great evil.

This Superman was put to the test when he faced down an angry mob consisting of 40 men roaring for the Prophet’s head.

Image via brittanica.com

Standing Against Evil

On June 7, 1844, William Law published a slanderous newspaper labeled The Nauvoo Expositor that claimed to be an exposé on the Church and its teachings. Citing the paper and press as a public nuisance and within their rights of the Nauvoo Charter, Joseph Smith ordered that the press be destroyed. This destruction of the press led to Joseph’s eventual arrest and imprisonment in Carthage Jail.

Carthage was not the only place his life was threatened during this time. On the night Joseph was indicted for “inciting riot”, William Law and forty armed citizens marched to Joseph’s home, and there was blood in their hearts.

The only one between them and the end of Joseph Smith was one Shadrach Roundy.

Joseph Smith had warned his faithful Superman that there would be an attempt to kidnap him that night. Shadrach was sent to guard the Prophet’s house with explicit instructions that no one was to be allowed in. He had been told they would be coming up the river, and so he was patrolling the river near the Prophet’s home when he heard voices at the gate. He hurried to the source of the voices to find William Law and forty other mobbers trying to get in.

As a bodyguard and member of the police force of Nauvoo, it’s expected that Shadrach would have some kind of weapon on him to defend both himself and the Prophet. Following the Expositor destruction, however, his weapons had been turned over to the government militia. Shadrach was only armed with his wits, his courage, and a hickory walking stick.

Speaking for myself, if I were suddenly facing down forty men with only a walking stick and a prayer, William Law would’ve gotten a nice view of my coattails as I either beat it or at least gone to get help. Luckily for Joseph, he had Superman instead of me guarding his house that fateful night.

Shadrach, using his hickory cane like a sword, forced the men back out of the gate. He then gripped the cane and laid it across the gate to keep the intruders out while he reasonably asked them what their business was for the night. William Law replied that they were “gentlemen merchants” who had come to see the mummies that Joseph Smith had in his possession. Shadrach retorted that “if they were gentlemen, they should come at gentlemen’s hours”.

Shadrach was joined by his companion Josiah Arnold, who was also on Joseph’s detail. He too was determined to keep back the mob that would’ve taken the Prophet away. Seeing the resolution in their eyes, the mob stopped trying to push their way through. William Law “asked if they knew who they were talking to.” This name dropping meant little to the two men of God, who replied that “yes, they knew him too well.”

William and his men still insisted on getting through, but Shadrach and Josiah would not move. In a final act of courage that delved deep into their faith in the Prophet and their Heavenly Father, they stated to the mob that “if they gained admission, it would be over their dead bodies.”

Such words you might expect to find in final showdowns between superheroes as they flex gigantic muscles, but the power in this quiet sentence was matchless when it came from humble men willing to fight to the death for a Prophet they loved. William Law saw it too; he and his band of criminals left soon after with their tails tucked between their legs.

Image via www.willisorchards.com

Finding Our Hickory Stick

We can achieve this kind of personal valor in our own lives.

Shadrach wasn’t born a Superman. He built his courage as he learned to be obedient. Over his lifetime, he made hundreds of small and large sacrifices for the gospel that forged an iron spirit. When the opportunity came to stand up for righteousness, he was able to do so because he had taken the time to create that resolve. His hickory stick was not only a weapon to use against evil; it was an extension of his faith. 

There will come a time when we will need hickory sticks of our own.

In the last days, the Lord has promised that even some of the elect will fall as doubt creeps into our ranks and trials sunder our testimonies. Our prophets, our families, even our very identities will be challenged by the hordes of Satan. It will feel at times as though we are defending ourselves with only a hickory stick against an onslaught that should surely overcome us. However, if that stick is an extension of our faith, we will be able to turn the tides with the strength of our courage and the might of our God.

Find your hickory stick, and if you wield it with faith, you too can become a Hickory Stick Superman.

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

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

Faith in Jesus Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

Active Involvement in the Building of Zion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Willingness to Sacrifice

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honor Those Who Came Before You

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

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

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

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

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

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

Share Your Testimony Through Word and Deed

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

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

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

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

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

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

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

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

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

Ashley Morales

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ryan Morgenegg is a writer for Deseret News.

Ashley Morales

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

The Erie Canal, which celebrates its 200^th birthday this year, provided many miracles—not the least of which included a means of travel and communication that allowed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to spread and thrive better than it would have otherwise.

How so, you ask?

For one thing, the rise of wealth in the area may have contributed to the Second Great Awakening, when interest in religion throughout the existing United States was revived with notable ardency, resulting in many denominations frequently butting heads over doctrine and wrestling to retain and increase their memberships. After all, as Nephi so eloquently related, opposition is necessary for progress, and in this case, finding earthly satisfaction in material goods urged the desire to find spiritual satisfaction in one’s relationship with God as well. Although it was not the only factor that ignited the religious fire of this time period, the Erie Canal was certainly an important spark.

The Erie Canal. Courtesy of Pexels.

Furthermore, the canal’s sheer reach across the continental United States let all kinds of people carry their ideas and causes to faraway places in record time. In fact, one of its many nicknames was the “psychic highway.” Of course, among the groups that took advantage of the canal’s accessibility were the Mormons, who were able to use it to travel around the country to build cities for themselves, transport the materials necessary for such cities, and even serve missions. On its waters were brought all the paper and equipment needed to publish the Book of Mormon as well. Even the likes of Charles Dickens himself was floating on it when he was first impressed by the Mormons he met there. Never before had the Lord’s commandment to baptize the world seemed more realistic.

Before the Erie Canal was built, getting around the country was difficult and exhausting. While it was undergoing construction, however, it brought many jobs; its completion ensured more wealth in nearby areas, promoted other sectors of economic growth by providing transportation for all kinds of goods, greatly helped U.S. citizens get wherever they needed to go, and served as a symbol of America’s engineering innovations. However, equally important is its role in the rise of the kingdom of God in the latter days, for God does work through the hands of man to accomplish His ends.

Ashley Morales

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

This article which was written by Danielle B. Wagner appeared in the 25 April 2016 online edition of LDSLIving.com.

Fear, fed by rumors and confusion, led the pioneers in Circleville, Utah, to kill at least 30 Paiute men, women, and children in an act that, in the long years since, has largely been forgotten. But the Church is working to change that.

On Friday, April 22, 2016,—the accepted anniversary of the massacre—members of the Paiute Tribal Council and the History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered together to dedicate a memorial that honors the lives of those who were killed 150 years ago.

Read the rest of the article.

Guest Author

Image: Hans Ulrich Bryner holding onto the back of the last wagon in this picture. This painting is in the Daughter’s of the Utah Pioneer Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was painted by Lura Redd.

Hans Ulrich Bryner Jr., the son of Hans Ulrich Bryner and Verena Wintsch was born in Zurich, Switzerland on April 22, 1827. His father was a shoemaker and young Ulrich picked up and delivered the shoes for his father. His parents were good religious Lutherans and taught their children to pray, to be obedient, honest, prompt, industrious and thrifty. When Ulrich was ten years old, his father bought a large farm. Ulrich learned to do farming chores such as plowing, mowing and pruning. They attended school from age six to twelve and did very well in their studies. By the time Ulrich was grown, he could speak several languages. They were a happy united family and were fairly well off.

In January of 1843, when Ulrich was nearly 16, he became very sick. His best friend also got sick and died. This upset Ulrich and he worried about it, thinking that he too might die. With this on his mind he was unable to sleep very well. He had a dream, in which a man with a grey beard and peculiar eyes took him by the hand and led him, in darkness, half way around the world. He could see nothing at all until they came to the top of the world. Then the heavens opened above their heads and he saw a bright light come down.

He saw the City of Zion shining like gold, silver and glass —its loveliness was above description. He saw a big wall with three gates leading through it. Righteous and holy people were going through these gates into the city. He wanted to go in too, but the man said “You can’t go through now, but if you are faithful and true, the time will come when you will be allowed to go.” As he lay on his sick bed, he thought of this dream night and day.

He thought a dark night was coming, but never guessed that he was going to be blind. He told his family of the dream and they all wondered what it meant. When he recovered, he learned the butchering trade. He entered contests which were held to encourage the workers to excel. He was a good worker, quick and accurate. His specialty was killing hogs — he could kill, scald, scrape, hang and draw a hog faster than most anyone. He had won four cups as prizes. He received promotions until he became superintendent of the slaughter-house.

He was also a buyer for the establishment and went about the country buying animals. His languages came in handy in this assignment. He may have learned some of them on the job, although in Switzerland there are three official languages taught in the schools, French, German and Italian. There are also many dialects. He wanted eventually to get into government service. In 1849, at age 22, he married Anna Maria Dorothea Mathys, daughter of Johannes and Anna Mathys.

Their first child, Mary, was born June 23, 1851. They were happy and free from care for two years. Then one day at work, he was trying to beat his own record in preparing for another contest. He had the hog hanging up, and its foot slipped off the cross stick (gambrel) and struck him in the eye, splitting the pupil. The carcass fell and dragged him down with it. He gave a cry and his brother Casper, nearly seven years younger, who worked in the same shop, came to his rescue.

When Casper saw his eye was knocked out of its socket and hanging down on his cheek, Casper put his hand over it and led him down along the river bank to the doctor. Ulrich got infection in it, and with no antibiotics, he was sick for a long time, and of course had to give up his job. His parents took him to Germany to eye specialists, but they could do nothing. The infection spread to the other eye. He was blind now in both eyes. Friends came to his wife Maria saying “Give him up and let him go home to his parents, they are well enough off to take care of him. You don’t want to be saddled with a blind man all the rest of your life. What can he do for you now? You would be better off without him.” But her mother said “No, Maria will not desert him, he needs her now more than he ever did.” Of course Maria stayed with him, but nothing could comfort him. Their home was one of mourning. They could see no future, and felt that all their happiness was completely destroyed.

One day as Maria sat by his side, her mother came in and said, “You can do nothing but pray about it — perhaps the Lord will open a way for you. I believe the hand of the Lord is in it, for a whispering voice always says to me, “Don’t feel sorry that Bryner is blind, it’s good for you all but you don’t know it yet.” Ulrich’s family was kind to them, and all were willing to provide for them, but Ulrich could not be happy. He felt that the Lord had cast him aside.

Four long sorrowful months passed by, then one morning in the latter part of July, he called his mother and father to listen, for he had had another dream. His family gathered round and he said, “I found myself in a great dark room with no glimmer of light. Three fires appeared, each of a different size. A man with a grey beard and peculiar eyes stood at my side, the same man I had seen before. He had an open book in his hand. He crossed out my sins and they fell to the floor. A voice said to me “You will have to go through the middle fire.” I said, “I am able to stand that too.” The wall opened so wide that we could pass through it. The light came in as bright as noon-day and we were shown the road to Zion. We had to cross the sea with a great company and take a long journey across the great prairie into the mountains to reach the City of Zion.”

A few months later, in February 1854, a Mormon missionary by the name of George Meyer came to the Zurich from America. The Bryner family was anxious to see if he was the man Ulrich had seen in his dreams. Several members of the family walked for two hours to get to Bern, to hear Elder Meyer. As soon as they saw him they recognized him as the man in Ulrich’s dream. George Meyer was very cross-eyed and wore very thick lenses. They immediately invited him to come to their home. Two days later, late at night a knock came on the door, and when Maria answered, it was Elder Meyer. She asked her husband if he thought it safe to let them in at this time of night. “Oh, yes,” he said, “take them up to my old room.” She took them up to the fourth-floor bedroom, and from that time on, it was their headquarters in that part of Switzerland.

Some of the neighbors objected to the elders being there. They threw rocks and broke the window.  Needless to say, the message these brethren brought from over the sea was listened to eagerly and believed. There were so many beautiful things in this religion that were lacking in their Lutheran faith — new revelations, a modern prophet of God, angels visiting the earth again, a new golden Bible, a call for repentance, baptism as John practised it, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost and for ordinations, and many other beautiful principles.

Twelve of the Bryners and Mathys’s were baptized, with Ulrich being the first one. They were so happy they thanked the Lord and wept for joy. They knew now that He had answered their prayers.

He knew the gospel was true and bore testimony to his brothers and sisters. He knew from his vision of the fire that his life wasn’t going to be easy and that troubles lay ahead for him. They wanted to join the Saints in Utah, and began to make preparations for the long journey. They couldn’t all go at once, so Casper and Barbara Ann went first to lead the way and make preparations for the others to follow. All the rest of the family, five in all, came to the U. S. and crossed the plains to Utah. It was 1856 and they now had two children, Mary Magdalena and Gottfried Henry. They felt the little boy was too young to make the trip, so they left him with his grandparents, to come later on.

They travelled the same route Ulrich had seen in his dream. They were in the sailing vessel, the “Enoch Train,” for forty two days, and landed in Boston, and went on via New York to join the saints. His brother, Casper, had purchased a wagon and oxen, and hired a teamster, so everything was ready for them to go on to Utah. They left Florence about the first of September, 1856. Travel by ox team was difficult for the pioneers, especially for Ulrich who could not see. He held onto the back of the wagon, and if the going got tough for the animals, he would help push the wagon. There is a painting by Lura Redd, in the D.U.P. museum in Salt Lake City, of Ulrich clinging to the back of the wagon as he stumbled over the rocks, bumps, ruts, and gopher holes, and was sometimes dragged along when he lost his footing. The journey was slow and uneventful for the most part, but at times there was plenty of excitement.

The trip, about 1,000 miles, took nearly four months, and it got very cold when they were about half way. Ulrich and the driver both froze their feet and legs, so Maria then had to look after them, do the cooking and the driving. Ulrich was administered to for his frozen feet, and Maria treated them with poultices made of pulverized sage and snow, as advised by Brigham Young. His feet healed and he was later able to walk as straight as anyone. By the time they reached Devil’s Gate, many people and oxen had frozen to death, so they had to double up and leave some of the wagons behind. Since the remaining wagons were loaded so heavily, everyone who could possibly walk, did so. They caught up with the ill-fated Martin handcart company, and were asked to take another family in their wagon, so they had to leave more of their belongings beside the road. The bitterly cold weather made travel very slow, and provisions were scarce. Many died on this trek. (Best estimates put the death toll at 69 in the Willie Company, 150-170 in the Martin Company, 10 in the Hodgett Company and 19 in the Hunt Company.)

However help was on the way, and it came none too soon. Riders had taken word of their predicament into Salt Lake. Brigham Young sent rescue parties with wagons and supplies to meet them. The snow was nine feet deep. People had to go ahead and tramp the snow down so the animals could pull the wagons over it. How happy they were to finally reach Salt Lake! When Ulrich’s brother Casper had learned of the trouble this pioneer company was having, he started out to meet them.

He spoke so little broken English that it was hard for him to make them understand, so he’d ask, “Has anyone seen a blind man?” None had, so he went on to the next group and asked again. Kind people in the city had opened their hearts and homes to take in the cold and hungry ones, so now Casper went from door to door and asked, “Has anyone here seen a blind man?” Finally he came to the door of the house where Ulrich and his family were staying. Great was Ulrich’s delight when he recognized his brother’s voice! They fell on each other’s necks and wept tears of joy. This was December 24, 1856. The next summer, 1857, Ulrich’s parents and sister came from Switzerland, bringing his little son with them. What a happy reunion that was! The parents had also travelled by ox team, having several accidents along the way in which his father was badly injured and never completely recovered. While in Lehi, a daughter Pauline was born.

They were called to settle in St. George in 1861, and travelled three hundred miles through snowstorms and lived in a tent. Later they moved to New Harmony, not far from St. George, where Mary Verena and Frank were born. Of course, there were no homes, no stores, and no money in New Harmony. They had to provide everything themselves. They planted cotton, carded it, dyed it with roots and herbs, and Maria spun it into thread on a spinning wheel which Ulrich’s father built for them. Brigham Young pronounced it the best home-made thread he had ever seen. They wove material for their clothing, and sewed everything by hand with the tiniest stitches imaginable. Maria devoted herself to helping her husband. She was very small, but quick and efficient. She spent all day with Ulrich in the fields, guiding him as he did his work, and helping with the farm and orchard work herself, at the same time bearing six more children and training them well.

Ulrich could manage pretty well in the house if the furniture was always kept in exactly the same spot, and there was nothing littering the floor. He could still mend shoes, and butcher hogs as well as anyone. He could prune trees and grapevines expertly. He would pick willows and weave baskets — there were none better — fancy baskets as well as utilitarian measuring baskets. No one knew how he could judge, but he made accurate bushel, half-bushel and peck baskets. He trained his sons to do many things, among others, to drive a team by the age of eight.

In 1868 Ulrich took a second wife, Margaretha Kuhn Wintsch, who had been widowed twice. He settled her in Toquerville, about twenty miles south of New Harmony, which was a good place for growing fruit. Ulrich and Margaret had ten children. In 1884, he was called to go settle in Price, Utah. It took them three months to make the trip, as they had many cows with young calves and had to travel slowly. They would milk the cows in the morning, put the milk in the large churn tied to the side of the wagon. When they stopped at night, it would be churned to butter, and they would enjoy the buttermilk to drink. They arrived in Price on July 23rd, in time for the Pioneer Celebration on the 24th. Theirs was the first house finished in Price — it was a two-story log home.

They had brought fruit seeds from St. George, and had the first orchard and grape bowery in Price. Ulrich built 300 beehives and honey frames, and extracted the honey, which was white and mild. He also braided rope from cowhide that was a specialty, and raised and sold vegetables and large barrels of sauerkraut. Only once in his long life did he or any of his family depend on outside help of any kind, and that was when the house burned and they were left with practically nothing.

Ulrich retired at 70 from his strenuous activity. He hired research done in Switzerland and spent the last seven years of his life in St. George doing temple work for five thousand of his kindred dead. His line was traced back to 1495 and the Mathys line to 1555. He died 9 Feb. 1905 of a stroke, at age 78.  He left a large posterity, and had lived a long and useful life. He always said that he was glad that he became blind, otherwise he might have been too busy to listen to the missionaries. He loved the gospel so much, his joy in it far outweighed any trials or hardships he endured.

Guest Author

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.

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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.

When Mormons arrived at the Salt Lake valley, in Utah, there was nothing there. In fact, it wasn’t even part of the United States yet. Mormons had been driven from so many places because of their unique belief in God—and this valley was pronounced as “the place” where they would finally be able to settle.

After Brigham Young (the second prophet in Mormon history, after Joseph Smith) showed where the temple would be, the people were heavily involved in the planning, or the platting, of the city. Not only were the surprisingly wide streets ingeniously made on an easily understandable grid system (with the center being the temple) but there was much more, like the well-built irrigation systems that are still in use today.  Brigham Young had seen all of this in vision.  The plan carried Salt Lake City into modern times with very few adjustments needed.

Why was this platting so important, more than just for ease of governance? We learn about the unique history from an article titled, “Travel guide: Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area:”

It was called the plat of Zion (Zion meaning the pure in heart). These were all viewed as little miniature experiments in Zion, in building Zion in each little town… They were called the United Order, a way of living where everybody just deeded over all of their belongings to the church and then they were given back as they needed, according to what their assigned tasks were in a community. If they were a cattle herder, then they needed a horse.

In order for these Latter-day Saints to live this United Order, which was the way God wanted them to live, they needed to be organized.

As a Mormon myself, I have been taught, since my youth, that having an organized life is the way of God. We live by the scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants (a book of modern day revelations) 88:119, “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.” That is why if you ever go into LDS Church building, especially the Temples, that everything is organized—it is the way of God. This is yet another reason the history of Mormonism proves why they established such a successful community—because they followed their way of “platting” after the pattern of God.

I invite you to learn more about Mormons by meeting with Mormon missionaries. I know that God lives and that His Son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of the world. I love Him, and I will be forever grateful for what He has done for me, my family, and for all mankind.

This article was written by Ashley Bell, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

ashley

Ashley Bell is a 22-year old wife, mother, BYU graduate, and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ashley loves to run, cook, garden, read, and most of all spend time with family and friends.

George Goddard, an early convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often misnamed the “Mormon Church”) was rejected by his relatives in England after he was baptized. George and his wife and seven children journeyed to the western Zion by land and sea. Four of the children died along the way.

Establishing themselves in the Salt Lake Valley, George became a prominent business and Church leader, serving with the presiding bishopric, serving in the presidency of the Sunday Schools of the Church (with President George Q. Cannon and the other counselor, Karl G. Maeser), singing in the Tabernacle Choir for fifteen years, and being called by Brigham Young to serve as secretary to the school of the prophets in Salt Lake City.

During the early 1860s the pioneering Saints needed more paper to advance the causes of education and publishing. Paper was made from rags for several years, but even rags were difficult to come by because the people had scarcely enough to cover their bodies. Brigham Young called successful businessman George Goddard on a “Rag Mission,” going door to door throughout the territory “for the purpose of gathering up whatever might be obtained convertible into printing paper.”1 As a true Englishman, George wrote, “[This calling] was a severe blow to my native pride. . . . After being known in the community for years, as a merchant . . . then to be seen on the streets going from door to door with a basket on one arm and an empty sack on the other, enquiring for rags at every house. Oh, what a change in the aspect of affairs. . . . When President Young first made the proposition, the humiliating prospect almost stunned me, but a few moments’ reflection reminded me that I came to these valleys of the mountains . . . for the purpose of doing the will of my Heavenly Father, my time and means must be at His disposal. I therefore answered President Young in the affirmative, and for over three years, from Franklin, Idaho, in the north, and Sanpete in the south, my labors extended, not only visiting many hundreds of houses during the week days, but preaching rag sermons on Sunday. The first time I ever spoke in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, was a rag discourse, and Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball backed it up with their testimony and enlarged upon it.”2

“It was my duty as a servant of God to obey, and as such I undertook it, to assist in laying the foundation of an important home enterprise. . . . No person could have been more abundantly blessed of the Lord than I was during the three years I was thus engaged. The Spirit of the Lord made me cheerful and happy, and the feeling of humiliation was removed.”3

This was a “riches to rags” story, in a sense, but George’s humble service provided over 100,000 pounds of rags for the paper mills. Not only that, but he “became so well known to the Saints in the territory that following his mission his business flourished and his popularity as a merchant was even greater than before.”4

George Goddard concluded this episode of his life by testifying: “I can truly say that the Lord inspired me with His Holy Spirit to deliver rag sermons, as much as if I was preaching upon . . . any other principle of the gospel. . . . [Jesus] descended below all things that He might be exalted above all things. And he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Therefore, let no one feel that by responding to the calls of the Priesthood, however humiliating the duty imposed may be to natural pride, the luster of their respectability will not be dimmed or their usefulness curtailed thereby. Let us stoop to conquer.”5

Many Latter-day Saints have been asked to sacrifice a great deal to build up the kingdom of God on the earth, and most of the time they heed the call. Men like George Goddard were fortunately not scarce at critical times in the Church’s history, and the inspired others Saints then as well as today to step up and make the sacrifices that God requires of them.

Read D. Kelly Ogden’s full article, “What More Can We Do? A Rags to Riches Story”

Sources:

1 Deseret News, May 14, 1862.

2 Deseret Weekly, April 4, 1896, 485; as cited in Leonard J. Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1958, 115.

3 George Goddard, “Review of an Active Life,” in The Juvenile Instructor, 1882, 174.

4 Church News View point, August 3, 1996, 16.

5 George Goddard, “Review of an Active Life,” in The Juvenile Instructor, 1882, 174.

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 section will include special topics about Mormon history.

Joseph Smith Sr. Taken Advantage of in Ginseng Investment

Joseph Smith Sr. tried hard to provide for his family, but evil-hearted men often took advantage of such an honorable character. Early in his marriage to Lucy, Joseph Smith Sr. invested heavily in ginseng root, which grew wild in Vermont, to export to China, but his profits were stolen by Mr. Stevens from Royalton.

The Impoverishment of the Smith Family through a Bizarre Vermont Winter

The Smith Family was doing very well financially, when the town they lived in was struck by typhoid fever, and they had to spend all their savings on medical care for their children. Soon after, upon moving to Norwich, Vermont, three successive years of crop failure impoverished them even more. The third year they were in Vermont, 1816, saw a year with no summer, and caused a mass exodus from Vermont to other, more fertile areas.

History of Mormon Temples

The temples of the Mormon Church are one of its most unique and distinguishing characteristics. They stand as symbols of Mormons’ beliefs in the afterlife and in the purpose of life here on earth.  Since the beginnings of Mormon history, the prophets and members of the Mormon Church have sacrificed to build these sacred buildings and worship within them.  In comparison to most other Christian churches, Mormonism stands virtually alone in affirming the importance of its leaders having the proper authority, given of God, to administrate the Church. This authority, called the priesthood, gives leaders the ability to guide Christ’s Church and to build and operate temples for the salvation of the living and the dead.  In a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord Jesus Christ declared, “my people are always commanded to build [temples] unto my holy name” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:39).  (Read more)

Mormonism in Germany

Mormon missionaries and leaders have been preaching the message of the restored gospel in Germany since 1841, and over the years, tens of thousands of converts have joined the Mormon Church. In the early years, persecution drove the Mormon converts to move to America, where they could practice religious freedom, but today, nearly 40,000 Mormons live and work in Germany. (Read More)

History of Mormon Missionary Work

Since the Prophet Joseph Smith first shared his message about the First Vision, Mormons have been doing missionary work. This work is one of great faith and sacrifice and illustrates the power of Mormon beliefs and the commitment of those who follow them. Mormons have sacrificed much to spread the message that Jesus Christ’s gospel has been restored through living prophets. (Read More)

Personal Accounts from Early Saints

Many of the early converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suffered and sacrificed much. Here, in their own words, are some of their stories of crossing the plains to enter the Salt Lake Valley, of their time spent at Winter Quarters, of helping to establish Zion in the West, and of the work of the Mormon Battalion.

Development of Salt Lake City

As the Saints began to arrive in the Salt Lake Valley, they had to begin their lives from square one. They explored their surrounding areas, began to build homes and buildings, created a currency, organized a government, and began providing ways for fellow Saints to gather to the Salt Lake Valley.

Development of the Church Welfare System

With the coming on of the Great Depression, Church leaders recognized an apathy and idleness developing in some of the struggling members. In order to make sure poorer members did not simply live off of the government, Church leaders instituted the Church Welfare System to “help people help themselves.” The system is still in place today.

Anita Stansfield

Anita Stansfield began writing at the age of sixteen, and her first novel was published sixteen years later. For more than fifteen years she has been the number-one best-selling author of women’s fiction in the LDS market. Her novels range from historical to contemporary and cover a wide gamut of social and emotional issues that explore the human experience through memorable characters and unpredictable plots. She has received many awards, including a special award for pioneering new ground in LDS fiction, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Whitney Academy for LDS Literature, and also a Lifetime Achievement Award from her publisher, Covenant Communications. She has fifty-six published books. Anita is the mother of five, and has three grandchildren.