Elder Joseph Brackenbury is one of them. An emigrant from England, he joined the then newly christened Church of Christ in April 10th of 1831. He was immediately called as an elder on April 11th of 1831 and left for a mission in August of 1831. He was a man of enormous faith who performed several miracles, one of which was told by John Whitmer:

“August 1831 [after Joseph and company return to Ohio] many mighty miracles were wrought by the Elders—one in particular which I shall here notice—which was wrought by Elders Emer Harris Joseph Brackenbury and Wheeler Baldwin. Is [about] an infirmity in an old lady who had been helpless for the space of eight years confined to her bed. She did not belong to this church but sent her request to the Elders who immediately attended to her call, and after their arrival prayed for her and laid their hands on her, and she was immediately made whole and magnified and praised God. and is now enjoying perfect health”.

Elder Brackenbury’s faith was so strong that he was determined to serve his God until the end. He told his friends that he had “consecrated all to God before he was baptized, he was also determined to go on to the end of his life.”

He fulfilled this vow not long after.

In December of 1831, he was called to serve a mission east. In Pomfret, New York, he was secretly administered poison by anti-Mormons led by the devil and boasting that a missionary’s faith was insufficient to save him from death. He suffered horrifically, and “remained in great distress, which he bore with [the] fortitude of a saint for one week and expired with an unshaken confidence in the fullness of the gospel which he had preached, and a firm hope of a glorious resurrection among the just.”

Elder Brackenbury’s mission on this Earth was short, but his legacy can live on in the way we conduct our lives. His standard of serving till our last breathe is a standard we can hold high and proud, and if we do so, we too can have a “firm hope of a glorious resurrection among the just.”

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Bruce Van Orden is a retired professor of Church History and Doctrine in Religious Education at Brigham Young University. In addition to volunteer work with needy individuals, he is writing a biography of William W. Phelps.

William W. Phelps is most well-known in Mormon history for his uplifting hymns. Less appreciated is his calling soon after he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be “a printer unto the Church.” It was prophesied that “the world [would] receive his writings” and that he, Phelps, would “obtain whatsoever he can obtain in righteousness, for the good of the saints” (D&C  57:11-12). W. W. Phelps fulfilled this revealed duty as he published the Church’s first periodical, The Evening and the Morning Star; helped publish early editions of the Doctrine and Covenants; served as Joseph Smith’s scribe for the Book of Abraham and many other documents; helped publish the first hymnbook (for which he wrote about half the hymns contained in it); and helped compile the Church’s official history. Next to Joseph Smith, during the Prophet’s lifetime W. W. Phelps did more than any other leader to put forward the doctrines of the Kingdom of God.

Kirtland Temple

Any Latter-day Saint who has had the privilege to attend a temple dedication has sung or heard these words: We’ll sing and we’ll shout with the armies of heaven,/Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb! (Hymns, 2). W. W. Phelps composed the anthem “The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning” for the first temple dedication in Kirtland in 1836. Often in general conference the Saints have sung or heard: Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation.No longer as strangers on earth need we roam./ Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation,/ And shortly the hour of redemption will come (Hymns, 3). This was the first of the “hymns of the restoration” written by a Latter-day Saint in this dispensation, by Phelps in 1832 in The Evening and the Morning Star in Independence, Missouri. Phelps has more compositions (fifteen) in the Church’s current hymnbook, published in 1985, than any other author.

William Wines Phelps

William Wines Phelps was born 17 February 1792 in Dover, Morris County, New Jersey. At age eight, he moved with his family to Homer, Cortland County, New York. He was well-educated for his era, although not in a formal university. He had training that he exhibited throughout his life in meteorology, surveying, classical languages, composition, poetry, handwriting, printing, and editing. He entered the newspaper business as a young man in Cortland, New York.

W. W. Phelps was one of the most publicly known early converts. He had helped create a new social, religious, and political organization in 1827 in New York State known as Anti-Masonry. He edited two Anti-Masonic newspapers, in Trumansburgh and in Canandaigua, New York, the latter merely eleven miles from Joseph Smith’s home in Manchester. Through his newspaper connections, he obtained copies of the Book of Mormon two weeks after publication and sold them in his office. He and his wife Sally read this sacred book overnight and became converted to its truthfulness. After struggling with his conscience for over a year, Phelps took his family to Kirtland in June 1831.

Following are the major events in the life of W. W. Phelps in the restored gospel:

• He was directed by revelation to accompany Joseph Smith and others to Missouri to identify the Land of Zion (D&C 55).
• He participated in all the dedicatory events for Zion and the New Jerusalem.
• He was directed to obtain a printing press and set up a business to print Joseph Smith’s revelations (Book of Commandments) and the Church’s first newspaper in Missouri.
• Together with Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer he printed the Book of Commandments and edited The Evening and the Morning Star, wherein he wrote scores of articles promoting new revelations, the Book of Mormon, and preparing the earth for the Second Coming. He authored many hymns in this and future publications .
• His printing office in Independence was raided and the type destroyed in anti-Mormon mob action in July 1833. He and his family were among those Saints persecuted and then hounded out of Jackson County later in the year.
• He frequently represented the Church in petitioning the state of Missouri and the United States government for redress of the Saints’ grievances.
• He was called in 1834 as one of the three Church presidents in Missouri. As such, he was invited to Kirtland, Ohio, to receive his “endowment from on high.”
• While in Kirtland, Phelps help print and write in the Church’s publications including The Latter Day Saints Messenger and Advocate, the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, and the first hymnbook. He was one of Joseph Smith’s chief scribes. Along with the other “presidents,” he helped govern the Church and set up the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in 1836. All four songs rendered in the dedication were of his composition.
• He helped lay out and found the city of Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri in 1837.
• During a contentious period among various Church leadership organizations in Missouri in 1838, Phelps was labeled a “dissident,” removed from leadership, and ultimately excommunicated. He testified against the illegal “Danite” activities in Missouri at a preliminary hearing in Richmond, Missouri, in 1839, that resulted in Joseph Smith and others being jailed and bound over for trial.
• 

  Joseph Smith

  Phelps asked for forgiveness from the Prophet in 1840 and labeled himself a “prodigal.” Joseph graciously invited Phelps back to the fold of Christ.

• In Nauvoo, Phelps helped write the official history, served in municipal government and publishing activities, and as Joseph Smith’s political scribe.
• He spoke at the funeral for Joseph and Hyrum Smith and then effectively supported the Twelve to succeed as leadership over the Saints.
• Phelps purchased another printing press in Boston that would be used in Utah. He served the Saints in their new mountain home as explorer, educator, surveyor, weather man, almanac editor, justice of the peace, speaker of the territorial legislature, and a “senior statesman” and writer. He passed away 7 March 1872.

William W. Phelps is held in honorable remembrance by his posterity and all Latter-day Saints who are heirs of his hymns and other vital contributions.

Excerpts taken from Susannah Washburn Bowles’ biography of her mother Tamer Washburn (1805–1886). Tamer joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often inadvertently called the “Mormon Church,” in 1838 and continued full of faith in the Church until the time of her death in 1886.

 

Tamer Washburn

Abraham and Tamer’s family consisted of Daniel born July 23, 1826 (died at age 9), Mary Ann born November 18, 1828, Emma Jane born July 28, 1830, Elizabeth Underhill born August 23, 1834 (died at age 3), Daniel Abraham born September 8, 1837, Sarah Elizabeth born August 16, 1839, John “E” born April 13, 1842, Susanna born June 23, 1843, Joseph Bates born July 20, 1845, Artmissa Minerva born June 17, 1847.

While living at Sing Sing, Tamer had the following dream: She went to heaven. Everything was beautiful and in perfect order. She visited many wonderful places. In beautiful parks, she saw many groups of happy children at play. They were in the charge of and their play was supervised by very fine, intelligent women. She came to one group where two of her own children were playing. She was surprised to see them there, and when she looked up inquiringly into the face of the lady who had them in charge, the lady said, “Sister Washburn, it is your privilege to see beforehand where your children will be, so that the parting will not be so hard.”

In a few weeks, the two children died. Tamer said that when they died, she could not shed a tear because the vision she had had was continually before her mind.

Delisa Hargrove

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have moved 64 times and have not tired of experiencing this beautiful earth! I love the people, languages, histories/anthropologies, & especially religious cultures of the world. My life long passion is the study & searching out of religious symbolism, specifically related to ancient & modern temples. My husband Anthony and I love our bulldog Stig, adventures, traveling, movies, motorcycling, and time with friends and family.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often inadvertently called the Mormon Church, recently packed its Church History website, www.history.lds.org, with even more features and information.

Matthew McBride, the Church History Department’s web content manager, told LDS Church News

In the age of the Internet, e from a variety of sources, some of which are very trustworthy and some of which are not. We’d like to be very proactive about being a consistent, faithful voice in the conversation about Church history on the web.

Latter-day Saint, (or “Mormon”) history is fascinating! Mormonism’s history is the story of the Lord restoring His Church again upon the earth and is intertwined with amazing stories of ordinary individuals who experienced angelic visitations, miracles, revelations, and persecutions.

Eager to explore the new content, I visited history.lds.org for the very first time.

Explore: Women of Conviction

Inez Knight

Immediately drawn to Women of Conviction, I read the story of Inez Knight who was the first female missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Day Saints. She was called to Great Britain in 1898. She labored in Bristol in 1899, where, laboring against strong anti-Mormon sentiment, Inez found herself mobbed, spat upon, and stoned, even under police protection. I served a mission in Scotland, and while I did have a woman spit in my face, I endured nothing like what Inez encountered.

Her story captivated me, and her faith and courage inspired me! Following is a small portion of Inez Knight’s missionary experience found on www.history.lds.org. Inez wrote of the persecution she encountered in Bristol but assured her friends in Utah that:

Many have been led to investigate the truth, through the opposition we received. … We meet all kinds of answers, but each day’s round finds sunshine and shower, and without one we might not appreciate the other.

She continued:

The Lord is abundantly blessing us in our labors, and although we do not always have clear sailing and have even been forced to seek protection from mob violence in a police station, receiving the slurs of the mob and even spat upon by the enemy, together with rocks and sticks from their hands, yet we rejoice in the work. We do not find it hard to say, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do,” for truly it is the ignorant who persecute us most. The Lord has said we must love Him with all our might, mind, and strength and to do this, means to be willing to sacrifice all things, and work faithfully for the upbuilding of His kingdom (from a letter to the Young Woman’s Journal printed in April 1899).

Explore: Revelations in Context -Historical Background for Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants

Revelations in Context drew my attention next. I clicked on the link referencing the section containing, what is to me, two of the most joyful, jubilant, beautiful, motivating verses in scripture, Doctrine and Covenants 128:22–23:

[S]hall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.

Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!

The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of revelations to the Prophet Joseph Smith and other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ. Mormons consider it to be scripture. Revelations in the book are called Sections. As I read the words of the Doctrine and Covenants, I hear the word of the Lord to me in my particular circumstances. I know it is the word of God.

Section 128 of the Doctrine and Covenants discusses the importance and orderly manner of performing baptisms for the dead. (See 1 Corinthians 15:29.) Mormons believe that to enter the kingdom of God all people must be baptized. However, many people who lived on the earth never even heard of Jesus Christ, let alone were able to be baptized by property authority in His name! God’s merciful plan of salvation enables people to be baptized on behalf of their ancestors who have died. Those ancestors, whose spirits live in the Spirit World, have the opportunity to choose to accept that baptism or not. God’s gift of moral agency to each of His children enable them to choose to accept the Gospel, whether in this life or the next.

From this section of the website, I learned that after Joseph Smith received the glorious revelation on God’s kingdoms of glory in 1836, (Doctrine and Covenants 76), many Latter-day Saints realized that they did not have all of the answers on how God’s plan applied to those who died without hearing the Gospel. This blurb from the historical background on this section described the understanding leading up to this revelation.

Joseph’s vision affirmed God’s mercy, but it was not entirely clear whether the scriptural requirement of baptism would be waived for Alvin [Joseph’s brother, who died before saving ordinances were restored] and others like him, or whether it would be fulfilled in some other way. Some Latter-day Saints recognized this gap in their knowledge. Joseph Fielding, for example, “thought much on the subject of the redemption of those who died under the broken covenant” and speculated that “perhaps those who receive the priesthood in these last days would baptize them at the coming of the Savior.”

But at the funeral of Seymour Brunson on August 15, 1840, Joseph Smith taught the principle that men and women on earth could act for their deceased kin and fulfill the requirement of baptism on their behalf. The Saints joyfully embraced this opportunity and began almost immediately to be baptized for departed loved ones in rivers and streams near Nauvoo.

Doctrine and Covenants 127 and 128 helped to clarify how ordinances of the dead should be performed.

Aside from knowing the historical background, the message for me as I read this was that each of us gains knowledge about the truths of God line upon line and precept upon precept, “[b]y kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:42). Our Father in Heaven is so merciful to each of us and wants for us to learn of Him and ultimately KNOW Him!! “And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:19).

I invite all who are interested in the Latter-day Saints’ history, whether Mormon or a friend of another faith, to peruse www.history.lds.org if even for a few moments! “Shall we not go on in so great a cause? … On, on to the victory!”

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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.

John White Curtis, Jr., (1859–1949) was born in Springville, Utah, to John White Curtis (1820–1902) and Matilda Miner (1840–1909). His parents married in 1855 in Springville, Utah, and had 14 children between 1858 and 1885. John White Curtis, Sr.’s, first wife was Elmira Starr (1815–1883). They married 1836 in Connecticut had 3 children between 1842 and 1846.

John White Curtis, Sr., joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently called the Mormon Church) in 1832.  Matilda was baptized in 1851.

Honored Mormon Pioneers

John White Curtis

Since past history is sure to indicate the general character of future families, this history will fall short of the very vital part of my parent’s lives. Nothing has been written of them until now, and I can only recall a small part of our family life. My parents were both pioneers and had to endure all the hardships of those days. Words fall short of expression of Father’s nobility and manhood. He had unusual foresight, used good judgment, and was always known as a fair dealing man. Both my parents were highly esteemed and their character is worthy of study for well-directed ideals.

My mother could remember the death of the Grandfather, Edmond Durfee by a mob. How it grieved her childish heart. She told how she lay counting the stars to make herself sleep. She well remembered walking across the plains, or carrying wood miles for their evening camp. Grandmother Tamma kept a jar of dry salt-rising bread meal ready for emergency needs. When they couldn’t have a fire, they had this bread to nibble on. Sometimes they soaked it in water so they might eat it. Mother often told of her white factory dressed dyed with blue. She told us of one little girl who traveled near in crossing the plains who had two pairs of shoes. When they came to thorny, rocky roads, this girl wore the best pair and let Mother wear the other until they came to better roads, then Mother trudged happily along. Mother walked across the plains when only twelve years old, and had no shoes except when the girl loaned her shoes to Mother.

My mother was born the 12th of January 1847 at Lima, Hancock County, Illinois, and was married in 1855. Her unwavering patience and sincere honesty are traits worthy of study by any person. To one who knew her casually, little note would be given, but to those who knew her innermost life, she is idolized as one among many. She devoted her all to those of her acquaintance and had a life of unusually hard toil and rough experiences.

Father had erysipelas of the bone and was very sick for two years, was never really well after this sickness, being somewhat crippled. Among experiences in these hard times, I remember helping Mother gather heads of grain in the fields that had been harvested. The hordes of grasshoppers which we always had to fight will always hold a place in my memory.

Memories of Indian Encounters

Our home life in Springville was quite adventurous because of savage Indians. They would steal our horses and cattle every chance they got. The women and children would all gather at one place at night and the men would stand guard. The squaws were bad to steal; they came often to our home and demanded food, etc., which Mother always shared.

I remember when I was very small my Father took me into the canyon with him for a load of wood. As we were leaving for home, an Indian stopped us and asked for a ride. Father let him ride but was rather uneasy, as then Indians were always treacherous. He had a rope under his blanket which he thought was well hidden, but we saw it and knew he was after something. He rode into the valley with us and disappeared. Hay was very scarce with us, so we had to turn our horses in pastures. The next morning, one of our horses was gone, and this Indian was later seen riding him.

On the 26th of June 1886, a band of these troublesome Indians stole horses from Spanish Fork and Springville pastures. They fled up Maple Canyon with our men in hot pursuit. As our men drew near they all began firing. One white man was killed and one seriously wounded. I was seven years old, and I remember they would not let me see either of the men they brought back. After this battle the Indians seem a little frightened and caused less trouble for a while. I loved the mountains, and being the oldest boy, my father usually took me along with him.

John’s Parents’ Polygamous Marriage

Times were very hard and my parents were poor, so we did any kind of work to get provisions and clothes. Father and his brother Ezra cared for the Utah County Coop sheep for two years. It took a great effort, as Father did his part with the sheep and went to Springville often enough to keep the farm going. His first Wife, Elmira Starr, stayed at home with part of the family, while my Mother went with, taking me and the baby girl. I was old enough to help some.

Both of father’s wives lived in the same house. They were very congenial and worked together on all problems. They were both fond of children and Aunt Elmira treated us as her own. We loved her, the same as we did Mother. They were both spiritual people and we were taught religion from our early youth. Father’s timely guidance with the firm cooperation of his wives are to be admired by all his children.

Settling Again

In 1877, when I was 18 years old, we moved to Willow Bend, now Aurora. Father took up land, and by extra hard effort raised a crop the first year. He went to the mountains and cut logs immediately, then moved his family from Springville. This first house was made by placing four poles in the ground and then making sides and a roof of willows. When winter came, we plastered the willows with mud to hold out the cold. We did our cooking on an open fire out of doors. Our furniture was limited. The chairs were made with rope, cane and leather, basket woven for seats. The beds were four posts beds, with rope for springs, and straw tick mattresses. Stools were commonly used for chairs. Later, the fireplace was a substitute for a stove, shelves were used for cupboards, and the roof was dirt covered.

Father traded one yolk of oxen to Mr. Coons in Richfield for water rights in the Rocky Ford Dam and Canal Company. I worked with father all my life until twenty-five years of age, helping him to support the family and get a start.

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.

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.

One morning we thought we would go and gather gooseberries. Father [John] Tanner harnessed a span of horses to a light wagon. And with his little granddaughter [Matilda], two Sisters Lyman [Matilda’s mother and Father Tanner’s daughter being one of them], and I, Father Tanner started out. When we reached the woods we told the old gentleman to go to a house which was in sight and rest while we picked the berries. It was not long before the little girl and I strayed some distance from the others, when we suddenly heard shouts. The little girl thought it was her grandfather, and she was going to answer, but I restrained her, thinking it might be Indians. We walked until within sight of Father Tanner, when we saw he was running his team around. As we approached we saw Indians gathering around the wagon, whooping and yelling as others came and joined them. When he saw us approaching, Father Tanner drove over and we got into the wagon to start, when four of the Indians took hold of the wagon wheels to stop the wagon, and two others held the horses by the bits, and another came to take me out of the wagon. I then began to be afraid, and asked Father Tanner to let me get out of the wagon and run for assistance. He said, “No, poor child, it is too late!”

I told him they should not take me alive. Father Tanner’s face was white as a sheet.

The Indians commenced to strip him of his belongings. They had taken his watch and handkerchief, and were trying to pull me out of the wagon. I began silently to appeal to my Heavenly Father. While praying and struggling, the Spirit of the Almighty fell upon me and I arose with great power, and no tongue can tell my feelings. I was as happy as I could be. A few moments before, I saw worse than death staring me in the face, and now my hand was raised by the power of God, and I talked with those Indians in their own language. They let go the horses and wagon, and stood in front of me while I talked to them by the power of God. They bowed their heads and answered yes in a way that made me know they understood. The little girl and Father Tanner looked on in speechless amazement.

I realized our situation. Their calculation was to kill Father Tanner, burn the wagon and take us women prisoners. This was plainly shown to me; but they were convinced by the power of God manifested through me, to change their minds. When I stopped talking, they shook hands with all three of us and returned all they had taken from Father Tanner, who gave them back the handkerchief, and I gave them berries and crackers. By this time the other young women came up and we hastened home.

The Lord gave me a portion of the interpretation of what I had said, which was as follows: “I suppose you Indian warriors think you are going to kill us. Don’t you know that the Great Spirit is watching you, and knows everything in your hearts? We have come out here to gather some of our Father’s fruit. We have not come to injure you, and if you harm us or injure one hair of our heads, the Great Spirit will smite you to the earth, and you will not have power to breathe another breath. We have been driven from our homes and so have you. We have come out here to do you good, not to injure you.

“We are the Lord’s people and so are you, but you must cease your murders and wickedness. The Lord is displeased with it and will not prosper you if you continue in it. You think you own all this land, this timber, this water, all these horses; why, you do not own one thing on earth, not even the air you breathe. It all belongs to the Great Spirit.”

Delisa Hargrove

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have moved 64 times and have not tired of experiencing this beautiful earth! I love the people, languages, histories/anthropologies, & especially religious cultures of the world. My life long passion is the study & searching out of religious symbolism, specifically related to ancient & modern temples. My husband Anthony and I love our bulldog Stig, adventures, traveling, movies, motorcycling, and time with friends and family.

William Greenwood was born March 4, 1819 in Heptonstall, Yorkshire, England, to William Greenwood I and Sarah Utley.

William I and Sarah Utley Greenwood

The elder William was a blacksmith by trade, but at an early age he got a spark in one of his eyes.  In trying to doctor it, he lost the sight of both eyes, so he never saw most of his thirteen children.  He and his wife Sarah, all of his children, and some of his brothers and sisters, joined the Latter-day Saint Church in England in 1840-41, and they emigrated to America.  Although William I was blind, he became quite handy at doing things with his hands such as making various articles of furniture, really specializing in good bedsteads.

The family came across the ocean on the ship “Tyrene” which landed at New Orleans, with Joseph Fielding as captain.  They settled first in Warsaw, Illinois.  It had been a long and wearing trip of about eight weeks on the ocean.  Before they could get adjusted to this new climate and conditions, they all came down with what was called “ague” fever and chills.  At times they were unable to help each other to get even so much as a drink of water.  Seven of the Greenwood family members died of this malady within nine weeks, including William I and Sarah, his wife.  They were all buried in or near Warsaw, Illinois.  It was said of Sarah by her daughter-in-law Ann Hartley Greenwood, “She was one of the best women that ever lived.  She had a strong testimony of the gospel, to which she testified as she sat up in bed just before she died.  She entreated her family to remain true to it.  She talked in tongues.”

William’s Life in England

William II (hereafter just referred to as William) must have grown up working in a clothing factory, as did so many of the children in that part of England, because as a young man he had become a steam loom overseer.  He met his wife, Ann Hartley, in the factory, as she too was a worker at the looms.  He was twenty years old and she was eighteen when they were married in 1839.

Soon after their marriage, he followed his wife’s lead in joining the LDS Church, and they came with William’s parents to America.  William had the ague along with the rest while they were at Warsaw, Illinois, and it left him so weak and debilitated that he couldn’t work at all for a year and a half.

Ann soon became so homesick that she thought she must return to England.  William was not in favor of this, so he would not cooperate with her in any way in making the arrangements for the trip back.  He did, however, return with her to England in 1843.  They found work again at the factory, but he was never satisfied or happy.  So, in 1846, he decided he would have to return to America to be with the LDS people, with or without his wife.  That must have been a sorry parting, as she decided to stay in England.  However, it didn’t take Ann long to decide that her happiness lay with her husband, so she joined him again in about 1848.  Upon his return to Warsaw, William had to accept work at fifty cents a day, as that was the going wage of the time.

William Obeyed the Word of Wisdom

William had grown up without any prejudice against the use of tobacco, tea, and coffee, and he was fond of all of them.  His new religion forbade the use of them.  He had embraced it in its entirety, so he was determined to take them out of his appetite and life.  It was a hard struggle for him, but he finally succeeded.  It is told of him that in the early days of his life in America when he went to work for a certain man, he was not offered any tea.  He went home disgusted, refusing to go back to work if they didn’t serve afternoon tea.

William and Ann Crossed The Plains and Then Were Called Settle the Desert

William Greenwood

William and Ann began making preparations to make the trek across the plains to join with the church members in Utah.  In May of 1852, they were ready to start, arriving in Salt Lake in November of that year.  They came with the Benjamin Gardner Company.  Ann had born four children previous to this time, but two had died and been buried in England, so they had two living.  Another son was born to them on the plains, and they named him William.

This little family had only been in Salt Lake three weeks, barely enough time to get rested after such a strenuous trip, when they were called by Church authorities to go to Cedar City to settle.  This meant another long hard trip into a very wild new region, and a great contrast to anything they could ever have imagined.  After several years of trying to overcome the adverse conditions in Cedar City, most of the settlers became discouraged and disgruntled.  They felt it was an impossible situation.  Many planned to go to California, but the Greenwoods wanted to stay closer to the center of the Church.

They had heard that there were good opportunities for homesteading in Millard County, so they took their ox teams and covered wagons and their children and set out in the winter month of February, 1856.  When they got as far north as Beaver Valley, they camped on the bank of the Beaver river.  They liked the area with its abundant supply of water, good supply of wood in the canyon, etc.  They continued north until they got as far as Wild Cat Canyon, a narrow place which they found blocked with deep snow so that they couldn’t get through.  They turned back and decided to settle in Beaver Valley.

The wagon box was lifted off of the wheels and it became their first home in Beaver.  They worked hard to plant grain, only to have it all spoiled by three weeks of rain after it had been cut.  Their scant supply of provisions had become completely exhausted, and they had to live on the milk from one cow, along with wild berries, roots, and greens which they could find in the wild.  William herded the town cows, barefoot all the year, wearing just buckskin pants which he had gotten from Indians.  Gradually, through using every bit of ambition, good management or sheer ingenuity which they could muster, they accumulated a few animals and were able to eke out an existence until things got somewhat better for them.

William built a log cabin and added on to it until there were three rooms.  Soon the Indians became a real problem, and they decided to move closer to other settlers, several miles north of their first location.  They first had a log house but later build a home of the native bluestone, and kept adding on until they had six rooms and an upstairs attic where their grandchildren would love to play in later years.

The Indians were still a problem.  One time, William was herding his sheep on the hills south of town when he was caught by a group of Indians.  They threw him to the ground and drew a sharp knife across his throat in a menacing gesture several times.  He didn’t cry out or show the fear he felt, so they relented saying, “Heap brave man no squaw,” and they spared his life.  The Indians tried several times to steal a lovely little gray mare which the Greenwoods owned, and finally succeeded.  After quite a bit of trouble, William got the mare back, after which the family decided to bring her into the kitchen at night for safe keeping.

In 1869, the Church called on William for a wagon and team to go east across the plains for immigrants.  It was decided that young Barney, the oldest son, should make the trip.  He was only sixteen and small, but he was responsible for his age.  It was a long and arduous journey of six months.  The Greenwoods had no thought but to answer the call, so while Barney was away, his father did two men’s work at home.

The Greenwoods, along with other families in the area, soon began to transport the goods that they could raise, selling them in other areas.  Later, the US soldiers took up residence at Fort Cameron, east of Beaver, and they purchased many things from the settlers such as eggs, milk, cream, straw, hay and grain.  So the standard of living began to increase.

Sometime during this period, William met an Englishman who had just come from the “old country.”  He had a red silk scarf which must have created a nostalgia in William’s soul, as he wanted it so much that he traded a little pig worth four dollars for it.  The scarf remained in the family as a cherished relic.

A Mormon Pioneer’s Final Days

After the death of William’s wife in 1897, he lived with his daughter Mary Ann for two years.  He was so pleasant and kind to his grandchildren that they always remembered him fondly.

As there was now train transportation to Milford, 30 miles west of Beaver, Mary Ann and her husband thought they would take a trip to Salt Lake in October of 1899.  They took William along with them and enjoyed the trip very much.  On the return trip, the train made a stop at Clearwater (or Clear Lake) in Millard County.  William was in a different car than Mary Ann and her husband, and for some unknown reason, he decided to get off the train.  It was dark and stormy and the wind blew his hat off his head.  He tried to follow and recover it, and while so doing the train pulled away, leaving him.  He started walking along the track until he met up with an employee of the railroad who quizzed him as to where he was going and found out that he was lost.  He asked the way to Fillmore, and the man pointed along the tracks.

Next morning, the employee heard the old man was missing.  He went out to look for him in the vicinity of where he had encountered him.  He picked up his tracks in the direction of the Sevier River, only to find that he had stepped into a low place along the bank, which had caused him to stumble and fall into about two feet of water.  Apparently he had been unable to recover himself, and so there he lay, drowned.  An inquest afterwards brought out this weird story.  His daughter and her husband knew nothing of his doings until arriving in Milford next morning, whereupon they started the investigation as to his whereabouts.  It was a tragic thing to have happen while he was still enjoying good health.

Truly William Greenwood was a man of deep and sterling qualities, never complaining of his adversity, but going ahead steadily against the greatest of odds, true to his faith and family.  No one could live more faithfully and nobly.

Delisa Hargrove

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have moved 64 times and have not tired of experiencing this beautiful earth! I love the people, languages, histories/anthropologies, & especially religious cultures of the world. My life long passion is the study & searching out of religious symbolism, specifically related to ancient & modern temples. My husband Anthony and I love our bulldog Stig, adventures, traveling, movies, motorcycling, and time with friends and family.

Mary became acquainted with Joseph Smith through introduction by her son David Whitmer. Joseph experienced strong persecution while translating the Book of Mormon, and the Whitmer family boarded Joseph, his wife Emma, and his scribe Oliver Cowdery.  Caring for the boarders as well as her large family became quite a burden for Mary.

During this time frame, Joseph, Oliver, and Mary’s sons discussed being shown the Gold Plates. Five of Mary’s sons became official witnesses of the Book of Mormon. They saw the actual golden plates.

The following account by Mary’s grandson John C. Whitmer in 1878 is Mary’s account to her sons and grandchildren about an experience she had one day, while the work of the translation was commencing.

I have heard my grandmother (Mary Musselman Whitmer) say on several occasions that she was shown the plates of the Book of Mormon by a holy angel, whom she always called Brother Nephi. (She undoubtedly refers to Moroni, the angel who had the plates in charge.)

It was at the time, she said, when the translation was going on at the house of the elder Peter Whitmer, her husband. Joseph Smith with his wife and Oliver Cowdery, whom David Whitmer a short time previous had brought up from Harmony, Pennsylvania, were all boarding with the Whitmers, and my grandmother in having so many extra persons to care for, besides her own large household, was often overloaded with work to such an extent that she felt it to be quite a burden.

One evening, when (after having done her usual day’s work in the house) she went to the barn to milk the cows, she met a stranger carrying something on his back that looked like a knapsack. At first she was a little afraid of him, but when he spoke to her in a kind, friendly tone and began to explain to her the nature of the work which was going on in her house, she was filled with inexpressible joy and satisfaction. He then untied his knapsack and showed her a bundle of plates, which in size and appearance corresponded with the description subsequently given by the witnesses to the Book of Mormon. This strange person turned the leaves of the book of plates over, leaf after leaf, and also showed her the engravings upon them; after which he told her to be patient and faithful in bearing her burden a little longer, promising that if she would do so, she should be blessed; and her reward would be sure, if she proved faithful to the end. The personage then suddenly vanished with the plates, and where he went, she could not tell.

From that moment my grandmother was enabled to perform her household duties with comparative ease, and she felt no more inclination to murmur because her lot was hard. I knew my grandmother to be a good, noble and truthful woman, and I have not the least doubt of her statement in regard to seeing the plates being strictly true. She was a strong believer in the Book of Mormon until the day of her death.

References:

Historical Record,” Vol. 7, p. 621

LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, p.283

B. H. Roberts, New Witnesses for God, Vol.2, p.125

Deseret News, 27 Nov. 1878, p. 674.

Delisa Hargrove

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have moved 64 times and have not tired of experiencing this beautiful earth! I love the people, languages, histories/anthropologies, & especially religious cultures of the world. My life long passion is the study & searching out of religious symbolism, specifically related to ancient & modern temples. My husband Anthony and I love our bulldog Stig, adventures, traveling, movies, motorcycling, and time with friends and family.

Ann Hartley Greenwood

Ann Hartley was born into the home of Bernard Hartley and Mary Beck, July 26, 1821, at Addingham, Yorkshire, England.  She had two sisters, Margaret and Martha, and three brothers, Barnard who died young, Joseph, and another Barnard.  Of her mother, Ann said, “She was a very good looking woman, having white pearly teeth and a rosy complexion.  She was a very good manager with quite a business sense.”

Her father was a clothing manufacturer near Burnley.  It was customary at that time for little children to be carried to work at looms in the factories at a very early age.  Ann related that she was carried on her father’s shoulders as soon as she was old enough to start work.  A never-to-be forgotten memory for her were the moaning cries of these little children being thus carried to work in the early morning hours. Ann grew up thus being kept busy with factory life until she became very adept at the looms, being able to handle three with the help of one little girl by the time that she was married.

Ann met William Greenwood who was a loom overseer.  As they grew very fond of each other, they decided to get married, which they did in 1838, when Ann was only eighteen years old.  Since they both went on working, it seemed expedient that they should live in Ann’s father’s home, paying board.

Baptism By Mormon Missionaries

About this time, Ann heard missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints preaching.  She was very much interested in it, and began leaving her home, alone, to hear more of the gospel message.  She was afraid to let her husband or family know what she was doing for fear they would not approve.  As was to be expected, her husband became curious, so he decided to follow her one evening to see what was going on.  He listened attentively to the message and became so interested that he began attending the meetings regularly with her.  Ann’s family hated to have Ann join the Church, and she was the only one of the family ever to do so.  She was baptized September 8, 1840, and William followed in June of 1841.

Joining The Saints In Illinois

William and Ann began making plans to go to America to be with the church members there. William and Ann arrived at New Orleans November 24, 1841, after a seven to nine week trip in the ship Tyrene. They settled in Warsaw, Hancock County, Illinois. Before they could adjust to the new climate, they all came down with the “ague” and were very, very sick for a long time.They found it hard to adjust to the new life, as living conditions were very hard.  Ann decided that it was just unbearable.  Her family had told her that if she ever wanted to return to them to let them know and they would send her the money for the return voyage.  She tried to talk William into writing to them to tell them of her desire to return.  He wasn’t in favor of the action, so wouldn’t write the letter.  She then went to another William Greenwood, a friend of theirs, and got him to write the letter for her.  The money was immediately forthcoming.

They returned to England in 1843, taking with them the little girl Martha who had been born in Warsaw.  This child died and was buried in Burnley in 1844.  Two other children were born to them here, Sarah and Foster.  Foster also died and was buried in the same place as Martha.

William was very unhappy back in England, so he decided he would have to leave Ann there, as she still wanted to stay, and return to the new land alone, which he did in 1846 or 47.  But Ann was not long in deciding that living with her husband was worth more than living in England without him.  She went to work and earned enough money to bring herself to Warsaw in 1848.  Their son Bernard was born in Warsaw in September of 1849.

Crossing The Plains

The Greenwoods began making preparations to cross the plains to Utah, and left Illinois in May of 1852. When it had come time for baby William to be born July 27, 1852, the family merely pulled off the road behind the wagon train and, with the help of some of the kind women, the baby came into the world.  That baby lived to be one of the healthiest and long-lived of the family, so everything must have gone well.

At one time, the animals became frightened and stampeded while Ann was driving. She had William shortly before and was not yet strong enough to walk by the wagon. She hung onto the animals, talking gently to soothe them down, until they finally continued on without any harm being done.  What a breathtaking experience for this factory maid from civilized England!

Settling The Desert

The Greenwoods arrived in Utah in November and soon were called to help settle Cedar City.  Their first year in Cedar City they lived in a sort of cave or dugout.  After several discouraging years in Cedar City, the family relocated in Beaver.  The first year in Beaver was very hard for them.  The only shoes Ann had were moccasins purchased from the Indians.  Her daughter Mary Ann wrote:  “Having no dress to her back, she wore what was called a sack, along with a quilted petticoat which she secured by making a quilt for a neighbor.  Ann went out doing washing or helping in any way when possible, but this was not often, as very few could afford such a luxury in that day.”

Ann had never had any experience in making clothing or doing housework before she was married, as she was practically raised at the loom in the factory.  She became very adept at all kinds of such work connected with raising a large family.  She was a very good cook and housekeeper, and she could make clothing in all its steps, starting from the sheep’s back to the finished product.  Mary Ann wrote,   “Clothing was extremely scarce.  It was not an uncommon thing for my mother to bathe her children on Saturday night and put them to bed perfectly nude while she sat up and washed and dried their clothes by the fire so they could have clean things for Sunday.”  The boys also sometimes ran around the house in their shirt tails while their trousers were being mended.  Even her husband had to go to bed when his trousers needed mending.

At this time, William and Ann had only one quilt for their bed.  It had worn very thin in the middle.  In desperation, they tore it in two so that they could each make better use of their piece, as they could tuck it in around their backs a little better.  They kept wood fires burning day and night, as wood was quite accessible, and it did help in keeping the biting cold away.

An interesting incident of this first year was of Ann walking a mile or so to an old fort to milk a teacup of milk from a cow that was about to go dry.  Her husband called her a fool for doing it.  However, the cow didn’t go dry; her milk came back, giving the family all the milk they needed, and it became their chief food.  Then her husband had to admit it hadn’t been foolishness, but extreme foresight and wisdom.

At one time, the family lived on potatoes and salt for three weeks.  They had not had a taste of bread all that time.  They went up to North Creek to gather bullberries at this time.  When Ann got out of the wagon to help gather the berries, she was so weak and faint from hunger that it was impossible for her to help gather any berries.  These bullberries were a great delicacy, heated up in their milk.  Hunger was the sweetener for the dish.  Bullberries were the only fruit they had for years.  They made many uses of them, such as drying them for storage and use all through the year.  In later days, they made dumplings of the berries with the other usual ingredients which gave a most delicious dessert.

Although their economic situation gradually improved somewhat, as late as 1863 when Ann’s baby Rachel was born, Ann could not provide a single piece of clothing for the baby to wear.  It was only through help from kind neighbors that the child had any clothing at all.  In 1861, when Titus had been born, Ann could only scare up two cotton diapers.

Every family in Beaver secured a barrel of molasses from Utah’s “Dixie” for the winter.  Except for an occasional bit of brown sugar, this was their only sweet flavoring.  Molasses candy combined with parched corn was their greatest delicacy.  Ann would make molasses candy loaded with cayenne pepper whenever a cold appeared among the children.

Eight of Ann’s children grew to maturity, and soon there were grandchildren.  They were always welcome in Ann’s home.  Cookies and apples in season were always on hand.  It was great sport to run and climb among the orchard trees and in the cattle corral and barn.  Most of all they loved to play in “Grandma’s Attic.”  They took picnics together and picked the yummy apples from the trees in the fall.

Ann was a dearly beloved mother with a sweet disposition.  She was a hard worker and a good example of the sturdy, long-suffering, patient pioneer woman of her day.  She was crippled up for many of the later years of her life so that she had to use a cane to get about.  She did much of her housework sitting and moving about on a chair.  She passed away in her bluestone house in Beaver on July 18, 1897, at the age of 76.

Delisa Hargrove

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have moved 64 times and have not tired of experiencing this beautiful earth! I love the people, languages, histories/anthropologies, & especially religious cultures of the world. My life long passion is the study & searching out of religious symbolism, specifically related to ancient & modern temples. My husband Anthony and I love our bulldog Stig, adventures, traveling, movies, motorcycling, and time with friends and family.