David Adolpheus Young and Elisabeth Vance GGGG Great Grandparents through George Sheppard

David Adolpheus Young: Click here for family search link
Born: 18 June 1772 Virginia, United States
Baptised
Died:10 October 1847 Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States
Burial: Click here for find a grave

Elisabeth Vance: Click here for family search link
Birth:17 October 1784 White, Tennessee, United States
Baptised
Death: 24 January 1847 Winter Quarters, Douglas, Nebraska, United States
Burial: Click here for find a grave

Conversion story:

Really don't know much about their conversion story, I assume they were baptized at some point as Elisabeth was buried at the winter quarters cemetery, and David was buried at Council Bluffs Iowa.  More research is needed on how or when they joined the church.

William Dix GG Grandfather through Devaun Dix

William Dix: Click here for Family Seach link
Birth: 29 September 1853 Aberdulais Cadoscton, Neath, Glams, So. Wales
Baptism: 1881
Death: 14 December 1928 Cedar City, Iron, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for Find a grave

Conversion Story:
     In 1881, William Jr. emigrated to Utah with Elvira and the children following a few months later.  Elvira’s parents and several relatives had been baptized into the “Mormon” church in the 1840’s and 1850’s.  Elvira herself was not baptized until five years after her marriage to William Jr. in 1879, and he followed and was baptized in 1881 after arriving in Utah.  What William and Martha thought of this, we do not know.  As far as religion went, apparently the Dix family, including William Jr., were associated with the “Independents.”  When William and Elvira’s family emigrated, it was said to be a tearful parting.  We do not have exact dates and places of William and Martha’s deaths.  According to what we do know, Martha died in 1882; she would have been about 60 years old.  William died in 1889 at about age 66.

Mary Davis GGGG Grandma and William Jones GGG Grandpa (Mary Davis's Son-in-law) through Devaun Dix

Mary Davis: Click here for family search link
Birth:14 Mar 1793 Llansamlet, Glamorganshire, Wales
Baptism: 16 April 1845
Death: 29 February 1876 Treboeth, Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales
Burial:

William Jones: Click here for family search link
Birth:1824 Carmarthenshire, Wales
Baptism: May 8, 1850
Death: 1875
Burial:


Conversion Story:
Although believers in Christ and the teachings of the Bible, the family did not belong actively to any church. They cared little for any kind of organized worship. In 1844, however, Joseph Davis (Son of Mary and Thomas) heard the gospel preached by his cousins, Hopkin and David Mathews. His skepticism turned to belief then to faith, and he accepted baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 22 September 1844, being then 25 years of age. He was followed the next month on 23 October 1844 by Jane, the oldest of Thomas and Mary's children. The following spring Mother Mary and the youngest daughter Elizabeth were baptized, Mary on 16 April 1845 and Elizabeth on 29 April 1845. Dan was baptized several years later, 22 February 1848. Father Thomas never did join the church nor did the majority of his children.

The family members who joined the church became very active. Joseph was ordained an elder in the priesthood in December 1844 by Elder Abel Evans and served as a local missionary. He was often called upon to administer to the sick and became the president of a large and flourishing branch of the Church in Swansea.

The Mathews remained in Treboeth although some of the children emigrated to Utah. In February 1852, Joseph Davis, his wife and son left Liverpool under the auspices of the Church’s Permanent Emigration Fund Company, traveling overland under the direction of Captain Abraham O. Smoot.

In Treboeth, the children continued to leave home and start homes of their own. The 1851 British census shows Thomas still working as a collier, but heading a much smaller family (only Thomas and Elizabeth remained at home).

Family records show that on 29 February 1876 Mary died at Treboeth Landore, apparently the area bordering the River Tawe between Treboeth and Landore. Thomas lived almost three years longer, dying at Treboeth on 7 November 1878.

And another version that ties to our ancestor Mary Mathews Jones:
     Mary Mathews was born February 1, 1828, Llangyfelach, Glamorgan County, Wales, to Thomas Mathews and Mary Davis or David.  She was the seventh child of eleven.  Both of Mary’s parents, Thomas and Mary, were born in the same county of South Wales in 1791 and 1793 respectively.  Their eleven children, four girls and seven boys, were born between 1814 and 1838.
The story of William and Mary Jones and their family seems to be tied to the Mormon missionary work in Wales.  According to a history of the introduction of the gospel into Wales by Richard L. Evans, the gospel was first preached in North Wales by missionaries from Liverpool in 1840.  The first branch in South Wales was established in March 1843 in a village near Merthyr Tydfil.  More branches were established and a new district based in Merthyr Tydfil was organized April 6, 1844.  This later became the Glamorganshire District.  It was at this time that members of the Mathews family began to be baptized.  The first to be baptized was Joseph, married son of Thomas and Mary Davis Mathews, born in 1819.  He was baptized in September 1844, and his older married sister Jane (born 1814) followed a month later.
The legendary Dan Jones and his wife arrived in Wales in early 1845, obeying a call from Joseph Smith before his death and greatly expanding the work in Wales.  At a general conference of the British Mission held in Manchester in April 1845, Elder Jones delivered a powerful testimony.  “. . . [H]e would speak of a nation renowned in his¬tory, one of the most ancient nations of the earth, who had never been subdued, and to whom he hoped to be instrumental in bearing the tidings of the work of God in the last days.  He enlarged on the characteristics of the Welsh people in a manner, and with eloquence, that told how ardently he loved his native tribe and his fatherland. . . . [H]e had now come in obedience to the counsel of the martyred Prophet, as a messenger to his native land, to bear testimony of the work for which his brother, the Prophet, had died, and which he had sealed with his blood.”
It was in this same month that Mary Davis Mathews and her daughter Mary Mathews became the next Mathews to join the church, being baptized on April 16, 1845.  Mary Davis Mathews was baptized by William Jones according to the early Swansea Ward records, and it is possible her daughter Mary was also baptized by the same man.  This is apparently not the same William Jones who later became her son-in-law, her daughter Mary’s husband, as that William Jones was not baptized until May 8, 1850.  More Mathews family members to be baptized in this time period include Elizabeth (born 1833), baptized two weeks after her mother and sister on April 28, 1845, and Daniel (born 1836) who was baptized on February 22, 1848, just before he turned 12 years old.  Thomas, the father, apparently did not join the Church.

Caleb Haight and Keturah Horton GGGG Grandparents through Devaun Dix

Caleb Haight Click here for Family Search link
Birth:28 August 1778 Amenia, Dutchess, New York, United States 
Baptism: June 7, 1842.
Death:6 June 1851 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
Burial:click here for Find a grave

Keturah Horton: Click here for Family Search link
Birth:28 May 1777 Amenia, Dutchess, New York
Baptism: June 7, 1842.
Death:18 November 1843 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States
Burial:click here for Find a grave





Conversion Story:
Isaac Chauncy, did not have very good health as a boy, so he was well educated and received special training for the ministry in the Baptist Church. He never officiated as a minister, but became a school teacher instead, and he was teaching when he joined the church in 1838. The other children were well educated as they were all blessed with worldly goods and good positions in the business world. Caleb was practicing as a lawyer in Monrovia, Cayuga County, New York, where they had moved in 1836. It was here that he and his family first heard the Gospel from Mormon Missionaries. It came as a startling and surprising message that Christ’s own church was again established upon the earth, and that a true living prophet was at it’s head. This was in 1838, just 8 years after the church was organized. Caleb and Keturah did not accept the new religion when they first heard it. Their son Isaac Chauncy and his wife Eliza Ann Snyder accepted it first. They were baptized in 1839, and Isaac Chauncy, his wife and baby daughter, Caroline moved to Nauvoo, Illinois to make their home with the Saints. Caleb and the rest of the family remained in Monrovia, the four older children were married and were raising their families. Caleb practiced law whenever his neighbors needed help in settling their legal difficulties. There was a small branch of the church in Monrovia, but its members were persecuted so badly that it had a difficult time to exist. In 1841, Caleb’s son, Isaac Chauncy, arrived in Monrovia where he had been called by his church to serve as a missionary. His first interest was his father’s family, so he worked with them; one brother, David had joined when he had been baptized, but there were others that he must bring into God’s Kingdom here on Earth. There were many converted to the church during this time of Isaac Chauncy Haight’s ministry in the town of Monrovia. Caleb, his wife, Keturah, his brother Hector Caleb, two sisters, Julia Ann Van Orden, and Catherine Adelia Curtiss and their families, a cousin, and many others were baptized in the little creek that ran through Monrovia, June 7, 1842.

Eliza Ann Price GGG Grandma through Devaun Dix

Eliza Ann Price: Click here for Family Search
Birth: 13 May 1833 Kington, Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom
Baptism:May 1850
Death:3 March 1911 Toquerville, Washington, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for Find a Grave site

Conversion Story:
We know very little about Eliza Ann Price other than what is on group sheets. She was born on May 13, 1833, in Kington, Hereford, England, which is very close to the border with Wales. Her parents were John and Mary Jane Johnson Price, and she was apparently the second or third of three daughters. DeVaun seemed to remember her mother (Hazel Haight) telling her that Hazel’s grandmother (Eliza Ann Price) was supposed to have been a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of England before she emigrated to Utah. DeVaun remembered Hazel saying how proud Eliza Ann was and how Hazel remembered brushing her grandmother’s long, long hair. We do not know how accu¬rate the lady-in-waiting story is or if it has been embellished over the years, but we know that Eliza Ann was baptized in May 1850 at age 17. She met Isaac while he was on his mission to England and probably immigrated with Isaac’s company of English saints. There is no information on our group sheets to suggest that any of her imme¬diate family joined the church or came with her to Utah. In any event, at age 20 she began her married life as one of two new wives to Isaac Chauncey Haight, and four days later the family moved to Cedar City.

Conrad Kleinman GGG Grandpa through Devaun Dix

Conrad Kleinman: Click Here for Family Search Link
Born:19 April 1815 Birkweiler, Pfalz, Bavaria
Baptized: Aug 26, 1844
Died: 12 November 1907 Saint George, Washington, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for find a grave site

Conversion Story:

After Conrad had purchased his own farm and married Elizabeth--she was also of German descent--Conrad was involved in farming and splitting rails together with John Conrad, his stepbrother. The baby they lost at birth was born in 1840. The mis-sionaries found the family, and after earnestly studying the gospel, Conrad was bap-tized by Domincus Carter on August 26, 1844.

Johann Martien Jochim Theodor Germer and Maria Catharina Elsabe Faasch GGGG Grandparents through Devaun Dix

Johann Martien Jochim Theodore Germer: Click here for Family Search link
Born: 4 January 1809 Lübeck, Germany
Baptized: 5 Feb 1854 near Hamburg, Germany
Died: 11 September 1889 Deweyville, Box Elder, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for find a grave site


Maria Catharina Elsabe Faasch: Click here for Familysearch link
Born: 4 February 1808 Lubeck, Lubeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Baptized: 5 Feb 1854 near Hamburg, Germany
Died:1 Dec 1876 Deweyville, Box Elder, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for find a grave site

Conversion Story:
So all I could find on this couples conversion comes from the profile on Familysearch from their daughter Johanna Catherina Maria Germer.  In her life history it states:
According to other sources, the 1851 German translation of the Book of Mormon cause a stir in the Hamburg area. Johann and his wife Maria were ready to listen to Elder Riser and Elder Garn when they arrived from England. Johann and Maria were baptized on February 5, 1854 and daughter Maria was later baptized on May 1, 1854. Mother Maria and the girls would take food to the missionaries while they were jailed. The rest of the family was baptized before they left for the United States.

Edward Payne GGGG Grandpa through Priscilla Payne

Edward Payne: Click here for Family Search link
Born: 31 May 1832 Warminster, Wiltshire, England
Baptized: 27 May 1854
Died: 27 March 1918 Glenwood, Sevier, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for Find-A-Grave

Conversion Story:
At the age of eleven years he was apprenticed to a gardener and worked about the neighborhood from place to place. He received no more schooling after this age. He worked at the St. Johns Episcopal church where the family went to worship. The Rector often talked with him about the salvation of his soul and the beauties of the Church. Edward asked him why the church was not like the Church he read of in the New Testament, and because the minister could not give him a satisfactory answer he became somewhat skeptical. When about sixteen years of age he went to work in a drug store as a clerk and obtained quite a knowledge of drugs and their uses. As he obtained his maturity he became restless and started out to see the world and soon found himself in the city of London seeking work, but with poor success. While at a rooming house he got into a conversation with a roommate about religion and expressed himself as a skeptic as he could not find any church to correspond with the one the Savior organized. His roommate asked him if he had ever investigated the doctrine as taught by the Latter-day Saints or Mormons. He replied that he never met any of these people. "Well," said his roommate, "if you ever have the opportunity find out what they teach, for they not only teach the doctrine of Christ, but they have the authority to administer in it's ordinances. I know whereof I speak for I was once a member of their church but lost my standing through transgression, but they are the true church." In the early part of 1854 he was working in the coal pits of Staffordshire, and learning that there was a branch of the Latter-day Saints church in the place, he attended their meeting and was convinced of the truth which they taught. He was converted with this first sermon and was baptized within a few weeks. His baptism occurred the 27th of May of that year, and on the 20th of June he was ordained to the office of an elder and began to labor as a local missionary. This first sermon was preached by George Powell, who later became his father-in-law. At the time Edward joined the church he was accompanied by his brother Charles who also joined but did not take an active part and after he married he drifted away from it's influence and his family was never taught the gospel. Edward was left the only representative of his family in the church, and after leaving home, never saw any other member of his family. After joining the church he went to live with the family of George and Maria (Mousley) Powell, their four daughters and one son.

George Powell and Maria Mousley GGGGG Grandparents through Priscilla Payne

George Powell: Click here for Family Search Profile
Born:14 April 1814 Benthall, Shropshire, England
Baptized: 2 June 1849
Died: 3 February 1893 Glenwood, Sevier, Utah, United States
Buried: Click here for Find-a-grave link

Maria Mousley: Click here for Family Search Profile
Born: 25 March 1819 Aldridge, Staffordshire, England
Baptized: 30 May 1849
Died: 4 June 1903 Glenwood, Sevier, Utah, United States
Buried:Click here for Find-a-grave link

Conversion Story:  I added an excerpt about how the finally all met up in Utah
In 1849, a Mormon eider named George Hill converted and baptized George and Maria into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. Maria was baptized May 30, 1849, and George on June 2, 1 849. George preached the gospel and held open air meeting and his daughter Emma helped him with the singing and distributing tracts. George worked in the coal mines and in the iron foundry. By 1 863 work in the mines was slow and the men had a hard time earning a living as they only worked part time. Emma’s husband, Edward Payne, went to America to work in the coal mines there and left his family with George and Maria. When George’s employer learned of this, he was angry and notified George that he must either turn Emma and her children out of the house or be turned out himself. Emma went to the boss and he agreed to keep George at work if she left the house. This she did, leaving her oldest son George with her parents. A few months later, George accompanied his daughter Emma and her children and some other families on the journey to America, leaving his wife and family in England. They landed in New York on Christmas day, 1863. He then went to work with Edward in the coal mines of Fallbrook, Pennsylvania, and saved all he could to send for his family. In the spring of 1864, he borrowed some money to help bring Maria and children from England. She had been working night and day at her profession as a seamstress, trying to support the family and save for the emigration. Maria and children and her daughter Ann with her husband James Price and children left York in the middle of June, in charge of Patriarch John Smith. Elder Joseph A. Young, son of President Brigham Young, had charge of the emigration business at New York, and notified all the saints that the Emigration Fund Company had made arrangements to take care of all who cared to go right on to Salt Lake City. They were encouraged to go right on to Utah because of the Civil War. Maria Powell and James Price and others of the family who were coming from England held a council about the matter and finally decided to go to Zion instead of to Pennsylvania. Maria used this expression in giving her opinion on the matter: “For fourteen years we have prayed for the Lord to open the way for us to go to Zion, and now that it is open I feel that we should go.” They wrote for the other family members to join them and go to Zion. After much deliberation, those in Pennsylvania decided that was the best plan, but in order to carry it out, someone would have to remain and work in the coal fields to repay the borrowed money. Edward agreed to stay on condition that George Powell and James Price would take care of Emma and the children until Edward could join them. George and Emma and party traveled by rail to St. Joseph, Missouri, where they took a boat up the Missouri River to Florence. Nebraska and then joined Maria and James and Ann Price and families who had traveled straight from New York to the pioneer camp grounds in Omaha, Nebraska. They stayed here for some time preparing for their journey across the plains. While at the camp grounds, Maria supervised the making of tents and wagon covers. Here she sprained her ankle and was unable to walk, so she had to ride most of the way across the plains. It is said she had erysipelas and after arriving in camp and making a fire of buffalo chips (which were gathered as they traveled along), Maria was buried to her knees in the ground to take out the inflammation. Still, there was something she could do. While Emma mixed bread, and James cooked, and others built fires and fixed camp on the plains, Maria washed all the children and combed their hair. The family was assigned to the Company of Captain Joseph S. Rawlin’s train which was partially loaded with freight. They were assigned to the wagon of William Coleman. All the earthly possessions of fifteen people (George, Maria and three children, James and Ann and three children and Emma and four children) were loaded on top of a part of a load of freight. (There was such a large emigration that year--nearly three thousand saints-that it was necessary to load part of them on the freight train.) George Powell, at age 50, walked all the way across the plains. Two of his little grandsons died on the journey, and a baby granddaughter was born. After hard and toilsome journey, he and Maria and family arrived in Heber City, Utah, on September 23, 1864. They accompanied their teamster, William Coleman there, leaving the rest of the wagon train near Parley’s Peak. They lived in a log school house for a few days, and in a stable for a few days while a log room 1 4 feet square was prepared. All three families moved into this - fourteen people in one room - for a time. George had the duty of providing for both his own and Emma’s family that winter, which was a severe one. The snow was six feet deep on the level. With the help of his son, Charley, and his grandson, George, he provided all the fuel they used by digging the sagebrush out of the snow, tying it in bundles, and carrying it home on their backs. He and James found some employment among the farmers. The stream froze, the flour mill could not run and there was little flour in the valley. They lived for weeks on boiled wheat. They had salt, but no sugar or milk to go with it. In September, 1 865 Edward arrived in Utah and took over the care of his family, relieving George of that responsibility.

John Buchanan III and Nancy Ann Bache GGGGG Grandparents through Priscilla Payne

John Buchanan: Click here for Family Search profile
Born: 11 January 1786 Ráth Mealtain, County Donegal, Ireland
Baptized: 23 March 1835
Died:1839 Lima, Adams, Illinois, United States
Buried: Click here for find-a-grave link

Nancy Ann Bache: Click here for Family Search Profile
Born:23 February 1790 Lexington, Fayette, Kentucky, United States
Baptized:September 1835
Died: 8 August 1884 Manti, Sanpete, Utah, United States
Buried: Click here for Find-a-grave link

Conversion Story:
In 1834 early Mormon missionaries taught them the gosple. 14 year old Emmeline (thier daughter) was the first baptized in February 1834; John was baptized 23 March 1835; Nancy Ann and daughter Jane and her husband were baptized in September. Eventually the entire family joined. They soon joined the Saints in Caldwell County, Missouri and suffered the violence and mobbings there. John Buchanan was one of the 56 elders arrested with the Prophet Joseph in Far West and taken to Liberty; after several weeks he was released with most of them and was driven with his family from Missouri to refuge in Illinois.

Elizabeth Partridge Tillotson GGGGG Grandmother through Priscilla Payne

Elizabeth Partridge Tillotson; Click here for Family Search profile
Born: 15 April 1814 Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States
Baptized: Shortly after 1833
Died: 4 February 1892 Springville, Utah, Utah, United States
Burial:Click here for Find-a-grave


Conversion Story:  From her own Journal

One day while still living in Ohio, I met Edwin Whiting. We fell in love and were married September 21, 1833. Shortly after we were married, we learned of a new religion, fathered by Joseph Smith. We were so impressed by the principles and teaching set forth by the Prophet Joseph Smith, we joined the Latter Day Saint Church and received a testimony of its truthfulness. So strong was our faith, we left our home and moved to Kirtland, Ohio. During my early church association, I received numerous letters from my family, particularly from my sister Polly, who criticized me for accepting the Gospel and joining the church. If only I could impress upon them the truthfulness of the Gospel. Polly wrote that the Book of Mormon had originally been written as a novel but that certain men felt that it would have greater sales as a religious work.

Elisha Whiting GGGGGG Grandpa through Priscilla Payne

Elisha Whiting: Click here for familysearch profile
Born:17 December 1785 Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Baptized: Sometime after 1837
Died: 21 February 1848 Mount Pisgah, Union, Iowa, United States
Burial: Click here for find-a-grave link

Although technically not interred in Nauvoo, Elisha and his wife Sally were forced out of Nauvoo, and died on the trail at Mt Pisgah.
Conversion Story:
In 1837 the Gospel was brought to the Whiting family. Sally was the first to unite with the Church. Elisha had listened with interest and had not objected when his wife wished to be baptized, but not starting out in obedience to the Gospel when first led to believe, he afterwards allowed the daily lives of some who were called to be saints, but had not yet overcome all evil, to hinder him. So in his family for some time there was a division on the subject of religion and life was not pleasant for his wife Sally, but her faith was steadfast and her prayers were heard, for when after a time Elisha became very ill and the doctor had given him up to die, he had become speechless, could not swallow and the death hiccoughs had set in. Sally bent over his pillow and asked him if she might send for the elders. He could not speak but managed to nod an assent. She sent for them. They prayed God to heal him if it could be His will. Ere their prayer was ended, the hiccough ceased. When they lifted their hands from his head he asked for a drink of water and was able to swallow the water they brought him. From that moment his recovery began and in a few days, not being willing to wait longer for what he felt he should have done long before, he was carried in his chair to the creek and was baptized by immersion for the remission of his sins.

Mary Lewis GGGGGGG Grandmother through Priscilla Payne

Mary Lewis: Click here for Family Search Profile
Born: 3 April 1763 Lee, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States
Baptized: Oct 1830
Died:6 March 1835 Clay, Missouri, United States
Burial: Click here for find-a-grave 

The Story of Mary Lewis is amazing.  She and her family were one of the first members of the church, and I would not be surprised if she was the first person baptized with Lamanite blood in this dispensation.  Her great Grandmother was an Indian woman who's name was running deer.  

Conversion, 1830 The Hulets, had heard that a man named Joseph Smith found a book written by civilized people who once lived in the Americas. Sylvester Hulet, Mary's thirty year old son, traveled 175 miles from Ohio to New York to learn about The Book of Mormon in January of 1830. He was in New York right after the first books were printed and someone sold him a copy. He was really excited because in those days the books were very scarce because they only printed a few the first time. There, in March, Sylvester was baptized, a month before the Church was organized. He took The Book of Mormon back with him for the family to read as they sat around the fireplace in the evenings. They listened while it was read, and it struck their hearts. One day Joseph Smith and Parley P. Pratt came to their door and asked if they could come into their home and have a meeting. They were invited in. Joseph told them how he got the Book of Mormon from the Angel Moroni, and as he talked, his eyes shone and he had such a spirit about him that they knew he was speaking the truth. In October of 1830, when Oliver Cowdry, Ziba Peterson, and Parley P. Pratt went to Ohio as missionaries, the Hulets were baptized: Sally, now forty three; her mother, Mary Lewis Hulet, age sixty seven; and Sally's siblings: Charles, Charlotte, and Rhoda. (Mary Lewis Hulet was a widow when she was baptized. Her husband, Sylvanus Hulett, had died six years earlier.) Elisha (Sally's Husband) did not join the Church at this time. The Hulets were one of the very first families to join the Church. They never forgot the great experience of Joseph Smith bearing his testimony to them and bringing them the truth.


Running Deer Appears to descendant

Mary was left without either of her parents when she was only nine years of age. When a researcher asked Sylvanus Hulet if the Hulets/Howletts had any Indian blood in them, his reply was "not a drop." [from: The Hulet Quarterly, September 1971]. Other family stories indicate that Mary Lewis was descended from an Indian woman named Running Deer.
Quoting from a letter from Orvill Cox Day dated February 7, 1967 comes the following:

"July 6, 1966, I got Running Deer's name from cousin Clare Christensen; he got it from cousin Howard R. Driggs, now dead. He from his grandmother, Emeline Whiting Cox who died in 1895; she was the first wife of F. Walter Cox of Manti. Emeline from her mother, Sally Hulet Whiting who died about 1846 in Iowa; she from her mother, Mary Lewis Hulet. Also apparently, on her way from Massachusetts to Ohio, Sally seems to have visited with her Mohawk Indian relatives about 1811, in northern New York. Mary Lewis was great grandaughter of Josnorum Scoenonti or Running Deer.

July 16, 1966, at 4:30 a.m., she visited me; I was awake. She said she was appearing as she looked at age 18 just before she married a white man; tall, athletic, beautiful, and very appealing; wearing yellowish-brown buckskin, beaded moccasins; leggings - ankles to waist; dress, shoulders almost to knees. She said she was converted; wants temple work done; then go to happy paradise and learn the gospel thoroughly, then return to her people, helled and damned from progress, as a savior on mount Zion. Had been a choice spirit in heaven; asked permission to be born to the family of Lehi that she might bring salvation to them.

July 30, got the name Josnorum Scoenonti from Utah's representative in Washington, D.D. He got it from the Indian dictionary - for Running Deer.

Oct 6, got permission for her temple work to be done.

 I suppose she will try to convert her own family, first and then they will help us to find their genealogy. The prophet Joseph said, "The greatest responsibility the Lord has laid on this people is to seek after our dead." Seek means search and that means research or genealogy." Signed, Orville Cox Day

Albert King Thurber GGG Grandfather through Priscilla Payne

Albert King Thurber: Click here for family search profile
Born:7 April 1826 Foster, Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Baptized: 1 Sept 1849
Died: 21 March 1888 Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah, United States
Buried: Click here for find a grave link


Albert's story is great, here is an excerpt from his personal journal recording his conversion.  He was in a company traveling to California for gold, and here is what happened:


Conversion Story:
IN GREAT SALT LAKE CITY

 Arrived in Great Salt Lake City, July 19, 1849. As I was riding along the street I spoke to an aged man. "Well," says he, "We are glad to see you if you did drive us out of Missouri," which was all Greek to me as I knew nothing of Mormons or their history. I had gone to see John W. Hess on the road as a Mormon curiosity—I found him calm, confident in regards to getting ahead, although he said, "I cannot move from where I am until I get another yoke of oxen. I studied much on this man's assurance, while almost all others were filled with discontent and uncertainty. I also saw Eph Hanks and Lamoreaux at Green River Ferry. It was reported that they would steal from us and we must watch close, but they treated us like gentlemen. I saw Hanks lasso a horse and considered it quite an exploit. In passing through the streets in Salt Lake, I talked with a number of men and was astonished to find them possessed of an unusual amount of general information, astonished, for I had imagined them to be a class of ignorant dupes with a few smart men as leaders, who made a good living out of the many after the spirit of the world. 14 Autobiography of Albert King Thurber We went down onto the banks of the Jordan River and camped. I did not feel satisfied and went and saw Bishop Smoot and got the privilege of pitching our tent in the old fort and moved up that night. It was after dark when we got camped and after we all got settled, I turned around to a man, whose name I since learned to be Willie Norton, and asked him the question of what kind of God do you Mormons believe in? He replied, "In a God with a body, parts, and passions, who can see, hear, walk and talk—an exalted being." I felt thunderstruck and humiliated at this answer. It seemed that I ought to have known all this without asking. I could see immediately that the Scripture bore out this assertion. I talked with this man until 10:00 o'clock, went into the tent and told my comrades that whenever they got ready to leave, they might do so, but that I was going to learn something more about these Mormons before I left. I assisted them to get ready to leave. Captain Weber was continually saying that we could not divide or draw out my share of property to 1 1/2 mules. I told him we could arrange it and when they got ready to start, I said to Edgely and Creighton that they had been my friends, that they needed all the animals they had to insure their safety to California and that I would give them my interest in the stock, and in order to pay off Weber for some stunts about me about means, I made provision that he was not to have the use of them. We parted after they, my friends, gave me a number of articles that they did not wish to take with them, among which was an overcoat from Edgely, $25.00 in Boston, which afterwards was of great benefit to me. They also gave me an order to take what articles that they had put into ox teams which a member of the company had bought and hired a stranger to drive to California. The team went the Fort Hall route and the man proved an honest man, as I had sent all articles that I thought I should not need via Cape Horn, I found myself with a fine black coat, one pair of pants, two flannel shirts, and a pair of turned pumps which about constituted my wardrobe, but no money. I went to work immediately for Benjamin F. Johnson and in company with Jacob D. Burnham, cut and threshed with a flail, 11 acres of grain at Mill Creek, just below Gardner's Mill.

STUDIES AND ACCEPTS MORMONISM

 Mormonism was my study. The plurality of wives revealed itself to me while cradling wheat and on another 10 acre lot from where we were working I saw some one lay their hands on the head of James Holman, and although I had never thought or heard of such a thing before, I immediately understood the principle and what it was for. I worked hard for $20.00 per month, camped out, used to get milk from Gardner's and while after some, heard Brigham Young's name mentioned for the first time by Abigail Gardner. I studied much for two weeks about Joseph Smith being a prophet. Thought a prophet must be something super-human. As long as I viewed it in this light my mind was cloudy. At last, I began to reflect if it would not be perfectly consistent with God if he wanted a prophet on the earth, to get as good a mortal as he could and endorse him with all the qualifications necessary. I then looked back to the old prophets and saw that they were mortal men. I secretly prayed for a knowledge of the right way and soon my mind was satisfied in regard to the Kingdom of God and the duty of honest men toward the Kingdom. Here, my separation from my parents and friends, my promise to my mother in regard to returning home in twelve months and my promise to myself years before, to do as near right as I knew how, had something of a warfare, until one day, I said to Burnham that I wanted him to baptize me. He said he was willing, but, that there was order in the church and he would have to speak to his Bishop, Hickenlooper, about it. This was Saturday. On Sunday, September 1, 1849, I was baptized by Jacob D. Burnham and confirmed by Burnham and Hickenlooper and B. F. Johnson, who was mouth and prophesied on my head that which has since come to pass. On the Autobiography of Albert King Thurber 15 24th of July, I joined the celebration and thought it as pretty a scene as I had ever beheld as the 24 young men and women, came into the Bowery, singing "We are the True Born Sons of Zion." I was much pleased with the whole proceedings and had found a religious society who believed in natural enjoyment. The next Sunday heard Parley P. Pratt preach on the progression of men

Jesse Wood Berry and Armelia Shanks GGGG Grandparents through Priscilla Payne

Jesse Wood Berry: Click here for Familysearch profile
Birth:9 January 1791 Albemarle, Virginia, United States
Baptism:
Death:3 August 1844 Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States
Burial: Click here for find a grave

Armelia Shanks: Click here for Familysearch profile
Birth: 24 January 1804 Lebanon, Wilson, Tennessee, United States
Baptism:
Death:10 January 1893 Richfield, Sevier, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for find a grave

Conversion Story:
Jesse was a cattleman, and they were also farmers. They were some of the first settlers in Tennesee, and they had to clear acres of land. Armelia was very busy with her large family. Her son John William first heard of the gospel in 1842. The whole family, except their oldest daughter, Adeline, joined the church and were baptized in 1842. Adeline refused to go with them when they sold their belongings to go to Nauvoo, and Armelia never saw Adeline again. It was a big sorrow to Armelia. Her husband and sons herded their cattle from Tennessee to Nauvoo. They arrived six weeks after the Prophet Joseph Smith was killed. It was a great sorrow to them that there was so much unrest and persecution all around. They truly were converted to the Gospel and never regretted joining the church. Another great sorrow came when her husband died with chills and fever on the 3rd of August 1844. He is buried in Nauvoo.

Robert Christian Shimmin GGGG Grandpa Through Priscilla Payne

Robert Christian Shimmin: Click here for Familysearch link
Birth: 6 February 1824 Kirk German, Isle of Man, England
Baptism: 9 Jan 1845
Death:23 May 1901 Monroe, Sevier, Utah, United States
Burial: Click here for Findagrave

Robert Christian Shimmin was a young man of sixteen years when he first heard of the "Mormon Missionaries". He listened intently as they explained the beauties of the Gospel, as was taught by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, while he walked among men here on the earth. He pondered it in his heart, and studied it thoroughly in his mind. He accepted the truth that the missionaries taught and was baptized in the "Salt waters of Douglas Bay" on the 9th of January 1845. He had been raised and taught to be a spiritual person and it was easy for him to understand what he had been taught by the missionaries from America.

Thomas Clucas and Eleanor Peel GGGGG Grandparents through Priscilla Payne

Thomas Clucas: Click here for Family Search link

Birth:05 July 1801 Isle of Man, England

Baptsim: Before 1840?

Death:23 Nov 1878 Lebanon, Missouri

Burial:Click here for Find a grave link

Eleanor Peel: Click here for Family Search link

Birth:1801 Braddan, Isle of Man

Baptism: Before 1840?

Death:March 1876

Burial:Click here for Find a grave link

Conversion Story:
After the first child was born to Thomas and Eleanor in Cumberland County, England, Thomas decided to return to his beloved Isle, with Eleanor and the children. At this time, the young Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was sending missionaries to England and they found the family of Thomas and Eleanor Clucas, and taught them the truths of the Gospel. The mother, Eleanor, and the oldest daughter, Hannah, became baptized members and were among the first to accept the Gospel on the Isle. Because of the success of the missionaries in finding ready listeners to their message, among the honest in heart of the islanders, the leaders of other religious organizations for they were loosing members to this new church. The Following article was printed in the "Manx Liberal" newspaper on Sunday, 31st January 1840: "SiR---I feel rather surprised and chagrined that the modern delusion, viz., MORMONISM. should have made such rapid strides in this town... numbers continually flock to the Wellington Room, and listen with eagerness to the principles there advocated. The members of our Society (Methodists) seem to be most conspicuous in sanctioning and promoting this vile and abominable doctrine. Oh, Sir, the result to our connection will be dreadful! The havoc is tremendous; just think of the majority of our leading and intelligent men siding and abetting a cause of this description!! Oh, Sir, lamentable and heart rending to witness the beaming countenances, and smiles of approbation displayed recently at Taylor's meeting. I could enumerate a host of our members who regularly attend those anti-Christian meetings. Oh, Me Editor!! I quake for the consequences; such a wholesale conversion to mormonism was never before witnessed in any town or country. What will become of our Society? What will become of our class meetings? What will become of our Brethren in the faith? But Mr. Editor, what makes the case worse is that a rumor is prevalent that all these pious men are to be BAPTIZED. That is, duly immersed in the salt water of Douglas Bay, by that ABOMINABLE CREATURE Taylor!!! Surely there must be somthing enchanting about the vile man, (my hands shake while I write) and in winter too!! Oh, Sir, the thought chills my very soul; surely this American dipper intends to drown them; he can have no other object in view, therefore, Brethren of the Methodist Society, beware!! Drowning is not to be envied, and that, too, in our sins. Besides, what would the venerable John Wesley, (if he were alive), say to such conduct? What will the Conference say" And what will the world say?" A Staunch Wesleyan....

James Buchanan Porter and Elizabeth Slaughterback GGGG Grandparents through Priscilla Payne

James Buchanan Porter: Click here for family search profile
Birth: 4 Aug 1805 Buffalo, Pennsylvania
Baptism: 15 July 1842
Death: 17 April 1873 Mt Pleasant, UT
Burial: Click here for Find-a-grave

Elizabeth Slaughterback: Click here for Family Search Profile
Birth: 20 Feb 1800 Derry Township, PA
Baptism: 15 July 1842
Death: 20 Jan 1894 Salina, UT
Burial: click here for find-a-grave

Conversion Story:

David Alma Bennett and Johanna Lovell GGGG Grandparents through Priscilla Payne

David Alma Bennett: click here for Family Search Profile
Born: 16 June 1801, Steuben, New York
Baptism: Unknown
Death: 28 Jan 1853, Pleasant Grove, UT
Burial: Click here for Find a grave link

Johanna Lovell: Click here for Family Search Profile
Born: 22 July 1803 Middletown, New York
Baptism: Unknown
Death:18 September 1856
Burial: Click here for Find a Grave link

Conversion Story:
Little is written or known about the conversion of the Bennetts.  Which is odd because from the documents I have found, they were one of the first 100 members of the church.  The earliest mention of them is a particular night of persecution when David was pulled from his sick bed and beat.  Then he was shot in the head (the bullet grazed his scalp).  This happened in 1833 in Jackson Co. Missouri, so it can only be assumed that the Bennetts were baptized before that time.  For the full story click here.  David Bennett was a captain of 50 that came across the plains in the James Pace Company.  You can read about his journey here.  But again sadly there is nothing that I can find about his conversion.

Samuel Claridge GGG Grandpa Through Priscilla Payne

Samuel Claridge: Click here for FamilySearch profile
Born: 5 December 1828 Leighton Buzzard, Bedford, England
Baptism: 5 June 1851
Death: 11 September 1919 Thatcher, Graham, Arizona, United States
Burial: Click here for find-a-grave profile

Conversion Story:
Here is a clip of an image from Family Search.  I didn't want to type out his story, but if you have time to read his whole sketch, do so.  It is awesome. 

Here is his 1st person testimony.  It is long, but such an amazing witness of Joseph Smith, A witness of what it was like to be called into Polygamy, and interesting thoughts about when he is called to be judged, he hopes Abraham is there.

We have been greatly blessed in our family. My wife has had nine sons and six daughters. One son was killed coming down the mountain with a load of lumber which was a great trial to us, the only death we

have had and we have never had a doctor to any of our children as long.

as they lived at home, although we have had seven down with diphtheria

and at another time we had seven down with the measles and at another

time, two down with small pox. My children have all been taught from

their childhood to have faith in the anointing with oil and administering

to the sick and the Lord has always heard our prayers and we got

through all right but then mother was a good doctor and used all means

at her command and had great faith and courage and my wife though not

a strong woman, never had a doctor but once and that was of very short

duration. Myself up to this time have needed no doctor for which I feel

grateful to my Heavenly Father for His protecting care that has been

over me. Know as I do of the prejudice that almost universally exists

against the people called Mormons and knowing the prejudice produced by false statements and misrepresentations I ask the kind reader to lay

down his notion (if any he has) and go with me a short time while I ask

a few questions and make a few statements that have come under my observation during the last 60 years of my life , I am now nearly 82 years of age and knowing it will be but a short time before I shall be leaving this earth as far as I know. For the benefit of my fellow creatures. I have been a member of this church for nearly 60 years and I have either embraced the faith or had my eyes blinded and following a delusion all these years. I will admit it was a sweeping declaration when

Joseph Smith declared he saw the Father and the Son when he was between 14 and 15 years of age· and they told him the sectarian world was all wrong and to unite with none of them. He made such a plain statement of this manifestation that one would think that if there was a ray of hope to establish the fact, that God lived and revealed to His Beloved Son that the whole world would be delighted after so many ages of darkness wherein there has been no such sign given direct from the great Creator of Heaven and Earth and the great blow it would be given to the skeptic and infidel to know there was a God that lived and that His Beloved Son the Redeemer of the world who did once come to the earth and become the Redeemer of the world and to now have all doubt removed with regards to the Jewish Scriptures , to know that He was the same God of Abraham,

Isaac and Jacob and all of the Prophets I say again if this Truth can

be established, the doubt and uncertainty with regards to the true and

living God would all be swept away, no more sectarianism, No more heathenism and infidelity, no more worshiping the works of mankind but all be brought into unison of worship the only one true God, the maker of Heaven and earth. Now kind reader I want you to go with me while I try to establish a few facts to prove that Joseph Smith did actually see

and commune with the Father and the Son, had there not have been any

subsequent events transpire after this manifestation, seeing he was

only a youth, we might have been left in doubt, suspicious without any

further testimony but he says the Son told him if he was faithful the

Lord would make him an instrument in bringing about a great and marvelous work and after awhile an Angel would visit him and make known to him the true G0speL Now the question is, was that promise fulfilled, now Joseph Smith positively declares that an Angel did come to him and talked and communed with him most of the night; giving his instructions and portrayed before his vision where certain Gold Plates were hid up in the earth not far from his father’s house. Next day he went to the place, met the Angel there and saw the plates with his natural eyes and told him to meet him there for four years in succession at the end of which they would be delivered into his hands. The Angel told among other things that these plates contained the true Gospel as was taught by the Saviour when on earth. Now I have not time to go into all the details, you can get them in other books but I just want to ask a few

questions. Then the Angel first visited him he was not 18 years of age,

uneducated farmer boy. Now I ask the question, is it reasonable to suppose that a boy at that age could make up such a program and carry it

out systematically and so successfully, all so straight forward, agreeing

in every particular with the Scriptures and that without the aid or

subjection of any individual on earth? How he must have had it all planned and laid out at this time. Now the plates are translated, the next step, he must organize the Church or before this must have eleven honorable men beside himself to testify to all the world that they had seen and handled the plates and now before the Church is organized he discovers there is no one on the earth who has authority to officiate in

the ordinance of the Church and it must come from cane from above,

then he brings in John the Baptist who had authority- to baptize the

Saviour with the Aaronic Priesthood, to confer it upon him so that he

could Baptize for the remission of sins. Then he asked Peter, James

and John whom the Saviour gave the keys of the Kingdom, to come and

lay their hands upon his head that he might have the same power to

give the Holy Ghost to those who were baptized. Now he has to organize

the Church exactly after the same pattern that the Saviour gave, with

Apostles, High Priests , Bishops, Seventies etc. Now the prophecy must

be fulfilled and Israel must be gathered and there must be a place to

gather to and here I will build a new Jerusalem and establish the Zion

of Our God upon the earth and have a people so educated and prepared

to meet the Saviour when He comes in the clouds of Heaven. But before

this takes place I must have a Temple built and have Moses confer upon

me the keys of the gathering of Israel. I must have Elias confer upon

me the Patriarchal order of the Gospel as conferred on Abraham and

then I must have Elijah as spoken of by Malachi, confer upon the keys

of the Restitution in turning the hearts of the fathers to the children

and the children to their fathers and here I must have baptism for

the dead and temples erected to officiate for the same. Now I ask the

question again, is it possible for a boy 14 years and six months old to

commence making his arrangements and then the next step to declare

that the Angel spoken of by John should bring the everlasting Gospel

to the earth, did really come and give him instructions concerning the

great program before him and in connection with other Heavenly messengers and even from the voice of his Heavenly Redeemer himself he went forth with that faith and confidence, until today we see the great

structures reared and the perfect organization of which is admitted by

all well informed people and now there is no man on earth (this least

of all churches) that ever did pretend to say that they assisted him

in getting up this organization or dictated one line in the Book of

Mormon or Doctrine and Covenants. Of course they assisted him in writing but he did all the dictating and he declared that all his knowledge

and information were given him by the angel from Heaven and gift

of the Holy Ghost. Mormonism is a reality from beginning to end. There

has nothing been hid, it has all been open and above board, nothing

clothed with obscurity and deception and every thing partaking of the

spirit of truth and righteousness. Now what is the result of all  these

items of which I have been speaking (with many other things) which,

were revealed unto him from Heaven before he was 25 years old. Now if

he is an imposter he must have been successful in blinding the

eyes of his aged father and mother, his nine brothers and sisters also

Martin Harris who furnished him money and Oliver Cowdery, who wrote while he translated month after month and then the Whitmer family where he finished his book, five honorable sons and a good father who gave board and lodging free and then told one of the sons in connection with the others that he should have the privilege of seeing the plates which he declared he did when on his dying bed I ask you again, does it look reasonable that only 18 years of age he could have carried out such deception without being detected, from 1820 to 1830?  The very part of his giving the dates when the angel appeared and told him to meet him there for four years in succession, then the plates were to be delivered into his hands, this would have given him away if it did not take place but his father, mother and family knew positively that he had the plates and some of them had the privilege of seeing and handling them.  Now as I said, we will look at results of all these manifestations that were given at that early day.  The church was organized when he was a little over 24 years of age with Apostles, Prophets, the Seventies in their order, the Elders, High Priests, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, these were all organized after a perfect pattern given him by revelation which has never been changed from that day to this.  Could an imposter get up anything so perfect?  The gathering of Israel, another item; this principle is demonstrated before the eyes of the whole world and the grand object was set forth why they should gather.  One was that they should build temples and he declared that Elijah that was to come in the last days did lay his hands upon him an confer upon him the authority to officiate in these temples for those who died without hearing the Gospel.  Has this been fulfilled and carried out?  Where can the people ever expect to see a more literal fulfillment of the prophet Isiah.  Here is the great Temple in Salt Lake City among the tops of the tops of the mountains and people from every nation under Heaven have gathered unto and received their blessings there in and million of our kindred an friends have been officiated for.  I myself have officiated for many hundreds of my friends and have had so many manifestations from them that my labors have been accepted by them, as well as hundreds of others.  I will here testify that I have lived with this people for nearly 60 years and a more honorable, honest and virtuous God fearing people can not be found anywhere.  Of course we are not perfect and there are some as in all other communities who do not do as well as they should.  The Gospel that we have received is the Gospel of peace and good will to our fellow men and the command was given to Joseph Smith at the very beginning to send forth Elders to all nations of the earth which has been carried out from the time and today we have 2,000 out at an expense of one and one half million to two million dollars a year.  Leaving their parents, wife, and children at a good sacrifice and what for? For the love of the souls of men.  I ask you the question the Saviour asked, “Do men gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles”? Now let me ask my old Methodist friends and all others to cease circulating these lying reports because when you do so you are fighting against God and His Truth and it does seem to me as I said at the beginning, if there was a key of hope to establish the fact that our Heavenly Father and his Beloved Son had again communed with men on earth as well as the angel from Heaven, it should be sought after with the most earnest desire to ascertain the truth of the same.  

But says one, Mr. Claridge, your principle of polygamy spoils it all, for if he was such a good man how could he feel justified in telling men it was their privilege to have more wives then one as this is one of the great weapons that our enemies bring up to fight Mormonism with.  Bear with me while I explain a little, tis true we do believe that Joseph Smith did have such a revelation give to him but in as much as this Government has passed a law to prohibit it, we have complied with that law to the very letter and expect to.  I will here say that I have a great deal of charity for our opponents bringing up this question knowing that all the Christian world for so many generations past have been raised under the one wife system it so naturally comes in contact with former traditions and bringing up.  I put it o myself, how would I feel if I was a boy to see my father bring another wife into the family.  I should naturally rebel notwithstanding I was taught by my mother that the Bible was the word of God and that Abraham and others were among the best men that ever lived and the special favorites of Heaven, I would skip that all over.  My tradition would not allow me to do that what they did and now let me say when the revelation was first give to Joseph Smith, it was one of the greatest trials of his life.  I remember at one time talking to a brother by the name of Benjamin Johnson who was a confidential friend of Joseph Smith and he said Brother Joseph came to him one day when he was working and said to him “I am in trouble” he then told him that the Lord had commanded him to take another wife.  On the same principle as the Lord had commanded Father Abraham and he said “I have put it off and put it off knowing how it would come in contact with the feelings of the people and the great trial of their faith it would be, but now just recently an angel of the Lord stood before me with a drawn sword in his hand and said if he did not go forth and obey that command he would be cut off and another one would be put in his place.  Under these conditions he went forth saying he would do the best he could.  When he mentioned it to Brigham Young, Brigham made the reply “Joseph, if you can excuse me I would rather take my valise on my back and go preach the Gospel the remainder of my days”.  Now we ask, what was the object in the Lord giving such a command, please read the 132 section of the Doctrine and Covenants and that will explain it. 

         Now I will give a little of my experience, the principle was explained to me in this way; there are two particular objects the Lord had in view with many others.  The one is to bring about ta more perfect way of living.  The human family have been degenerating for many generation sand the Lord has designed to give laws that will establish a system to bring about that lineage that has been lost and that will be done by men and women governing their passions and feelings and live in every way according to the principles of charity, cleanliness and to bring forth children that will be better developed in every way.  Another grand object is this, there are millions of noble spirits in the spirit world who are anxiously waiting to take bodies through channels that are pure and uncontaminated and the more such bodies prepared, the greater rejoicing there ins in the spirit world.  There were other pure principles that were taught me by the Apostles of the church and said it was one of the most sacred principles that had ever been revealed from Heaven, and could not be trifled with in the least.  Without bringing the displeasure of the lord upon me under these conditions, I took me a plural wife and one asked did you not have difficulties, yes the greatest I ever had in my life and when the great day of reckoning comes and the books are opened and you see what men and women passed through to keep the commandments of the Lord, you would never more persecute the polygamist but the Lord said those that enter into it with pure motive, they should be visited with blessings and they should have a testimony to the truth of the principle.  Fortunately for me I had one of the most patient noble hearted wives who knew this was the work of the Lord, and under a conscientious sense of her duty, she consented for me to take another wife and has acted a noble part in helping me to carry it out but was it not a trial to her? Indeed and she shed many a bitter tear but she prayed to her Heavenly Father to give her strength to over come and her prayers were answered and she was a mother to my second wife an her children and gained the victory over herself and has gone to her Eternal rest some 25 years ago. 

My second wife Is the mother of nine sons and six daughters, thirteen of which are raised to man and womanhood, eleven of them married an living close by, all of them respectable men and women, all raising large respectable families.  I never had a doctor in my life not to any of my family as long as they lived with me, and a more healthy robust lot of men and women would be hard to find in one family and we are not ashamed of our polygamist family.  All comfortably situated in life but today I stand a monogamist in the eyes of the law and would be fined and imprisoned for doing today what I did 45 years ago.  Now I am nearly 82 years of age and most likely I shall be ushered into the presence of the Great Judge of all the earth, that cannot look upon sin with any degree of allowance and now seeing I have committed a crime so heinous before the eyes of the nation, the penalty of which is fine and imprisonment, what will be my situation when I receive my sentence from the righteous Judge.  I am in hopes that Father Abraham will be there, maybe he will help me out a little, and way I think that I shall stand as good a chance as some of our most prominent law makers who never had courage enough to take one wife and then the rest of them (or nearly so) who do take a wife do shirk the responsibility large families, one or two is sufficient and the unnatural causes that are exerted to, to prevent offspring coming into the world, why should we complain at the commandments to better these conditions and no greater testimony could have given that the Mormon people are actuated by a God like principle in carrying out the first great commandment given to Father Adam, to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. 

 

         Now the other great weapon that is brought forth to prejudice the minds of the people is the Mountain Meadow Massacre.  You will find all the particulars of this sad event plainly set forth in a little tract already published but as I was living at that time and familiar with all the circumstances connected with it.  I will just write a few words and will say it was a most shaky affair and was a great trial to all the Mormon people,  Before it happened, word came to Brigham Young that the Indians were very mad on account of some of the company shooting some of the Indians and poisoning their spring which they did a short distance from where I lived and there was a great danger of blood shed.  President Youn sent a man immediately on hose back with a message to the people 300 miles away, not to let the Indians bring any calamity on the people, not to touch a hair of their heads.  I was at the guard house when the messenger came.  He had orders to spare no horse flesh, night or day but to go with all speed possible.  We gave him the best horse that could be found and he made the 300 miles in almost incredible time but the day before the deed was done and disgusted by all the people an lamented by all the brother Brigham Young when he heard it, cried like a child.  There were two or three Mormons who acted unwise, they were tried by a Mormon jury and one was sentenced to death and was shot.  When our enemies circulated the report the Brigham Young was the instigator of it, they tell that which is false.  Now all this took place over 50 years ago and why is it that our oppressors will continue to magnify those old rusty weapons before the minds of the people to work upon their blind sympathy to oppose the work of the Lord.

         Now in conclusion let me say to all my old Melodist friends and all others, cease circulating those lying reports for when you do so you are fighting against God of Heaven and great will be your condemnation.  Look at all things as reasonable men and if you can not see the principles of Mormonism to be true, don’t try to prejudice others, for as I said at the beginning, it is worth our most earnest consideration to have it proven that God our Eternal Father doth live and His Beloved Son and have been seen again in open vision.  It is something that expects the interest of the whole family.  Knowing as I do of the prejudice that exists almost universally against the people called Latter-Day Saints and knowing that prejudice is produce by fake statements and misrepresentations, I ask the kind reader to lay aside his preconceived notions (if any he has) and go with me a short time while