Monday, June 12, 2006

Jane Richards and the Iowa Crossing

From "Church History in the Fullness of Times" Institute Manual, pg 319:

Jane Richards made the trek across Iowa late in 1846 without her husband, Franklin D. Richards, who was on his way to England. Franklin D. Richards was a high priest who would be called into the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles three years later. Jane's little daughter, Wealthy, was ill and died at Cutler Park after weeks of incredible suffering. Sister Richards wrote one incident of the story:
"A few days previously she had asked for some potato soup, the first thing she had shown any desire for for weeks, and as we were then traveling, we came in sight of a potato-field. One of the sisters eagerly asked for a single potato. A rough woman impatiently heard her story through, and putting her hands on her shoulders, marched her out of the house, saying, 'I won't give or sell a thing to one of you damned Mormons.' I turned on my bed and wept, as I heard them trying to comfort my little one in her disappointment. When she was taken from me I only lived because I could not die."

2 comments:

Ashlee said...

What is up with you Mormons anyway???? So preachy all the time....you think you've got such important things to say....

Oh wait...I'm one too, huh??? Well then...that changes everything doesn't it???

Cameron said...

Preachy? I just copied something from a book that copied it from the journal of the lady who lived it. :)

I think stories like this one serve many purposes. It reminds us as LDS of the struggles and faith of the early Saints. It really sucked to be a Mormon in those days. On good days, they were reviled and despised. On bad days they were tortured, raped, and murdered. It truly was a "refiner's fire". We are the legacy of those that made it thru the fire. I think it's important to remember that.