Idling Away their Time

 

I doubt I’m sharing news when I state that Brigham Young was not a big fan of Idlers. For those caught idling, what did he do (at least on one occasion)?

a.                  Put the men to work in his orchard

b.                  Put the men to work in the tithing yard

c.                   Volunteered their services to the Relief Society

d.                  Called them on missions

 

Yesterday’s answer:

(b)   Spreading plaster

David Whitmer was anxious to bring Joseph and Emma from Harmony, Pennsylvania to Fayette, New York so that Joseph could finish the work on the translation of the Book of Mormon. To do this, David needed to finish some of the work on the Whitmer farm. David records the following:

   I did not know what to do. I was pressed with my work. I had some twenty acres to plow, so I concluded I would finish plowing and then go. I got up on the morning to go to work as usual, and on going to the field, found between 5 and 7 acres of my ground had been plowed during the night. I do not know who did it, but it was done just as I would have done myself, and the plow was left standing in the furrow.

Hyrum M. Smith, and janne M. Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenant Commentary (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1923), 73.

 

Back in the days of Joseph Smith, farmers added plaster to the soil to cut down on the soils acidity. Again, David Whitmer was required to spread the plaster before moving Joseph and Emma. When David went out to the fields he noticed that the work had already been done. He hunted down his sister and asked her if she knew who had spread the plaster. The following conversation took place:

   . . . Surprised, she said, “Why do you ask me? Was it not all sown yesterday?”

   “Not to my knowledge,” answered David.

   “I’m astonished at that,” replied is sister, “for the children came to me in the forenoon, and begged of me to go out and see the men sow plaster in the field, saying, that they never saw anybody sow plaster so fast in their lives. I accordingly went, and saw three men at work in the field, as the children had said, but, supposing that you had hired some help, on account of your hurry, I went immediately into the house, and gave the subject no further attention.”

Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1979), 136-137.