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Brigham Young scheduled a conference at Kanesville, Iowa from Dec. 24-27th,
1847. The main order of business was to set in place a prophet to lead the
church. On December 23, a day before the conference, Brigham Young did what?
a.
Sent a
proclamation to the world
b.
Dressed up as
Saint Nick for the children
c.
Handed out treats
to the children
d.
Practiced in a
choir that would provide the Saints with the holy songs of Christmas
Yesterday’s
answer:
(D) Come,
Come, Ye Saints
The first Christmas in the valley [Salt Lake] was one
of thanksgiving and prayer. Supplies and food were scarce. Most of the people;
lived in the Old Fort. The weather was mild which helped the men continue
building homes and completing other outdoor tasks. It also helped relive some
of the intense suffering these pioneers were experiencing. While there were no
gifts as we have today, some tried to provide a modest toy or article of
clothing for the little ones to show that Father Christmas, or St. Nicholas,
had found them in their new desert home. Everywhere there was a spirit of
helpfulness and sharing.
An elderly lady, who was a young girl on that
Christmas day in 1847, told the following story. Though her name is unknown,
her account is repeated over and over.
“I remember our first Christmas in the valley. We all
worked as usual that day. The men gathered sagebrush, and some even plowed, for
though it had snowed, the ground was soft and the plows were used nearly the
entire day. Christmas came on Saturday. We celebrated the day on the Sabbath
when all gathered around the flag pole in the center of the fort and there held
a meeting. What a meeting it was! We sang praises to God; we all joined in the
opening prayer, and the speaking that day will always be remembered. There were
words of thanksgiving and cheer; not an unkind word was uttered. The people
were hopeful and buoyant because of their great faith in the work they were undertaking.
After the meeting there was hand shaking all around. Some wept with joy. The
children played in the enclosure and around a sagebrush fire, and that night we
gathered and sang ‘Come, come ye saints, no toil nor labor fear, but with joy
wend you way.’ That day we had boiled rabbit and a little bread for dinner. Father
had shot some rabbits, and it was a feast. All had enough to eat. In the sense
of perfect peace and good will, I never had a happier Christmas in all my life. That was the Christmas of
’47.”
International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Museum Memories (Talon Printing: Salt
Lake City, 2011), 3: 216.
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