Don’t Come if . . .

George Teasdale

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Apostle George Teasdale stated not to come to the temple if the Saints were doing what?

a.                  Not paying tithing

b.                  Not attending their meetings

c.                   Not obeying the word of wisdom

d.                  Wearing the fashions of the world

Yesterday’s answer:

A   The Lion house

Such endowments for the living had been first administered in Joseph Smith’s Red Brick Store in Nauvoo in 1843 and shortly thereafter in the Nauvoo Temple. They were later bestowed in the Salt Lake Council House and in the Endowment house. Neither place, however, was considered a true temple, and both were mere stepping-stones to something greater. Speaking at the dedication of the Council House, Brigham Young admitted such when he declared, “It is absolutely necessary that we should have a temple to worship the Most High God in. A Tabernacle is to assemble the multitude for meetings but a Temple is to gather the priesthood in that they may do the work of the Lord. . . . Is there a place prepared to go and redeem our dead? No there is not. We give Endowments here, but it is like trying to step on the top round first. . . . We do these things until we have time to build a Temple.”

“Which is the Wisest Course,” The Transformation in Mormon Temple Consciousness, 1870-1898. Richard E. Bennett, BYU Studies Vol. 52, No. 2, 2013, 20.

Endowments Given Outside the Temple

Washington D.C. Temple

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What one place mention below was the endowment not ministered to the Saints?

a.                  The Lion house

b.                  The Red Brick Store (Nauvoo)

c.                   The Council House (Salt Lake City)

d.                  The Endowment house

Yesterday’s answer:

C   Food and money

From the life of William Kemp:   On another occasion after Bro. Kemp and wife had arrived in America, they experienced hard times in common with their co-religionists. One evening when Bro. Kemp was returning home, after having hunted all day for work, he heard a man being refused a night’s lodging at the house of a neighbor, and when the same stranger a few minutes later met Bro. Kemp and asked him for lodging, he was told that if he would walk a mile with him he could share his bed with him. The stranger accepted the offer, and upon entering Bro. Kemp’s house, they engaged in a conversation about gospel principles, on which the visitor seemed to be exceedingly well posed. The stranger also discovered that the family were in very poor circumstances, in fact almost destitute of food. The stranger left the house early the next morning, but about 8 o’clock he came back with a wagon load of victuals and unloaded the same at the house of Bro. Kemp. The mother then made breakfast and as the stranger sat down to eat, he began to pull money out of his pockets, and toss coins on the floor for the children. He seemed to have money in every pocket. After the meal, the man left, but prior to his doing so he was asked to give his name. He simply replied that he just went wherever he was sent, upon which the stranger mysteriously disappeared.

Jenson, Andrew, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jensen History Company, 1914), 2: 660.

The Mysterious Visitor

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When a mysterious visitor asked to stay the night with the Kemp family, he left the next morning leaving what?

a.            A Book of Mormon and pamphlets

b.            His blessing on the home and family members

c.             Food and money

d.            A team of oxen and a wagon

Yesterday’s answer:

B   He friended members of the LDS church

       From the life of Hamilton Henry Kearns:   First Bishop of the Gunnison Ward, Sanpete county, Utah, was born Sept. 17, 1817 in Brown county, Ohio, the son of Matthew Kearns and Mahala Frazier. His father being a United States trapper, the family resided in the woods most of the time. They moved to Iowa, where the senior Kearns opened a carpenter shop on the Des Moines River, and while resident there he befriended the “Mormons” who at that time were fleeing from persecution to the West. On this account the enemies of the saints called him a Jack Mormon, and he was subjected to considerable persecution on that account. In the meantime he studied Parley P. Pratt’s “Voice of Warning”, became a convert to “Mormonism” and was baptized in 1849.

Jenson, Andrew, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jensen History Company, 1914), 2: 555.

Jack Mormon

Hamilton Henry Kearns

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Why was Hamilton Henry Kearns called a Jack Mormon by his Iowa neighbors?

a.                  He was a less active member of the Church

b.                  He friended members of the LDS church

c.                   His nickname was Jack, and he was a Mormon

d.                  He was a persecutor of the Saints
Yesterday’s answer:

C   The desolation of the Salt Lake Valley

From the life of Isabella Siddoway Armstrong:   They left Florence June 7, 1860, in Capt. Daniel Robinson’s handcart company, which arrived in Salt Lake City Sept. 27, 1860. Isabella, who walked nearly all the way across the plains, gives the following brief account of the journey and her early experience in Utah: “The journey being longer than we expected, our clothing, shoes and provisions grew very scanty long before we reached our destination. Our shoes were so badly worn that at night, after a long day’s walk over the rough ground, I would have to pick the pebbles from my little brother’s torn and bleeding feet, as well as my own. When we were near Laramie, Wyoming, our provisions grew very short, so much so that each person was rationed to one-half pound of flour a day. Sister Hannah Lapish, one of the members of our company, had some jewelry she had brought from England with her. She took it to a trading post, and exchanged it for seven hundred pounds of flour, which really relieved our want until we were met by a relief party at Green River, sent out by President Brigham Young, with 2500 pounds of flour and 500 pounds of bacon which lasted us until we reached the Valley. We were very fortunate in only having one death during our journey, and that being a little child. After arriving in Salt Lake City, we looked upon the then almost barren country, and compared it to the green fields and comfortable homes we had left in old England. Was it any wonder that we were heart-sick and disappointed with our new surroundings!

Jenson, Andrew, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jensen History Company, 1914), 2: 484.

“Heart-sick and Disappointed”

Isabella Siddoway Armstrong

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These were the words of 1860 handcart pioneer Isabella Siddoway Armstrong. What was she heart-sick and disappointed about?

a.                  The Book of Mormon

b.                  Brigham Young

c.                   The desolation of the Salt Lake Valley

d.                  The attitude of the young men in her company

Yesterday’s answer:

A   Follow the law of the land and not practice polygamy

From the life of Henry Reiser:   He was arrested under the Edmunds law, Aug. 24, 1886, on charge of unlawful cohabitation and on Sept. 17, 1887; by advice of his attorney he then withdrew his plea of not guilty and pleaded guilty. When Judge Zane asked him if he had anything to say before sentence was passed, he replied that he had eighteen souls depending entirely on him for their support, and that about a year ago he was robbed of about $800 worth of watches; hence he was pretty well reduced in means. The judge asked if he would promise to obey the law in the future. Elder Reiser replied that he could not give any such promise conscientiously. He was then sentenced to six months imprisonment and to pay a fine of $300 and cost of suit, the latter amounting to $43.

Jenson, Andrew, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jensen History Company, 1914), 2: 425.

Religion More Than Money

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Henry Reiser was given the chance to benefit monetarily if he would only “conform.” What was he being asked to conform to?

a.                  Follow the law of the land and not practice polygamy

b.                  Not join the Latter-day Saints

c.                   Not go on a mission

d.                  Denounce his faith

Yesterday’s answer:

D   Natives

A similar senseless act of violence occurred in an 1864 company that included Jane Rogerson Ollerton and her family. Jane did not know that she was pregnant when her journey began in England, and while walking from Nebraska to Wyoming, she was unable to eat, and her health deteriorated rapidly. In Wyoming, walking behind the wagon driven by the company captain, she became faint and grabbed the back of the wagon for support. William Warren, the company captain, turned and saw her holding onto the wagon and used his bullwhip to whip her and ordered her to move away from the wagon. Jane, starving and sick, and now whipped by the company’s captain, collapsed and died a short time later. The apparently unsympathetic company moved on and left the Ollerton family to bury their mother. With the help of friendly Indians, a burial was accomplished, and the next day the Indians helped the family reach the wagon company. Only a few members of the grieving family remained with the LDS Church after reaching Utah.

Violence and Disruptive Behavior on the Difficult Trail to Utah, 1847-1868, David L. Clark (BYU Studies, Vol. 53, Number 4, 2014), 96.

Unexpected Help

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When Sister Jane Ollerton died on the Mormon Trail in Wyoming the company she was traveling with told the family that they had to keep moving and for the Ollerton family to take care of the burial. Unexpected help for the Ollerton's came in the form of who?

a.                  The Three Nephites

b.                  The next wagon company

c.                   Elders on their way to their missions

d.                  Natives

Yesterday’s answer:

B   Everything he was wearing was made from material on his own farm

From the life of William Morgan Clyde:   At an early 24^th of July celebration in Springville, William arrived in town dressed in clothing from his own farm. His hat was braided of wheat straw by Eliza. His shirt was of flax spun and woven by his clever wife. His trousers, which had been made by Eliza, were wool from his own sheep. His shoes were made from the hides of his animals, tanned by William himself. Thus, William Morgan Clyde was judged the “Best Dressed Man.” It was aid by those who know them that industry marked the long and useful lives of William Clyde and Eliza McDonald Clyde.

International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Museum Memories (Talon Printing: Salt Lake City, 2011), 3: 237-238.

The “Best Dressed Man”

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At an early Pioneer celebration in Springville, Utah, William Clyde Morgan won the “best dressed man” award. Why?

a.                  He put out $100 for the shoes and suit he was wearing from a New York City store

b.                  Everything he was wearing was made from material from his farm

c.                   Everything he was wearing was made from material from Springville

d.                  Everything he was wearing was from Europe

Yesterday’s answer:

A   Increased mortality rates during heart surgeries

From the life of Russell Marion Nelson:   Elder Nelson had an experience that bore powerful testimony to him of the Lord’s intervention in his professional endeavors. In the early stages of open heart surgery, the mortality rate was extremely high and each operation required a heavy time commitment—sometimes even days with one patient. In 1964 he was called to be a stake president and was troubled about having adequate time. Elder Nelson said that in setting him apart, Elder Spencer W. Kimball “specifically blessed me that our mortality rates with aortic valve surgery in particular would be reduced, and that no longer would the procedure be the drain on my time and energy that it had been in the past. The following year, the time demands of the operation did decrease . . . [and] our mortality rates went down to where they are today—at a very low and acceptable, tolerable range.”

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 531.

The Prophet’s Promised Blessing

President Russell M. Nelson

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At the time Spencer W. Kimball set apart Russell M. Nelson as a Stake President, what did President Kimball promise him?

a.                  Increased mortality rates with heart surgeries

b.                  That he would be sustained to be the President of the Church

c.                   That he shall never want

d.                  That he would perform surgery on a Prophet

Yesterday’s answer:

A   Walking out of an elevator in the lobby of the Hotel Utah

While attending the October general conference in 1950, Brother Stapley stepped out of an elevator in the lobby of Hotel Utah and met President George Albert Smith, who said, “you are just the man I’m looking for.” Without even retiring to the privacy of an office, the prophet called him to be an apostle.

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 487.

It’s Where he was Called to be an Apostle

Elder Delbert Stapley

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Where was Elder Stapley when he was called to be an apostle in 1950?

a.            Walking out of an elevator in the lobby of the Hotel Utah

b.            Walking through Temple Square

c.             At a BYU/Utah football game

d.            While vacationing in Hawaii

Yesterday’s answer:

B   John A. Widtsoe

From the life of John Andreas Widtsoe:   “He followed no well-worn road, he had no early advantage. He came to earth in an inconspicuous place, on a rocky island among fisher folk on a winter night, with the wind adding its cold and comfortless sounds to the breaking waves of the North Sea. It was little expected that he should live. He was born with his hand attached to his head, and a crude operation had to be performed.”

The baby described in these words of Richard L. Evans was John Andreas Widtsoe, and the place was the Isle of Froyen, Norway. To add to his early disadvantages, John’s father died when the boy was six, and at about the same time his mother became a near outcast by espousing a strange religious sect known as “Mormonism.” But because of her newly found faith and her indomitable desire to improve the opportunities of her two sons, she set sail for America, the land of abundant resources.  

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 453-454.

Birth Complications

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Which member of the Quorum of the Twelve was born with his hand attached to his head and required surgery to separate?

a.                  Marvin J. Ashton

b.                  John A. Widtsoe

c.                   Amasa M. Lyman

d.                  L. Tom Perry

Yesterday’s answer:

A   Borrowing the man’s horses to dig a canal

From the life of Abraham Owen Woodruff:   Brother Woodruff had great and kind ways to deal with his fellowmen for their betterment. While living in the Big Horn Valley, his friendship brought a man who had fallen away from the Church to renewed activity and repentance of all vices but  one—profanity. One day while the Saints were working on a canal, Brother Woodruff asked this man if he could borrow his team for a few days. The man agreed, and Elder Woodruff worked with the horses on the canal. Returning the animals, he told the brother, “I’ve driven them three days. They’ve worked fine, and they haven’t heard a word of profanity.” To this the repentant brother promised, “And they never will again from me.” Brother Woodruff’s point was well and diplomatically made. The man kept his resolve and, thanks to this tactful apostle, became a prominent bishop in the area.

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 424-425.

Swearing Getting the Better of Him

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Abraham O. Woodruff was able to work with a non-member man, cleansing the man of all of his vices but one, profanity. How was Elder Woodruff finally able to get the man to stop swearing?

a.                  Borrowing the man’s horses to dig a canal

b.                  A swearing jar

c.                   Counseling

d.                  Giving him a temple recommend

Yesterday’s answer:

B   His corn bread for their cake made from crickets

From the life of Moses Thatcher:   Although he was only four years old when the members of the Church were driven from Nauvoo, the memory of the fear and terror of that exodus remained with Moses Thatcher throughout his life. The rigor of crossing the plains in the second pioneer company and of being “hungry for an entire year” after reaching the Salt Lake Valley likewise impressed the growing boy. His father’s family, with many others, augmented their meager food supply with sego roots and “cut thistles.” At the age of seven, Moses was given the responsibility of caring for grazing sheep. He recalled how hungry Indians would catch a lamb and hold it hostage until the young shepherd would agree to trade his cornbread lunch for their cake made from crickets.

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 399.

Holding the Lamb’s Hostage

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The Natives would hold the lamb’s hostage that Moses Thatcher was watching. To release the lambs back into his care, Moses had to trade what with the Natives?

a.                  His apple pie for the lambs

b.                  His corn bread for their cake made from crickets

c.                   His ammunition for the lambs

d.                  His watermelon for their cricket jerky

Yesterday’s answer:

D   Joseph Smith

From the life of Orson Pratt:   Unfortunately, in Nauvoo Elder Pratt and his wife Sarah were deceived by the slanderous lies fostered by the apostate John C. Bennett, and in 1842 they were excommunicated from the Church for rebellion. When Orson realized that Bennett had deceived him, his shame and despair were so great that he even considered suicide. But the prophet Joseph Smith extended his love and forgiveness to this grief-stricken brother and his wife and rebaptized them himself. Brother Pratt was restored to his former position as one of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 372.

Orson’s Return to the Church

Orson Pratt

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Orson Pratt and his wife were excommunicated from the church because he believed the lies of John C. Bennett. Embarrassed, Orson considered suicide when he realized his mistake. Who baptized him and his wife back into the Church?

a.                  David Whitmer

b.                  Brigham Young

c.                   Parley P. Pratt

d.                  Joseph Smith

Yesterday’s answer:

B   He was called into his bishopric

At West High School in Salt Lake City, Alvin R. Dyer was a member of a very popular vocal quartet. Because of their outstanding talent, they received a contract to go on a vaudeville circuit to sing for forty-two weeks, a very appealing journey to the eighteen-year-old musician. But the Lord had other plans—the young man’s bishop called him on a mission. Alvin showed his willingness to serve the Lord by accepting the call and abandoning the fun and glamour of a singing career.

In high school, Alvin, who came from a family of thirteen children, distinguished himself as an outstanding baseball pitcher. One of the young classmates who cheered his team on to victory, May Elizabeth Jackson, later became his wife; they became parents of a son and a daughter. Upon his return from the Eastern States Mission, where he labored from 1922 to 1924, he was offered a start in professional baseball and even signed a contract to play with one team. At about the same time, however, he was called to serve as a member of a bishopric. One again he could see that this exciting athletic career, with its obligation to play on Sundays, would interfere with his Church responsibilities. Although he had a great desire to play baseball, he withdrew from the contract and accepted the calling in the Church.

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 301-302.

Dyer’s Decision

Alvin R. Dyer

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Alvin R. Dyer turned down a music contract when he was called on a mission. Why did he turn down the professional baseball contract at the end of his mission?

a.                  He was called to be a mission president

b.                  He was called into his bishopric

c.                   He was called onto the stake high council

d.                  He was called to the Quorum of the Twelve

Yesterday’s answer:

C   The killing of his mission companion, Joseph Standing

On 9 July 1879, as Elder Rudger Clawson and his missionary companion, Joseph Standing, were traveling through Whitfield County, Georgia, they learned that a fierce spirit of persecution raged against the Mormons in that area. They sought refuge for the night in the home of a nonmember who was friendly to the missionaries. The next morning they were accosted by a mob of twelve ruffians and dragged from the public road. After some bitter abuses had been hurled at the missionaries, a member of the bloodthirsty band cruelly shot Elder Standing through the head. Rudger’s first impression was to run, but one of the men yelled, “Shoot that man.” Instead of running, Elder Clawson turned calmly around, faced the mob squarely, folded his arms across his chest and said, “Shoot.” At this remarkable display of courage, the guns were lowered and Elder Clawson was permitted to depart and seek help. Returning a few hours later, he was horrified to see that the mob had fired several more bullets into the face and neck of his martyred companion. When he went through the grueling ordeal of testifying at the trial of four of these assassins, he saw the cause of right thwarted as the court reached a verdict of “not guilty.”

Elder Clawson’s exposure to the mockery of justice did not end with this experience. Five years later, during the crusades against plural marriage, he was tried and found guilty of unlawful cohabitation. When given the choice of rejecting his beliefs or serving a prison term, he remained true to the laws of God and went dutifully to the loathsome cell. There he remained for three years, a time that was made bearable only by the companionship of many other worthy brethren incarcerated in that same prison, including his own good father and the aged apostle Lorenzo Snow. Again this calm courage was reflected in the comment he made upon his release: “During my imprisonment of three years, one month, and ten days, I never once felt to murmur or complain, and as I emerged from the prison walls my faith in the principle of plural marriage was just as firm as unshaken as when I entered. I felt to praise and glorify the Lord that He had deemed me worthy to suffer bonds and imprisonment in defense of the right.”

Flake, Lawrence R., Prophets and Apostles of the Last Dispensation, (Provo, Utah: Religious Study Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 259-260.