The Book that Changed My Life

My Testimony of

The Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ

By Cyndy Weiss

March 11, 2020

I love to read.  I have easily read over a thousand books in my 68 years.  However, there is one book that stands far above the rest.  It was a book I read when I was 15 years-old. A book that actually changed my life.

It was during my freshman year at Washington High School in Portland, Oregon, that our early morning seminary teacher (Laurie Anderson) challenged all of us to read the entire Book of Mormon before the end of the school year.  I did and something powerful happened to me.

My parents and Primary teachers had told me many of the stories in the Book of Mormon, but reading these stories from the book itself was different.  The Spirit of God began teaching me great truths.  I was feeling enlightened in ways I cannot describe.

Reading the Isaiah chapters in Second Nephi wasn’t easy, but I sensed that I was working toward my goal to finish an important book and so I plowed forward and my experiences became sweeter the more I read.  

It was during that freshman year that one of my friends took the missionary discussions.  She never joined the church, but I was impressed by the teachings and testimony of the missionaries.  As the elders challenged my friend to read, ponder, and pray (Moroni 10:3-5),  I reaffirmed my own witness that this special book was sacred.  I knew it was a gift from God to be treasured.  This book was actual evidence that I could hold in my hands and know that Joseph Smith was who he said he was…a chosen prophet come to earth to restore God’s truth and power.

 

I have probably read The Book of Mormon well over 35 times since I was 15.  I am always amazed at the spirit I feel as I experience “the power of the word”.  I have learned to not just read, but to “feast” upon truths I find (2 Nephi 32:3).  I have made important connections to own life situtions as I have “likened” the words of ancient prophets to my own “here and now”.  

I would read the book while rocking each of my eleven babies asleep.  I would read the book in preparing to teach early morning Seminary classes.  I would read The Book of Mormon even when we were studying other scriptural texts that same year.  The Book of Mormon became like an old friend to me.  When I was a youth attending Seminary we memorized 40 passages from the Book of Mormon. These were verses I learned the fastest because they were so clear and plain to be understood.   I would have to get new Book of Mormon every 4-5 years because the “old one” would have so many passages underlined that I needed a “clean” copy to mark up.  (This year I am reading the Book of Mormon in Italian.)

I always loved the “Tree of Life” vision and imagined it and drew pictures of it.  Like Lehi, I hope to see all my own children partake of the fruit of the tree (1 Nephi 8:12)

I felt Nephi’s pain and joy when I read the “Psalm” of Nephi (2 Nephi 4) and felt to plea along with him,  “Wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” (verse 33).

I treasured the words of Nephi’s brother, Jacob (2 Nephi 9-10) as he witnessed of “the merciful plan of the great Creator” with such clarity and power. I often taught from these very same chapters in Italian while serving on my mission.

Each time I study the Doctrine of Christ (2 Nephi 31), I thrill at the richness of the truths taught by Nephi and desire to “press forward” and endure so that I might claim the gift of eternal life (verse 20).

When I “hear” King Benjamin’s speech, I am reminded of the many days I heard his speech as a participant in the King Benjamin scene (Mosiah 2-5) during the Hill Cumorah Pageant in New York.  I had many parts of the mighty king’s speech memorized.  I remember being overwhelmed with the challenge of raising such a large family and learning “it is not requisite that a (woman) should run faster than (she) has strength…all things must be done in order.”  (Mosiah 4:27)

The chapters in Third Nephi were so full of drama and it was easy for me to visualize the Savior’s visit to His other sheep.  I remember that Tamarah’s first memorized passage was from Third Nephi 11 verse 10:  “Behold I am Jesus Christ whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.”

I once asked my mom what her favorite part of the Book was and she said 3 Nephi 17.  I always think of her when I read of the children being ministered to by the angels.  My dad often shared his favorite verse from Ether 12:27:  “then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”  His belief in the resurrection was firm and he knew that one day his body so weakened from Polio would be restored in perfection.  

I have learned about the characteristics of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ from the pages of the Book of Mormon.  The God I have come to know is just and merciful. He wants me to come home to live with Him again.  He is compassionate and patient.  He wants to share His knowledge and vision with me.  He is all powerful and I can trust in His wisdom and timing.  He knows I will learn by making mistakes, so he provided a Savior for me.  

 

I have had wonderful experience of reading the all the scriptural canon at the same time.  I would read from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Psalms and Proverbs in a “365-day Bible” and then I would read the modern scriptures from The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price a little each day.  I’ve probably done this five or more times.  Each time I marvel at the truths I find in the “wisdom literature” of Jehovah.  I also can more clearly see that many “precious things” have been removed from other sacred texts.  They all witness of each other, but The Book of Mormon is especially powerful in its plainness (1 Nephi 13:28).

I am forever thankful that Joseph Smith was called of God to translate the words from the “Golden Plates”.   I know that by reading this sacred book I can become nearer to God by living its precepts than than by reading and applying principles learned from any other book. 

 I pray each of my children and grandchildren will gain their own witness (2 Nephi 25:26) “that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah” (see Introduction).

The Book of Mormon is the keystone of my religion.  I cherish it.  It has changed my life.

Small Coins in a Fruit Jar

My great-great-grandmother, Sarah Denton Moulton, saved coins in a fruit jar for about 15 years before the PEF (Perpetual Emigration Fund) made it possible for her family to gather with the LDS Saints in "Zion". 



Leaving behind England and going to America must have been a great act of great faith for her, her husband, Thomas, and their children.  Among the children was my great grandfather, Joseph.  He was eleven at the time they finally left England.  He probably knew what that fruit jar represented.  When the family ate only barley to try and pinch and save, he might have looked at the jar and thought about the family plan to gather with Saints in America.

 Perhaps with every coin Sarah placed in the jar, her own desire to make the journey increased.  It likely left an impression on all her children.  



In faith, Sarah was left her own extended family behind.  In faith, she stepped onto the Ship Thornton very close to delivering a child.  That baby, Charles Alma Moulton, was born on the Irish Sea.  One of his children remembers:  "He often mentioned that he was a man who had no country as a birthplace because he was born aboard the ship Thorton which sailed from Liverpool, England in May 1856." 


In faith, Sarah acted courageously.  She knew only a little of the danger ahead.   She was worried about the safety of her family, soon to be eight children.  It is recorded that she received a blessing from priesthood leaders in England promising her that not one member of her family would be lost.  

In the history written by one of Charles Alma Moulton's children there is this memory recorded:  

The family crossed the plains in the James G. Willey Mormon Pioneer Handcart Company to get to Utah in November of 1856. They suffered great hardship on the way and Dad was a little baby so thin he was hardly expected to survive. Kind people in Salt Lake helped the family and they all recovered after a while from the effects of the cold weary journey."   (Family Search, Life Sketch.)

As promised, not one member of the faithful Moulton family perished during the trek to Utah.

Royal Albert Docks is the number one tourist attraction in Liverpool.

Dr. S. Michael Wilcox expressed his deep feelings about walking on the Royal Albert Docks on June 27, 2017 and I share it below:

https://www.funforlesstours.com/articles/the-one-place-in-england-i-must-always-visit/

An English friend once gave me an 1844 half farthing as a memorial to all the poor British saints that saved, sometimes for years, the tiny coins, one by one, until they had enough to buy their passage to Zion. It is worn and smoothed by many fingers as it passed from hand to hand through the years. Now it rests in my own. I carry this coin with me when I go to England and finger it softly as I walk the dockside. It takes me back into the past and I can see it all as if it were my own memory, my own farewell—the ship resting securely moored to the riverfront, trunks and cloth bundles waiting to be loaded stacked pell-mell along the wharf, sacks of grain swinging precariously above the deck, sailors climbing the rope ladders and along the yardarms rhythmically moving to the music of their shanties. Everywhere there is bustle and hurry and business and excitement. I can hear the sounds of the loaded carts shaking along the cobblestones groaning under the burden of each families precious belongings, taste the warm freshness of scones pedaled in the streets, feel the rope roughness of the ships rigging stretched taut against the sails, smell the salt sea breeze coming off the Atlantic and up the river, see the fading evening light which heralds that last sacred day in England. Candles are flickering throughout the city and the ship’s lanterns sway on the night air as the stars blink into life over Liverpool Cathedral. There is homesickness in the air, yet there is also the call of the new land and all its promises.

Then there are the people. Mothers clutching the hands of tiny children fearful of losing them in the rush of hurried preparations, fathers firm faces trying so hard to hide their own anxieties and be strong for their families, young men huddled in tight masses speaking knowingly of what they do not really know, girls looking in the shop windows for that final stretch of ribbon or English lace to bring a memory of Europe to the log cabin wilderness into which they go. There is excitement, wonder, laughter, tears, longing and love washing across the riverfront, baptizing the red brick of the warehouses that still stand silently today as if they knew that they had witnessed God moving among his children directing them to a new world, new lives, new hopes. Were they not engaged in His work and was He not pleased with their sacrifices?

Some years ago, I also boarded a three-masted tall ship at the Albert Docks and sailed down the Mersey River. The fates were kind to me and I drew the position at the wheel. I steered a course straight down the river. The tide pulled the ship towards the Atlantic as the sails filled with the winds of England, a parting gift from the island that has become almost my own home. It seemed that all the hopes and dreams of tens of thousands sailed with me that evening. I looked back at the docks and could still see, over a century and a half later, the ghostly waving hands and handkerchiefs of loved ones left behind whose faces and voices our ancestors would never see nor hear again, and I thought of the words of one of them, my wife’s great-grandfather, who stood on these same docks framed by these same brick buildings, and sailed down the quiet waters of the Mersey toward America.

“We left Liverpool on the 18th of May. Seeing my native land gradually sink into the horizon gave me a feeling of loneliness and uncertainty. I realized how dear it was; containing all that had given me a fullness of joy. Loving parents, the companions of my childhood, all my relatives, faithful friends, the land I revered, the ancient castles whose ruins I loved to explore, the stately mansions, splendid cathedrals, green lanes, cozy cottages, the hills and vales, green fields and fragrant gardens ran through my mind. My path was separating us by an ocean, a continent, perhaps forever.”

I hope to one day have my own 1844 half farthing one day to show to my grandchildren.  Perhaps I will create a jar full of small coins to represent the sacrifices made by our ancestors so they could gather with the Saints to Zion.

24+ Pioneer Relatives for July 24th Celebration

Family Search made the compilation of our Utah Pioneer Ancestors easy!

First listed is the collection of our OWEN direct line pioneers with info from Family Search

Below that is the collection of our WEISS family direct line pioneers with info from Family Search.

I am putting these in the 24 pockets of my burlap “Advent Calendar” and using it for the 24^thof July.   Most of these families have stories at ancestorstorytime.blogspot.com.

Happy Pioneer Day!

Real Mortal Challenges

Every July 24th, members of the LDS church around the world honor the Church’s pioneer heritage in songs, by sharing stories or reenacting early pioneer journeys. It has been over 170 years since the first pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.  

Why is it important for us to continue to honor and remember our pioneer heritage?  Here's how the organizers of the "Days of 47" answer:

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ANNUAL CELEBRATION

On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young and a determined company of Mormon pioneers realized their dreams upon entering the Great Salt Lake Valley, thus becoming the vanguard of one of the greatest treks in American history. Pulling handcarts or driving wagons with oxen or horses, thousands of pioneers carried a firm commitment to America’s belief in freedom of religion as they slowly trudged across the plains to a vast desert landscape that became known as the Utah Territory. Coming together from many nations, they sought to create a new life. This trek of the early Utah pioneers exemplifies the courage, foresight and faith that continue to inspire modern-day pioneers.

By remembering those remarkable 1847 pioneers and all those who followed, The Days of ’47 seeks to make their accomplishments and hardships live today through a variety of activities and celebrations each year. We believe the example of past and present pioneers’ courage creates a vision for our combined future that everyone can follow while we continue recognizing Pioneers — Pushing toward our Future!

I think I found part of my answer in this quote by Sis. Jenny Reeder:

“When I learn about Latter-day Saints — pioneers from the nineteenth century and from across the globe — I realize we all have very real mortal challenges. Our heritage, whether that be those who crossed the plains, or those who were baptized in Africa or Russia, or if those keeping the flame of faith alive in an inner-city ward, reveals our identity as covenant people. Like me, they were not perfect, but like them, I can learn from their faith, sacrifice, testimony and understanding of gospel doctrine. I, too, am a Latter-day Saint, and I, too, contribute to building the Kingdom.” — Jenny Reeder, historian, Church History Department

We all have very real mortal challenges:

Challenges in providing for our families

Challenges in parenting

Challenges with people at work

Challenges in building family harmony with relatives

Challenges in church service

Challenges in finding enough time for personal scripture study

Challenges to our belief system
Challenges with mental health
Challenges with keeping a family united
Challenges with caring for aging parents

As I have found out more about the difficult life of my great grandfather, Joseph Moulton, I can see how he responded in faith to his challenges.  He trusted that God would provide and care for him and those he loved.  He went pressed forward despite the challenges he faced.

Challenges of providing for his large family

Keeping a pioneer family sheltered and fed was difficult.  When he became a polygamist, the challenges became almost overwhelming.  Joseph had two or more homes to care for!  Keeping all three wives happy was a challenge.  (Note: One of the wives lived in the house that is still standing in Heber City on Main street—the “Granny’s Drive In”)

Challenge of serving as a missionary

Joseph was called to going to serve as a missionary in the Southern states, but it was during a time that his family needed him. He obediently went and was called home to care for his family after about 6 months in the field.  We have a letter he wrote to his family during this time. (See Joseph's memories on Family Search.)

Challenge of work

Josep was supervising the work of building a canal in the Heber Valley.  He was probably working with a  volunteer labor force.

Challenge of serving in the Church

Joseph served in the Bishopric for years.  He was valiant in keeping own testimony strong and dealing with members who had strong opinions.  He also served on the Wasatch Stake High Council.

Challenge of finding time for scripture study

Joseph was known as a scriptorian and searched the scriptures for answers to the problems he was facing.  Somehow he figured out how to make time.

Challenge of parenting 23 children!

Being father to so many was never never easy.  He did the best he could.

Challenge to our belief system

Joseph was in the penitentiary for u.c. (unlawful cohabitation) 2 days in 1885 because he believed in the doctrine of Plural Marriage.

Challenges with mental health
Annie, one of his three wives, struggled with mental illness.  We don't have many details, but we know she spent some time in an institution.

Challenges with keeping our family united
Following the disastrous trip to Old Mexico in 1891, the family was split apart.  Our great grandmother, Mary Jensine Jensen Moulton, essentially became a single parent.

Challenges of caring for aging parents
Joseph's parents, Thomas and Sarah Denton Moulton, both lived in Heber City.  Joseph, along with his brothers and sisters, helped them as they aged.  Joseph was 47 years old when his father died (Thomas was age 82) and 43 when his mother died (Sarah was age 70).

Here are some additional historical highlights that impacted the life of my great- grandfather, 

Joseph Moulton.

June 1837-Heber C. Kimball and other LDS missionaries go to England.

Dec 1841-Thomas Moulton Family joins the church in Irchester England.   

Joseph’s mother, Sara Denton, begins saving money in a fruit jar for 15 years, always hopeful that her family  could one day gather with the Saints in Zion.

1846-Joseph Moulton born.

1853-Joseph Moulton is baptized.

1849-Brigham Young sets up the PEF-Perpetual Emigration Fund to help pay for passage to America

Family lives chiefly on barley flour for nearly a year to save money for the trip to America.

May 4, 1856-(age 10)  Joseph leaves Irchester, England with his family.  His mother is pregnant with baby #7.  She receives a blessing that if she would go to Utah she would make the journey safely without losing even one member of her family.  

November 1856-After 6 weeks at sea the family arrives in New York harbor.  They take the train to Iowa City, Iowa where the family helped making preparations and get their two handcarts ready for the trek.

1856-(Age 11) Joseph walked about 1100 miles during the 117 days as a member of the Willie Handcart Company. Crosses icy streams caring for younger brothers and sisters.  Joseph’s little brother, James Heber walked with a rope tied around his waist to keep him from straying.  

They had two carts. One pulled by the parents with two youngest riding.  The other pulled by 19 year old and 15 year old girls with two boys, ages 12 and 11 year old Joseph helping as they could.  They arrive in winter Quarters (Florence Nebraska) late in the season.

August 18, 1846—Although late in the season, the Willie Company decides to go forward.  They receive an extra 100 pound bag of flour to pull on their handcart. They were on meager rations by this time and Joseph was one hungry 10 year old. He received only 9 ounces of flour a day.  His mom got 13 ounces and his father 15 ounces.  Joseph would go with his mother to glean wild wheat to add to food supplies.

October 20, 1846 The snows began to fall in high desert of Wyoming.  Four inches of snow.

October 21, 1846 the rescuer wagons reached Willie camp.  Frozen and starving survivors were grateful for the help.  40 members of the company had already died by the time they reached Rocky Ridge where another snowstorm slowed their progress.  A kind elderly woman, seeing Joseph’s little 8-year old brother struggle, took his right hand.  That act saved his right hand, but his left hand was exposed to the cold and many of his fingers were later amputated.

November 9, 1856-Willie Company arrives in Salt Lake Valley.  69 members of the company had died, but the promise given to the Moulton family was fulfilled, and not one member of the family perished on the trek.

Joseph's family spent 3 weeks in Salt Lake City and then they moved to Provo in 1857.  They lived (a family of 10!) in a one room adobe house for one year.  Sarah had more children after arriving in America.  Then the Moulton family moved to Heber City in 1859.

We can learn about other "real mortal problems" faced by Joseph from some of his other activities:

Joseph was a "down and backer" going to the Missouri River to meet immigrants and bringing them back to Utah.

1866-He was a scout in the Black Hawk War.

1868-He married and settled in Heber City UT.

He helped plan the Wasatch Canal and was a foreman on the construction.  

He was a good singer and a member of the “Heber Sunday School Choir.”

In 1876 (eight years after marrying his first wife, Elizabeth Giles) Joseph marries two Danish sisters (Jensine Mary and Annie Jensen) and becomes a polygamist.

In 1885 he is sent to the state penitentiary for 2 days for "unlawful cohabitation".

In 1890 "The Manifesto" was issued.  Joseph tried to keep his polygamous family together by moving to Dublin, Old Mexico in 1891.  It was pretty much a disaster.  At that time there were 3 wives and 23 children.—My grandfather Hyrum Chase Moulton, was a six year old boy at the time.

March 6, 1935  Joseph Moulton dies at the age of 84 in Heber City, Utah.  

Despite all their mortal challenges, our pioneer ancestors "moved on".   Elder Ronald A. Rasband, of the Quorum of the 12 apostles, asks: 

“What moved them on?

What pushed them forward?

The answer is a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As a great grandson of pioneers, I add my witness and testimony that their struggles were not in vain.  What they felt, I feel.  

What they knew, I know and bear record of.”  (Ensign, July 2018)

Life is full of very "real mortal problems" for all of us.

We can choose to "move on and push forward" as well.

We honor our pioneer ancestors by saying to ourselves:

"They did hard things.  I, too, can deal with the hard things in my life."

"Love at Home" and stories about James A. Owen

One recent Sunday we were singing LDS hymn number 318 in church.  I was reminded that it was my dad's favorite hymn.  It seems like we sang it every Family Home Evening.  We sang it before our family testimony meetings.  We even sang it at his funeral.  Maybe he sang it in the Methodist church he attended in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Ralph Owen called this hymn the "Owen National Anthem".

Hymn #318

Love at Home

                                          Text and music: John Hugh McNaughton, 1829–1891

There is beauty all around

When there’s love at home;

There is joy in ev’ry sound

When there’s love at home.

Peace and plenty here abide,

Smiling sweet on ev’ry side.

Time doth softly, sweetly glide

When there’s love at home.

Love at home, love at home;

Time doth softly, sweetly glide

When there’s love at home.

In the cottage there is joy

When there’s love at home;

Hate and envy ne’er annoy

When there’s love at home.

Roses bloom beneath our feet;

All the earth’s a garden sweet,

Making life a bliss complete

When there’s love at home.

Love at home, love at home;

Making life a bliss complete

When there’s love at home.

Kindly heaven smiles above

When there’s love at home;

All the world is filled with love

When there’s love at home.

Sweeter sings the brooklet by;

Brighter beams the azure sky.

Oh, there’s One who smiles on high

When there’s love at home.

Love at home, love at home;

Oh, there’s One who smiles on high

When there’s love at home.

I think Dad loved this hymn because he was attempting to keep his nine children from fighting with each other.  He was probably trying to teach us with the message from his favorite hymn.  When I see my grandchildren fighting with their siblings, maybe I should start singing "Love at Home" to them and remind them of the Great-Grandfather they never knew.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings the Hymn here:   https://youtu.be/tn5UeEFw4QQ




About a month ago I drove by the house that Jim and family built in Leed's Utah.  It has been many years since I last saw it.  It seemed smaller than I remember.

The "Dream House" in 2018

I remember the November (1976?) when we all helped move the tool shed onto a foundation during Thanksgiving break.  It was quite a group effort and Mark Weiss tells the story with considerable emotion.

I stopped by the Leeds LDS chapel to take a picture in June, 2018.  It looked much nicer than I remember it.  The landscape was refreshingly green on a hot day.   When I was there in 1974, it seemed to be a small white brick building and everything was dry.  There were curbs on the main street.  I don't remember them being there before either.

Leeds Utah LDS Chapel in 2018

The Owen family moved from great Southeast Portland to dry Southern Utah in 1974.  During the five years prior to Dad's death, the family was always building on their "dream home".   The Owen kids were at critical ages:
Steven was 13-18 years
Diane was 11-16 years
Donald 9-14 years
David 7-12 years
Teresa 5-10 years

At Grandma Lillian Moulton's house.
They had just picked me up from the Salt Lake City Airport after my mission in Rome, Italy.

Ralph was living in Oregon and I was on my mission in Italy (1973-74) when the Owen family moved.  I reported my mission to the Leeds Ward Sacrament Meeting in their newly completed chapel.  Since I knew no one, it didn't make a significant impression on me.  In my Journal I merely mention it in passing.

Louise was married in 1974.  Sandy was at BYU and worked summers in Provo. Sandy and I both married in 1975.   Mark and I moved to Washington state in 1976.  We were all so busy in our own lives that I don't think we really knew how difficult it was for the Leeds family. Ralph helped provide a bit of income with creating jobs for the family in his framing business.  People were generous in the community and made life easier for Mom.

Dad died in the Salt Lake VA Hospital in September 1979 after living in Leeds, UT for only 5 years.  The five years were tough years to say the least.   Multiple trips were made to Salt Lake City for appointments at the Veteran's Hospital and purchasing items for building the house.  They would often stay with Louise and Dave Daniel's in Orem.

These letters were transcribed by Maxine Owen after Jame's Owen's death.

Dad tried to connect the family through THE HORNTOAD GAZZETTE.  Most letters were written from February 1978-September 1979.   These gave a flavor of the last 19 months of his earthly life.  In the letter he wrote between Sunday School and Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, February 19th, Dad thanks us all for birthday greetings and then says:

"[I am] so thankful to our Heavenly parents to allow all nine of you sweet, kind, wonderful, spirits to come associate with us for a few of our trying and formative years.  To see all of you doing and striving so well in your individual ways to do that which is right in God's eye, and to know that our efforts have been most rewarding and ever expanding as we see all of you walking in that strait and narrow road that will bind us all together now and in the Eternal worlds."

Dad and Mom tried to do their best in a hard situation.  Dad also wrote on Feb 19, 1978:
"We did try-oh so hard-possibly too hard at times- but so grateful for your love that forgives us for our failure on the first attempt at being parents.  So you must be much better than we.  We have shown you the "Best" and some of the worst-so now you know how to-and what to avoid.  Our great joy is to see all of you doing so much better than old Mom and Dad. "

I went to the Leeds Cemetery to take a picture of LaVarr Webb's grave.  He likewise, did the best he could in a tough situation. He was a wonderful grandfather to the older grandchildren.

LaVarr Webb, 2nd husband of Maxine Moulton Owen.

Leeds Utah Cemetery in 2018.

The move to Southern Utah created difficult situations for all the children who lived there.  Teresa once said she wouldn't exchange those years for anything:  "They are the reason I am who I am." Leeds Utah is a distant memory for the remaining Owen children now, and a sometimes a painful memory for the youngest five.  But that is their story to tell.

1978 Reunion in Orem, UT at Louise and Dave's home.

 Dad likely loves singing about "Love at Home" in heaven. He once wrote: "I continually wonder why time passes so quickly.  "Hope" is the reason ...that time doth softly, sweetly glide, when there's love at home" (Horntoad Gazzette-Dec 8, 1978).

When we meet again for our next Family Home Evening, I am sure we will sing this chorus yet another time:

Love at home, love at home;

Oh, there’s One who smiles on high

When there’s love at home.

Clegg Family-14 years in Springville, Utah (1858-1872)

I visited two Daughters of the Utah Pioneer (DUP) museums in Utah County this week and was
reminded about a few family history details.   I also learned some new things I didn't know before about the Henry Clegg, Jr. family.

In an article that was published in the 1982 DUP lesson book, Susan Lucina Clark Sanford shared that Margarett (Maggie) was born to John and Margarett Griffiths in Liverpool.  Her parents were cousins.

The John Griffiths family joined the LDS church January 30, 1840, and were baptized by Elder John Taylor during his first mission to England.  About four months later Maggie was born (April 15, 1840).

John Griffiths was one of the faithful missionaries and Branch Presidents who worked so hard to build up the LDS Church in the Liverpool area.

Margarett (spelled with two t's in this Sanford article) was 13 years of age when her mother, Margarett Griffiths, died.  John Griffiths then married Elizabeth Webb.  Maggie was the oldest daughter of the five children. Her older brother came to Utah to prepare and make a home for the family to follow him.  He apparently went to Nevada and the family never heard from him again.

We know the story of the "ill fated Martin Handcart company".  Sixteen year old Margarett experienced the trials of that 5th handcart company that left too late in the season.  Two younger brothers died on the trail in Wyoming and Maggie's father, John Griffiths, died the night after arriving in Salt Lake Valley on November 30, 1856.  I had never thought about how the family was expecting to find the older brother waiting to meet them as the company pulled into the city square.

I originally thought Maggie went to live at the Henry Clegg home, but this article said Henry Clegg, Jr. was the young man who had offered his assistance when the Martin Handcart Company first arrived in Salt Lake.  Jane was sixteen years old when she arrived in the Salt Lake Valley and was placed in the John Taylor home where she worked for her keep for nine months.

Henry Clegg, Jr, was a widower with one son, Israel.  He married Ann Lewis on December 3, 1855.  18 months later, Henry married Margarett.

Endowment House in Salt Lake City around 1890

 Maggie received her endowments in the old Endowment House on August 14, 1857 and was sealed to Henry Clegg at the same time as Ann Lewis.  Henry was age 30, Ann Lewis was 19, and  Margarett was 17.


The Clegg family lived in the 19th Ward in Salt Lake until 1858 when Johnston's Army came to Utah.   The "Move South" was when the family moved to Springville with their two sons, Israel and John.   Henry joined with other men in Echo Canyon to try and hold back Johnson's Army from coming into Utah.

A map on the Springville Museum wall showed where their house location was in Springville.  They lived there for 14 years from 1858-1872   Maggie had 11 children, although two of them died in infancy. She named her first two sons after her brothers who died in the Wyoming snowstorms.


Henry Clegg was a shoemaker by trade.


There is a fine collection of shoemaking tools in the Springville Museum.


Both wives had lovely voices and they traveled with their husband who gave lectures and they would all sing together to the accompaniment of the dulcimer, played by Henry.  One dulcimer is in the Provo DUP museum, one is in the Springville DUP Museum, and one is in the Salt Lake City DUP Museum.

 (A video of a dulcimer similar to Clegg being played can be found if you type into your browser: I'll Fly Away being played on the hammered dulcimer by Martin Moore.)

One note indicated that the dulcimer was played to accompany the violin on all public occasions in early pioneer days.


The Clegg wives would sing and entertain while Henry gave lectures on Physiognomy; Phrenology, voice, walk, mental powers, and dreams.   While in Springville, Henry also organized and directed a choir of 60 voices.  

Henry's brother, Jonathan Clegg, had settled in the "Upper Provo Valley" (Heber City) and Henry felt that with his 10 children (seven sons and three daughters), he needed more opportunities for work.  They moved to Heber area on April 16, 1872.   Israel, the older son had married and remained in Springville.

Henry eventually built a home on Main Street in Heber.   His sons farmed, operated  a saw mill, and a rock quarry.  He operated a store south of the family home.  He taught some of his grandchildren to read and spell while he was working in the store.  He taught school in Heber, organized and directed the Band of Hope and played in the Martial Band.  Henry was called as the Bishop for the West Ward, was Stake Clerk, and served on the Wasatch Stake High Council.

Henry was known as an expert in mathematics.  It was said that he could multiply a number of nine figures with nine figures and dance a cotillion and still give a correct answer immediately.

Henry Clegg, Jr. was the father of 25 children; three by Hannah Eastman, eleven by Ann Lewis, and eleven by Margarett Griffiths.  Henry died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 69 while working in the Heber store.  All the children were married with the exception of Brigham and Carlie (Ann's children). Ann Lewis died in 1913 and Maggie lived another 16 years until 1928.

As Clegg Family descendants we have "received a rich inheritance from [Henry, Ann, and Margarett.]  Maybe not in worldly goods, but in talent, intelligence, pride, and integrity." -(from article by Lula Clegg found in Springville file of Henry Clegg, Sr.)