chosen Counselor to Mrs. M. I. Horne in the General Retrenchment
Association, which position she still holds. When the Relief Societies
were organized into Stakes, Mrs. Howard was appointed Secretary of the
Salt Lake Stake of Zion, which position she holds at the present time.
Mrs. Howard has traveled much throughout our Territory in company with
other sisters, visiting the different societies and associations in
a missionary capacity, giving instructions and infusing cheerfulness
and energy by her whole-souled and genial manner. There is something
wonderfully earnest and sincere in all she says and does, and it has
a most convincing effect upon the hearers who delight to welcome her
visits, who is herself a most delightful entertainer and hostess at her
own beautiful country home a few miles ride out from the city.
Mrs. Howard is the mother of ten children, eight living; and
thirty-seven grand-children.
ELMINA S. TAYLOR.
PRESIDENT OF THE YOUNG LADIES' MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS, OF THE
CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
I was born at Middlefield, Otsego County, State of New York, September
12th, 1830. My parents are Daniel Shepard and Rozita Bailey Shepard.
Three daughters were all the children that were born to them, I being
the eldest. My parents were staunch Methodists, and I was brought up
in that faith. I united myself with that church when about twenty
years of age, and during some six years was a zealous and consistent
member of the same. At the time I joined the Church I was desirous to
be baptized by immersion as I considered that the pattern set by our
Savior; although I had always been taught that baptism was not a saving
ordinance, but only to answer a good conscience, otherwise, an outward
sign of an inward grace. To this my many friends were so much opposed
that after some time elapsed I consented, and was admitted a member of
the church, by sprinkling; but there were many doctrines and tenets
with which I never was satisfied, and when I went to my minister to
have them explained I was more beclouded and found myself more in the
dark than before; though I sought to the Lord earnestly to be guided
aright.
"In the year 1854, circumstances induced me to go to Haverstraw, a
large town situated in southern New York, on the banks of the beautiful
Hudson River, to engage in teaching. One of the trustees, John Druce,
was a Mormon elder, who had a very interesting and intelligent family.
My cousin and I frequently visited there, but for a long time they
never mentioned religion to us, fearing to frighten us away, but one
night, just as I was leaving, he asked me if I would read some Mormon
books. I answered, 'O, yes! You know the Bible says prove all things
and hold fast that which is good.' His earnestness impressed me. Before
opening the books I bowed before the Lord and fervently implored Him to
give me His spirit that I might understand if they were true or false.
My interest was awakened, and the more I investigated and compared the
doctrines with the Scriptures, the more I was convinced of their truth.
I fought against my convictions, for I well knew how it would grieve
my dear parents to have me unite myself with that despised people; and
I also thought I should lose my situation which was a very lucrative
one. However, I could not silence my convictions, and as the promise
was given, 'If you will obey the doctrine, you shall know whether it is
of God or man;' I went forth and was baptized July 5th, 1856. When I
was confirmed by the laying on of hands I received the testimony of its
truth which I have never lost from that day to this.
"I was united in marriage to George Hamilton Taylor, August 31st, 1856,
by Apostle, now President, John Taylor, and in 1859, April fifteenth,
we left New York for Utah, where we arrived September 16th of the same
year, after a long tedious journey with ox teams. In the spring of
1860 we located in the Fourteenth Ward, where we have since resided,
and where our first child, a son, was born July 16th of the same year.
While in the States we were never blessed with children, but it was
prophesied upon my head that I should go to Zion and should there be
blessed with them, which has been fulfilled, for I am now the mother of
seven.
"Through the gift of tongues, it was also promised that all my family
should come to me, which was verified after we had been here nearly
fifteen years, and my father is still with us, having reached the
advanced age of seventy-nine years, but none of them ever received the
Gospel.
"At the organization of the Relief Society of the Fourteenth Ward,
December 12th, 1867, I was elected Secretary, an office which I still
occupy. September 23rd, 1874, by request of Sister E. R. S. Snow, I
was appointed Superintendent of the Young Ladies' Association of the
same ward. I was chosen First Counselor to Sister M. I. Horne, Stake
President of Salt Lake County, December 22nd, 1879, and have traveled
considerably in that capacity.
"At a Conference held in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, June 19th,
1880, was appointed President of the Young Ladies Mutual Improvement
Association of Zion.
"July 4th, 1877, we entered into the celestial order of marriage, and
have since all lived under the same roof, and eaten at the same table,
ever in the enjoyment of peace and harmony."
All who are acquainted with the writer of the above autobiographical
sketch, can cheerfully add testimony to its concluding paragraph. "Love
at Home" might be graven upon a tablet of stone within their door, so
indelibly seems that sacred principle to have been impressed upon the
hearts within that household.
By example, by attainments, and the spiritual refinement and elegance
in bearing which would denote the Christian lady, under any or all
circumstances, it seems peculiarly appropriate that Mrs. Elmina S.
Taylor was called to preside over the young ladies of Zion. May they
emulate their standard, spiritually and socially. The simplicity and
modesty of her sketch cannot convey to the mind of the reader those
delicate attributes of character, so well understood by those who, like
myself, have been recipients of her kindly counsels and encouragement,
and recognized in a wider sense by those who have listened to her
addresses, dictated by the spirit of our sacred and holy religion.
MARY A. FREEZE.
PRESIDENT OF THE Y. L. M. I. A. OF THE SALT LAKE STAKE OF ZION.
Mary A. Freeze is the daughter of James Lewis Burnham and his wife,
Mary Ann, who were born in Vermont. In 1837, with their one child
they emigrated to McHenry County, Illinois, where they made them a
home, leaving there in 1843 for Beauro County in the same State. In
the latter place they heard and obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mr. Burnham was a minister of the Church called Christians, but after
hearing the elders explain the principles of this Gospel, could not but
acknowledge that he had no legal authority to preach, and consequently
was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
whose doctrines he preached and advocated faithfully until the day of
his death, from bleeding of the lungs, caused by preaching in the open
air. In 1843, Mr. and Mrs. Burnham had moved to Nauvoo. They there had
four children, the youngest, a little girl, died in 1844. Mr. Burnham
labored as much as his failing strength would permit, quarrying rock
for the Temple. In the summer of 1845 he grew worse. Mrs. Freeze says,
"This was four days previous to my birth. This was a trying time for
my mother, being left in sorrow and very destitute of worldly goods,
with no relatives near to help her; but the Saints were very kind to
her in her affliction. Her relatives in the East would gladly have
sent means to take her back, but she had cast her lot with the Saints
of God and preferred to remain with them in the depths of poverty than
to have the wealth of the whole world, elsewhere. After the Temple was
finished she entered therein, partaking of the ordinances, and was
sealed to President Joseph Young, (brother of President Brigham Young,)
he performing this ordinance for my father, who had died before the
opportunity of this privilege. She afterwards had two daughters who are
now the wives of Robert N. Russell and Jasper Conrad.
"In February, 1846, the famous exodus began, but my mother had no way
of going so remained until after the battle took place and the Saints
were driven out on pain of losing their lives. Mother received a wagon
for her city property and was lent a yoke of oxen, that she might begin
that memorable, toilsome journey with her four little children. I have
heard her tell of the mobs searching the wagons for arms, the obscene
language they used, and how terribly she suffered from fear. She
arrived at Winter Quarters late in the fall, where she remained a year
and a half, when they were compelled by the Government to move back on
the east side of the river, because they were on Indian Territory. Soon
after this she let her second and third sons, Wallace and George, go
on to the valley with Brother Daniel Woods. This was a severe trial to
my loving mother, but there seemed to be no other way for them to be
taken care of as the Saints were in the deepest poverty. I have often
heard her and Brother Luther also, rehearse the want and distress they
endured, sometimes nearly amounting to starvation. We were compelled to
remain there until 1852, when through the kindness of the brethren we
were enabled in June to cross the plains, arriving in Salt Lake City,
October 8th, last day of Conference. I was too young to remember much
about the journey, but one circumstance impressed itself upon my mind.
While climbing into the wagon I fell, and was run over by both wheels
and very badly hurt, but through the administration of the elders
was almost instantly healed and felt no bad effects from the injury
afterward.
"We located in Bountiful, Davis County, ten miles north of Salt Lake
City, where we lived until I was sixteen years old. I was baptized
when nine years of age and felt happy in the assurance that I was a
'Mormon' in very deed. At the time of the Reformation, I was full
of the inspiration of the times although only eleven years old, and
was very much in earnest in repenting of my sins, and making new
covenants to serve the Lord more faithfully in the future. During my
early years I attended school the entire season, until old enough to
assist my mother, when I attended during the winter only. Being very
assiduous I acquired a good common school education. In 1861 we moved
to Richmond, Cache Valley, my brothers having taken up land and made a
home there. It was there I became acquainted with James Perry Freeze,
whom I assisted in teaching school six months, not dreaming of the
relationship I was destined to sustain to him. My girlhood days were
not as happy as might have been, on account of our exceeding poverty,
but I have many times since thought that it was for my greatest good
that I was reared in want and loneliness; that it was a means of
keeping me humble, the good spirit thereby finding a receptacle in
my heart, giving me a desire to seek after truth and learn of the
things of God. Had I possessed wealth and my mind been filled with the
follies and fashions of the world, I might not have had such a desire
to make the Lord my friend. At an early age I read in the Doctrine and
Covenants, that God is no respecter of persons, but in all countries
those who fear Him and work righteousness are accepted of Him. This was
a great comfort to me, a guiding star to my whole future life; that
by leading a righteous life I should be loved of my Father in heaven
equally with the richest and most highly born; that possessing His love
and favor I possessed everything worth caring for.
"In March, 1863, I was married to James P. Freeze, whom, I felt assured
was a noble man, one that I could trust as the guardian of my life.
I am the mother of eight children. We resided in Richmond six months
after our marriage, when we came to Salt Lake City, where he has since
followed the mercantile business. In 1864, we became identified with
the Eleventh Ward where we still live. In 1871, I was called to preside
over the Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association of this Ward,
accepting it with great reluctance, feeling my incapability, but have
filled it to the best ability which God has given me, and have proven
that all who seek the Lord in humility, will surely receive a blessing
at His hand. Through the blessing of the Almighty, I have now the love
and confidence of the members who have manifested the same in various
ways.
"In the spring of 1871, my husband, a faithful man, desirous of keeping
all the commandments of God, saw fit, with my full consent, to take
to himself another of the daughters of Eve, a good and worthy girl,
Jane Granter by name. It tried my spirit to its utmost endurance, but
I always believed the principle to be true, and felt that it was time
we obeyed that sacred order. The Lord knew my heart and desires, and
was with me in my trial and assisted me to overcome the selfishness and
jealousy of my nature. With his help, added to the great kindness of
my husband, who has ever stood at the head of his family as a wise and
just man, I soon obtained peace. While undergoing the severest trial to
my feelings, I was inspired with the following lines which the Lord was
not slow to answer:
"'Father, help me to do Thy will,
Command my troubled heart be still;
Cause my soul with peace to flow,
While I sojourn here below,
Help me still to realize
Thou'rt the giver of the prize
That I would win through faithfulness.
Then, Father, O look down and bless
Thine erring child that cries to Thee
For help, amid life's stormy sea.'
"My husband has since taken two other wives, and I praise the Lord that
I had so far overcome, that instead of feeling it to be a trial, it
was a source of joy and pride that we were counted worthy to have such
noble girls enter our family. The two last were my Counselors in the
Young Ladies' Improvement Association of our Ward. I have loved the
wives of my husband as I would have my own sisters, realizing that the
power of the Holy Priesthood that has bound us together for time and
eternity is stronger than kindred ties. Sophia lived with me nearly
seven years; she died December, 1879, which was one of the greatest
trials of my life. I could as willingly have parted with one of my own
daughters. She left me a beautiful boy who seems as near to me as my
own. I wish to bear testimony to my descendants, and to all who may
read this sketch, that I know by the power of the Holy Ghost which
bears testimony to my spirit, that the Patriarchal Order of Marriage is
from God and was revealed for the exaltation and salvation of the human
family, also that I have had peace, joy and satisfaction in living in
that Order such as I had never known before; and have had many proofs
that God will pour out His blessings upon those who keep His laws,
seeking Him with full purpose of heart, for He will be sought after by
His children.
"September 14, 1878, the authorities having considered it necessary to
institute a Stake Organization of the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement
Association, I was chosen as President of these Associations in this
Salt Lake Stake of Zion. I chose Louie Felt, and Clara Y. Conrad, my
half-sister, as my Counselors. We have visited the Associations as far
as practicable, have enjoyed the spirit of our mission and feel assured
we have been instrumental in the hands of God of doing much good.
"I am striving to purify myself, and keep all of the commandments of
God, to be diligent in the performance of every duty assisting to roll
forth the great work our Father has established in the last days, that
I may be worthy to receive the blessings which have been pronounced
upon my head; for they are great and many, and I know I shall receive
them if found worthy. I know the fruits of this Gospel are peace, joy
and happiness, and all who obey its precepts will have in this life
that peace which passeth all understanding, that which the world cannot
give nor take away, and having finished their labors, and are called
to another sphere, will be crowned with life eternal, which is the
greatest of all gifts. It has been the greatest desire of my life that
my children should become bright and shining lights in the church of
God, and knowing that much depends upon parents, I have ever striven to
set them an example worthy of imitation, teaching them true principles,
that I might not come under condemnation for my neglect of duty.
"I realize that heaven would not be heaven to me if my children,
through sin and transgression, could not have a place there; that my
glory would be dimmed forever.
"I will now say good-bye, until we meet where there is neither sorrow
nor mourning, but our joy will be perfect; and trust my descendants may
all keep the laws of God, and be worthy to sit down with Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and all the faithful in the
kingdom of God, to go no more out."
Mrs. Freeze says, "We have traced our lineage back to the year 1200,
and have the record of the same. We descended from the Normans. Our
family was at one time very wealthy and numerous in England; there
is a town which bears their name. Three brothers came to America at
an early date, one settled in Vermont, and two in Massachusetts.
Their descendants took part in the Revolutionary War, and among them
according to the 'Burnham Record' were many Doctors of Divinity,
Doctors of Law, and one Mary Burnham, writes of the 'service of gold,
their equipages and household appointments, of that grandeur brought
with them from their ancient and noble halls of England.' Several of
the Burnham descendants were officers in the late Civil War in America."
Mrs. Freeze is of that class of spirits that (in religion or justice)
opposition would animate, persecution, inspire her. I have often
thought, looking into her eyes, that in their depths slumbered the
embers (scarcely covered by the ashes of dead years) of the fires of
patriot's and martyr's souls.
LOUIE FELT.
PRESIDENT OF THE PRIMARY ASSOCIATIONS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF
LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
Louie Felt was the daughter of Joseph and Mary Bouton, was born in
South Norfolk, Conn., May 5, 1852. Was baptized when eight years old
and came to Utah in September, 1866. On December 29th of same year was
married to Joseph H. Felt. At the October Conference of 1867, they
were called to go on the Muddy River Mission and started the 9th of
November following. They remained there between two and three years,
enduring many hardships; the heat in summer being particularly trying
to those used to a Northern clime. "Ninety degrees in the shade" is
considered high in our eastern cities, but at the Muddy, for months it
would rise above one hundred degrees at midnight. The buildings were
new, low adobe houses, lumber scarce, and often the wife was asked,
"where would you prefer to have the boards, over your head or under
your feet?" Those who had babies to rock took the choice of a floor,
and put up with a thatched roof. The winds blew with great violence,
and the tender shoots of the trees, vines, and other things they
planted were often cut off clean by the sharp sand in the driving wind.
They were surrounded by friendly Indians who were willing to work and
learn civilization, but who were so hungry they could not resist the
temptation to pluck the young watermelons and squashes planted by the
missionaries, as fast as they approached the size of walnuts. Once,
when visiting the Muddy settlement of St. Joseph, the Indian visitors
were delighted with the rice my mother was preparing to cook. They
called it the "snow-white wheat" and begged for some, saying they would
plant and cultivate it with great care. She humored them, but showed
them how the germ was destroyed, and advised them to cook it, and plant
corn and melons.
In a brief time the Missionaries were short of the good things they
had provided; there were no stores, freight trains seldom came that
way, and they were a long distance, three day's travel from St.
George, itself a pioneer settlement in an alkali desert. President
Erastus Snow, with fatherly kindness, sent beef, cattle and flour to
the Indians, to stay their increasing instincts for self-preservation
by way of appropriation. Another misfortune befell the Missionaries;
their dwellings were as dry as tinder, and in some way a fire started,
and some lost their all, everyone lost something. President Erastus
Snow called upon the people of St. George, and if I remember right,
of Washington and Santa Clara also and with all possible haste sent
the willing contributions of their brethren and sisters. President
Brigham Young had two daughters, a son and a niece on the same mission.
He visited them and was filled with compassion for their situation,
and as it seemed vain to hope for an amelioration of some of their
disadvantages, the Mission was broken up. Mrs. Felt's health was
poor but, she says, "I never felt to murmur, but to stay as long
as required." In 1869, Mrs. Felt went on a visit to her father in
Connecticut, as he was not expected to live. He had gone back for the
recovery of his health but was no better. She remained with him three
months, then returned to Utah. In 1872 they moved to the Eleventh Ward,
"and then," she says, "began some of the happiest days of my life.
I soon became a member of the Y. L. M. I. A., and thereby received
a better understanding of my religion, which brought me peace and
happiness, such as I had never known before. I also became thoroughly
convinced of the truth of the principle of celestial marriage, and
having no children of my own was very desirous my husband should take
other wives that he might have a posterity to do him honor, and after
he took another wife and had children born to him, the Lord gave me a
mother's love for them; they seemed as if they were indeed my own, and
they seem to have the same love for me they do for their own mother."
I have witnessed the real mother in this family, rocking her babe to
sleep, and the other mother--Louie--would sit beside her and hold one
little hand, or lay her own upon its little head, and it would quietly
resign itself to sleep, so closely were all these three true hearts
united in love. "In September, 1878, I was appointed to the position
of President of the P. A. of the Eleventh Ward, which position I still
hold. In December of the same year. Mrs. Freeze chose me as her First
Counselor, in the stake organization of the Young Ladies' Association,
and I immediately started with President Freeze, visiting these wards,
and I enjoyed my labor. In September, 1879, I was appointed to fill
the position of Territorial President of the Primary Improvement
Associations, and have visited the different stakes of Zion as much as
circumstances would permit, and now feel more firm in my religion, and
more determined to magnify my calling whereunto I have been appointed,
hoping thereby to bring honor to the cause of Zion and also to myself."
In person, Mrs. Felt is very tall and slender, her health always
being very delicate. Her face is pale, refined and spiritual in its
expression; her spirit buoyant and cheerful, and her animated manner
and smile as frank as a child's; the beholder would never take her for
"a sorrowing Mormon woman," such as we read about. Whether presiding
in gentle dignity over a conference of several thousands of parents
and children, whether happily mingling in a reunion of cherished and
appreciative friends, or whether in that closer, dearer circle of which
she is not the least the builder, her face is that of innocence and
purity; her heart is an altar to her God; her life a monument to all.
ELLEN C. S. CLAWSON.
PRESIDENT OF THE PRIMARY ASSOCIATION OF THE SALT LAKE STAKE OF ZION.