"We had a comfortable home in New York State near to where many more of
our neighbors who came with us lived. Strang himself, with two more
apostles, were traveling through the country preaching and telling
about the rich beautiful country they had found. We went to hear them,
and, like many others, were greatly pleased. Strang did most of the
talking himself. He was a brilliant talker. He had such a bright,
cheerful manner we were won from the first. We sold our home, the other
neighbors doing the same, and in a short time started for the 'Promised
Land.' When we reached here we found nothing as it had been represented
to us. The island was in its wild natural state. A few had cleared some
land and were struggling along the best they could. Our first winter was
a hard one, and I cannot bear to think how sadly we were disappointed.
When I asked Strang why we had not been told the truth he always turned
it off in some way, talking so encouragingly and always making us see
the brightest side. Life became busy, as we had a large family dependent
upon us. We had some money saved and bought this land and built this
house, which you see is large and comfortable. Our children were sent to
school and we were beginning to feel quite contented. I often went to
hear Strang preach, but I did not feel satisfied, his doctrine did not
sound the same as he told it to us before we left our old home, and he
was having so many 'New Revelations' that I soon lost what little belief
I had ever had in the doctrine. Somehow it was different from what my
old family Bible taught me, but I said very little about it at first,
although a few of us women used to say Strang had too many revelations
to be true. He never spoke anything to me about them, but often spoke
to other women he called upon. Very soon he preached in the temple that
he had a new revelation that all the apostles and officers in the Church
of Zion must take more wives, and had already taken more himself. This
preaching stirred us women up, as he had preached before against
polygamy, and about this time I found the king was urging my husband to
accept a high office in the church. I called upon the king, asking if
this was all true that we heard. He answered in a very decided tone,
'Yes, it is true, and the law will be enforced if you do not quietly
submit.' I told him I would never submit or consent to another woman
coming into my house while I lived. He said, 'You are not yet high
enough in the faith to understand the true meaning of being sealed to
spiritual wives.' Well, I tell you I was mad. I went home, and in a few
days I joined with several other women. We went to the temple, I
carrying my family Bible, and there we faced the King. We women talked
faster than he could. He tried to have us stopped but could not. You
know how it all ended; I was sorry to see him killed, yet I knew
something terrible would happen to him and I told him so when I talked
that day. I said such things cannot go on any longer. All these homes
would not be empty had Strang lived according to the doctrine he
preached to us before we sold our old homes and came here; we would have
been a happy, contented people, but his teachings were all false from
beginning to end, and he has suffered the same fate of Joseph Smith,
whose example he followed. I know there were bad men influencing him to
do all this. It might have been for the purpose of getting rid of him so
they themselves could take his place. It is all ended and I am glad I
never knew anything more about Mormonism than I have since I came here."