Contact Us FAQ Follow Us on Facebook. Enduring all these hardships incident to such a journey and moreover the unpleasant condition in which she had unfortunately been placed, she, with the company, finally reached the east side of East Mountain, on the Pioneer Trail. History is filled with the names of exceptional women, but few have exhibited the courage and faith of Mary Fielding Smith, the daughter of a Bedfordshire farmer-preacher, who left her native land and became a heroine in her own right. As the wife of Hyrum Smith, Mary was left a widow when her husband was assassinated at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844. The 800lb cow or Dad's Mercedes? Immediately the ox got up and within a very few moments again pulled in the yoke as if nothing had ever happened. These brethren poured oil on the head of the ox and then laid their hands upon it and rebuked the power of the destroyer just as they would have done if the animal had been a human being. His first words were: "Well, Mary, the cattle are gone!" I had happened to hear the promise of my dear mother that we would beat the captain into the valley, and would not ask any help from him either. Rachel was born on November 30 1767, in Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. Mary Fielding Smith was the wife of the Patriarch of the Church, Hyrum Smith. This was a sore trial to him and a very great loss, as he was obliged to get help for himself before he could proceed. Mobs raided her home, and her son was nearly killed as a result of the attack. John was born on June 30 1759, in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. As the wife of Hyrum Smith, Mary was left a widow when her husband was assassinated at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844. The Atonement of Christ Redeems Us from the Fall. Go on, or wait for the company to gather up their teams?" She and Emma Smith endured many trials along with … She went West with the Saints after her husband, Hyrum Smith, had been martyred at Carthage Jail with his brother Joseph Smith. When she and her siblings emigrated to Kirtland, Ohio, shortly thereafter, little could she have known that she would step out of obscurity into the full light of the leading family of the Church. She needed to get across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley the next season and supplies were critical. My mother continued straight down the little stream of water, until she stood almost on the bank of the river, and then she beckoned to us. Mother replied in a voice which fairly rang with cheerfulness, "Never mind, your breakfast has been waiting for hours, and now, while you and Joseph are eating, I will just take a walk out and see if I can find the cattle." I loved her commitment to keeping the commandments. It was now the 22nd day of September. To our consternation, when we gathered up our cattle, the essential part of our means of transportation, for some reason had strayed away, and were not to be found with the herd. She paid tithing, even in her poverty. Harold B. Lee Library: creatorOf: MS 14305, Smith, Hyrum 1800-1844. "Why, Mary," he exclaimed, "what do you mean? Today, Mary is admired as one of the most stalwart pioneers of the early Church. The captain ordered the march to begin, and, regardless of our predicament, the company started out, up the mountain. She had trusted with the most implicit faith in God for deliverance from the jaws of death, for Winter Quarters was a most sickly place at that time, and was being deserted by most of the Saints. This was refused and she was advised to turn back. We moved smoothly until we reached a point about mid-way between the Platte and Sweetwater, when one of our best oxen laid down in the yoke as if poisoned and all supposed he would die. Up to this time one of the teams had two wagons and when we reached a hill, we uncoupled one wagon, taking one at a time. I was almost nine years of age at this time, and accompanied my mother and uncle on this journey as a teamster. "...Mary Fielding Smith Kimball (July 21, 1801 – September 21, 1852) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, the second wife of LDS Church leader Hyrum Smith and the mother of Joseph F. Smith. When she arose from her knees I was standing near by. Thus far she had come without asking help of anyone, except of the Lord, who came to her rescue in the dark hour when it seemed all earthly help would fail. History is filled with the names of exceptional women, but few have exhibited the courage and faith of Mary Fielding Smith, the daughter of a Bedfordshire farmer-preacher, who left her native land and became a heroine in her own right. Would you deny me a blessing? The Mormon Church distributes free copies of the King James Version of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. About Product: Mary Fielding Smith was born and reared in England and joined the Church in 1835 in Canada. In a few minutes it burst in such terrific fury that the cattle could not face the storm, and the captain seemed forced to direct the company to unhitch the teams, turn them loose, and block the wheels to keep the wagons from running back down the hill. From him she tried to obtain sufficient oxen or cows to continue the journey. His predictions had thus far failed; but he was determined that they should not fail in the final test at the end. During this talk, I want you primary girls and young women and mothers with children still at home to ask yourselves what you would have done if you had been Emma Hale or Mary Fielding. There I saw our oxen fastened to a clump of willows growing in the bottom of a deep gulch which had been washed out of the sandy banks of the river by the little spring creek, perfectly concealed from view. In the fall of 1847 my mother and her brother. This circumstance was one of the first practical and positive demonstrations of the efficacy of prayer I had ever witnessed. Before the company had proceeded very far another of her oxen fell down as the first, but with the same treatment he also got up, and this was repeated the third time; by administration the oxen were fully healed. We heard plainly what he said, but mother went right on, paid no attention to his remark and did not even turn her head to look at him. In the spring of 1847 a portion of our family crossed the plains, following the pioneers to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, the remainder of the family intending to proceed on their journey to the west in the following spring. Mary Fielding Smith, a faithful Latter-day Saint woman, was left with several young children while her husband was in Liberty Jail during the winter of 1838–39. Joseph Fielding, made a trip down the Missouri river to St. Joseph, Mo., about fifty miles, for the purpose of obtaining provisions and clothing for the family for the coming winter, and for the journey across the plains the following spring. Hyrum was Joseph’s older brother. When she emigrated to Kirtland, Ohio, she could have had no idea that she would soon marry into the first family of the Church. I sat in the front of the wagon with the teams we had in hand hitched to the wheels, while my brother was absent hunting the others. Mary Fielding was born 21 July 1801 in Honeydon, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom to John Fielding (1759-1836) and Rachel Ibbotson (1767-1828) and died 21 September 1852 inSalt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States of pneumonia. Her earnest plea was complied with. Documents People Photos ... Don Cecil Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith: Daughter of Britain (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974), 261. […] We have been all over this country, all through the timber and through the herd of cattle, and our oxen are gone—they are not to be found. Deed to Mary Fielding Smith, 15 March 1843 ID # 4015 Total Pages 1 Handwriting on This Page. The grass was tall, and in the morning was wet with heavy dew. She and her family were assigned to a traveling group, and the captain told her that she would be a burden to others and shouldn’t attempt the difficult journey. BIT OF HUMOUR. As it ceased to rain, and the wind ceased to blow, my brother, John, drove up with our lost cattle. Mary Fielding Smith, Daughter of Britain book. In this he, no doubt, gloried, for he was going to see that it was fulfilled. She moved her children, stepchildren, and hired hands to a remote 40-acre farm in the Millcreek area where they built this home for themselves. She and Emma Smith endured many … She married Heber Chase Kimball (1801-1868) … After diagnosing our case, considering the number of wagons we had, and the helplessness of the whole company, the wagonmaster very sternly informed the widow that there was no use for her to attempt to cross the plains that year, and advised her to go back to the Missouri River, and remain at Winter Quarters another year, when perhaps she could be helped," then the supervisor added: "If you start out in this manner, you will be a burden on the company the whole way, and I will have to carry you along or leave you on the way." My uncle held up his hands in blank astonishment, and if the Missouri river had suddenly turned to run up stream, neither of us could have been much more surprised. The death of this faithful animal would have been fatal to the progress of Widow Smith on the journey to the valley. It was a most delightful sight to us. Early next morning, the captain gave notice to the company to arise, hitch up and roll over the mountain into the valley. Born on July 21, 1801, at Honidon, Bedfordshire, England, Mary Fielding was the sixth child of John Fielding and Rachel Ibbotson, staunch Methodists. Mary Fielding Smith was a widow with many people dependent on her. One more day and they would, if all signs did not fail, pitch their little camp in the coveted valley of refuge that lay before them. Mary Fielding Smith, a faithful Latter-day Saint woman, was left with several young children while her husband was in Liberty Jail during the winter of 1838–39. But in this he was mistaken. He notes that she died in 1852, four years after reaching the Valley, and that after the funeral there was no formal tribute for more than thirty years until Joseph F. Smith, her son, published a faith-promoting story … Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. After two months of illness, she died at fifty-one years of age, leaving behind her two young children. We then hitched them to the wagon, and the question was asked by my uncle of mother: "Mary, what shall we do? At this the wagonmaster came up and seeing the cause of the disturbance he blustered about as if the world were about at an end. (I was watching her every moment and was determined that she should not get out of my sight.) She knew this, so also did the wagonmaster. She married Hyrum Smith (1800-1844) 24 December 1837 in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio, United States. Not an official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS.org), "Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. Luckily, the storm lasted only a short time. About dwhite Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. Mary Fielding was born in Honeydon (Honidon), Bedordshire, England, on July 21, 1801. I halted for a moment and then drew gently near enough to hear her pleading with the Lord not to suffer us to be left in this helpless condition, but to lead us to recover our lost team, that we might continue our travels in safety. Read 4 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. 2):93 (3):17 Dec 29, 2013 - LDS Bronze sculpture of Mary Fielding Smith praying for her sick ox with her son Joseph Fielding Smith. Mary Fielding Smith and the Lost Oxen. The pure, crystal streams a few moments before flow gently down their channels; but after one of these rains, in a few minutes they become raging torrents, muddy and sometimes bringing down fallen trees and roots and rocks. This brought great chagrin to the countenance of the captain of the company. Certificate, 1844. Naturally when the ox dropped to the ground all the wagons that were following came to a sudden stop. Church History Library: creatorOf: MS 885, Smith, Hyrum Fisher 1856-1923. Sketch of the Life of Rachel Fielding … Uncle Fielding and I spent all the morning, well nigh until noon, hunting for them but without avail. Instantly we rose from the 'mess-chest,' on which our breakfast had been spread, and started toward her, and, like John, who outran the other disciple to the sepulchre, I outran my uncle and came first to the spot where my mother stood. The widow feared to cross the plains in this way and so applied to the Church agent for help. Unidentified; 43. Wife of the second patriarch of the Mormon Church, Hyrum Smith. Tramping through this grass and through the woods and over the bluffs, we were soaked to the skin, fatigued, disheartened and almost exhausted. Then, on the afternoon of that Sunday, we went out and met our friends coming in, very dusty, and very foot-sore and very tired! The ox stiffened out spasmodically evidently in the throes of death. We reached the Old Fort about 10 o'clock that Saturday night. Though this is not a personal account of Mary Fielding Smith, it is a testament to her enduring faith. The weather was unpropitious, the roads were bad, and it rained a great deal during the journey, so that the trip was a very hard, trying and unpleasant one. Her famous snappy remark, that she expects the blessings that come from […] Read More » Posted in General Conference Odyssey Tagged Mary Fielding Smith, Tithing Leave a comment. Mary Fielding Smith did not let the trials she had already faced, or those she would face in the future as a widowed mother in a church under constant threat of persecution and death slow her down or destroy her faith. At St. Joseph we purchased our groceries and dry goods, and at Savannah we laid in our store of flour, meal, corn, bacon and other provisions. In … He shares a fairly well-known story about Mary Fielding Smith being told that because she was a widow she shouldn’t have to pay her tithing. From the description of Certificate, 1844. She was the sixth child of John Fielding and Rachel Ibbotson, who were active in the growing Methodist movement in the area. But the last promise seemed to be now impossible; the last hope of getting into the valley before the rest of our company was vanishing in my opinion. Mary Fielding Smith, Birth Date: 21 July 1801, Death Date: 21 September 1852,

Widow of Hyrum Smith and mother of Joseph F. Smith. All of a sudden, and in less time than I am taking to tell you, a big, dark, heavy cloud rose from the northwest, going directly southeast. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. The wagonmaster, remembering the prediction she had uttered that she would beat him to the valley, had in the night taken steps to forestall the fulfillment of any such prediction. Her bishop said she didn't have to keep the law of tithing because she was to poor. First I’ll tell you about Mary Fielding Smith. The following excerpts is his account as recorded in "The Life of Joseph F. Smith": Mobs raided her home, and her son was nearly killed as a result of the attack. With these she and her brother returned to the camp on the Elk Horn. The first expression I caught upon her precious face was a lovely smile, which, discouraged as I was, gave me renewed hope and an assurance I had not felt before. After spending the winter of 1848-1849 in the fort of the Salt Lake Valley, Mary Fielding Smith, widow of church leader Hyrum Smith, decided to live on a farm rather than her assigned "city" plot. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it. The following year, Mary moved to Kirtland, Ohio. A moment later the man rode off rapidly toward his herd, which had been gathered in the opening near the edge of the woods, and they were soon under full drive for the road leading toward Savannah, and soon disappeared from view. I saw the company wending its slow way up the hill, the animals struggling to pull their heavy loads. This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). Mary Fielding Smith was the widow of Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith's brother who died with him at Carthage Jail. At this remark the wagonmaster seemed to be very nettled and replied: "You can't get there without help, and the burden will be on me." Mary married Hyrum Smith on December 24, 1837. After the Mormons were expelled from Nauvoo, Illinois, Mary started the pioneer trek to Utah with her five children, her Aunt Mercy Rachel Thompson, her brother, Joseph Fielding, and a few others. With this remark he abruptly turned and walked away." When the Saints left Nauvoo for the Salt Lake Valley after Joseph and Hyrum were martyred, Mary resolved to make the journey. The spent 1847-1848 in Winter Quarters, Nebraska, preparing to leave for the salt lake valley. We were not long in releasing them from bondage and getting back to our camp, where the other cattle had been fastened to the wagon wheels all the morning, and we were soon on our way homeward bound, rejoicing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe they have been driven off, and it is useless for you to attempt to do such a thing as to hunt for them." During her most tender years, Mary learned from both her father and mother the meaning of hard work, discipline, devotion to God, and sacrifice. Menu. We all grew up with the wonderful stories of Mary Fielding Smith showing her true womanhood as she crossed the plains. by dwhite | Jul 11, 2011 | Historical Stories | 0 comments. The spent 1847-1848 in Winter Quarters, Nebraska, preparing to leave for the salt lake valley. The man in charge of the herd of beef cattle rode up from the opposite side of the creek and called out: "Madam, I saw your oxen over in that direction this morning about daybreak," pointing in the opposite direction from that in which mother was going. Mary Smith (born Fielding) was born on month day 1801, at birth place, to John Fielding and Rachel Fielding (born Ibbotson). Mary responded, “I will beat you to the valley and will ask no help from you either.” The trek proved difficult, but she arrived with her family in Salt Lake on September 23, 1848, a day ahead of the captain who had doubted her. But when morning came there was consternation in Mary Smith's camp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the tenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1970 until his death in 1972. ", Joseph Can't Translate While Angry with Emma, Alfred Young's Vision of Celestial Kingdom, Oliver Cowdery Testifies of Plates in Court, Sydney Rigdon's Final Confession to His Son, Hostile Police Constables Befriend Joseph Smith, Girl Teaches Articles of Faith to Man on Bus. Mary Fielding Smith weathered social pressures, freezing cold temperatures, and people who didn't believe in her abilities. Interesting History: Job Delegation in the Felt Home; Who Win? 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