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Joseph C. Kingsbury: A biography
272 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1985
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September 7, 2012
Joseph C. Kingsbury had a daughter named Vilate, who had a son named Owen, who had a son named Walter, who had a daughter named Joyce, who had a son named Brian, who was my dad. :-) This was the most incredible reading experience of my life, second only to reading the scriptures. To hold in my hands a whole book, an entire biography about my direct ancestor was amazing.
Kingsbury was the descendant of Puritans who helped settle Connecticut, the grandson of an American revolutionary war veteran who fought in the battle of Lexington. His parents, Solomon and Bathsheba, moved from their high society and very comfortable upbringing in Connecticut to find a new life in the frontier of the Western Reserve or Ohio. Bathsheba passed away from illness when Joseph was only two years old and tragically death was to be his constant companion. His father died when he was 19 and Joseph went to work as a clerk to help support his stepmother and younger siblings. Joseph was sought out by none other than Newel K. Whitney, who had been a friend of Solomon Kingsbury's. He wanted Joseph to help him in his store in Kirtland. Joseph accepted and boarded with Newel K. Whitney and his family in January of 1832. That's when he was introduced to Mormonism. But it wasn't until he heard the testimony of Joseph Smith Sr. that he accepted baptism. He said that "the prophet's father's testimony touched his heart with such power". He met Joseph Smith the Prophet in late February 1832.
Joseph Kingsbury wasn't in Joseph Smith's inner circle but he was on the fringes. While Newel K. Whitney was upstairs involved in important church matters, it was Kingsbury who actually ran the store. He was so vital in fact that when Joseph Smith called Kingsbury to go to Zion's Camp, Whitney insisted that Kingsbury remain behind to help him. And certainly Joseph helped Emma Smith, who was 8 months pregnant and living above the store, during the time Joseph Smith's absence. His dedication to the church was duly noted for Joseph Smith selected him to be one of the chosen elders to lay one of the cornerstones of the Kirtland Temple. There was a problem however, Kingsbury wasn't an elder yet! Instead of choosing someone else Joseph Smith himself ordained Kingsbury to the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Kingsbury helped build the Kirtland Temple. He also went on several missions to the New England states. And his close relationship with the Whitney family is evident in his marriage to Newel K. Whitney's younger sister, Caroline.
When trouble and apostasy hit the church in Kirtland in 1838 even Newel K. Whitney grew sour against Joseph Smith. But Joseph and Caroline stood with the prophet. To me this tells me that Joseph Kingsbury wasn't just a follower or that he merely leaned against the testimony of his employer and landlord. He was able to withstand the murmurings of his father figure and mentor and not succumb to the pressure from his contemporaries. Joseph and Caroline decided to risk everything for the church and travel with their 18-month-old son Joseph Whitney to be with the saints in Missouri.
The journey was long and hard and just a 100 miles from Independence Joseph Whitney died on 13 August 1838. This just breaks my heart. To think that they sacrificed everything, left everything they knew, to travel thousands of miles to join the church. If it were me, I think I would expect God to bless me and my family and to not let this horrific tragedy occur. This too shows how firm their testimonies were. But this was just the beginning of Joseph's hardships.
Joseph and Caroline arrived in Missouri just when things were getting really bad for the Saints. Armed men actually accosted them while crossing a ferry and asked them if they were Mormons from Dewitt. They simply replied that they didn't know anything about Mormons in Dewitt and miraculously the men left them alone. So many members flooded into Far West during this time that several families had to share small log cabins that winter. Caroline was also suffering from dropsy, a disease that made her limbs and other parts of her body fill with fluid so that at times it was too painful for her to sleep on her back so she had to sleep sitting and leaning forward on a chair. Joseph Smith and other leaders were arrested in November 1838 and the saints in Missouri were told to leave. Because of Caroline's sickness, she and Joseph could only make it as far as Marion, Missouri, where they stayed the rest of the winter with the couple who had housed them when their little boy died a few months previously.
Joseph and Caroline finely made it to Nauvoo where they first settled across the Mississippi river in Iowa Territory. But when Newel K. Whitney and Joseph Smith built the Red Brick Store, they remembered Joseph Kingsbury and asked him to come be a clerk once more. They moved across the river and into a house on Kimball and Partridge Streets in the Fall of 1841. But on 15 October 1842 Caroline, still suffering from her sickness that had been worsened by the exodus form Missouri, died after giving birth to a baby boy, who died a few hours later.
In the midst of his mourning Joseph Kingsbury was asked to do a very difficult thing by Joseph Smith. He was asked to be the legal husband of Sarah Ann Whitney, Newel K. Whitney's 18 year old daughter and cousin to Caroline. But he would be husband in name only, for she was one of the plural wives of Joseph Smith. Plural marriage was still a secret at this time and Kingsbury was asked to do this for perhaps two reasons: First, to protect Joseph Smith from the already vicious mob threat, and second, as a test of faith. Kingsbury accepted and took care of Sarah Ann like the sister that he already considered her to be. Again, a testament to Joseph's rock-solid testimony. I don't know what Joseph's feelings were about polygamy, but he still cared about Joseph Smith enough to be one of the men who answered the call to rescue the prophet from kidnappers on 26 June 1843.
Kingsbury also received a blessing from Joseph Smith for his faithfulness, and was promised priesthood blessings that would seal Caroline and him for all of eternity. These blessings were realized in the years to come.
Because of his work as a clerk, Joseph's handwriting was very good, and he was asked by Newel K. Whitney to make a copy of D&C 132. This copy is still held at the Church Archives.
In July of 1843 Joseph went on a mission to Connecticut to try and share the Gospel with his relatives in Enfield. They met his message only with derision, and he returned a year later upon hearing about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. "He couldn't believe it," Joseph wrote in his journal.
In November 1844 Joseph was called as the chief financial clerk for the church and worked closely with William Clayton. On 26 January 1845 he received his Endowment in Parley P. Pratt's store. Also in 1845 he met 17-year-old Dorcas Adelia Moore. The Moores were newly arrived converts from England and Joseph and Dorcas became friends. He wished to propose to her but there was a problem. In the public eye he was "married" to Sarah Ann Whitney. Joseph discussed the situation with Brigham Young who helped to explain everything to the Moores. On 17 March 1845 Dorcas and Joseph were married for time and all eternity by Brigham Young. Right after the marriage ceremony, Dorcas acted as proxy for Caroline Whitney and Joseph was sealed to his beloved first wife. Incredible!
In January 1846 Joseph was then sealed to my great-great-great-great grandmother Loenza Alcena Pond. She was born 15 February 1830 in Hubbardston, Massachusetts, so she was only 16 when she married Joseph. But her parents wanted her to be sealed to a righteous priesthood holder, probably before crossing the plains. According to Cook, "There was little romance to this union; both Joseph and Loenza viewed it as a religious duty. However, in time they did learn to love each other." (pg. 93)
On 26 February 1846 Joseph left Nauvoo in company with the Whitney family. When they arrived at Winter Quarters he and Newel K. Whitney once again ran a store together. This was also the first place where Joseph, Dorcas, and Loenza all shared one small log cabin together. I can't imagine what that first Winter was like.
But great tragedy struck Loenza's famly. Her parents, Stillman and Maria Pond, left Nauvoo at a later date and actually had to flee because of mob violence. On their way their newborn twins died. At Winter Quarters Loenza's three sisters and younger brother fell ill and passed away as well. In total they lost all eight of their children and Maria passed away shortly after.
Joseph and his wives traveled to Salt Lake City in the Second Division, in Abraham O. Smoot's 100, and George B. Wallace's 50. Joseph was clerk to Captain Wallace. On 26 August 1847, they arrived at Independence Rock and passed through Devil's Gate. On 24 September 1847, the day before they arrived through Emigration Canyon, they camped at the summit of Big Mountain. The journey took 19 months from Nauvoo and 3 months from Winter Quarters.
On 19 November 1847, Dorcas gave birth to Bashua, the first girl to be born among the saints in the Salt Lake Valley. On 27 March 1849 Loenza, 19 years old, started labor with her first child. Her fellow Relief Society sisters washed and anointed her, which was customary during this time to do so with women in labor. Her blessing was recorded: "We wash you preparatory to your safe delivery and speedy recovery, for life, health, salvation, for yourself and your offspring, asking God the Eternal Father that His holy spirit may attend this ordinance. May every cord and muscle be strong and healthy, that the marrow of your bones be warmed up by the Spirit of God and that no cold might settle upon your bosom and that your milk may be pure and filled with nourishment." I love that blessing. And that day, Vilate Elizabeth Kingsbury was born.
Joseph Kingsbury served in the church in many ways. As bishop and counselor in the bishopric, and later as a patriarch. With funds that he had secured by working on a ferry during the great gold rush he purchased a farm in Ogden, following the advice of Brigham Young. But he and his now large family of two wives and several daughters met only disaster in Weber County. Loenza fell ill and had to be taken to live with a sister in Salt Lake City. Vilate was only four years old, her younger sister Martha Ann was two, and the youngest, Maria, was 9 months old. "In May, 1853, after Joseph sowed his wheat and planted garden vegetables, he received word that Loenza's condition had worsened. Joseph hurried to Salt Lake City and 'found her very low' with consumption. Some were doubting that Loenza would ever recover, but Joseph's presence comforted her and gave her encouragement. Joseph prayed for his wife and gave her a priesthood blessing, and although Loenza was very ill, she 'tried to brighten up' and have hope that she would yet get well." But on 15 June 1853, Loenza died. She was only 23 years old. To make matters worse, the Ogden river flooded and Joseph's farm was completely destroyed. And because of the dangerous flood waters there was no way that Joseph could travel back to Salt Lake City to attend Loenza's funeral.
Joseph moved his now impoverished family to East Weber which is now Uintah. There he became a teacher to try and provide but Vilate and her sisters remember going hungry often. Joseph also served in the militia during the "Utah War". He actually went on a march with the Thomas J. Osborn Company through Box Elder Canyon and Cache Valley on 20 October 1857 in order to protect the northern part of the territory from attack. On the 23rd of October, the entire company stripped down and waded through the freezing waters of the Bear River on foot.
It was during this time that Dorcas's parents tried to convince Joseph to accompany them to California in search for gold. They told him that they would fund the journey for him and his entire family. This offer was truly tempting. His family was almost starving, but the brethren and especially Brigham Young had admonished all to not seek an "easy" fortune in California. Joseph declined the offer from his in-laws and once again was obedient to the counsel of the prophet.
In April 1858 he left Weber and settled in Provo for a few months until he sought the help of Brigham Young once more. He was given the job to work in the Church Tithing Store which operated where the Joseph Smith Memorial building now stands. They moved to a house on 200 S. and 300 E. in Salt Lake City. In May 1865 Joseph was appointed supervisor of the Tithing Storehouse.
On 1 June 1867 Vilate became the second wife of Edward Snelgrove, she was 18 years old at the time. They were married by Wilford Woodruff. In July 1871 Vilate's firstborn, Edward Joseph Snelgrove, died. In the Spring of 1884 Vilate and her 9 month old daughter Loenza also passed away. This was a terrible blow to Joseph Kingsbury, for Vilate "had been an affectionate daughter, unrelenting in her devotion to her father. Since her birth 35 years before, she had only rarely been out of Joseph's sight and never away from his influence. Joseph agonized over his daughter in her sickness. Vilate suffered from consumption - tuberculosis of the lungs - and baby Loenza from marasmus. Both wasted away slowly over a period of weeks." She died on May 2nd 1884 during a violent thunderstorm and was buried in Salt Lake City cemetary during a torrential downpour, the same week that the Logan Temple was dedicated.
In the twilight of his life Joseph C. Kingsbury took the train many times to the Logan Temple to do temple work for his ancestors. He spoke at many funerals, including Eliza R. Snow's. He was an original pioneer of '47. When he could no longer work at the tithing store he was made a tour guide of temple square. He would sit at the East Gate (where the reflection pool is now) and greet anyone who would like to hear his story and he would give them a tour of the tabernacle and other buildings near the temple. He died 15 October 1898 at 3:30 am on a Saturday. Heber J. Grant spoke at his funeral. He was 86 years old.
At first the discovery of this ancestor made me feel like suddenly I was a descendant of church history royalty. :-) But then I became truly humbled and deeply impressed by the devotion and sacrifice of this obedient and faithful servant of the Lord. Joseph's temperament was a lot like my dad's. Not only do they have the clerk thing in common, but everyone spoke well of Joseph Kingsbury. He wasn't a great orator, very quiet and kind of reserved. But he was kind and with a quiet, unyielding strength he went about his duty. He was a friend to Joseph Smith and endured to the very end. If he hadn't, where would I be?
Kingsbury was the descendant of Puritans who helped settle Connecticut, the grandson of an American revolutionary war veteran who fought in the battle of Lexington. His parents, Solomon and Bathsheba, moved from their high society and very comfortable upbringing in Connecticut to find a new life in the frontier of the Western Reserve or Ohio. Bathsheba passed away from illness when Joseph was only two years old and tragically death was to be his constant companion. His father died when he was 19 and Joseph went to work as a clerk to help support his stepmother and younger siblings. Joseph was sought out by none other than Newel K. Whitney, who had been a friend of Solomon Kingsbury's. He wanted Joseph to help him in his store in Kirtland. Joseph accepted and boarded with Newel K. Whitney and his family in January of 1832. That's when he was introduced to Mormonism. But it wasn't until he heard the testimony of Joseph Smith Sr. that he accepted baptism. He said that "the prophet's father's testimony touched his heart with such power". He met Joseph Smith the Prophet in late February 1832.
Joseph Kingsbury wasn't in Joseph Smith's inner circle but he was on the fringes. While Newel K. Whitney was upstairs involved in important church matters, it was Kingsbury who actually ran the store. He was so vital in fact that when Joseph Smith called Kingsbury to go to Zion's Camp, Whitney insisted that Kingsbury remain behind to help him. And certainly Joseph helped Emma Smith, who was 8 months pregnant and living above the store, during the time Joseph Smith's absence. His dedication to the church was duly noted for Joseph Smith selected him to be one of the chosen elders to lay one of the cornerstones of the Kirtland Temple. There was a problem however, Kingsbury wasn't an elder yet! Instead of choosing someone else Joseph Smith himself ordained Kingsbury to the Melchizedek Priesthood.
Kingsbury helped build the Kirtland Temple. He also went on several missions to the New England states. And his close relationship with the Whitney family is evident in his marriage to Newel K. Whitney's younger sister, Caroline.
When trouble and apostasy hit the church in Kirtland in 1838 even Newel K. Whitney grew sour against Joseph Smith. But Joseph and Caroline stood with the prophet. To me this tells me that Joseph Kingsbury wasn't just a follower or that he merely leaned against the testimony of his employer and landlord. He was able to withstand the murmurings of his father figure and mentor and not succumb to the pressure from his contemporaries. Joseph and Caroline decided to risk everything for the church and travel with their 18-month-old son Joseph Whitney to be with the saints in Missouri.
The journey was long and hard and just a 100 miles from Independence Joseph Whitney died on 13 August 1838. This just breaks my heart. To think that they sacrificed everything, left everything they knew, to travel thousands of miles to join the church. If it were me, I think I would expect God to bless me and my family and to not let this horrific tragedy occur. This too shows how firm their testimonies were. But this was just the beginning of Joseph's hardships.
Joseph and Caroline arrived in Missouri just when things were getting really bad for the Saints. Armed men actually accosted them while crossing a ferry and asked them if they were Mormons from Dewitt. They simply replied that they didn't know anything about Mormons in Dewitt and miraculously the men left them alone. So many members flooded into Far West during this time that several families had to share small log cabins that winter. Caroline was also suffering from dropsy, a disease that made her limbs and other parts of her body fill with fluid so that at times it was too painful for her to sleep on her back so she had to sleep sitting and leaning forward on a chair. Joseph Smith and other leaders were arrested in November 1838 and the saints in Missouri were told to leave. Because of Caroline's sickness, she and Joseph could only make it as far as Marion, Missouri, where they stayed the rest of the winter with the couple who had housed them when their little boy died a few months previously.
Joseph and Caroline finely made it to Nauvoo where they first settled across the Mississippi river in Iowa Territory. But when Newel K. Whitney and Joseph Smith built the Red Brick Store, they remembered Joseph Kingsbury and asked him to come be a clerk once more. They moved across the river and into a house on Kimball and Partridge Streets in the Fall of 1841. But on 15 October 1842 Caroline, still suffering from her sickness that had been worsened by the exodus form Missouri, died after giving birth to a baby boy, who died a few hours later.
In the midst of his mourning Joseph Kingsbury was asked to do a very difficult thing by Joseph Smith. He was asked to be the legal husband of Sarah Ann Whitney, Newel K. Whitney's 18 year old daughter and cousin to Caroline. But he would be husband in name only, for she was one of the plural wives of Joseph Smith. Plural marriage was still a secret at this time and Kingsbury was asked to do this for perhaps two reasons: First, to protect Joseph Smith from the already vicious mob threat, and second, as a test of faith. Kingsbury accepted and took care of Sarah Ann like the sister that he already considered her to be. Again, a testament to Joseph's rock-solid testimony. I don't know what Joseph's feelings were about polygamy, but he still cared about Joseph Smith enough to be one of the men who answered the call to rescue the prophet from kidnappers on 26 June 1843.
Kingsbury also received a blessing from Joseph Smith for his faithfulness, and was promised priesthood blessings that would seal Caroline and him for all of eternity. These blessings were realized in the years to come.
Because of his work as a clerk, Joseph's handwriting was very good, and he was asked by Newel K. Whitney to make a copy of D&C 132. This copy is still held at the Church Archives.
In July of 1843 Joseph went on a mission to Connecticut to try and share the Gospel with his relatives in Enfield. They met his message only with derision, and he returned a year later upon hearing about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. "He couldn't believe it," Joseph wrote in his journal.
In November 1844 Joseph was called as the chief financial clerk for the church and worked closely with William Clayton. On 26 January 1845 he received his Endowment in Parley P. Pratt's store. Also in 1845 he met 17-year-old Dorcas Adelia Moore. The Moores were newly arrived converts from England and Joseph and Dorcas became friends. He wished to propose to her but there was a problem. In the public eye he was "married" to Sarah Ann Whitney. Joseph discussed the situation with Brigham Young who helped to explain everything to the Moores. On 17 March 1845 Dorcas and Joseph were married for time and all eternity by Brigham Young. Right after the marriage ceremony, Dorcas acted as proxy for Caroline Whitney and Joseph was sealed to his beloved first wife. Incredible!
In January 1846 Joseph was then sealed to my great-great-great-great grandmother Loenza Alcena Pond. She was born 15 February 1830 in Hubbardston, Massachusetts, so she was only 16 when she married Joseph. But her parents wanted her to be sealed to a righteous priesthood holder, probably before crossing the plains. According to Cook, "There was little romance to this union; both Joseph and Loenza viewed it as a religious duty. However, in time they did learn to love each other." (pg. 93)
On 26 February 1846 Joseph left Nauvoo in company with the Whitney family. When they arrived at Winter Quarters he and Newel K. Whitney once again ran a store together. This was also the first place where Joseph, Dorcas, and Loenza all shared one small log cabin together. I can't imagine what that first Winter was like.
But great tragedy struck Loenza's famly. Her parents, Stillman and Maria Pond, left Nauvoo at a later date and actually had to flee because of mob violence. On their way their newborn twins died. At Winter Quarters Loenza's three sisters and younger brother fell ill and passed away as well. In total they lost all eight of their children and Maria passed away shortly after.
Joseph and his wives traveled to Salt Lake City in the Second Division, in Abraham O. Smoot's 100, and George B. Wallace's 50. Joseph was clerk to Captain Wallace. On 26 August 1847, they arrived at Independence Rock and passed through Devil's Gate. On 24 September 1847, the day before they arrived through Emigration Canyon, they camped at the summit of Big Mountain. The journey took 19 months from Nauvoo and 3 months from Winter Quarters.
On 19 November 1847, Dorcas gave birth to Bashua, the first girl to be born among the saints in the Salt Lake Valley. On 27 March 1849 Loenza, 19 years old, started labor with her first child. Her fellow Relief Society sisters washed and anointed her, which was customary during this time to do so with women in labor. Her blessing was recorded: "We wash you preparatory to your safe delivery and speedy recovery, for life, health, salvation, for yourself and your offspring, asking God the Eternal Father that His holy spirit may attend this ordinance. May every cord and muscle be strong and healthy, that the marrow of your bones be warmed up by the Spirit of God and that no cold might settle upon your bosom and that your milk may be pure and filled with nourishment." I love that blessing. And that day, Vilate Elizabeth Kingsbury was born.
Joseph Kingsbury served in the church in many ways. As bishop and counselor in the bishopric, and later as a patriarch. With funds that he had secured by working on a ferry during the great gold rush he purchased a farm in Ogden, following the advice of Brigham Young. But he and his now large family of two wives and several daughters met only disaster in Weber County. Loenza fell ill and had to be taken to live with a sister in Salt Lake City. Vilate was only four years old, her younger sister Martha Ann was two, and the youngest, Maria, was 9 months old. "In May, 1853, after Joseph sowed his wheat and planted garden vegetables, he received word that Loenza's condition had worsened. Joseph hurried to Salt Lake City and 'found her very low' with consumption. Some were doubting that Loenza would ever recover, but Joseph's presence comforted her and gave her encouragement. Joseph prayed for his wife and gave her a priesthood blessing, and although Loenza was very ill, she 'tried to brighten up' and have hope that she would yet get well." But on 15 June 1853, Loenza died. She was only 23 years old. To make matters worse, the Ogden river flooded and Joseph's farm was completely destroyed. And because of the dangerous flood waters there was no way that Joseph could travel back to Salt Lake City to attend Loenza's funeral.
Joseph moved his now impoverished family to East Weber which is now Uintah. There he became a teacher to try and provide but Vilate and her sisters remember going hungry often. Joseph also served in the militia during the "Utah War". He actually went on a march with the Thomas J. Osborn Company through Box Elder Canyon and Cache Valley on 20 October 1857 in order to protect the northern part of the territory from attack. On the 23rd of October, the entire company stripped down and waded through the freezing waters of the Bear River on foot.
It was during this time that Dorcas's parents tried to convince Joseph to accompany them to California in search for gold. They told him that they would fund the journey for him and his entire family. This offer was truly tempting. His family was almost starving, but the brethren and especially Brigham Young had admonished all to not seek an "easy" fortune in California. Joseph declined the offer from his in-laws and once again was obedient to the counsel of the prophet.
In April 1858 he left Weber and settled in Provo for a few months until he sought the help of Brigham Young once more. He was given the job to work in the Church Tithing Store which operated where the Joseph Smith Memorial building now stands. They moved to a house on 200 S. and 300 E. in Salt Lake City. In May 1865 Joseph was appointed supervisor of the Tithing Storehouse.
On 1 June 1867 Vilate became the second wife of Edward Snelgrove, she was 18 years old at the time. They were married by Wilford Woodruff. In July 1871 Vilate's firstborn, Edward Joseph Snelgrove, died. In the Spring of 1884 Vilate and her 9 month old daughter Loenza also passed away. This was a terrible blow to Joseph Kingsbury, for Vilate "had been an affectionate daughter, unrelenting in her devotion to her father. Since her birth 35 years before, she had only rarely been out of Joseph's sight and never away from his influence. Joseph agonized over his daughter in her sickness. Vilate suffered from consumption - tuberculosis of the lungs - and baby Loenza from marasmus. Both wasted away slowly over a period of weeks." She died on May 2nd 1884 during a violent thunderstorm and was buried in Salt Lake City cemetary during a torrential downpour, the same week that the Logan Temple was dedicated.
In the twilight of his life Joseph C. Kingsbury took the train many times to the Logan Temple to do temple work for his ancestors. He spoke at many funerals, including Eliza R. Snow's. He was an original pioneer of '47. When he could no longer work at the tithing store he was made a tour guide of temple square. He would sit at the East Gate (where the reflection pool is now) and greet anyone who would like to hear his story and he would give them a tour of the tabernacle and other buildings near the temple. He died 15 October 1898 at 3:30 am on a Saturday. Heber J. Grant spoke at his funeral. He was 86 years old.
At first the discovery of this ancestor made me feel like suddenly I was a descendant of church history royalty. :-) But then I became truly humbled and deeply impressed by the devotion and sacrifice of this obedient and faithful servant of the Lord. Joseph's temperament was a lot like my dad's. Not only do they have the clerk thing in common, but everyone spoke well of Joseph Kingsbury. He wasn't a great orator, very quiet and kind of reserved. But he was kind and with a quiet, unyielding strength he went about his duty. He was a friend to Joseph Smith and endured to the very end. If he hadn't, where would I be?
January 3, 2015
Very interesting biography of one of my ancestors. He worked in the Whitney store in Ohio when Joseph Smith was there. He joins the church, follows to Nauvoo and Salt Lake City, loses a wife, becomes a front husband for one of Smith's wives,later marries again and then enters polygamy. Fascinating as it deals with many of the trials and struggles, hopes and realities of living in the early days of the LDS church and on the frontiers.
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