The History of The Church in the UK

Many of my ancestors became acquainted with the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and were converted in Great Britain in the 1840's. The video linked at the end of this post describes the beginning of missionary work in Europe and the rapid growth of membership. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has stated that if the church had not encouraged immigration to America, the headquarters of the church would most likely be in Great Britain because the number of converts there exceeded those in the United States.

Heber C. Kimball (as portrayed in video)

Elder Heber C. Kimball of the Council of the Twelve recalled the beginning of missionary work in Great Britain: “On Sunday, the 4th day of June, 1837, the Prophet Joseph came to me, while I was seated in front of the stand of the Kirtland Temple, and whispering to me, said, ‘Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me: “Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.

Elder Kimball immediately responded to the call of the Prophet, departing Kirtland nine days later. He led a group of six other men, three of whom had been called in a similarly dramatic manner, aboard a ship Garrick and arrived in Liverpool July twentieth.

I love the story reenacted in the video of the enthusiasm and eagerness of believers to join the church. 

There were two young men who had a friendly footrace to the bank of the River Ribble to be the first to enter the waters of baptism. The joy portrayed on their faces and their warm embrace after the ordinance are choice.

Other missionaries followed the original group of seven. In 1841, President Young  described the miracles that occurred within four years in this way. "We landed as strangers in a strange land and penniless, but through the mercy of God we have gained many friends, established churches in almost every noted town and city in the kingdom of Great Britain, baptized between seven and eight thousand, printed 5,000 Books of Mormon, 3,000 Hymn Books, 2,500 copies of the Millennial Star, and 50,000 tracts, and emigrated to Zion 1,000 souls, established a permanent shipping agency which will be a great blessing to the Saints, and have sown in the hearts of many thousands the seeds of eternal truth, which will bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God, and yet we have lacked nothing to eat, drink or wear; in all these things I acknowledge the hand of God.”

Enjoy the video about the marvelous works performed in Great Britain in the early day of the restoration. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to these early missionaries and converts.

The Barnyard Waterpark

This is what my summers at 3120 North Holmes Avenue look like in my memory:

A small irrigation ditch ran through our barnyard and it was better than any backyard pool, truly a children's paradise.

I always had a healthy fear of the water, as the story was retold multiple times of the occasion when Grandma Speas had to scale a fence and jump into the water to rescue me from drowning as a toddler.

Wading in the ice-cold water was always a thrill, but your feet had to be tough. Sometimes there were rocks or thistles or thorns on the bottom. Usually, though your feet sank into a mushy twist of "sea weed."  

Water skippers darted and floated on the surface and there was the occasional rumor of water snakes lurking in the deep.

A section of the ditch ran through a concrete culvert, which was a great course for boat races. When I say boats, I mean twigs, chunks of wood, leaves, cottage cheese cartons, empty pea pods, pieces of straw, basically anything that would float. We would launch them at one end of the culvert and the winner was the first to appear on the other end.

Water fights might have happened a time or two, maybe more.

One year Kevin made a kayak in Boy Scouts of America and floated and tested it in the ditch through the construction phase to make sure it would hold water.

It's not every child who has a water park in the backyard, but we did! Lucky us!

Lovefeast

I learned an amazing word today as I was reading about my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents - Johan "Heinrich" and Anna Barbara Mueller Schor. In their memoirs as recorded by the Moravian Brethern, I saw the following entry: 

July 21, 1805 - celebrated 50 years of marriage - provided Lovefeast.

My curiosity was immediately peaked by the word Lovefeast. I wanted to know more about what that meant.

First, I needed background information about the love in this couple's life. Surely, a Lovefeast required great love. 

Barbara came to America from her homeland of Switzerland in 1752 as an indentured servant. After arriving in Philadelphia she was "bought" by a man named John Baer in an agreement to work for three and a half years. He and his household treated her well and she was happy.

Heinrich immigrated to Pennsylvania with his family in 1750. During the five month voyage his mother and infant sibling passed away. His father tried to keep the surviving family together, but eventually Heinrich was sent to live with and serve a Mennonite brother, Dan Graff. At the end of this six month arrangement he apprenticed for eight months as a carpenter, hoping to find a trade and livelihood. After working with his father on a plantation in Virginia, in 1753 he returned to Pennsylvania with the intention of carrying on his trade and getting married.

I love his approach:

"Prayed to God that He would lead such a person to this man whom we could live happily."

A well to do Mennonite from Lancaster soon provided an offer for him to marry his daughter, but Heinrich refused because, "he did not have joy in his heart".

He continued to work for some time building homes and barns on plantations in the area and came to know Barbara, who was still in the services of Jon Baer. It was soon "set in his heart that this would be the person, destined to be his companion." Since she was not yet free, he paid the rest for her and they were married July 21, 1755, in Lancaster by the Preacher Otterbein.

Heaven blessed their marriage with six sons and four daughters of whom five of the sons preceded them back to heaven. 

Barbara's memoir speaks of her family relationships this way: 

"She loved her children as a tender mother and was always concerned with their inner and outer welfare."

On a visit to Bethabara, North Carolina, they heard the Moravian Brothers on the night watch singing their verses. This touched their souls and hearts and they decided to stay and join the community.

This takes us back to the word, Lovefeast, which I have come to understand is a religious service dedicated to Christian love and is most famously practiced by the Moravian's. Its purpose is to strengthen the bonds and the spirit of harmony, goodwill, and congeniality, as well as to forgive past disputes and instead love one another.

In addition to the eating of pastries and drinking, a Moravian Lovefeast also concentrates on the singing of hymns and listening to music with a theme of love and harmony. Some groups also include religious ordinances as part of the event.

At the Lovefeast of the Schor family, they read the names of 10 children, 37 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. "In joy and honors they celebrated their marriage anniversary with each other, their children, grandchildren and the whole community took part ... Her tears of love and thankfulness showed more than her words, what her heart felt in thinking again of those past years."

At the conclusion of Heinrich's memoir, the Brethren added this note:

It shall be enough to say only so much that he - in spite of all the peculiarities which he had, and though which he often brought himself and others in former times mainly into TROUBLE -- was nevertheless looked upon among us as a Brother who loved the Lord with all his heart.

Of Barbara they wrote:

"Certainly she has walked among us as a pardoned sinner, she has been edifying to us through her exemplary way of life and she has proved through her whole behavior that she was one of the quiet souls..."

A Flag for Mom

Each June 14th flags line the streets to commemorate the day that the United States officially adopted the Stars and Strips in 1777.

The flags that fly on this day signify something very different to me. They fly in honor of the best Mom who ever lived, Coila Ethel Speas McCracken, who passed away nearly two hundred years later, on June 14, 1975, at the young age of forty-six.

As time passes, unimportant things fade, but the sweet memories of  Mom remain vivid. I can still hear her laughter. I can still hear her say, "Home again, home again, jiggidy jig", because home was truly the place she loved more than any other. The lessons that she taught through love and example continue to inspire me day in and day out.

George Albert Smith

Today I reread the life sketch that Kevin wrote and delivered at her funeral service. Her life was simple by the standards of many, but magnificent in the eyes of those who knew and loved her.

For example, I love knowing that the highlight of Mom's life was meeting the Prophet George Albert Smith on a field trip to Salt Lake City as a senior in high school. Mom was not at the pulpit in Fast and Testimony meetings, but no one doubted her faith.

As I read Kevin's words I was once again impressed that Mom was "not content with any school subject until she understood it ... it was never her desire to only gain good grades ... she saw the purpose of schooling -  to learn." Similarly, she understood the purpose of this life was to learn and that learning can be difficult and painful. She suffered silently and valiantly through many years of a weakening disease without drawing attention to her condition or using it as an excuse to avoid work or service.

How true it is that she "searched always to be understanding, to comprehend the innermost feelings of others and help them attain their highest potential."

How wonderful that she "truly lived the motto inscribed on the Relief Society pin given her that "Charity Never Faileth." 

Kevin summed up her life beautifully: " She has loved her own and they have loved her." Is that not our purpose in this existence?

I will ever be grateful for my angel mother.

Called to Serve

I am awestruck by the missionary commitment of the saints in the early days of the restoration. There are many recorded occasions when missionary calls were announced from the pulpit during meetings and conferences. Elders thus called were expected, and willing, to depart on very short notice, often leaving large families behind to care and provide for themselves. 

Many of these saints were refuges or recent immigrants who had very little money and the fledgling church did not have funds to provide for their travel or sustenance, so the elders departed “without purse or scrip”. This is a scriptural term from the words of the Savior. Early in His ministry, the Savior called disciples to go forth and preach. These men were undoubtedly worried about providing for themselves and their families as they left their professions and followed the Savior.

Calming their fears Jesus said:

•  “Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses… for the workman is worthy of his meat.”  Matthew 10:9-10

Near the end of his life, the Savior reminded them:

• “When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing.”   Luke 22:35 

In the church’s infancy no language training was available for missionaries sent to non-English speaking lands. In short, the faith required for service was immense both for the elders and their families who shared the burden of the call.

John Darwin Chase

The missionary service of my Great, Great, Great Uncle John Darwin Chase and his companions is a good example of the commitment required by the early saints.

Immediately after speaking in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on April 21, 1861, John Darwin Chase, Parley P. Pratt Jr. (son of the apostle) and Jacob Bigler

Jacob Bigler

were called and set apart as missionaries to serve in England. 

John would leave his wife Almira with nine children in her care, the oldest being 14-year-old Amos. 

Venturing forth on faith, John did not have a penny in his pocket and only the clothes he was wearing. He caught a church train headed for Winter Quarters. It is unknown how he traveled from Winter Quarters to the Atlantic port during those early days of the Civil War. 

 

Parley P. Pratt, Jr.

When he arrived at the port, he had no money to pay the 15 pound fare. A stranger stepped forward and pressed just enough money into his hand for passage. With gratitude, he boarded the ship and began the journey to England where he would serve three years preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

From England he wrote:

"I have joy in my labors and I know my Heavenly Father has blessed me since I have been on this mission. I would not, though it were possible to exchange this experience for any amount of silver or gold." 

Monarch of the Sea

Three years later, on April 26, 1864, John boarded the Monarch of the Sea, and sailed home with Parley P. Pratt, Jr. again as his companion. The rickety old ship had been pronounced unseaworthy two years earlier, but still sailed carrying 973 passengers. Arriving safely in America was somewhat miraculous; the ship sunk on its return voyage to Liverpool, thankfully only loaded with cargo.

After his mission, John stated:

• "I received not as much as a postage stamp the three years I served, yet I never went hungry or without a place to sleep, and was never hindered in my labor for want or means to help me along."

Today, missionary calls and service are very different than in John's day. Potential missionaries plan and prepare, sometimes for years in advance. They meet with their bishop, fill out mission applications online, and are asked about preferences in location, language, and type of service. 

They await a call, which comes privately in a sealed envelope, and then have additional months of preparation time before leaving. Husbands and wives serve missions together after the children are raised on their own. 

Fort Lauderdale Mission Office

The contrast between missions then and now has been very vividly portrayed in my life this week as Dean and I traveled to Florida where we met with the Mission President of the Fort Lauderdale Florida Mission who has requested that we serve there in the mission office. 

We flew to Florida, checked out the mission home in a beautifully manicured neighborhood and then visited the mission office which is housed in a modern office building. 

Senior Missionary Apartments

Our next stop was the apartment complex where the senior missionary couples live. The two bedroom apartments are completely furnished and stocked with kitchen supplies and linens. 

We loved the area and everything we saw and now have about a year before we must make the final decision about serving there. We’ll turn in our papers and request this assignment with the Mission President requesting us as well. 

If we receive this mission call, we’ll have two or three more months to prepare, pack up our things and drive to Florida. Before we go, there will be two weeks training in Provo.

It is nearly impossible to imagine the sacrifices made by my ancestors which helped begin this marvelous work. The world is a different place now. Perhaps they view current challenges and similarly shudder with thankfulness they were sent to earth when they were. 

I'm so grateful for their testimonies and example and hope that I can make them proud of me as well.  

Saturday Night Bath

 The Saturday Night Bath

By Owen Sanders

Have you ever been scrubbed in a number three tub
As you crouched in an awkward squat?
Have you waited your turn in a family of ten
When you were a tiny tot?

Have you gingerly dangled a toe in the tub
To test the heat of the water
And had your mother say, "Son,
Would you like it a little bit hotter?"

Saturday night was a time of commotion
Of hustle and bustle and noise
When all of the family had baths
From grown-ups to girls and boys.

A crackling fire was built in the range
To heat both the water and room;
Wicks were trimmed and lamplight was lit
To cast a glow in the gloom.

Patchwork quilts were hung on the chairs
To make the bath spot more snug;
A number three tub was placed in the room
On a threadbare braided rug.

Water was carried in buckets and tubs
From cisterns, from wells, or the brook
Slopping and dripping and splashing it out
Along the rough trail that they took.

Often the schedule of bathing
Was delayed for days or weeks
When trips were taken in wagons
Or ice was deep on the creeks.

When ice was thick in wintertime
It first was chopped or sawed
Then carried home in buckets
And placed on the stove and thawed.

Midst noisy complaints that water was hot;
That soap got under their lids,
Mother wrestled and scrubbed and rinsed
The family of wild squirming kids.

Tiny tots could sit and splash 
And chortle with childish glee
But when old pop perched in the tub
'Twas a picture no one wanted to see.

Pa would hunch in an awkward crouch
And try to soap and scrub
And strain to reach some distant spot
While cramped inside the tub.

Grimy toes and calloused feet
Caked with dirt from the dusty path
Were often washed in a separate bowl
Before the Saturday bath.

The water got roily and murky
As children were bathed one by one
No water was wasted by being poured out
'Till the Saturday bathing was done.

The sudsy water was often used
To scrub the kitchen floor
Before the rest of the cloudy bath
Was flung out the kitchen door.

When all the kids were scrubbed and rubbed
And bedtime prayers were said;
Pa was given a good-night hug
As they scampered off to bed.

Then mother fondly tucked them in
And kissed them all good night
And as they drifted off to sleep
They knew that all was right.

 

Surname Frequency

It is interesting to note the current distribution of some of the surnames in our family tree in the United States. The greener the state, the more frequent occurrence of the name. Unfortunately the statistics haven't been gathered for the name Speas.

Brothers Forever

My Great, Great Grandfather Frederick William Hurst received visits from his two dead brothers who were desirous of having him perform vicarious work on their behalf in the temple. The following is from his journal:

“In the fall and winter of 1892-3, I worked at painting in the Salt Lake Temple. Although sick, I felt strongly impressed to go and do my very best..

Along about the 1st of March, 1893, I found myself alone in the dining room, all had gone to bed. I was sitting at the table when to my great surprise my elder Brother Alfred walked in and sat down opposite me at the table and smiled. I said to him (he looked so natural). "When did you arrive in Utah?"

He said: "I have just come from the Spirit World, this is not my body that you see, it is lying in the tomb. I want to tell you that when you were on your mission you told me many things about the Gospel, and the hereafter, and about the Spirit World being as real and tangible as the earth. I could not believe you, but when I died and went there and saw for myself I realized that you had told the truth. I attended the Mormon meetings." He raised his hand and said with much warmth: "I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart. I believe in faith, and repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, but that is as far as I can go. I look to you to do the work for me in the temple." He continued: "You can go to any kind of sectarian meeting in the Spirit World. All our kindred there knew when you were trying to make up your mind to come and work on the temple. You are watched closely, every move you make is known there, and we were glad you came. We are all looking to you as our head in this great work. I want to tell you that there are a great many spirits who weep and mourn because they have relatives in the Church here who are careless and are doing nothing for them."

Three different times during our conversation I leaned over the table and said: "Alfred, you look, talk and act perfectly natural, it doesn't seem possible that you are dead," and every time he replied: 'It is just my SPIRIT you see, my body is in the grave." There was a great deal more that he told me but these are the important items as I remember them. He arose and went out through the door that he had entered.

As I sat pondering upon what I had seen and heard, with my heart filled with thanks and gratitude to God, the door opened again and my brother Alexander walked in and sat down in the chair that Alfred had occupied. He had died in 1852 in New England. I did the work for both he and Father in April 1885. He had come from a different Sphere, he looked more like an angel as his countenance was beautiful to look upon. With a very pleasant smile he said: "Fred, I have come to thank you for doing my work for me, but you did not go quite far enough," and he paused. Suddenly it was shown to me in large characters, "NO MAN WITHOUT THE WOMAN, AND NO WOMAN WITHOUT THE MAN IN THE LORD."

I looked at him and said: "I think I understand, you want some person sealed to you."

He said. "You are right, I don't need to interpret the scriptures to you, but until that work is done I cannot advance another step."

I replied that the Temple would be completed and dedicated in about four weeks, and then I would attend to it as quickly as possible.
"I know you will," he said, and then got up and left the room, leaving me full of joy, peace, and happiness beyond description.” 

World Wars

On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. On April 4th the U.S. Senate voted in support of the measure and the House concurred two days later. 

 

Although patriotic support for the war was strong, volunteer enlistment into the army lagged behind the national enthusiasm. It became necessary to institute a draft to bring in the needed number of men. The Selective Service Act was enacted May 18, 1917, authorizing the federal government to raise a national army through compulsory enlistment.

There were three registrations (including a supplement to the second):

• The first, on June 5, 1917, was for all men between the ages of 21 and 31. 
• The second, on June 5, 1918, registered those who attained age 21 after June 5, 1917. 
• A supplemental registration was held on August 24, 1918, for those becoming 21 years old after June 5, 1918. 
• The third registration was held on September 12, 1918, for men age 18 through 45.

My Grandfather Robert Rector Speas was required to register in the first draft. He was 22 years old at the time and was single. By the time he was inducted into the army on June 16, 1918, he was married.

His twin brother, Herbert Parr registered the same day.

Grandpa incurred significant injuries when he was hit by shrapnel during trench warfare and his brother performed office work. Because of Herbert's position he was able to track his twin's medical records and inform the family of his condition.

Note:  On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. Approximatley 80% of the discharge records of World War I combatants were lost and we have thus been unable to find Grandpa's medical of official release records.

My paternal Grandfather Demar McCracken was born July 1, 1897, and thus was not required to register in the first draft and was one month shy of 21 at the time of the second draft. The supplemental registration on August 14, 1918,  included Demar. For some time I had believed that Demar did not register, but have since learned that he used the surname Mack on his registration, rather than McCracken, a common shorter form of the name used by the family.

The armistice was signed November 18, 1917, and Demar was not inducted into service. 

Both Rector and Herbert Speas registered for the draft for World War II as well, at the age of 46, but neither saw service.

It is sobering, yet gratifying to know that my Grandfathers were among those willing to fight to preserve freedom.