Joseph Millet - Known to God

Joseph was another of the faithful early settlers in southern Utah who sacrificed much because of his commitment to the Lord. By the time he wrote this little paragraph, his oldest daughter had died of typhoid, and he and the rest of the community had suffered great sickness and hunger.

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"One of my children came in, and said that "Brother Newton Hall's folks were out of bread. Had none that day." I put our flour in [a] sack to send up to Brother Hall's. Just then Brother Hall came in.

Says I, "Brother Hall, are you out for flour?"

"Brother Millett, we have none."

"Well, Brother Hall, there is some in that sack. I have divided and was going to send it to you. Your children told mine that you were out."

Brother Hall began to cry. Said "he had tried others. Could not get any. Went to the cedars and prayed to the Lord and the Lord told him to go to Joseph Millett."
"Well, Brother Hall, you needn't bring this back if the Lord sent you for it. You don't owe me for it." 

You can't tell how good it made me feel to know that the Lord knew that there was such a person as Joseph Millett.

- Joseph Millet, journal entry, 1871, Spring Valley.

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That last line is remarkably profound, and still sends chills up my spine after many readings. Remember in the Lectures on Faith when the three requirements for exercising faith in God are taught? The third was something like an actual knowledge that the course of life you are pursuing is according to God's will. I think that's what Joseph Millet sensed. Having that awareness, that God really does exist and really does care about _me_, is a wonderful gift...

Compiled and written by David Kenison

Five Dollars for Joseph Smith; A Gift Before His Martydom

            I'm beginning to wonder," said one of the men on the high council in Missouri, "if Joseph Smith isn't a fallen prophet." Several of the other men, worried and frightened as mobs continued to terrorize the Saints who were trying to flee the state, murmured their agreement.  "There he is in jail in Liberty, Clay County, while the Saints need him!  Does that sound like a true prophet?"

            But Solomon Hancock stemmed the tide of disaffection by saying, "Brethren, I'm a firm believer in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and covenants. Brother Joseph is not a fallen prophet!  He will yet be exalted and become very high."  ( 3:225.)

            That event, recorded about Joseph Smith, was just one example of the great love Solomon Hancock had for the gospel--and for the Prophet Joseph Smith.

            And perhaps because of Solomon's loyalty to the Prophet, he was chosen to perform one of the last kindnesses given to Joseph Smith before his death.

            Solomon's wife, Phoebe Hancock, was pregnant when once they went to Quincy, Illinois, to buy food and clothes.  Solomon had promised his wife five dollars to buy clothes and other articles for the new baby, which would soon be born, and their wagon was also loaded with butter and eggs to sell in town.

            But just before they arrived in Quincy, Solomon informed his wife that he felt he could not give her the five dollars after all.  She was surprised--and more than a little disappointed. After all, the money was for things their baby would need.                                                                                                                      

            "I'm sorry," he told her, "but I've had three strong warnings from the Spirit that I shouldn't expect to use this money for the baby."

            Frustrated, Pheobe showed her husband the list of items that she had planned to buy with the money, but Solomon only told her that she should use the money from the sale of the butter and eggs to buy the most important items. She reluctantly complied, and bought all that she could with the little money she had.  But she was so disappointed that on the way home she sat down on the wagon board, pulled her bonnet down to hide her face, folded her arms, and turned her back on her husband.

           They had traveled only a little way when they came to a crossroads, where they were surprised to meet the Prophet Joseph Smith.  To their dismay, the men with the Prophet were taking him to prison in Carthage, Illinois.

            Joseph called Solomon by name and said, "Have you got five dollars?"

            "Yes,I have," Solomon said.

            "I knew it," Joseph responded.  "I told these men we would get something to eat before we got to the Carthage jail."

            Solomon gave the Prophet the five dollars, and his guards took him on his way.  Phoebe wept, and asked forgiveness for wanting the money which the Prophet needed so much for food.

            

           Soon the Prophet and his brother were killed by a mob that stormed the prison, and Solomon's and Phoebe's grief at the death of the Prophet could be assuaged, a little bit, by the knowledge that the Spirit had called on them to aid him during his last hours.

Spencer J. Palmer, "Five Dollars For Joseph Smith,"  (April 1978), p. 67.

Joseph Smith Teaches About Justice and Mercy

 [This account about Joseph Smith's wisdom and kindness was written by a pioneer woman who had first-hand knowledge:]

Mary Frost Adams was born in the year 1836, in Hancock County, Illinois, just a few miles from Carthage. When she was about seven years old, she moved with her father, Samuel B. Frost, to Nauvoo, where they became intimately acquainted with Joseph's family. Little Mary grew to love him, as all children did, for he was never so busy but that he always had a kind word and a smile for the little ones.

One story Sister Adams tells will illustrate his noble generosity: While he was acting as mayor of the city, a colored man called Anthony was arrested for selling liquor on Sunday, contrary to law. He pleaded that the reason he had done so was that he might raise the money to purchase the freedom of a dear child held as a slave in a southern state. He had been able to purchase the liberty of himself and wife and now wished to bring his little child to their new home. Joseph said, "I am sorry, Anthony, but the law must be observed, and we will have to impose a fine."

The next day Brother Joseph presented Anthony with a fine horse, directing him to sell it, and use the money obtained for the purchase of the child.

Sister Adams says how well she remembers the feeling of sorrow that pervaded the city, when the two brothers were lying dead in the Mansion House. She with the rest of the children, were not permitted to go in the streets owing to the crowd of people who thronged the city, coming and going by steamboat and carriages, and all with grieving hearts for the departed loved ones.

Sister Adams is now along in years, but she still bears a faithful testimony to the divinity of the gospel, and treasures in her heart a loving memory of the martyred Prophet and Patriarch.

The Story of John Tanner

John Tanner

The Man Who Saved the Kirtland Temple

About John Tanner

John Tanner was Born in Rhode Island in 1778.  He grew up to become a very wealthy entrepreneur, his riches equal to millions in the present day.  He was also a lay Baptist minister, and very educated about the Bible.  

His Conversion

John had a leg condition, in which he was afflicted with many open sores.  At the time, the diagnosis was considered a terminal illness, and there was no cure. The diseased leg tissue would soon afflict his whole body, leading to death.  With knowledge of his diagnosis, John set out to "do all the good he could." 

He had been hearing rumors about Mormons in the city, and decided he would go to one of their meetings to protect his Baptists brethren from the deceivers the Mormon missionaries surely were.  Despite his beginning, ominous thought about the Mormons, the Mormon elders, Simeon and Jared Carter, caught his attention. He ended bringing home a Book of Mormon from the meeting that night, declaring to his brethren, "you'd better not fight against the truth."

He then poured over the Book of Mormon, comparing its doctrine with the Bible.  The Spirit bore witness to John that it was a true record. 

His Healing and Baptism

Within a few days, the elders returned to John's home.  John wanted to be baptized, but he could not walk, and neither had he been able to put his necrotic foot on the floor for over six months.  John Tanner did not believe he could endure the pain of baptism, and was further saddened that he would soon die.  

Elder Jared Carter asked John Tanner, "Do you believe that Jesus Christ healed a crippled man at the waters of Bethesda?"

John answered, "yes, with all the certainty of my soul."  

Elder Carter continued, "and do you believe his apostles, Peter and John, healed a man, lame from birth, outside the walls of the temple?  If that priesthood power was part of the primitive church, would it not follow that it would be found in the restored church?  Do you have faith sufficient to be healed?"

John Tanner answered, "I do. Yes I do."

Elder Carter then commanded John Tanner, "in the name of Jesus Christ, to rise up, and walk."

In John Tanner's own words, he stated, "I arose, threw down my crutches, and walked the floor back and forth--back and forth, praising God, and I felt light as a feather."

Later that evening, despite not having put weight on his leg for six months, he walked the quarter mile to Lake George to be baptized by Simeon Carter.  

His Generosity and Saving the Kirtland Temple

He immediately became a giving church member, and gave everything he had.  Being extremely wealthy, had the ability to help many people.  Here are some of his sacrifices: He supplied his sons, and fifty men to go to Zion's camp, and paid to furnish 7 families headed to Kirtland.

In December, 1834, the church was in serious financial trouble.  The Kirtland temple, still being built, was about to be destroyed because of the mortgage payment on the lands were past due.  The Church had no way to pay for the Temple. In council, Joseph Smith and the disciples prayed that a way would be provided to keep the land. 

That night, John "received an impression by dream or vision of the night, that he … must go immediately to the Church”  He sold his property, consisting of 2 large farms, a hotel, several homes, orchards, a dairy, a sawmill, an island, and over 200 acres of timberland. He and his family left on Christmas day, in the middle of winter, and travelled the 500 hundred miles to Kirtland.  They arrived 25 days later, in January of 1835.  Had they arrived just a one day later, they Kirtland land would have been reclaimed.   John paid of the $2,000 dollars owed for the temple, as a loan for the Church, taking a note from Joseph.  He then donated $43,000 to the temple.

His family participated in the dedication, and testified of angles standing on the temple roof.

Through his giving and investing in the Church bank, his fortune dwindled down to a mere $7.50 in cash.  Still, he and his family followed the prophet and moved to Missouri with the Saints.

They suffered and experienced the persecutions with the Saints. John’s son Myron remembers going with his father to grind wheat for a hungry family.  On their way, John saw some of the state's militia in the distance, and he told his son to hide in the bushes.  A conflict began. One of the men his John in the head with his rifle, ripping open a gash to the bone.  This gave him "such a horrifying appearance" that he was let go.  One of this sons on guard duty that night said, “when I let my father through … I did not know him only by his voice as he was so covered with blood.”

His Mission

"At the April Conference, 1844, Father Tanner was called to take a mission to the Eastern States.  Before starting, he went to Nauvoo to see the Prophet, Joseph Smith, whom he met in the street. He held the Prophet's note for $2,000 loaned in 1835 [roughly 9 years previously], to redeem the Kirtland Temple farm, and in the course of the conversation he handed the Prophet his note.  The Prophet, not understanding what he meant by it, asked what he would have him do with it, and the Father Tanner replied: 'Brother Joseph, you are welcome to it,' The Prophet then laid his right hand heavily upon Father Tanner's shoulder and said: 'God bless you, Father Tanner, your children shall never beg for bread.'" This prophecy was fulfilled, and continue to be so.

The money donated to the church is estimated as present-day worth to be at least $500,000 to a couple million dollars.