Kirtland Experiences

Soon after accepting the gospel, Zerah packed up his large family and sold everything they owned.  Mary Ann gave up all the conveniences they had enjoyed as an established, settled family.  They willingly sacrificed all they had to move to Kirtland to be with the Prophet, Joseph Smith and the other saints living there.

Again, it was here that the Pulsipher family first became acquainted with the Burgess family and from here on out they are always together, through the good times as well as the bad.  There are maps of both Kirtland and Nauvoo that show who owned property and exactly where those lots were located.  I have those maps in my posession but when you go to Kirtland and Nauvoo you can get copies for yourselves if you desire.  If anyone wants a copy just let me know and I will get them to you, eventually.  Our ancestors show up on both of those maps.

I am  not an expert in Church History so I cannot tell you exact dates and places of where many of these events transpire, but I will include some experiences from Zerah's personal history.  The Pulsipher's and the Burgess's helped to build the Kirtland Temple and they were all present at the dedication.  I like to read D&C 109 and imagine how our ancestors must have felt as they listened to the incredible blessings and promises issued in that powerful dedicatory prayer, knowing they had played an important role in the building of the temple.

Eventually, the members in Kirtland began to suffer from the persecutions heaped upon them from the mobs and haters.  Zerah gives us an insight into what it was like.

"The season following there arose a great persecution.  The saints were able to escape in the best manner they could.  Joseph was carried away in a box nailed on an ox sled to save his life.  Old father Joseph was taken out of a window in the night and sent away horseback.  After the most of the saints were gone to Missouri, I remained in Kirtland with about four of the First Presidents of the Seventies.  (In D&C 124:138 Zerah is called to be one of the first seven presidents of the Seventy.  At the time that the persecutions became unbearable Joseph Smith took the majority of the saints and escaped to Missouri.  He requested that Zerah and the other presidents of the Seventy stay and figure out a way to get the remaining 600 or so of the saints to Missouri.  It was quite a challenge as these people were almost destitute and did not have the financial means to make the journey.  Later in this post I will share with you one of my favorite accounts from Zerah's life, the visitation from a Heavenly messenger and how they were helped in solving their dilemma.)
We continued to hold our meetings in the temple.  Accordingly, while at a meeting one Sunday, we took a notion to put our property together and remove in that way, when, notwithstanding the great inconvenience we labored under for want of means.  We lacked means to move ourselves and many poor that were yet remaining that had neither clothing nor teams to go with.  But when they heard that we were going together and would help one another they wanted to join us and get out of that hell of persecution.  Therefore, we could not neglect them, for all there was against them was that they were poor and could not help themselves.

We continued to receive them till we got between five and six hundred on our hands.  According to our covenant we had got them to move or stay there with them so we found we had got a job on our hands.  We counseled together from time to time on the subject and came to the  conclusion that we could not effect the purpose of the priesthood.  Therefore, we concluded it best to go into the temple in the attic story and pray that our Father would open the way and give us means to gather with the saints in Missouri, which was nearly a thousand miles away.  Accordingly, one day while we were on our knees in prayer, I saw a messenger apparently like an old man with white hair down to his  shoulders.  He was a very large man nearly seven feet high, dressed in a white robe  down to his ankles.  He looked on me then turned his eyes on the others and then to me again and spoke and said, "Be one and you shall have enough."    This gave us great joy.  We immediately advised the brothers to scatter and work for anything that they could get that would be useful in moving to a new country.  Some went to  making staves to sell on the lake shore, among  which I was one."  If you ever go to the Kirtland Temple you can go up to the third floor, the attic story, where this event actually transpired.  Gary and I had meetings there one year and actually had one of our training sessions in that room.  It was so awesome to be there and feel of the Spirit.  Our church does not own that temple but the Spirit is still there, Gary and I can both bear witness of that.

(A stave is a narrow strip of wood or iron placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a barrel.)
The saints all went out and found whatever work they could and then they all pooled their money and resources so that they were eventually able to leave Kirtland.
I still have some more accounts from Zerah of Kirtland events that I will share in the next post.  Devin and his family and Sara and her family are here with us this week so it may be a while before I get back to the blog.  Grandpa and Grandma Higginson were here last Saturday for the blessing of their 54th(?) great grandchild, Violet Ruth Delozier (Devin's daughter) and they will be back in town this coming Sunday for Kingston Matua's mission farewell (Kingston is their first great grandchild and the son of Jennifer Kolowich and Seti Matua.)