January and February are the months of the year when we wonder why in the world we live in Utah! So to get out of the snow and inversion we headed for St. George, Utah. On March 30th, we watched General Young Women's Conference while in St. George. The girls were happy to be able to see their cousins and we had a good visit with my sister, Tammy and her husband, Randy.
We got to attend church in the chapel that is just east of the St. George temple. Jake threw a fit about attending primary in a new and strange place, so we walked around the temple for Sunday School. The weather was lovely and sunny.
Joe's
Uncle Shirl had a page dedicated to this family and there is an
interesting account from the life sketch of Elizabeth Jane Bybee, one of
their daughters. They were in Nauvoo at the time of the prophet's
death. Her account is at this bottom of this page: http://weightfamily.net/
(Information taken from Life Sketch of Elizabeth Jane Bybee Smith’s biography in "Utah Pioneer Biographies. Vol 26, Utah 31.)
"My parents (Byram Lee Bybee and Betsy Lane) were not in the best of circumstances and
since their four oldest children were girls, they had to work very hard to help support
the family. There were twelve children in the family, six girls and six boys. Three of
them died very young.
My father was a sickly man and his circumstances would not permit him to give his
children a good education, as there were very few public schools. We had no conveniences,
not even stoves, wash boards, or lamps. For lights we used candles made of tallow or a rag
soaked in tallow. We often had to sew and knit by fire-light.
In 1836 . . . my father sold our home and moved from Kentucky into Indiana where we
started a new home. There were many sugar-maple trees on the place, so we had plenty of
sugar and molasses.
Alma Babbit, a Mormon Elder, came into Indiana preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in 1840. I thought his doctrine was very strange. In 1841 two more
Mormon Elders came into the state. After preaching in our settlement about three weeks,
fifteen of us, including our family, decided to be baptized. We moved to Nauvoo in 1842.
The Prophet’s enemies were now after his life. He started across in river to go to
Iowa, but some of his friends persuaded him to come back, calling him a coward. He turned
and went back, telling his friends that he was going like a lamb to the slaughter. He and
his brother Hyrum were taken to Carthage jail and a mob was raised that killed them both.
They leaned the Prophet’s body against the well curb and were going to behead him
when a flash of lightening came from Heaven and paralyzed the man that was going to do the
deed. Every one fled from Carthage. The two bodies were brought home and I saw them lying
side by side in their coffins."
It has been interesting to read about these ancestors. Although plural marriage has been a "thorn in my side" and has caused me some distress just thinking of it, Joe and I like to imagine that Betsy and Elsie we good friends. Perhaps they had some "scheme" on the other side of the veil to help get Joe and me together. Perhaps not...but it's fun to think about!
