Past and Present
And Should We Die—All Is Well:
Doctrines to Comfort Grieving Parents on the Mormon Trail
“In 1847 Jedediah Grant led a company of Latter-day Saint pioneers from Winter Quarters, Nebraska, to the Salt Lake Valley. Not long before the company arrived in the valley, his six-month-old daughter, Margaret, contracted cholera and died. Her body was buried close to the trail, protected by only a mound of freshly dug clay. Soon after that, Jedediah’s wife, Caroline, died from the effects of cholera and severe fever. She whispered her final words to her husband: ‘All is well! All is well! Please take me to the valley—Jeddy. Get Margaret—bring her—to me!’ Her husband replied: ‘Yes, yes, Caroline. I’ll do my best. I’ll do my best.’
“The company reached the valley three days later. Funeral services were held that evening for Caroline Grant. After a few days of rest, Jedediah set out to retrieve Margaret’s body. He was accompanied by his friend Bates Noble and by Brother Noble’s adopted daughter, Susan. One night as they camped, Jedediah expressed his trust in God’s will: ‘Bates, God has made it plain. The joy of Paradise, where my wife and baby are together, seems to be upon me tonight. For some wise purpose they have been released from the earthly struggles into which you and I are plunged. They are many, many times happier than we can possibly be here. This camping ground should be the saddest of all sad places to me, but this night it seems to be close under heaven.’
“The three travelers reached the grave site the next morning. Susan recalled: ‘A few paces from the little grave we stopped hesitatingly, set down our things and stood with eyes fixed before us. Neither tried to speak. An ugly hole replaced the small mound; and so recently had the wolves departed that every sign was fresh before us. I dared not raise my eyes to look at Jedediah. From the way I felt, I could but guess his feelings. Like statues of the wilderness we stood, grown to the spot, each fully realizing that nothing more could be done. After several minutes of silent tears, we quietly withdrew, carrying away again only that which we had brought.’” [1]
Between 1847 and 1870, thousands of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled across the oceans and the North American continent to settle in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Many began the journey, but did not complete it, dying along the trail. However, although “a lack of recorded information prevents us from even knowing exactly how many died,” [2] and the original estimated number of deaths among Mormon migrants was reported to be about 6,000, current computer-assisted estimates put the number at about 4,600. [3]
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Mormon companies was that they were predominantly families that included a high proportion of children. [4] Many LDS children traveling to the Salt Lake Valley died never having reached the age of accountability. Indeed, one full half of a particular Mormon company was made up of children. [5] During the 1846–47 season in Winter Quarters alone, 1,000 people died; nearly half of those were infants two years old or younger. [6] Six out of seven women traveling in the Mormon migration lost at least one of their children. [7] How were these families comforted? Did they understand the principle of eternal life for children who die before the age of accountability?
Brother Wallace East, whose family “lost five of their six small children during the trek,” wrote in his journal on June 19, 1855, after his pioneer company had been afflicted with cholera, “Our little Mary who was a promising and lovely child, died about sundown. She sank away calmly and peacefully as though she were going into a sweet sleep. She was buried at the south side of the road before daylight.” [8]
For the surviving family, losing a child must have been almost unbearable. Yet somehow these survivors made it through the grieving process, endured, and remained functional, continuing on to the Salt Lake Valley, barely even documenting in their journals the loss of their loved ones.
The principle of salvation for children who die before the age of accountability was clearly taught early in the history of the Church: “And if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me. Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection. And it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them” (D&C 42:44-46; also published in the Painesville Telegraph on 13 September, 1831; [9] and again in the Evening and Morning Star in July, 1832; and later as Chapter 44 in the Book of Commandments). [10]
This doctrine was taught at other various times during 1833–1836: “But little children are holy, being sanctified through the atonements of Jesus Christ,” (D&C 74:7); men are innocent before God in their infant state (see D&C 93:38; this revelation comforts and gives instruction on several gospel subjects [11]); “And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven” (D&C 137:10).
The principle of salvation for children who die before the age of eight is also taught in the Book of Mormon (see Moroni 8:8–20, Mosiah 15:25, and in the Doctrine and Covenants 68:25-27).
An account given by Joseph F. Smith demonstrates that the Prophet Joseph Smith, who had four children die in infancy and childhood, publicly taught the principle of salvation and eternal life for children who died before the age of accountability: “Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: ‘You will have the joy, the pleasure, and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit.’” [12]
In 1844, during the King Follett Discourse, Joseph Smith said, “A question may be asked ‘Will mothers have their children in eternity?’ Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children; for they shall have eternal life, for their debt is paid. There is no damnation awaiting them for they are in the spirit. But as the child dies, so shall it rise from the dead, and be forever living in the learning of God. It will never grow [in the grave]; it will still be the child, in the same previous form [when it rises] as it appeared before it died out of its mother’s arms, but possessing all the intelligence of a God. Children dwell in the mansions of glory and exercise power, but appear in the same form as when on earth. Eternity is full of thrones, upon which dwell thousands of children reigning on thrones of glory, with not one cubit added to their stature.’” [13]
During the years of the Mormon migration (1845–1870), the Prophet Brigham Young spoke at fifteen funerals. In these sermons he spoke of the state of those who died. In February 1848, at the funeral of the daughter of John Brown, he said, “The dead have moved beyond the reach of pain, sorrow, wicked men, devils, and devilish spirits. For them, death is a blessing and not a curse.” [14]
In December 1856, nine years after the aforementioned death of his wife and child, funeral services were held for President Jedediah Grant, who had served as Second Counselor to President Brigham Young. President Heber C. Kimball, First Counselor in the First Presidency, addressed the congregation, telling of a vision that his friend Jedediah had received: “He saw the righteous gathered together in the spirit world, and there were no wicked spirits among them. He saw his wife; she was the first person that came to him. She came to him, and he said that she looked beautifully and had their little child, that died on the plains, in her arms, and said, ‘ . . . Here is little Margaret; you know that the wolves ate her up, but it did not hurt her; here she is all right.’” [15]
At that same funeral President Brigham Young commented on why we mourn. “Why do we mourn? . . . It is not the knowledge that God has given you or me, that causes us to mourn; it is not the spirit of the Gospel that produces within us mournful feeling; it is not the Spirit of Christ, the knowledge of eternity, of God or of the way of life and salvation. Our mourning proceeds from none of those causes. What causes us to mourn? Neither more nor less, . . . than the earthly weakness that is in us.” [16]
President Joseph F. Smith experienced the loss of nine of his children between 1870 and 1898. He recorded the anguish he experienced at these difficult times in his life. At the death of his daughter Rhonda in 1870, he wrote, “Now God only knows how deeply we mourn. This is the fifth death in my family. All my little ones most beloved! O! God help us to bear this trial!” [17]
At the death of his daughter Ruth in 1898, President Joseph F. Smith received a glorious revelation as comfort in his grieving. He recorded the revelation and went on to teach that all is well with children who pass away. He said, “O my soul! I see my own sweet mother’s arms extended welcoming to her embrace the ransomed glorious spirit of my own sweet babe! Oh my God! For this glorious vision, I thank Thee! And there too are gathered to my Father’s mansion all my darling lovely ones; not in infantile helplessness, but in all the power and glory and majesty of sanctified spirits! Full of intelligence, of joy and grace, and truth. [18]
“If we have received the testimony of the spirit of truth in our souls we know that all is well with our little children who pass away, that we could not, if we would, better their condition; and least of all would it better their condition if we could call them back here, for the reason that so long as man is in the world, clothed with mortality, surrounded by the evils that are in the world, he runs chances and is subject to risks, and there are responsibilities resting upon him which may prove fatal to his future prosperity, happiness and exaltation.” [19]
He also taught that faithful families would be reunited with those children lost to physical death on this side of the veil. He acknowledged that grieving is a process, not a lack of faith.
“It is a very difficult matter to say anything at a time of sorrow and bereavement like the present that will give immediate relief to the sorrowing hearts of those who mourn. Such grief can only be fully relieved by the lapse of time and the influence of the good spirit upon the hearts of those that mourn, by which they can obtain comfort and satisfaction in their hopes of the future . . . The Lord truly knows best and we know that the innocents who have been recalled from earth, so soon after their coming untainted by the sordid elements of this fallen world return to Him from whom they came, pure and holy, redeemed from the foundation, by the sacrifice of one who said, ‘of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ My most earnest, heartfelt prayer is, O! God help me to live and be worthy to join my innocent children in their home with thee!” [20]
More recently, Gordon B. Hinckley has said, “What a wonderful thing is death, really, when all is said and done. It is the great reliever. It is a majestic, quiet passing on from this life to another life, a better life, I’m satisfied of that. We go to a place where we will not suffer as we have suffered here, but where we will continue to grow, accumulating knowledge and developing and being useful under the plan of the Almighty made possible through the Atonement of the Son of God.” [21]
The question could be asked if Mormon migrants had access to doctrine explaining what would happen to their children that died, whether they believed it. Of course, the issue of belief is an individual one, and verifying the state of each individual’s heart is impossible. But, as noted previously, the principle of salvation for children who die before the age of accountability was clearly taught prior to and during the Mormon migration. The population of the Church was relatively small; conferences were held frequently, and the membership had frequent personal and congregational access to the Prophet. The revelations were given by the Lord to instruct the members.
Even in our day, with these doctrines taught by general authorities such as Joseph F. Smith (Gospel Doctrine), Joseph Fielding Smith (Doctrines of Salvation), and Bruce R. McConkie (Ensign, April 1977), there is no way of determining whether parents whose children have died will be comforted. The blessing of having modern-day revelation, however, whether it be in 1832 or in 2007, is that members have access to the doctrines most relevant to their time. The hope is that we will believe the principles and actually apply them in our lives. The test lies in our ability to maintain the belief and the application in times of extreme trial and crisis, and say as did Caroline Grant, “All is well, all is well.”
Patricia Rushton is a full-time faculty member at Brigham Young University College of Nursing. She received her Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Utah and her Master of Science in Nursing and PhD in higher education at Brigham Young University. She is interested in history, specifically American history, and the historical aspects of medicine and nursing. She is currently researching the history of nursing during wartime, interviewing nurses who have served in the military during times of war in order to preserve these important historical accounts. She is also researching cancer pain management and aspects of end-of-life and palliative care.
Notes
[1] Carter E. Grant, “Robbed by Wolves: A True Story,” Relief Society Magazine, July 1928, 358–64.
[2] Susan Easton Black et al, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, July 1998, 40.
[3] Ibid.
[4] T. Edgar Lyon, “Some Uncommon Aspects of Mormon Migration,” The Improvement Era, Sept 1969, 33–39.
[5] Fay McCracken, “Exploring: Children Pioneers,” Friend, July 1995, 36.
[6] Richard E. Bennett, “Winter Quarters: Church Headquarters, 1846–1847,” Ensign, Sept 1997, 49.
[7] Rebecca Bartholomew, Audacious Women: Early British Mormon Immigrants (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1995), 250.
[8] “News of the Church,” Ensign, Oct. 1984, 75.
[9] Lyndon W. Cook, The Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1981), 132.
[10] Ibid, 61.
[11] Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual (Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981), 217.
[12]Bruce. R. McConkie, “The Salvation of Little Children,” Ensign, April 1977, 7.
[13]History of the Church, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1978), vol. 6, 316.
[14] Donald Q. Cannon, “Brigham Young on Life and Death,” Mormon Historical Studies (2002) 2(2): 97.
[15] Deseret News Weekly, 10 Dec., 1956, 317.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1998), 128.
[18] Ibid., 129.
[19] Gospel Doctrine: The Letters and Writings of Joseph F. Smith, 5th Edition. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1939), 452.
[20] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1998), 132, 134.
[21] Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998), 153.
