“ When they arrived home, to their surprise they learned that Father Briggs had just been brought there in a cab, stricken with yellow fever. His feet were very cold, and when they were placed in hot water he said he could not feel any warmth in them. Thomas realized then that his symptoms meant death, but kept his thoughts to himself. The father, though confident when first brought home that he would recover, evidently soon changed his opinion, for he said to his son: "Tom, I shall never get to the mountains; but you will, and you must never forget the dead!" ”

“ The reply was: "Your wife, according to your own words, was born a 'Mormon,' and cannot help herself. Don't you see how unreasonable you have been in locking her out of the house night after night, trying to burn her and indulging in other cruelty?"
Mr. Clark retorted: "I will never say a word to her again about religion. She can go to Utah with you if she wants to, and I'll not say a word to her."
"I don't want her," said Elder Farrell, "I have plenty of wives of my own."
"Do you have more than one?" inquired Mr. Clark. ”

“ If any man ever loved his children, and gave them good counsel, and set before them a good example, and frequently and earnestly testified to them of the truth of the Gospel, Thomas Briggs certainly did. ”

“ One member of a company or association may feel willing (as Thomas did) to devote the whole of his time, if necessary, to gratuitous service, but if his interest in the partnership or association is based upon the assumption that his time belongs to the company, his associates in business necessarily become servitors when he serves, whether willingly so or not. Thomas' sons and son-in-law were good men, and not ungenerous, but were not prepared in their feelings to make unlimited sacrifice for the public good, and their revolt was quite natural. ”

“ Teach your children to honor the Sabbath Day, and honor the holy priesthood in all things, and do it by example. Teach them never to find fault with the prophets of the Lord. Teach them to honor their father and their mother, that their days may be long upon the land, which the Lord their God giveth them. For these promises will carry us beyond this life, to a time when the Saints will receive their inheritance on earth. ”

“ Teach them to read good literature, for trifling reading begets trifling thoughts, and trifling thoughts beget a trifling life; for bear in mind, that impressions firmly fixed on the mind, and long cherished, are not easily erased. Then, oh, how important it is that these impressions are good ones. Teach them that foolish spending is the father of poverty. Teach them never to be ashamed of work, however much learning they may be able to acquire. ”

“ While Elder Farrell was trying to pacify him and reason with him on religion in general, Sister Baker persuaded Elder Morris to return with her to her home.
Mr. Clark asked a great many questions, all of which were promptly answered, and generally to his satisfaction. He still insisted, however, that he did not believe in "Mormonism."
"Do you believe there is a God?" the Elder asked. "I believe," he replied, "there is some one ahead of us, who knows more than we do. You men call him God. ”

“ The next morning Thomas hitched up his team, and, taking his son Ephraim, who was then seven years old, with him, drove up to the field. When he arrived there he was astonished to find that the road bordering his field fairly swarmed with bugs, that were making their way to a wheat field on the opposite side, and that the swath that had been cut through the field was covered with millions of the insects, that seemed to travel as if they were inspired. ”

“ In the year 1848, the father heard of the Latter-day Saints, and, on attending one of their meetings, was immediately attracted by their doctrines. The mother could not be persuaded to attend a meeting for a long time because of the unpopularity of the "Mormons," and for the reason that their place of worship was in a somewhat disreputable part of the town.
When she did finally hear the "Mormon" Elders, she too, as well as Thomas, became interested, the latter especially so on hearing a discourse on "the gifts of the Gospel and the signs that follow the believer." ”

“ About the middle of April, 1862, Thomas, his wife and their four children started for Salt Lake City, a distance of nearly two thousand miles, with their earthly chattels loaded into one wagon, drawn by a span of horses.
The roads were bad in many places, streams frequently high, bridges in some cases washed away, houses occasionally long distances apart and feed scarce, all of which rendered travel very difficult for one who was unacquainted with the country and had no definite idea of the course he should take. ”

“ And when I am in my grave, you will look upon these lines, and say that I am not forgotten, for I tell you my children, that some great things are about to transpire, that the world knows nothing of; but be of good cheer, and be humble and prayerful, and watch as well as pray, that you may stand the day of trial, for it is coming, and it is near to our doors, and so is the coming of the Son of Man. ”

“ Soon afterwards Elder Farrell received a letter from Franklin with a black border around it. On opening it he saw at once it was from Father Challis. It contained sad news: Nellie had never fully rallied after her babe was born. Anxious neighbors and friends surrounded her, and all that they and medical skill could do to save her life was done, but all in vain. As the end approached she sat up in bed, and bore a fervent testimony to the houseful of friends who surrounded her. ”

“ Clark stating that he had been baptized, and had stood in the meeting of the Saints and borne his testimony to the truth of the Gospel, in the house which he and a few other residents of Stanwick had generously leased and paid the rent on for one year in advance, so that Elder Farrell would not be under the necessity of preaching out in the open air. He knew the Gospel was true, and that it would save and exalt mankind inas-much as they were true and faithful to its principles. ”

“ In the spring of 1858 he moved back to the farm which he had lost, through sickness, the owner being willing to let the family occupy the house, and pay his wife for boarding men he employed at farming, while Thomas fed the pigs and did odd jobs.
On the 15th of September, his third child, David, was born. The larger the family grew the less likely it really seemed to be that they would ever reach the mountains, but Thomas fondly clung to the promises made him, that he should do so, and his faith in the Lord never wavered. ”

“ Instances of persons affected with serious ailments being miraculously healed on accepting the Gospel have been somewhat numerous, and have occurred all through the history of the Church, due doubtless to the faith exhibited, and it is not surprising that persons should associate in their minds the cure with the rite of baptism. Possibly Elder Farrell had the case of Naaman the leper in his mind, who was healed on obeying the requirement of the Prophet Elisha, to wash seven times in the river Jordan. ”

“ Thomas was ambitious to do something, and tried sawing wood, at 75c per cord, and, though the exertion made his leg pain him much worse, he persevered, his wife quitting her housework from time to time to do the lifting for him, as he couldn't do it himself. Then he tried driving team to haul wood for a lime kiln. The men who accompanied him had to lift him on and off the wagon, as well as to load and unload the wagon for him, but this they did out of sheer sympathy for him. ”

“ Always have kind words to give, for they are as refreshing to the troubled heart, as rain to the parched ground. Bear in mind that little drops of rain brighten the meadows, and little drops of kindness brighten the world. ”

“ On the 13th of September, 1854, his first child was born—Ephraim, who brought cheer to the hearts of his parents, and as they became more used to their surroundings they felt more reconciled, and indulged in the hope of soon acquiring enough means to take them to the mountains. They bought another forty acres of land on time, and Thomas spent every hour that he could spare, when not working for others, at fencing and improving his own property. ”

“ On the 29th of April, 1864, the family left Springfield, Illinois, with Utah as their destination—a distance to be traversed by team of about sixteen hundred miles. They had a good horse team and wagon, a good supply of provisions and $80.00 in cash. The eldest child was not yet ten years old, and the youngest three years of age. The parents were both in poor health, but they did not dare to give up or fail to hurry on because of that. Thomas' leg grew worse after starting, and soon got so bad that he could not even harness the team, the wife and eldest boy having to do that. ”

“ The son replied that he knew who his mother had said he would sometime marry, and named Sister Ashdown.
He then called upon his eldest daughter, Emma, and broke the news to her, as he had to his son. She too was prepared for it, and informed him that her mother, some time before her death, had predicted to her that Mrs. Ashdown would yet become her father's wife, either in time or eternity, as it had been made known to her in a vision. This was an additional evidence to Thomas that it was the Lord's will, for his wife had never even hinted to him that she ever had such an impression. ”

“ On leaving the doctor's office the boy asked his father what the doctor had said about him, and received the discouraging reply that, in the doctor's opinion, he could not live to be a man.
Thomas determined to rely no more upon the doctors' treatment, but to appeal to the Lord, and if he could not be healed in answer to the prayer of the Elders to be satisfied to die.
The Elders at that time frequently held meetings at the Briggs home, so the very next time they met there the father informed the President of the Branch of the boy's wish. ”

“ Clark, "I think more of you than any other 'Mormon' I have met for your honesty. Others won't tell it, but you have honestly confessed it."
"Now," added the Elder, "I want to tell you that God lives and I am sent here to preach the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. If you repent of your sins and are baptized for their remission, and live your religion like a good, faithful Latter-day Saint you shall enjoy life to a good old age, and your last days shall be the best and happiest days of your life. You will enjoy the society of your family and your wife and children will enjoy your company. ”

“ Narratives of personal experience, especially when they relate to people familiar to the reader or the community in which he lives possess a peculiar charm to most people, and especially to the young, and may convey helpful lessons more effectually than homilies or treatises, however carefully written, are apt to. The reason therefor probably is that in the narrative the moral is applied in real experience whereas in the treatise or homily the moral is expressed in the abstract only, and doubt may exist in the mind of the reader as to just how to apply it in real life. ”

“ Directly afterward he had a dream in which he thought he was traveling from the north to the south, and that his wife's sister, Sarah, was with him. They were walking along the road, and he was talking to her of the things of the Gospel. They came to a very large field of wheat—the finest he had ever seen. He saw a number of men at work harvesting, as the wheat was ripe. Other men were seen lounging in the shade, and neglecting the crop, which seemed to be in danger of being wasted. ”

“ In passing through Iowa they traveled much of the time along the route the Saints pursued in their journey westward from Nauvoo. It was generally alluded to by the settlers as the "Mormon Bee Trail," and Thomas felt a certain pride in following in their footsteps, and also found comfort in comparing his circumstances with those of many of the Saints. Much of the country was very sparsely settled, and there was scarcely an able-bodied man to be met in the region, all seemingly being absent in the army. ”

“ Baptism by immersion is an ordinance by which repentant believers are initiated into the Church, and is also for the remission of sins. There is no warrant in revelation ancient or modern for the immersion of a person for the restoration of his health, anointing with oil and the prayer of faith being the ordinance for that purpose. ”

“ BROTHER THOMAS BRIGGS, of Bountiful, Utah, a man who is noted for his zeal and integrity, has had a rather eventful life, the principal incidents of which he has had reduced to a type-written narrative for the benefit of his posterity. ”

“ A case in point is related by Elder C., who filled a mission in England in the early sixties. He, in company with the president of the mission and several other Elders, visited a branch of the Church in which a large number of Saints had made preparations to migrate to Utah, and who desired a blessing under the hands of the Elders before undertaking the journey. It came Elder C.'s turn to bless a. sister who had been married a good many years, but who had no children. ”

“ See that they are proud, but let their pride be of the right kind. Teach them self-reliance, and to never give up, without conquering every difficulty that they may be called upon to pass through in life. ”

“ Father and son sought employment and worked at whatever job was offered them—as boat hands, farmers' hired help, bottle washers in soda water factories, teamsters, putting up ice, chopping cordwood, etc. Sometimes they were home at night, at other times absent for a considerable period. The cholera was very bad in St. Louis at that time, and one night while Thomas and his mother were the only members of the family at home, she was stricken with the cholera, and appeared to be dying. He was prompted to get some oil and administer to her. ”

“ His nearest neighbor, John Spencer, proffered to lend Thomas two hundred pounds of flour until he could afford to repay it, and when he learned that it was the proceeds of wheat which Sister Spencer and her daughter had gleaned in the fields of their wealthier neighbors, after their harvest was over, his heart overflowed with gratitude therefor. ”

“ Teach them to be too proud to wear clothes that they cannot afford; too proud to be in company that they are unable to keep up with in expenses; too proud to lie, to cheat or steal; and also too proud to be stingy to the poor, sick or afflicted, or widows, and to fatherless and motherless children. ”