The Work and the Glory (514 page)

To Kim—Kenneth I. Moe—

without whose vision, determination,

and dedication this series would not be.

His friendship and influence shall be sorely missed.

Preface

In No Unhallowed Hand, volume 7 of the series The Work and the Glory, we saw the Steed family wrenched once again from their homes as hatred and persecution exploded into open conflagration. The Prophet Joseph Smith and his brothers Hyrum and Samuel were dead, victims of the blind rage that swept across Hancock County, Illinois, in 1844. Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles took the reins of leadership and quickly proved that, as Joseph had prophesied a few years before, no unhallowed hand could stop the work of God from progressing. Work on the Nauvoo Temple, a remarkable and beautiful structure, continued with even greater urgency. Missionary work was expanded and the task of proclaiming the gospel to the world hastened even further. But as thousands continued to join the Church and come to Nauvoo—that beautiful city set on a sweeping bend of the Mississippi—the enemies of the Church were stirred to action once more. Lies and misunderstandings led to accusations and threats. These quickly gave way to violence—burnings, whippings, mobbings, and eventually murder. The leaders of the Church had no choice. They would leave their beloved Nauvoo to their enemies and turn their faces west. They would find that place which God had prepared for them, far away in the West, where none would come to hurt or make afraid. Thus it was that at the end of volume 7, after the tragic loss of Benjamin, the Steeds left Nauvoo, crossed the river for the last time on a bridge of ice, and joined the camp at Sugar Creek in Iowa Territory.

Volume 8, So Great a Cause, picks up the story at that point. It is 28 February 1846. Conditions in the camp, just seven or eight miles from Nauvoo, are wretched. It is bitterly cold. Supplies are insufficient. Many Saints have nothing more than a bedroll to shelter them from the cold. But the Steeds have most of their family there, in obedience to the call of their leader. Carl and Melissa Rogers, however, are not with the rest of the family. Still bitter over the practice of plural marriage, even the powerful bonds of love within the family are not enough to change their minds about leaving. Joshua has determined to go west so that he can care for his widowed mother and help the family find their new home, but Caroline and the children are not with him. This is Joshua’s choice and not their own.

On March first, Brigham Young decides that they can wait no longer. The others will have to come as they can. He gives the signal and the first wagons begin rolling westward. What should have been the easiest part of their journey to the Rocky Mountains quickly becomes a never-ending nightmare as winter gives way to one of the wettest springs in memory. Roads become mile-long bogs that consume men and animals and leave them broken and exhausted. Sickness sweeps the camps. Women give birth in the most difficult of circumstances. Soon wagons are strung across a hundred miles of prairie. And Death, as it has so many times before, rides along, always seeking company.

Now it becomes evident why Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball and others were sent on Zion’s Camp twelve years before. It was an experience that will now prove to be invaluable. The knowledge that Brigham and Heber gained during the exodus from Far West, while Joseph languished in the horror of Liberty Jail, is also put to the full test. Faced with the almost impossible task of taking fifteen thousand or more exiles into the wilderness and keeping them fed and sheltered, Brigham quickly shows that the prophetic mantle of Joseph Smith has been passed on to him. He will come to be known as the “American Moses,” as names like Sugar Creek, Richardson’s Point, Garden Grove, Mount Pisgah, and Winter Quarters become part of the Latter-day Saint heritage.

Once again, through the eyes of the Steeds, now more than two dozen in number, we see the historical tapestry unfold. With them we experience the terrible trek across Iowa, slogging onward at an average rate of barely two miles per day. They are moving west toward their destiny; but for a time, at least, it looks as though that destiny approaches at a rate that is frustratingly slow. But on they move, convinced that they are engaged in so great a cause.

It hardly seems possible that it has now been nine full years since this project began. It was the summer of 1988 when I received a letter from a person in North Carolina whom I had never before met. Kenneth I. Moe—“Kim” to his friends and family—caught me completely off guard when he said he wanted to discuss with me the idea of putting the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into the form of a historical novel. He indicated that he had read all of my previous novels and felt that I was the one to author such a project.

It is with considerable chagrin that I have to admit that I did not greet the proposal very warmly. I was flattered, of course, and told him that I had always dreamed about someday doing that very thing. But not now. I was currently in the process of creating another novel that I found intriguing and was having an enjoyable time writing—a story set at the time of the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. I also indicated to Kim that because the project he had in mind was such a huge undertaking, requiring massive amounts of research, travel, purchase of books, etc., etc., I didn’t feel that I could pull away from my other writing projects to do this. I had several children in college and needed to keep generating some extra income to handle that drain on my finances.

I barely knew Kim then. Had I known him better, I would have seen that treating such an important idea so lightly was not something that he would easily accept. He asked if he could fly out to Utah with his wife, Jane, and meet with me and my wife. Lynn and I agreed, though again I must confess that I tried to discourage him from coming, telling him that it might prove to be a waste of his time and money. They came anyway, and it was our privilege to meet Kim and Jane Moe. We were warmed and charmed by their grace, their testimony, and their devotion to the Church. I also quickly learned that this was not just a passing idea for Kim. He had deep and powerful feelings about the importance of this work and a driving sense of mission to see that it was accomplished. Only later did I learn that he had had an unusual spiritual experience which filled him with a great sense of urgency to become the catalyst in getting the novel written. As I look back on that now, and the fact that he did not tell me everything on that first visit, I am impressed with his wisdom. He did not try to unduly influence me through claiming a “spiritual directive” in the matter. He saw the importance of letting me come to this on my own without feeling excessive pressure.

He was, however, very persuasive in convincing me that this was more than just a whim. When he and Jane returned to North Carolina a few days later, they had my verbal commitment—not to write the book but to give it serious consideration and to make it a matter of pondering and prayer. The rest of the story can be easily guessed. After several days, including a day alone in the mountains, I called Kim and told him I was convinced that he was right—this was something that needed to be done and other projects would have to wait.

Note that to this point I have referred to the project in the singular—“the novel,” “the book.” How naive we were back then in the initial stages! We envisioned one long volume of about a thousand pages which would cover the history from 1827 when Joseph received the gold plates up to modern times. When I finally began to write, after several months of research and plotting, it quickly became evident that this story was far too great in scope to be adequately told in one volume. Thus was born The Work and the Glory “series,” which nine years later is still not completed.

Through all of those years, Kim and Jane were an integral part of the project. Their vision of what it should be never flagged. They were converted to the Church at a later point in their lives, and so they brought not only strong testimonies to the project but also the perspective of the nonmember. Kim pored over the manuscripts and illustrations and made hundreds of suggestions on each volume. He constantly reminded me to avoid LDS cliches and to be sensitive to those who do not know our vocabulary and our way of seeing the world. Retired from active business life by the time all of this began, he devoted almost his full time to the series. His influence, though not specifically marked, is felt throughout each of the various volumes. Without Kim Moe, the series as it has now developed would not be in existence at this time.

It was with shock and sorrow that I learned in the late summer of 1996 that Kim had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Gratefully, he lived long enough to read and critique the complete manuscript of volume 7 and to see it published and on the shelf. How he wanted to see the Saints—and the Steeds—reach the Valley of the Great Salt Lake! But it was not to be. He passed away in October 1996. His presence and influence will be sorely missed. The Work and the Glory continues as a monument to his vision, his determination, and his great desire to be of service in the Lord’s kingdom.

Gerald N. Lund

>Bountiful, Utah

September 1997

I would like to express my gratitude to the many generous friends who have stepped in to help me carry on my responsibilities in the production of this historical saga, The Work and the Glory.

It has been a most fulfilling project for both Kim and me for these many years. Since Kim died in October 1996 I have tried to carry on for both of us. It is a project in which I still find great fulfillment. Since the onset of macular degeneration my vision has been reduced to “legal blindness,” so that I now have a select group of friends who read the manuscript to me. It is to them I want to express my deep gratitude. Their names are not in any particular order, but my love and appreciation for each of them is deep and enduring: To Julia and William Ince, Robert and Susannah Winston, Kay Wilson, Dianne and George Elges, Cheri Henderson, and our son, Terry Moe, who makes frequent visits from Florida. Also to Janet Anderson, who not only reads manuscript pages but also has taken over the computer side of this endeavor, and to her wonderfully thoughtful husband and compassionate children. Last but never least, to Sandy and Tim Vos and their three delightful children, who have all been willing—and available—right hands for me.

A special expression of gratitude to Jerry and Lynn Lund for their thoughtful understanding of my situation.

Jane Moe

Highlands, North Carolina

September 1997

Characters of Note in This Book

The Steed Family

•Mary Ann Morgan, widow of Benjamin Steed, and mother and grandmother; not quite sixty as the story opens.

•Joshua, the oldest son (almost thirty-nine), and his wife, Caroline Mendenhall (almost forty).

William (“Will”), from Caroline’s first marriage (nearing twenty-two), and his wife, Alice Samuelson (nineteen).

Savannah; almost nine.

Charles Benjamin; six.

Livvy Caroline; not quite two years old as the book opens.

•Jessica Roundy Garrett (forty-one), Joshua’s first wife, widow of John Griffith, and her husband, Solomon Garrett (almost forty-one).

Rachel, from marriage to Joshua; fourteen.

Luke and Mark, sons from John Griffith’s first marriage;  thirteen and eleven, respectively.

John Benjamin, from marriage to John; about eight.

Miriam Jessica, from marriage to Solomon; two and a half.

Solomon Clinton; eleven months.

•Nathan, the second son (almost thirty-seven), and his wife, Lydia McBride (about the same age).

Joshua Benjamin (“Josh”); nearing fifteen.

Emily; not quite fourteen.

Elizabeth Mary; not quite eight.

Josiah Nathan; five.

Nathan Joseph (called Joseph); nearly three.

•Melissa, the older daughter (thirty-five), and her husband, Carlton (“Carl”) Rogers (thirty-six).

Carlton Hezekiah; almost fourteen.

David Benjamin; eleven and a half.

Caleb John; not yet ten.

Sarah; seven.

Mary Melissa; a year and a half.

•Rebecca, the younger daughter (twenty-eight), and her husband, Derek Ingalls (twenty-eight).

Christopher Joseph; almost seven.

Benjamin Derek; almost four.

Leah Rebecca; eleven months.

•Matthew, the youngest son (twenty-five), and his wife, Jennifer Jo McIntire (twenty-four).

Betsy Jo; not quite four.

Emmeline; eleven months.

•Peter Ingalls, Derek’s younger brother (almost twenty-two), and his wife, Kathryn Marie McIntire, Jennifer Jo’s sister (nearly twenty).

Note: Deceased children are not included in the above listing.

The Smiths

* Lucy Mack, the mother.

* Mary Fielding, Hyrum’s wife.

* Emma Hale, Joseph Smith’s wife.

* William, Joseph’s youngest living brother; age thirty-five.

Others

* William Clayton, an English convert; clerk to Brigham Young and an accomplished musician.

* George and Jacob Donner, well-to-do farmers from Springfield, Illinois, who decide to go to California in 1846.

* Heber C. Kimball, friend of Brigham Young’s and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

* Jesse C. Little, president of the Eastern States Mission and President Young’s envoy to President James K. Polk.

* Orson Pratt, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

* Parley P. Pratt, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

* James Reed, wealthy businessman who heads for California with the Donner brothers and his own family.

* Willard Richards, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

* George A. Smith, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

* John Taylor, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

* Wilford Woodruff, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.