TRUTH NEVER CHANGES
A
PUBLICATION IN THE SPIRIT AND TRADITON OF TRUTH
MAGAZINE
Y VOLUME 13 JUNE 2010 NUMBER
07 Y
LIFE
SKETCH OF JACKSON TED JESSOP
DELIVERED BY CARLOS TED JESSOP
AT HIS FUNERAL SERVICE, 03 JULY 2002
DELIVERED BY CARLOS TED JESSOP
AT HIS FUNERAL SERVICE, 03 JULY 2002
Ted Jessop was a child of
destiny. The doctors had told his mother
that she could not have any other children.
She made a promise to the Lord and she conceived Ted, who never knew
what she promised to the Lord. He grew
up with many family members; I’d like to mention Penny Behunin was his cousin
and his best childhood friend. She was
always smarter and had better ideas. Ted
Jessop always wanted to be a cowboy; he had the whole outfit, except for his
boots—he’d wear his mother’s high-heeled shoes.
His Uncle Wallace, after World War II went and bought him a pair of
boots. He told me he would have still
wore boots in his old age, but his feet were too delicate.
When he was a young man in the
Ward, in the Mormon Church, the Bishopric sits behind the podium, and they had
some youth back there, too. He was
joking around one day and the Bishop called him over to sit next to him. He got up and had Ted sit in his chair; he
looked out in the audience and his dad was sitting like this (he gestured with
his face and hands.) The Bishop never
reprimanded him; he whispered in his ear, he said, “You’ll sit in this position
one day—you need to start acting the part.”
His father had a great impact on
him—when he died, he was fourteen years old.
One-on-one, his dad would teach him old Mormon doctrine teachings. He thought everybody in the Church believed
that way—things like this planet is made up of seven other planets that didn’t
live the law, and other things, too.
He went to work as an apprentice
butcher at Don’s Market in California.
He would go to school, then he’d work thirty-six hours a week. He loved his career as a butcher for twenty-five
years. He said when he graduated from
high school, it was like a vacation, then he had to work forty hours a week.
I’d like to mention one of the
counselors in his Bishopric—I don’t recall his name. The men of the Ward treated Ted like a son,
and yet like a man, because he was working like a man. He told me that this Bishop Counselor was his
Home Teaching companion—that my dad was companion to him—the counselor told him
that he had a medical condition and that he had not been intimate with his wife
for three years because of his condition.
Ted went and told his mother and she said that, “Brother so-and-so lived
his religion.”
He graduated from Earl Warren
High School in 1960. He was endowed in
the Los Angeles Temple; there was a brother there that prophesied to him, he
said, “Where you are going on a mission, you’re going to see great evidences of
the Book of Mormon, but you’ll still have to do a lot of talking to convert
people there,” and his inclination was to tell the man, “I’m not going where the
pyramids and the great evidences are, I’ve been called to Northern Mexico,” but
he restrained himself, because he felt the Spirit and he went all throughout
Mexico, even from Arizona to the Yucatan under four Mission Presidents. He progressed and was naturally a leader; he
was a Zone Leader and Assistant to at least to one of the Presidents. He mastered the Spanish language like Brother
Paul Thompson here, and he had many spiritual experiences.
I’m cutting my talk short, but
one I’d like to mention is that he was teaching a family and there were
Fundamentalist Missionaries teaching the same family. Well, they arranged—I guess—for a debate for
both sets of missionaries to be there at the same time. My dad did a beautiful job of defending the
position of the Church. One of the
Fundamentalist Missionaries looked my dad in the eye and said, “I don’t know
how or when, but one day you’re going to be with us.”
He met a missionary of great
renown, who could get into every door he knocked on. My dad went with him to see if this was true,
and he told me it was true: Every door he knocked on, he got in the door—even
if he had to stick his foot in the door.
This man would become his brother-in-law, Eliseo Lopez. Eliseo introduced my father to my mother and
they were married in the Mesa Temple June 6th, 1964.
They lived in Los Angeles a short
time, then they moved to Utah. Our Uncle
Jim was a great influence to him—he would ask him questions on Mormon doctrine,
and my dad would study—he’d go to the BYU library trying to prove Uncle Jim
wrong. There were certain Mormon
doctrines, like the Adam-God doctrine, that Adam is our Father in Heaven; like
that Celestial Plural Marriage is essential today. It was a great inner conflict.
He met with several General
Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—one of them
prophesied to him, and it buzzed around the family, he said that, “One day,
he’d be an apostle.”
He started several businesses—he
was an entrepreneur. With one of them,
he was embezzled of his life’s savings and another one, his competitors shut
him down. They say he wasn’t a
businessman, but I was there and I saw the things that happened. At one of our businesses in Cedar City, Utah,
there would be different missionaries from different Mormon Fundamentalist
groups—one of his names was Robert LeFevre.
When I saw Robert’s family
excommunicated, his whole family—not just Robert—it scared him. The Stake President asked him a question that
was at the core of his heart. He said, “Do
you believe Spencer W. Kimball holds the keys?”
My dad looked at him and said, “I
don’t know of anyone else, do you?” So
the Stake President backed off.
As a family, we moved to Casa
Grande, Arizona—he worked for a variety of jobs, he worked for the handicaps, whom
he genuinely loved. He worked for the
Central Arizona Association of Governments and for Gila County, under the Job
Developer Program. He became
semi-active in the Mormon Church—he did this intentionally to not cause any
problems, because he knew that he believed differently in the old Mormon
doctrine. So he turned almost full-time
to Pit-bull dogs and in those circles, he is very renowned—he had champion
Mountain Boy, champion Campecino, and champion Cain, and he understood that
pastime well.
I made one phone call to let that
group know, and all I had to do was make one phone call and I know that
everybody in that world knows about it.
He used to say it perplexed him how society could look down upon two
dogs fighting, and yet accept human lives to be taken in the form of
abortions. What he really liked about
the dogs is their gameness; their tenacity—that they don’t quite. They never give up. That’s what he admired about them. He had horses, and we’ve always been kind of
farm people—periodically throughout our lives, we’ve had different animals.
In Casa Grande he told me, “I’ve
been blessed with many tolerant Bishops and Stake Presidents, but I was finally
blessed with one who wasn’t tolerant.”
He was excommunicated in 1989 for his beliefs in Plural Marriage, the
Adam-God doctrine and for some other things.
His Bishop came to the door the
next day and said, “I invite you to take off your garments.” And if you knew Ted, he said, “I went to bed
a Mormon and woke up a Mormon—I’m not going to take them off.”
He would go out in the desert and
pray and yearn to see those who would prophesy.
He held early morning devotionals and would hold sacrament meetings (in
his home). We heard about a group of
Fundamentalists in Phoenix and went to meet with them, and there we met two men
who would change our lives: Bill Baird and Joe Thompson.
A couple of my family members had
moved to Salt Lake already—I was planning on moving, and the rest of the family
decided to move. In November of ’91, he
was working for Salt Lake County and we became convinced—my father and mother
first—that there was Priesthood within a group of Fundamentalists and started
attending their meetings. There, his
prayers were answered and Bill Baird would constantly prophesy to him—my dad
said almost every time they met. One of
the things he told him, was that the Group was only ten years behind the Church
in changes.
In the Fall of ’92 Bill Baird and
my dad visited his father-in-law, Bernardo Lopez—shortly thereafter, my
grandfather and Bill Baird died.
There were some things that
happened within this group—there were some changes and Joe Thompson was
basically excommunicated, and Mel Sullivan defended Joe Thompson on the
Principle of the Oath of Brotherhood.
My dad moved back to Mesa, and
worked for the City of Phoenix, then back to Gila County again. In the meantime, he met with Joe Thompson and
received all the blessings that are possible under the hands of another man, in
Mormonism, what that means is that you have to have the Savior ratify that.
In December of ’95, our family—we
moved out here in Concho, Arizona—we had some specific goals in mind and it’s
been a pioneer-like experience.
He married Emma Gisela Baltierra
on July 4th, 1997.
Some of his work that he’s left
behind, he’s translated some books into Spanish. He was Editor of a quarterly magazine, Truth
Never Changes. He was a scholar of
Mormonism, in both doctrine and history.
He was also familiar with fundamentalism and he built a chapel.
In the last year and a half, he’s
worked with Realty Executives. I know my
remarks are a little long—I’ve not even covered all the things I would have
liked to have covered. He would say some
things, he would say, “I’m just a Mormon—that’s all I am.” He’d say, “People perceive me as having
changed, that my religion has changed—all I have ever been is a Mormon boy.”
Sometimes you can define a man by
what he was not: He was not a liar or a cheat, he was not a womanizer. Another one of his quotes that he said, “I
love my country, but I don’t trust my government.”
You honored us by attending. This is who we are. I wasn’t going to pull any punches for Ted
Jessop’s funeral—these are intimate things of his life and his family. This is the very core of Ted Jessop, and I
have focused on the religious aspect.
Often people would misjudge him and they’d just see the jovial fat man,
but at his heart, he had the heart of a lion, and if he thought something was
right, you’d see the lion come out. He
was one of those men that walked with no fear in his life. I am honored to be his son; I’m the weak
version of Ted Jessop. I want to do
better so that I can honor the memory of my father.
Thank you for coming.
A
LETTER
December 20, 1991
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
My Dear Wife and Children,
It is with sober thought that I
send these few thoughts to you at this time.
It could seem strange or different to you that I address you all in this
manner, but I feel the need to communicate to you at this time. So many things have transpired in the last
few years that I want to take time to let you know my feelings and the things
in my heart.
While at Brigham Young University
I began to delve into Mormon doctrine in a very deep way. Though the Church would constantly say not
seek these things out, my heart kept saying, Why not? I formed lists of questions and then
proceeded to seek the answers to these questions.
I found some remarkable
results. I caught the modern leaders in
lies, or cover-ups. I didn’t intend to
find this answer, or in another way I wasn’t trying to disprove the official
position. The exact opposite is the
truth. I was trying to find why the
Church was correct in its position. Oh,
how can I tell any of you the terrible anguish I felt in finding time after
time that there have been cover-ups, and falsification; all of this just
sickened my soul.
The years of rationalization, of
seeking ways to stay in the Church, trying desperately to cling to what I had
been taught was truth. I felt so alone,
no one seemed to comprehend. I guess I
wasn’t as faithful as I should have been, but I was struggling inside with an
internal conflict. If I move forward, I
felt that I would lose my family, my mother, my sister, all that I have
treasured in life.
I look back at the time I spent
running from that which I knew in my soul was the truth, is a source of regret
to me. Yet I cannot change that and I
guess the Lord knew that I needed that time to find peace in my soul. Another source of conflict to me was which of
all the groups was the correct one?
In this also, I wish that I had
done these different; I allowed myself to be persuaded by what seems to be
right, rather than by taking up the Spirit as my guide. I would like to define what my life’s
experiences has taught me you can trust the Spirit. God will lead by the Spirit if we will allow
it to direct us. A good woman will
follow if a man will lead in righteousness instead of trying to drive. John Taylor bestowed keys to the council in
1886. Those keys were conferred upon
Joseph Musser. Brother Musser in turn
bestowed those keys to Rulon Allred.
Brother Owen has then today.
Brother Woolley was carried to Yucatan where Brother Joseph Smith has a
posterity.
King David will yet appear in a
future dawning to take his place. I have
a great desire to endeavor to keep the Lord’s commandments. I honestly can say that I feel that he is
guiding our path and taking control of the course of events. My desire is to submit to the Lord, by being
obedient to His Spirit. To sustain
Brother Owen and the Priesthood Council.
To spend the time I have remaining on earth in service to my
family. How can I make you know that you
are the most important things in my life?
Instead of getting another business or anything else, I want to serve
God and make your lives meaningful. The
Gospel is my birth-right. So it is yours
also. The Priesthood is upon the
earth. I know that we are in an
out-of-order condition; nevertheless God has left the keys here and the Council
has them. This is my gift to you…may you
find worth or value in it.
Blessings to you,
Jackson Ted Jessop
The Vision of
Destruction by John Taylor
I
went to bed at my usual hour, half past nine o'clock. I had been reading the
Revelations in the French language. My mind was calm, more so than usual if
that were possible to be so. I composed myself for sleep, but could not sleep.
I felt a strange stupor come over me and I apparently became partially
unconscious. Still I was not asleep nor awake, but had a strange, far-away
dreamy feeling.
The
first thing I recognized was that I was in the Tabernacle at Ogden,
Utah,
sitting on the back seat in the corner for fear they would call on me to
preach, which, after singing the second song, they did by calling me to the
stand. I arose to speak and said that I did not know that I had anything
special to say except to bear my testimony of the truth of this latter-day
work, when all at once it seemed I was lifted out of myself. And I said,
"Yes, I have something to say, it is this: Some of my brethren present
have been asking me, 'What is coming to pass? What is the wind blowing up?' I
will answer you right here what is coming to pass shortly."
Then
I was immediately in Salt Lake City wandering about the streets.
In
all parts of the city and upon the door of every house, I saw a badge of
mourning and I could not find a house but what was in mourning. I passed my own
home and saw the same signs there. And I asked the question, "Is that me
who is dead?" Something gave me the answer, "No."
It
seemed strange to me that I saw no person on the streets in my wandering about
through the city. They seemed to be in their houses with their sick and dead. I
saw no funeral processions or anything of that kind, but the city looked very
still and quiet as if the people were praying. It seemed as though the people
had control over the disease.
Whatever
it was, I do not know. That was not shown to me.
I
then looked in all directions over the territory, east, west, north and south,
and found the same mourning in every place throughout the land.
The
next I knew I was just this side of Omaha. It seemed as though I was above the
earth looking down upon it as I passed along on my way east. I saw the roads
full of people, principally women, with just what they could carry in bundles
on their backs, traveling to the mountains on foot. And I wondered how they
would get there with nothing but a small pack on their backs. It was remarkable
to me that there were so few men among them. It did not seem as though train
cars were running; the rails looked rusty and the roads abandoned. Indeed, I
have no conception of how I traveled myself as I looked down upon the people.
I
continued east through Omaha and Council Bluffs, which were full of disease,
and women were everywhere. The states of Missouri and Illinois were in turmoil
and strife. Men were killing one another, and women joined in the fighting.
Family against family were cutting each other to pieces in the most horrible
manner imaginable.
The
next I saw was Washington, D.C., and I found the city a desolation.
The
White House was empty and the Halls of Congress likewise.
Everything
was in ruin and the people seemed to have fled from the city and left it to
take care of itself.
I
was next in the city of Baltimore, in the square where the monument of
1812
stands in front of the St. Charles and other hotels. And at the hotels, the dead
were everywhere. I saw their bodies piled up, so as to fill the square. I saw
women cut the throats of their own children for the sake of their blood, which
they drank. I saw them suck it from their veins to quench their own thirst and
then lie down in the streets and die.
The
waters of Chesapeake River and of the city and the Chesapeake Bay were so
stagnant, and such a stench arose from them on account of the
putrification
of the dead carcasses in them, that the very smell carried death with it.
And
that was singular again. I saw no men, except they were dead, lying in the
streets. There were but very few women, and they were crazy and mad, and in a
dying condition. Everywhere I went I beheld the same all over the city. It was
horrible beyond description to behold.
I
thought this must be the end, but not so. Seemingly in an instant I was in
Philadelphia, and there, as in Baltimore, everything was still.
No
living soul was to be seen to greet me. It seemed as though the whole city was
without inhabitants. In Arch and Chestnut streets, and in fact, everywhere I
looked the putrefaction of the dead bodies created such a stench that it was
impossible for any creature to remain alive, nor did
I
see any living thing in the city.
I
next found myself on Broadway in New York. And there it seemed as if the people
had done their best, all they could do, to overcome the disease. But, in
wandering down Broadway, I saw the bodies of beautiful women lying, some stone
dead, and others in a dying condition, on the sidewalks. I saw men crawl out of
the cellars and violate the persons of some that were alive, then kill them and
rob their dead bodies of the valuables they had on them. And then, before they
could return to their coverts in the cellars, they themselves would roll over a
time or two and die in agony.
On
some of the back streets I saw mothers kill their own offspring and eat their
raw flesh, and then in a few minutes die themselves. And wherever I looked or
went, I saw the same scenes of horror and desolation, rapine and death. No
horses, nor carriages, nor omnibuses, nor streetcars. Nothing but death and
destruction everywhere.
I
then went to the Grand Central Park, and looking back, I saw a fire start. And
just at that moment a mighty east wind sprang up and carried the flames west
over the great city. And it burned until there was not a single building left
standing whole, even down to the water's edge and wharfs. And the shipping all
seemed to be burned and swallowed up in common destruction. Nothing was left
but a desolation where a great city stood a short time before. The stench from
the bodies that were burning was so great that it was carried a great distance
across the Hudson River and Bay. And thus it spread disease and death wherever
the fumes penetrated.
I
cannot paint in words the horrors that seemed to encompass me around about, for
me it was beyond description or thought of man to conceive.
I
supposed this was the end, but I was given to understand that the same horrors
that were here were being enacted all over the country, east, west, north, and
south, that few were left alive, still there were some.
Immediately
after, I seemed to be standing on the left bank of the Missouri River, opposite
the city of Independence, but I saw no city. I saw the whole states of Illinois
and Missouri and part of Iowa were a complete wilderness of desert with no
living human being there in them.
I
then saw a short distance from the river, twelve men draped in the robes of the
Temple, standing in a square, or nearly so. I understood it to represent the
twelve gates of the New Jerusalem. And they, with uplifted hands, were
consecrating the ground and laying the cornerstone of the Temple.
And
while they were thus employed, I saw myriads of angels hovering over them and
around about them. And I heard the angels singing the most beautiful heavenly
music. The words were: "Now is established the Kingdom of God and His
Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever! And the Kingdom shall never be
thrown down, for the Saints have overcome!"
And
I saw people coming from the river and from distant places to help build the
Temple. And it seemed as though there were hosts of angels, all helping to
bring material for the construction of the Temple. And I saw some come who wore
their temple robes to help build the Temple and the city, and all the time I
saw that the great pillar of cloud continued to hover over the place.
Instantly,
I found myself in the Ogden Tabernacle, yet I could see the building going on,
and I got quite animated in calling upon the people in the Tabernacle to listen
to the beautiful strains of music that the angels were singing. I called to
them to look at the angels, as the building seemed to be filled with them, and
they were singing the same words that I heard before: "Now is the Kingdom
of our God and His Christ established forever and ever!" And then a voice
said, "Now shall come to pass that
which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet, that '[In that day,] seven women shall
take hold of one man, saying, [We will eat our own bread, and wear our own
apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our
reproach.]'" (Isaiah 4:1)
At
this time I seemed to stagger back from the pulpit and F. D. Richards and
someone else caught me and prevented me from falling, when I requested Brother
Richards to apologize to the audience for me because I stopped so abruptly, and
tell them I had not fainted, but was exhausted.
I
rolled over on my bed and heard the City Hall clock strike twelve o'clock. The
vision had occurred between 9:30 P.M. and midnight.
(Wilford
Woodruff Journal, June 15, 1878; Deseret Evening News, November 17, 1880 in an
article by Joseph F. Smith.)
JOSEPH WHITE MUSSER
"O
ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your
heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the
last day." (D&C)
The
life of Joseph W. Musser was a fulfillment of this scripture, for he gave his
life to God and sought none other gifts than those of the Spirit. Nourishing
the spirit of prayer and humility, Joseph cultivated a friendship with God, and
served Him with full purpose of heart.
Joseph
W. Musser joins our group of contemporary witnesses as an outstanding example
of a servant of God. He was born March 8, 1872, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to
Amos Milton Musser, Assistant Church Historian and pillar of the Church, and
Mary Elizabeth White, first plural wife to Brother Musser.
Joseph
White Musser was born and grew to manhood at a time when the Church was at war
with the government of the United States. Plural marriage had been declared a
crime, and the most respected men in Mormondom were being hunted down and cast
into prison. Joseph often used to relate to his friends his experiences of
taking plural wives from one house to another to evade the federal officers. He
saw his father, with whom Joseph's life was closely inter-woven, often driven
into hiding. It was under this environment that young Joseph was raised. He had
at least met, if not personally known, every Church president except the
Prophet Joseph Smith. He was a man of great refinement, knowledge and
experience.
We name Brother
Musser as a unique witness especially because of his vantage point of close
association with the Church leaders. He knew the inner workings of that body of
men.
Referring
to his religious background and the reasons for his acceptance of the principle
of plural marriage, he stated: "I had been nurtured in the Patriarchal
Law. I believe it earnestly. It seemed to me I had met Father Abraham and been
taught at his knees. He had many wives and concubines. Isaac, the son of Sarah,
was Abraham's heir apparent, though not his first born, Ishmael coming before
him.
"Early
in life I became familiar with the Lord's revelations to His Prophet, Joseph
Smith, on the subject of marriage. My father had four wives to my knowledge;
though one, the first, I never knew in mortality. She died before my birth. My mother was his first plural wife, and her
faith and loyalty were, to my mind, perfect.
"Coming
from such an ancestry and being raised in a polygamous atmosphere, by parents
devoted to their religious conceptions, I naturally inherited and imbibed a
strong spiritual nature. From early youth I devoted my time to the Church. I
believed intensely in the mission of Joseph Smith, and were it possible to
become fanatical in accepting the decrees of the Almighty, I have been
fanatically religious, but not obdurate toward the religion and actions of
others nor offensively dogmatic.
Personally,
I was brought up in the most puritanical fashion with reference to morality. To
lose one's virtue was an offense in the eyes of God next to murder--the
shedding of innocent blood. To take advantage of a girl, not one's wife, was a
terrible act. I believed this doctrine and I lived it completely--and I still
believe it."
As
to his recollection of meeting the early presidents of the Church, he often
related his experience of seeing President Brigham Young as he lay in his
coffin; also that he vaguely remembered seeing him before his death. Later when
old enough to remember and understand, his father invited him to attend a
meeting of the "Grand Council of the Kingdom of God." He remembered
this meeting, of how armed guards admitted the invited guests. His father, Amos
Milton Musser, being a member of this "Grand Council," was free to
invite him to attend. At this meeting he was introduced to President John
Taylor and heard him speak.
He
remembered the placing of the capstone on the Salt Lake Temple. He said Apostle
Lorenzo Snow led the open air congregation in the `Hosanna Shout.' A week
later, April 13, 1892, he ascended the east middle tower of the Temple and
touched the feet of the golden Angel Moroni.
Joseph
W. Musser's schooling opportunities in those early days were minimal, though
through self-teaching and the generous application of sheer will and
determination, he became an efficient court stenographer and developed valuable
knowledge in the field of law.
At
the age of 20, Joseph was married for time and all eternity in the Logan
Temple. Three years later, in 1895, he
received a call from President Woodruff to fill a mission to the Southern
States. He was set apart by Apostles Brigham Young, Jr., Heber J. Grant and
John W. Taylor. He filled his mission
without purse or scrip.
While
serving on his mission and in concern over the health of his firstborn, a son,
he inquired of the Lord as to the welfare of his child. The Lord gave him a dream in which he visited
his home and saw his child in improved health, with reassurances given him from
his beloved wife. Brother Musser praised
the Lord for His kindness in answer to prayer.
In
1899, now home from his mission, a wonderful and marvelous experience came to
him, which was destined to change the course of his life for time and all
eternity. Speaking of this incident, he recorded the following in his Journal:
"Receiving
a written invitation from President Lorenzo Snow, to receive my `Higher
Anointings' in the Temple, my wife and I, with four other couples repaired to
the Temple on Thanksgiving morning, November 1899, where the most glorious
blessings known to man were sealed upon us.
We literally spent a few hours as in heaven 'mid the glorious calm and
quiet of our holy surroundings. We were near the Lord and Oh! how happy! I was
only 27 years of age and wondered why so young a person should be so favored,
for we were being sealed with the `Holy Spirit of Promise.'"
Following
on the heels of this glorious blessing, word came from President Lorenzo Snow
which was of a shocking nature. Explaining the situation, Brother Joseph gave
the following account:
"When
the Wilford Woodruff Manifesto was adopted (October 1890), I was not married. I
had been promised in the name of the Lord, by my Stake President, some days
after the Manifesto was published, that I would yet enter the law. I believed
it. And later, while courting my young lady, I told her I expected to enter
that law of marriage, that when the time came I would take it up with her and
we would make the selection of other wives together. Although I was taking her
out of a plural family, she took the matter cooly, but she was true to her
promise on that occasion.
"In
December 1899, after receiving my `Second Blessings,' a messenger came to me
from President Snow, stating I had been selected to enter plural marriage and
to help keep the principle alive. Apprising my wife of the situation, we both
entered into prayer for guidance. At this time I hadn't the slightest idea whom
to approach. The `Manifesto' had been issued, and word had gone out from
Bishops and Stake Presidencies that a definite stop had been put to the
practice. Those assuming to enter the principle would be `handled.' I was
placed in a peculiar situation. God's
Prophet told me to accept the law and keep it alive. His subordinates said if I
did so, they would cut me off the Church. I could not argue with them and
divulge the source of my authority. It was a time when every man was in honor
bound to carry his own burdens and yet live every law of the Gospel.
"In
answer to prayer, Mary Caroline Hill, a daughter of William Hood Hill, a member
of the Mill Creek Ward Bishopric, came within our horizon. She was a beautiful
young lady, about 25 years of age; had refused many proposals--had been waiting
for the right man. Her father had done time, presumably with my father, in the
penitentiary for polygamous living. I was astounded, when asking Brother Hill
for the hand of his daughter, to be flatly refused. He said it could not be
done; they were handling people for proposing it. I was greatly taken back. I
had been at his home, with other Stake and General Officers of the Church on
numerous occasions and eaten at his table. I rather took it for granted that he
knew my hidden motive in being there so often and thought he was in harmony
with it.
"I
said, `Well, Brother Hill, it can be done, and now the responsibility is upon
you. Your daughter is agreeable to the situation.'
"The
conversation took place in the office where I was employed, in town. He left
and in about one half or three quarters of an hour he returned and assured me
it was all right and that I might go ahead.
Astonished and yet grateful, I asked what had happened to change his
mind so quickly. He said after leaving me he `bumped into Apostles John Henry
Smith and M. F. Cowley'; he put the question to them. They assured him it was
all right and advised him to return to me and give his consent to the
marriage. Thus Mary entered into my
family in the year 1901."
The
marriage was sealed by an Apostle, a member of the Quorum of Twelve, in good
standing.
Joseph's
father, having heard of his son embracing the law, caused him much sorrow, he
supposing that his son had acted without the consent of the authorities. In
order to soothe his feelings, the presiding authorities of this most honorable
"conspiracy" took A. M. Musser into their confidence and revealed to
him the truth. His heart leaped for joy, and embracing his son Joseph, he
exclaimed, "God bless you, my boy, God bless you." Shortly before his
death, Joseph's father had inscribed on his gold watch a beautiful tribute to
his son, and presented the watch to him.
Engraved on the watch are the following words: "St. Joseph W.
Musser—In admiration of your devotion to a divine principle of the gospel. Father--Zion, May 20th, 1909." Brother
Joseph always considered the watch one of his priceless earthly possessions.
Later,
under the direction of President Joseph F. Smith, this man again responded to
the holy commandment and had his third wife, Ellis Shipp, sealed to him. Again
in the 1930's under the direction of the Priesthood, he had another wife sealed
into his family.
Thus,
Joseph W. Musser, at the age of 27, was introduced to the holy principle of
Celestial Plural Marriage and commanded to embrace the same. This commandment came from God, and he was
duly warned that if he did not respond, he would lose every former blessing he
had received in the Priesthood. He related that he was somewhat slow in
obtaining his second wife. Finally he was approached by President John Henry
Smith and was told that if he did not embrace the principle soon, he would lose
every blessing he had ever received in the Church. He was commanded.
Joseph
recorded in his Journal: "Men other than Brother Ivins were set apart to
work in other parts of the country. Since the Church is subservient to the
Priesthood, any action taken by it against those entering the law is null and
void. A man or woman cannot properly be cut off the Church for keeping a law of
God, for the Church belongs to God and God cannot act a lie and remain
God."
He
explained the situation confronting him: "I was resisting the Church,
though I love its institutions. I had always taught my children to follow the
Church, and yet I now was resisting it. My blessed children could not
understand my position, nor can I blame them, neither could I explain to them
the full picture any faster than they were prepared to receive it." Joseph
received, because of his faithfulness, further instruction and commission:
"In
the year 1915, an Apostle conferred upon me the sealing power of Elijah, with
instructions to see that plural marriage shall not die out. President Snow had
said I must not only enter the law, but must help keep it alive. This then was
the next step in enabling me to help keep it alive. I have tried to be faithful
to my trust."
Here,
then, Joseph W. Musser found himself in a peculiar situation. He was the husband of three wives. He had
been commanded to take the last two of these women with full knowledge that he
was breaking the law of the land and the rule of the Church. Those members of
the Church who heard of his action branded it as adulterous, just as they do
today. Those who conspired to have him break the law, made it plain to him that
he could not depend on them for comfort or relief. Indeed, President Joseph F.
Smith often passed him on the street without a sign of recognition. Later under
the protection of darkness, this same man would step from the shadows, and with
a friendly handclasp and a pat on the back, would exclaim: "God bless you,
brother Joseph, keep the good work up!"
Joseph
felt the persecutions rage around him and his family. He was spoken evilly of
and had a difficult time making a living. In 1909, the Salt Lake Tribune
selected him as an object lesson, which was also a cover to goad the leaders of
the Church for their own similar actions.
The
headlines read: "JOE MUSSER HAS NOW TAKEN NO. 3--High Councilor of Granite
Stake Enters Into New Polygamy in Salt Lake:
"Joseph
W. Musser is chief clerk and assistant secretary of the Utah Light &
Railway company. His father is assistant historian and political mouthpiece of
the Church. He is himself a high ecclesiast in the church, though but about 40
years of age. He is high councilor of Granite stake and as such passes on the
differences between the Saints of his stake and his decisions are final, save
that an appeal may be taken to the first presidency.
"The
president of Granite stake, Frank Y. Taylor, and his second counselor, John M.
Cannon, are publicly known to have recently contracted plural marriages. So
have the Sunday School Superintendent and others of this stake. In fact,
Granite stake is the hotbed of new polygamy, and Forestdale, which is a part of
the stake, is oftimes spoken of as `Polygamyville,' inasmuch as it is a refuge
of those who are violating the laws by `living their religion.'"
The
Tribune then goes on to name Brother Musser's wives and children and their home
locations. The article continues:
"This
is the first expose' that has been made of Joseph W. Musser's new polygamy. He
will not be punished for his violation of the law because he has the sanction
of the teaching of the Church through the 132nd chapter of the
Doctrine and Covenants, and through the life of President Joseph F. Smith, who
admits that he is living with five wives and who pleaded guilty to the charge
of being the father of the last of thirteen illegitimate children, recently
being fined therefor the measly sum of two hundred dollars!"
It
may have been because of pressures as a result of that article in the newspaper
that Brother Musser was called before the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. After a lengthy questioning session before
that body, he wrote: "The
investigation along the lines it is being carried out, is unwarranted; the
Quorum is not united, and such actions as these will tend to lose them their
influence among the Saints .... My impressions were that the brethren are not
actuated by the proper spirit."
In
1929, another marvelous event came into Joseph W. Musser's life, for the Lord
spoke again.
"May
14, 1929, I was ordained a High Priest Apostle and a Patriarch to all the
world, by a High Priest Apostle, and I was instructed to see that never a year
passed that children were not born in the covenant of plural marriage. I was
instructed to give patriarchal blessings to those applying for same, and who
were denied access to a patriarch in the Church. My calling is essentially a
Priesthood calling......
Brother
Joseph related that when the Anointed of the Lord ordained him to this higher
calling that he used the following words: "I ordain you a Patriarch and
Apostle to the Lord, Jesus Christ, and I confer upon you all the keys, power
and authority, that I myself hold, together with the responsibilities and
privileges attached thereto."
After
this ordination the Prophet said to Joseph, "Now you have all that I
have."
The
individual thus ordaining him further instructed Brother Joseph that he had
used the same phraseology that President Taylor had used to set him apart; and
that President Taylor had informed him that Joseph Smith, the Prophet, used the
same words in ordaining him (John Taylor); and that the Prophet had explained
that Peter, James and John had used the same words when they ordained him to
the Priesthood.
Interestingly,
his ordination to the Apostleship partly fulfilled a blessing given to his
mother, Mary White Musser, some years before. In that blessing she was promised
that one of her sons would be ordained an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On
November 9, 1930, his dear wife Mary passed away. The main speaker at her
funeral was President J. Golden Kimball. Some of his remarks were written down:
"I
am here at the request of Brother Musser, his wife and children; and before
going on with my regular remarks on this occasion I want to say this much--that
I have known Brother Musser in Church and business activities for a good many
years, and I know him to be an honest man, with great faith and trust in the
Lord, and courage in the cause of truth.
"Oh,
I know we are supposed to say nothing about this thing--we are afraid to tell
the truth; it isn't always wise to tell the whole truth, but I want to say that
Brother Musser has been unjustly dealt with; he has been persecuted. The
principle of polygamy is true. Of course the door is now closed. The Church
does not sanction the practice now. I
was of that origin and I am proud of it. Brother Joseph is a better man than I
am because I cannot help resenting injustice. Justice is all right, but I believe
in the gospel of mercy, love, charity and patience. If this is not the truth
there is not truth. Thank God the final judgment does not rest with man."
Because
of his background and nearness to the presiding authorities of the Church,
Joseph Musser received much important information. Upon one occasion, his
father approached him with one of Wilford Woodruff's Journals. His father
pointed to the revelation of 1889, and requested his son to copy it, stating:
"Someday it will be necessary for you to use this information." Years
later in defense of the faith, Brother Joseph was able to produce this very
valuable revelation. (See page 44)
The
anti-polygamy crusades of 1944 resulted in the imprisonment of Joseph, serving
a sentence of seven months and then being placed on `two years' probation. He
wrote in his journal:
"My
father preceded me to the penitentiary by some sixty years. I was then 13 years
of age, he 55. In my youthful years, I regarded him an old man, and yet I was
placed behind the bars at 73, and would have resented being called an old man,
although the old timers there soon began to call me `Dad.' President Lorenzo
Snow was 72 years of age when he was incarcerated. So far as I know I am the
oldest man placed behind the bars among the Latter-day Saints for polygamous
living. When I was ordained a High Priest Apostle in May 1929, it was done in
response to a revelation of the Lord to the President of the Priesthood.
Previous to this, however, I was given the Priesthood of Elijah with
instructions, as I was informed from President Joseph F. Smith, to seal couples
in celestial marriage."
While
in prison, Brother Joseph suffered an attack, which was perhaps the forerunner
of his final illness. Being completely exhausted from years of work among the
people, also having been the leading figure in the long legal battle, plus
discomforts of the state penitentiary, all worked together against his health.
He suffered a stroke in early 1949, and was finally released from this world
March 29, 1954, at the age of 82. He was buried next to his father in the Salt
Lake City Cemetery.
Joseph
White Musser, aside from the personal effect he had for immense good in the
lives of countless others, was responsible for the circulation of many
publications, including many unpublished manuscripts of lasting worth. He held
responsible positions in six different stakes in Zion, and preached the gospel
in many of the States of the Union. He was in charge of the East India Mission,
attending to that responsibility from his home. He traveled from Canada to Old
Mexico because of his love for and devotion to the Lord and His gospel.
Joseph
W. Musser was a man of God. He received his errand from the Lord, and he
devoted his life to it regardless of the cost. In his own words, as a stalwart
witness in the latter days:
"I
entered the state of plural marriage after the issuance of the Manifesto; and I
did so with the encouragement, advice and counsel of the majority of the
members of the Quorum of Apostles, and with the blessings of the President of
the Church. These facts cannot be gain said. The fact that I have been
`handled' and `ostracized' for having done my duty as I was taught it, makes no
difference to the case in hand. Indeed, I was told at the time by one having
authority that this very thing might occur, but that it was my duty to live the
law ....
"I
have championed Mormonism from every angle; have accepted the revelations of
Joseph Smith on the subject of celestial and plural marriage--must I say
it--even against the body of the Church, and in opposition to the laws of my
country; and now I find myself expelled from the Church, and a virtual outcast
from its functions and benefits. Strange, but true, and yet my heart is filled
with gratitude for my wives and my 21 beautiful children. Oh!! how I praise God
for His most wonderful blessings, and how grateful I am that the invitation
came to me, as a young man, fifty years ago, to embrace the principle of plural
marriage. I was assured it was of God and that His blessings would follow the
law's acceptance.
"As
God answered the child Joseph's plea for wisdom and direction, so he is
answering the prayers of the faithful today, many of them being led to accept
the fulness of the gospel, including the Patriarchal order of marriage. These
Saints uphold the authorities of the Church by their faith and prayers, so far
as it is possible to do without a surrender of eternal life. They would like to
remain with the organization and add their strength in building it up along
permanently righteous lines, but when denied this blessed privilege they are
resigned and bow to the inevitable, leaving their case in the hands of God, who
will judge all flesh.
"That
truth will prevail is certain, but that it may find a speedy lodgment in the
hearts of all who have the courage and the will to seek it, is the earnest
prayer of your humble servant."
A
prayer, offered on New Year's Day, 1935, by Joseph W. Musser:
"Dear
Lord, continue to guide my footsteps. Help me to get my house in order; to
teach Thy children the truth; to obtain the gift of faith and the spirit of
meekness; help me to serve Thee in truth. Give unto me wisdom, and knowledge,
love and charity. Help me to teach and guide my wives and children, and to bear
up under every burden and obligation of life.
"Let
the balance of my mortal life be spent in the ministry, bringing souls unto
Thee, and when I am released from this existence, let me continue such work of
salvation until the end of all the eternities, could there be an end.
"Father,
I thank Thee for all my blessings and covenant anew with Thee to be more
diligent and valiant in accomplishing my earthly mission. Help me remain true and faithful."
* * * * *
"O
ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart,
might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last
day." (D.&C. 4:2)
Such
was the heart and life of Joseph White Musser, a latter-day witness to the work
of the Lord. (The Most Holy Principle, Volume IV, pp 100 – 110)
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Recommended Sites
4thefamily.us (Open chat & polygamy & Mormon
doctrine discussion)
fullnessradio.acrobat.com/fullness/ (Internet broadcast
Wednesdays 8pm MST. Discussion of
deeper mysteries of the Kingdom of God.)
allofthegospel.com (An in-depth website offering extensive
Fundamentalist Mormon information and works)
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Holiness
Y
To The
To The
Lord
TRUTH NEVER CHANGES
Volume 13, Number 07
June 2010
Volume 13, Number 07
June 2010
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