Comments on: I Have More Questions, 1930

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:12:35 +0000

So very many of the Saints who intended to go west never made it past Iowa, either. I think this is a case of Elder Widtsoe assuming way too much from a single datapoint (the 1850 census), as well as the LDS worldview of the time. As with many questions in this series, the questions and answers reflect more what was on the minds of church members of a past era than they do on what we would ask or how we would answer today.

By: Last Lemming

Last Lemming — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:51:48 +0000

er.. JSIII came of age. Sorry

By: Last Lemming

Last Lemming — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:51:20 +0000

I don’t have it handy, but in Joseph Smith III, Roger Launius explains that there were a significant number of Mormon congregations throughout the midwest, virtually none of which followed Brigham west. Leaders of those branches formed the core of the Reorganized Church until JSII came of age and they were able to convince him to take over. Widtsoe seems to dismiss anybody not gathered at Nauvoo before he even gets to the “weak in faith” criticism.

By: J. Stapley

J. Stapley — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:30:30 +0000

Bathing caps pop up in the various missionary handbooks and general instruction books of this time. Must have been fairly common of a problem.

By: The Other Clark

The Other Clark — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:26:38 +0000

Also groups in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, if I recall. If you weren’t on the Mormon trail, I guess that was proof that you were living “a sinful life.” I wonder if that’s Bro. Widsoe’s conclusion, or Bro. Brigham’s.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:10:54 +0000

I also had questions about the percentage who came West. There were already some in California, and I believe Lyman Wight had led a group to Texas, who were not yet considered apostate. Wasn’t there also a group of converts from the South in Colorado somewhere? There were also branches in various East Coast cities, as well.

those who remained were the weak in faith, who could not bear the thoughts of the hardships of the perilous journey, or those who, by sinful lives, had lost the spirit of the work and were in a state of apostasy. many of those who remained behind were among the secret enemies of the Prophet

That statement seems a bit harsh. No allowance for illness, poverty, or other circumstances?

By: E. Wallace

E. Wallace — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:18:22 +0000

That answer about how many Saints went to Utah seems… fishy. I’m curious, are there any other/better estimates of that number?