Comments for Keepapitchinin, the Mormon History blog

Comment on In His Own Words: Ralph Watson, 1897 by kevinf

kevinf — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:13:59 +0000

As one who spent many of his summers growing up on a farm, I will echo the thoughts that it is a valuable experience. More than anything else, it taught me that I didn’t want to be a farmer when I grew up.

Great story, though. After the harvest, Ralph obviously had things to write about.

Comment on The Number One Very First Earliest Original LDS British Sunday School by blueagleranch

blueagleranch — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:29:46 +0000

Early Sunday school classes were held in both Kirtland and Nauvoo (none in Winter Quarters that I have found). Among Helen Mar Kimball Whitney’s “pleasing recollections” of life in Kirtland were “our Sunday Schools, where I used to love to go and recite verses and whole chapters from the New Testament, and we received rewards in primers, etc., which I think were more highly appreciated in those days than they are at the present time. At ten o’clock we would form in line and march with our teachers up to the temple.” Although I can’t find a source at the moment, I believe that one of Benjamin Johnson’s sisters, probably Nancy, taught the classes in the family home on the Flats.

Glen Leonard’s book on Nauvoo states that reminiscenes recalled a Sunday school started in June 1844 at the suggestion of Joseph Smith, but which was abandoned a few weeks later after the martyrdom. He notes that the classes may have been reinstituted the following year (See p. 227).

These early classes, like the ones in Great Britain, seem to be either individual or branch/ward efforts to instruct children and were heavily influenced by the Protestant Sunday School movement which began in Great Britain and eventually took hold in America. They have often been ignored in the celebrations of Sunday School history. Instead, people have looked to Richard Ballentyne’s class as the original–the first in the Salt Lake Valley and the apparently the first to have some staying power and to spread to other wards. People began discussing a need for a uniform teaching program and George Q. Cannon launched the Juvenile Instructor to help fill the void. Eventually, after several attempts, the Sunday school classes were united in the Deseret Sunday School Union in 1872 with George Q. Cannon as general superintendant.

Comment on In His Own Words: Ralph Watson, 1897 by Stephen Taylor

Stephen Taylor — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:01:39 +0000

Thanks Ardis.

Comment on In His Own Words: Ralph Watson, 1897 by Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:52:00 +0000

Gotcha, ellen!

It’s a thousand approximations of this story that will keep our general authorities referring to “growing up on the farm” for another generation, at least — it really is where they developed their character, and nobody has yet come up with a city-bred model to replace it.

Comment on In His Own Words: Ralph Watson, 1897 by ellen

ellen — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:18:40 +0000

Aaaah, Ardis, way to tear at my heart first thing in the morning. Remarkable mother and son.

Comment on The Number One Very First Earliest Original LDS British Sunday School by Maurine

Maurine — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:31:04 +0000

I remember reading that there were Sunday Schools in Nauvoo and Winter Quarters. Does anyone know anything about that?

Comment on The Number One Very First Earliest Original LDS British Sunday School by Clark

Clark — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:18:55 +0000

So, it seems that while Bro. Ballantyne gets the credit (and the Arnold Friberg painting!), some forever unknown British convert beat him to the idea by at least 5 years. Seems like another case of the Utah-centric view of history keepers,as noted in some of the missionary related posts on the blog.

Comment on The Number One Very First Earliest Original LDS British Sunday School by Anne (U.K)

Anne (U.K) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:47:29 +0000

Mark: Sunday Schools:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_school

Robert Raikes is generally considered the founder of organised Sunday Schools. Also, Sunday School is/was usually regarded as an activity for children: I’ll never forget how thrown I was when investigating, to see that adults were expected to attend Sunday School, too. That took a looooong time to get used to.

Will keep plugging on through the Millennial Star to find the first mention of Sunday schools, though it may take a while as completely unrelated articles are sidetracking my efforts

Comment on The Number One Very First Earliest Original LDS British Sunday School by kevinf

kevinf — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:14:38 +0000

Looks to me like a simple case of “The first shall be last”.

Comment on Eleanor and Emma by Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:53:42 +0000

Thanks, Martin — I think.

/s/ Passionate, Obsessed, Nutty One