12 September 1876


Mill Creek Relief Society; Mill Creek Meetinghouse, Mill Creek, Utah Territory

Single-story, stucco building with stained glass windows

Mill Creek meetinghouse, circa 1915, Salt Lake City. (Courtesy Church History Library.)

Visitors present [. . .]

From Salt Lake City

Miss Eliza R Snow [. . .]

Presedent Mary McAlister said as we have visitors we will not recieve donations to day as it would take too much time and we need their instructions

Miss Eliza R Snow arrose and said I am very much pleased to meet in this Settlement with those who love God and manifest it by their work it is for us to earn what we desire if we choose we can attain to all blessings in store for the faithful but it is very light matter to profess the relijion of Jesus Christ

when in the waters of Baptism we leave behind the Spirit of the world [p. 75] and Start in a different direction and seek for higher objects and attain to higher Glory (Jesus said Father Glorify me with the Glory which was of Old) he spilt his blood upon the Cross and now sits on the Throne it is our previlage [privilege] to share the same Glory with our Elder brother

I question what are we living for are we in the line of our duty we have a higher object before us we must prepare ourselves if we expect to have comunion with God I notice in your last minutes a remark that it was hard to live our relijion, I say we can make it easy if we give ourselves to God and set ourselves to live for God

in order to make the life of a Saint easy we have to live in the light of the Gospel. then we shall have power over Temptation I want to say to my young Sisters you can make yourselves just what you please the more you turn your back to the world the sooner you will recieve light and intelijence, the Spirit of the world is in your midts [midst] to lead our young to distruction.

I hope the Sisters encourage the girls in their meetings it is nessessary for us to meet often.

How often do you meed [meet] (answered once a month)

Once a month why I would freeze to death and you have such a good place to meet in

if you went without dinner you would feel weak now I think [p. 76] our spirit needs feeding as well as the body surely eternal life is worth more

I realize that in the Country you are more scatered, some says it is hard to walk,

Those have lost the Spirit of truth and have taken hold of somthing els this is a fearful state to be in

I am thankful that the things of God are more to me

I want to thank my sisters for the interest they manifested in their work for the Fair it has been our sole object to labor in the fair as though we were on a Mission, it has been to showe the Talent in this Country and it has been our Pride ma<n>y strangers have seen the work of those Women of Utah, and we have a great deal more to do I am thankful some of these women have taken an interest in the Silk Culture I believe we can clothe ourselves cheeper for it is lasting and will work the Sisters can do a great deal and can help their Husbands to sit [set] out trees but in the first place we have to poses [possess] the Spirit of God and of the Gospel and study how much good we can do when I am trying to do good to the Kingdom of God I feel happy

perhaps the Sisters wants to know how much money we have made at the fair when we started we thought we might clear expences we had a great deal to do, but it made no defference [difference] we went to work Presedent [Brigham] Young told me [p. 77] to take the Old Constitutional [Constitution] Buildings and we done it, and I can say it has been a success we had many expences but those of us that worked there we dont have a cent Sister Stains [Priscilla M. Staines] lives quite a distance and she has paid out of her own money near 20 dollars for her expences

we feel to thank all those for Zion’s sake

I do hope you will so manage as to meet often, let us my Sisters be noble women in the Kingdom of God for it is an importtant subject we want to make ourselves worthy of the blessings we dayly recieve from our Father in Heaven I dont speak because I am better I realize that I am frail but I know of no interest but the Kingdom of Heaven how you can feel happy when you kneel down to Pray and you know you have done the best you know how when any is sick administer to them and the Spirit of God beaming in your countenance will enable you to do much good

I say may God Bless and fill you with joy peace and power to heal the sick may his Holy Spirit surround you and help you day by day.

Mrs Zina D Young said my Sisters I ask your faith and Prayers we have had a sermon which can instruct and showe us what we are down here for [. . .] [p. 78] [. . .] [p. 79]

Sister Elizabeth Davis said [. . .]

Sister Snow wishes me to relate to you how I came here

I left England without means I worked my way through when I got to Florence [Nebraska] I had five cents which a Sister gave one of my little girls, we were all taken to a large room for the night

in the morning I heard a knock at the door, it was a little girl who asked for a woman with two little girls she fetched some milk for them and said her mother wanted to see me I went to the house with her

The mother said to me

good mornng Elizabeth I did not know her I had never seen her before, she said she was Hiram [Hyrum] Smith’s [p. 80] Daughter and she said my Father came to me three times in a Dream last night and told me to find you for you were a child of God

after that I did not lack for anything the Lord blessed me with plenty

Sister [Priscilla] Staines said [. . .]

I feel thankful Sister Snow invited me to come [. . .] [p. 81]

Sister Snow arrose again and said I am very glad the subject of voting was mentioned I was mortified at the report of the last Election to see the neglect of our Sisters I feel it my duty to vote so should every sensible woman

A dark spirit has fallen over those neglectful ones I feel to cry Wake up Wake up and keep our eyes open

I hope the Sisters here will meet often, those that meet once a week improve more then those that dont the Angels meet with us although our eyes cannot see them but we can feel the good Spirit of their presence it seems to me Angels would lik[e] to come in such a house as this

it is fearful the darkness that has crept over this people.

Elder John Morgan said [. . .]  what Sister Snow has just remarked if our eyes were touched we would see Angels in our midts and it has caused me to reflect and look back to what this people has had to pass through [. . .] the Angels of God were there they are here to day [. . .] [p. 82]

Source Note

Mill Creek Ward, Cottonwood Stake, Relief Society Minutes and Records (1874–1949), vol. 1 (1874–1883), pp. 75–82, CHL (LR 5570 14).

See also Mary McAllister and Elizabeth Carlisle, “R. S. Reports,” Woman’s Exponent 5, no. 11 (1 Nov. 1876): 82.

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12 September 1876, Mill Creek Relief Society; Mill Creek Meetinghouse, Mill Creek, Utah Territory, The Discourses of Eliza R. Snow, accessed October 15, 2024 https://chpress-web.churchhistorianspress.org/eliza-r-snow/1870s/1876/09/1876-09-12