When Joseph was born in 1865 he was John and Johanna's first child. Christena, John's legal wife, had already given birth once and was pregnant with baby #2 the same time Johanna was pregnant with Joseph. They were all living together in a small rustic home in American Fork, UT at the time.
I'm not sure who wrote the following reminiscence, but it was probably Alice Gledhill, the daughter of Joseph's younger sister, Anna, based on stories she heard:
Christena found other ways to make Johanna unhappy. They were pregnant at the same time. Christina would belittle Johanna, and say such things as, "What kind of a child do you think you will have? Your child will be nothing. It will either be sickly, or it will have no mind. How do you think that such as you can have a child who will amount to anything?"
Johanna was humble. She had no one to turn to, and she wanted her child to be accepted. She cried many times, and wondered what she could do to make things better. Finally one day she went to a place where there was a bridge over a creek, and a place underneath where you could be sure you were alone. There she knelt, and talked to her Father in Heaven. She told Him her problem, and that she would so like to have a child who would make her husband proud. She promised the Lord that if He would let her have a child that was intelligent and fair to look upon that she would dedicate his life to the Lord, The baby was born April 19, 1868*, a beautiful boy, and he was given the name of Joseph. That her prayer was answered, and her promise to the Lord was full filled is known to all of us.
How Joseph got his name is another story—He made his entrance into the world before Christena's baby did, and Johanna said that she wanted his name to be John, for his father, Christena demurred. She said that as the First Wife, it was her child's privilage to receive his father's name. "Alright", Johanna said, that seemed fair to her, but if the baby could not have his father's name, he should have the name of the Prophet. So 'Joseph' was settled on. Two days later Christena's baby arrived. But it was not a son, but a daughter. Christena was not to be outdone—she promptly named her daughter "Brighamine", for the then Prophet of the Church! John did not get a namesake for two more years, when Christena gave birth to a baby boy.
*The correct year should be 1865
Prior to Joseph's birth his fate was sealed. "Dedicated to the Lord" by his mother and named after the prophet himself he was groomed for the life he led. Also, the story he summarized in his Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine bio which I included in my previous post (here) that talks about a lady being led by God, per his mother's prayer, to bring them much needed food was one he apparently told numerous times. Here is another version as probably recounted by Alice Gledhill:
The grasshoppers had ruined the crops, and it was necessary to obtain food for the family. So John loaded his wagon with what he could (rock salt, whetstones and things like that) and took off to see if he could trade these things for food.
Their supplies were low, but there was some food left in the storeroom, so he felt secure in leaving for a few days. Right after he left, Christena packed up her children, locked the storeroom and went to visit friends until his return.
Johanna was left with very little on hand, and with no access to the storeroom. Come Saturday night, and all she had left was a very little bread and three onions. She had two children and a nursing baby. She gave the children the bread that evening. She had nothing herself. Next morning the children were crying for something to eat, so she roasted the onions, and they each had one. This was not much to assuage the pangs of hunger, and the children still cried. It broke Johanna's heart to see them cry. What to do? She thought, and then she turned to her unfailing source of help and comfort - her Heavenly Father.
She said, "Come children, we will pray, and God will send us help." So they knelt; and they prayer made such an impression on Joseph, little as he was, that he never forgot it. He said it was as if Heavenly Father was right there in the room, and Johanna was talking Face to Face with Him. She told Him of their plight, and asked that He send food for her children. When they got up from their knees, Joseph was so impressed and so sure that help was coming, that he got a chair, faced it toward the door, and sat on it, with his arms folded, waiting for someone to come. And in a very few minutes there was a knock at the door. Johanna answered it, and there stood an old lady named Elise Hansen, with a plate in her hand, covered with a white cloth. She said, "I have a feeling there is want here'. She came in and uncovered the plate, and there were three of the most beautiful biscuits they had ever seen. She gave one to each of them, and then insisted on taking them home with her, where she gave them a good dinner, and sent them home with enough to last until John came home again.
Johanna's faith in her Heavenly Father and her reverence for Him and for all sacred things was beautiful, and is one of the lovely things I remember best about her.
Joseph's multiple retellings of that story indicates to me that it was not only key in convincing him of the existence and power of a loving, caring God, but also of the claims that the Mormon Church is unequivocally the "one and only true church on the face of the whole earth."
The bio he wrote for himself also highlighted the numerous ways he exhibited leadership qualities from a young age. He wrote:
I was ordained a deacon soon after baptism, and was set apart as president of a deacon's quorum of about fifty boys....When about 14 years of age, I was ordained a priest; soon after I was set apart as president of the Priest's quorum, with two counselors, both much older than I.
When about 16 years old, I was appointed Assistant Super-intendent of Sunday School. When the Primary was first organ-ized, I was appointed Assistant Secretary. In 1875, when the Y. M. M. I. A., was organized, I was permitted to join though only ten years old. I was ordained a Seventy when 18 years of age and soon after was appointed Secretary.
It goes without saying that his life was completely wrapped up in the church from his youngest, most impressionable age, and the church provided him opportunity to advance and excel in positions over and above his peers. Who wouldn't be highly influenced and dedicated to an organization that fed his ego so completely? I also can't help but wonder if his sojourn as president of the Priest's quorum leading boys much older than he led him to think of himself as a modern-day Nephi. (And, by the way, I thought the president of the Priest's quorum was the bishop???)
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| Joseph at 17 |
It was probably around the same time Joseph left on his mission that Johanna was forced from the family home, so Joseph would have spent the entirety of his growing up years in a polygamous household. He was John's oldest son and probably took on a lot of responsibilities, farming included. Joseph wasn't at all interested in that type of back-breaking work. By his own admission, he had his sights set on college prior to his mission call to Sweden.
But we'll learn later that college never happened. And after his mission he kind of failed at school teaching. But that didn't stop Joseph from excelling at what was truly important - building the kingdom of God. I guess that's one way of putting it.
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