Edward Stevenson - Pontiac Church Heritage Project Links

1. Biographical Timeline from Church History Biographical Database.
2. Biography from Latter-Day Saints biographical encyclopedia. 
3. Brief Wikipedia overview of early life, LDS church service, and writings.
4. More complete MormonWiki overview of Edward Stevenson.
5. Walker Family Children's Collection of Family Stories - Edward Stevenson
6. Edward Stevenson's account of the First Vision.
7. Reminiscences of Joseph the Prophet And the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon by Edward Stevenson.
8. Deseret News December 18, 1881 article by Edward Stevenson about Martin Harris.
9. Edward Stevenson's fascinating account related to Martin Harris coming to Utah - from Chapter 2 of Bountiful Harvest: Essays in Honor of S. Kent Brown - skip to page 66 (which shows as 54 at the top of the page).
10. Edward Stevenson and the Gibraltar Mission.
11. Another version of Edward Stevenson and the Gibraltar Mission.
12. Mormon Visitation of 1832 from History of Oakland County Michigan - starting on page 67 of Volume 1 from the Section entitled Fifty Years Ago and Now written by S. B. McCracken for the Oakland County Pioneer Society 1887.
13. Edward Stevenson Autobiography - telling about his life in Missouri, Nauvoo area, and crossing the plains to Utah.

14. Project Gutenberg's Reminiscences of Joseph the Prophet, by Edward Stevenson

Lucy, Joseph, and the Three Witnesses in Pontiac

100 Chippewa Rd in Pontiac, MI

On Sunday evening September 24th, 25 members of the Church gathered at 100 Chippewa Rd for a fireside presentation by Brother Richard Stamps who recounted the visits of Joseph Smith, his mother Lucy Mack Smith, and the 3 Witnesses to the Book of Mormon to Pontiac. What is surprising is the effect of these visits, resulting in the creation of 12 branches of the church in Oakland County  by 1845 (Pontiac is the county seat) as described in a Wikipedia article about the Church in Michigan. 

Two fascinating stories are about Lucy Mack Smith's retort to a local minister who belittled the prophetic mission of her son and an account of Joseph preaching in Pontiac. The Church News published the following about Lucy Mack Smith: "In early summer 1831, Lucy Mack Smith, mother of the Prophet, ventured from Kirtland, Ohio, to Detroit, Mich., to visit the family of her brother. Accompanied by son Hyrum and several other missionaries, Lucy demonstrated her own missionary zeal when a Pontiac, Mich., pastor, a Mr. Ruggles, challenged Joseph Smith's translation of the Book of Mormon and Sister Smith's testimony that the book contained the fullness of the gospel.

Unflustered by the negative portrayal of her son and the Church, Sister Smith said that within three years a third of Mr. Ruggles' congregation would be "lost to the Mormons." When Mormon missionaries Jared Carter and Moses Daley came to preach in Michigan in 1832-33, Lucy Mack Smith's words were fulfilled. More than 70 members of Mr. Ruggles' congregation entered the waters of baptism."

Edward Stevenson recounted, "[A]fter the organization of the Pontiac [Michigan] Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of L. D. Saints, in 1834, we had the pleasure of having a visit from the Prophet Joseph Smith: a plain but noble looking man, of large frame and about 6 feet high. With him was his Father, Joseph Smith, and Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris, whose sister Sophia Kellog lived in our settlement.

A great stir was made in this settlement at so distinguised visitors the meetings held were crowded to see and hear the testamonies given which were powerful I will here relate my own experience on the ocaision of a meeting in our old log school House The Prophet stood at a table for the pulpit whare he began relateing his vision and before he got through he was in the midst of the congregation with uplifted hand. I do believe that there was not one person presant who did at the time being or who was not convicted of the truth of his vision, of an Angle to him his countanance seemed to me to assume a heavenly whiteness and his voice was so peirseing and forcible for my part it so impressed me as to become indellibly imprinted in my mind….

The visit of this man of God to our house … left a lasting remembrance with us and will stand as a witness against those who were so favoured above many.

In that same year, 1834, in the midst of many large congregations, the Prophet testified with great power concerning the visit of the Father and the Son, and the conersation he had with them. Never before did I feel such power as was manifested on these occasions."

Footnotes:

Church News Article about Lucy Mack Smith: https://www.thechurchnews.com/2005/8/6/23236200/visit-to-pontiac

Edward Stevenson's account: https://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2017/01/edward-stevenson-account-of-the-first-vision-1890s/

A Heartwarming Gathering

 It was wonderful to visit and be with approximately 60 members and friends of the church during a “Getting Acquainted” potluck barbeque on Saturday evening. The pictures below capture some of those who were present as we enjoyed good food and company and celebrated President Nelson’s 99^th birthday.  The highlight of the evening was Stake President Marcelino Sanchez’s dedication of the 100 Chippewa Road residence as a gathering place for the saints in Pontiac.

This is the beginning of social and fellowshipping activities designed to strengthen members and friends of the church in Pontiac and help them to feel the love of God as we look back to the amazing church history which occurred here and forward to a resurgence of growth and solidarity in the area.

Completely Floored and Dusting Up in Pontiac

 A gathering place in the Seminole Hills Historic District   

 By inspiration Sister Goates and I have been called to serve and fellowship both members and friends of  the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pontiac Michigan. Members in Pontiac drive several miles to attend church in surrounding communities. We are helping to restore an older home purchased by the Schoolhouse Foundation where we will live and help gather saints locally to socialize, and both celebrate and take inspiration from the remarkable church history here and promote and plan for the growth of the church.

The first order of business is refinishing all the wood floors on both levels - which really is a completely daunting and dirty task (we are vacuuming up bag after bag of sawdust) as purported in the title above. Our initial efforts have been magnified thanks to:

• A number of members who provided hand and belt sanders, sand paper, vacuums, fans, goggles, masks and other required equipment.
• Six dedicated, hard working young missionary elders of the church.
• My former ministering brother who took on sanding the stairway.
• A neighboring member with a passion for gardening, knowledge of the community, and a recommendation of a good hair dresser. 
• An inspired ward mission leader who volunteered and helped me realize that without doubling our hundreds-of-hours labor to completely remove the old stain, the finished product would look shoddy.
• A member of our mission presidency who without fanfare took on and independently resolved a number of plumbing problems, such as completely reseating, resealing, and caulking a bathroom toilet.
• An Elders Quorum president who just happened to bring by dinner to feed us, the missionaries, and others who were helping. It was like manna miraculously being provided.
• Ten members of the Rochester Ward along with their Bishop and a number of youth who worked hard to sand the floors and clean up the yard.
• About 20 trips to the basement to reset the circuit breakers when the 2 large floor sanders and 10 hand and belt sanders working simultaneously would repeatedly overload the electric power. 

I knew this was going to be a big project and I worried, but it turned out to be even bigger than I imagined. Faith doesn't make things easy, but it does make things possible, particularly with the aid of angels. So with faith and the miraculous dedication of numerous earthly angels this project is well under way and will be completed.

The Doctrine of Christ

The gospel message or doctrine of Christ is that we can access the saving, redeeming power of Jesus Christ by exercising faith in Him, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end as the Savior taught in 3 Nephi 27: 

13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.

18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day. 

This is powerfully taught in the Book of Mormon:

• 2 Nephi 31
• 2 Nephi 32:1-6
• 3 Nephi 11:31-40

I am particularly impressed with how the Savior taught and emphasized by stating twice in 3 Nephi 11:37&38 that we must "become as a little child ... or ye can in nowise inherit the Kingdom of God." 

The ordinance of baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential for anyone who is accountable and wants to return to live with God. And so is being humble like a little child and remaining faithful.

Enduring or being faithful to the end is something I think we all comprehend, but being humble like a little child may be under appreciated or overlooked at the hazard of our eternal well-being.

 

 

Flirting with Flint

The Durant Hotel in Flint, MI

August 7th: We arrived in Michigan 4 weeks ago and have been staying in the historic Durant Hotel in downtown Flint while searching for a place in Pontiac where we can live and fellowship members of the church. Seventy years ago Flint and Pontiac were beautiful, prosperous cities, but they have fallen on hard times with many economic, social, and safety concerns. Currently, Pontiac members are divided among a number of wards and branches with meeting houses that are many miles away. We are assigned to gather and socialize with Pontiac members in an effort to strengthen and grow the church there. 

We travel to Pontiac (40 miles away) three or four times a week to attend church and missionary meetings, visit with members, and assist with the search for a residence. We have also gotten involved in service with the Oakland Historic Association and will begin researching their records for information about the growth of the church in Pontiac in the 1830s. Joseph Smith and all three of the original witnesses of the gold plates, came to Pontiac in 1834, which resulted in a number of converts.

The following photos will provide some idea of the beauty of downtown Flint which belies the poverty and dilapidated buildings in the surrounding neighborhoods:

That's the moon reflecting in the window and not a fire.

Women in the rehab center next door enjoying a smoke while on break.

This past week we spent time at the Flint Ward Young Women camp where we taught compass orienteering skills and provided encouragement while they attempted the challenging Frankenmuth Aerial Park sky walk as shown in the following photo:

Teaching orienteering skills with a compass reminded me of an experience 20 years ago when my daughter was serving a mission in Romania and we did not have immediate texting or email communication with her. I remember getting a letter that she had written 3 weeks earlier describing the perplexing problems and conditions which were confronting her. I realized that if I were to immediately reply with advice and encouragement it would be another 3 weeks before she got it; and I hoped that somehow we had prepared her to be able to orient herself through the complexity, confusion, and problems of life.

Isn’t that what the gospel is about – providing us with a knowledge of true north (eternal principles) and how to find the direction we need to safely navigate this life and to find eternal bliss as stated in Alma 37:44-45: “For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.”

What a blessing to have a compass (the gospel and words of Jesus Christ) so we can orient ourselves and know the direction we should go to for Eternal Bliss!

Mission Call

Nancy and I are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve 18 months as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Michigan Detroit Mission. Our purpose is to help others come unto Christ by serving them as the Savior would. 

We enter the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on June 27th and then will start for Michigan on July 8th. We can only wonder who we will meet and serve and the experiences that await us as we participate in the gathering of Israel.

Impressive Baháʼí Beliefs

It has been my good fortune to become acquainted and friends with members of the Baháʼí faith during the past couple months. I find the following statements of beliefs from The Baháʼís, Contributing to an Emerging Global Civilization to be inspiring and a helpful vision of the principles espoused in the Sermon on the Mount and the future Zion society to be established during the Millenium:

If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. (page 38)

Religion should demonstrably uplift humanity, create unity, forge good character, promote the search for truth, liberate human conscience, advance social justice, and promote the betterment of the world. . . . It fosters an upright character and instill forbearance, compassion, forgiveness, magnanimity, and high-mindedness. It prohibit harm to others and invites souls to the plane of sacrifice, that they may give of themselves for the good of others. It . . . cleanses the heart from self-centeredness and prejudice. It inspires souls to endeavor for material and spiritual betterment for all, to see their own happiness in that of others, to advance learning and science, to be an instrument of the true joy, and to revive the body of humankind. (page 8)

The principle of oneness of humankind is the central teaching of the Baháʼí faith. Recognition and acceptance of this principle necessitates that abandonment of prejudice of every kind - race, class, color, gender, creed, nationality, age, material wealth - everything that people have used to consider themselves superior or inferior to others. . . . So intense must be the spirit of love and loving kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them. (page 14)

Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the pageantry of wealth and riches. . . . And the honor and distinction of the individual consists in this, that he among the world's multitudes should become a source for social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight. (page 15)

Worship of God and service to humanity are two separable aspects of life, enabling both individuals and society to progress. (page 19)

Misconceptions and prejudices that consider one group of people as superior to another are a major contributor to humanity's present afflictions. Racism retards the potentiality of its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress. If this problem is to be overcome, the oneness of humanity must be universally upheld and protected by law and through social policies and structures. . . . No ethnic or cultural grouping is superior to another. All receive God's love in equal measure. Recognition by the biological and social sciences that there is only one human "race" removes any basis for prejudice. (page37)

Each human being possesses a distinct, rational soul . . . created in the image and likeness of God, meaning that it is capable of acquiring the divine qualities and heavenly attributes. . . . During this earthly physical existence, one can develop the spiritual qualities that will be needed in the next life. (pages 42 & 43)

The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His presence. (page 44)

Central to our spiritual journey is the development of qualities that assist each of us in our progress toward God. In this world, the cultivation of such qualities requires an ongoing refinement of our conduct so that our actions increasingly reflect the nobility and integrity with which every human is endowed. . . . Simply focusing on oneself proves counterproductive; that the path to be walked in the company  of others - each giving and receiving love, assistance, and encouragement; that the tendency to allow self-righteousness to take hold needs to be conscientiously resisted; and that humility is a requisite of progress. (page 48)

Through prayer, one praises God, expresses love for Him, or beseeches Him for insight or assistance. (page 51)

Spreading materialism and self-centeredness are destructive and distort young people's views of the world, thereby impeding individual and collective growth. (page 54)

The purpose of our lives is to recognize, love, and grow closer to God. We strive to do so, in part, by mirroring God's attributes, such as love, compassion, generosity, justice, and mercy. We fulfill our highest purpose by living a life of service in which we are generous with our love and compassion, and, practically speaking, give freely of our time, energy, knowledge, and financial resources. . . . A life of service to humanity implies humility and detachment, rather than self-interest and ostentation. . . . Baháʼís participate motivated by concern for the common good and with a spirit of humble service to humanity. (page 62)

If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye be possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindness and goodwill. (page 63)

It is not possible to build enduring unity through contention or the assumption that inherent conflicts of interest underlie human interactions. (page 64)

Devotion to God finds expression in practical, selfless service. (page 75)

Selfishness and aggression, far from expressing humanity's true self, represent a distortion of the human spirit. . . . The inherent nobility of humanity will foster harmony and cooperation instead of competition and conflict. (page 92)

The virtues that befit human dignity are trustworthiness, forbearance, mercy, compassion, and loving-kindness towards all people. (page 95)