Memorial Day Greetings

MEMORIAL DAY GREETINGS

Although Memorial Day this year was stormy, the cemetery was bright with beautiful flowers. In the Bott Monument Company Office is a little sign that says "The memorial is created not because someone died, but because someone lived." Every life is important and precious, worthy to be remembered.

No new email messages have been sent to me this week. However, three donations to the Monument Fund were sent in this month. The online June statement will be posted next week.

If you are a member of the America First Credit Union, you can transfer directly from your account to the fund account online or over the phone. To donate by check, make them payable to the Chauncey W. West Monument Fund. The address is: America First Credit Union, P. O. Box 9199, Ogden, UT 84409-0199. Phone: 801-617-0900.

Please email me at http://norma.buchanan@hotmail.com when you make donations giving the amount and date deposited. I would also like to hear from those of you who are interested in West family history. Thank you very much.

Another benefit of this project is to facilitate our finding our kindred, living and dead. The new Family Search, now being tested in some of the smaller temple districts, will be an amazing tool for us. It will be a place where those working on completing accurate family records can compare information and sources. It looks very exciting.

Now to this week's episode about the life of Chauncey Walker West.

Chauncey Walker West not only lived, but he lived fully by giving all of his energy, devotion, and labor to follow the Savior Jesus Christ. His service was remarkable. We go now to the next segment of his life after the harrowing, but very important participation in the Parley P. Pratt exploration to southern Utah.
This week's episode is about the mission to Asia. I have quoted from the book by R. Lanier Britsch, Nothing More Heroic and Joseph A. West's brief Biographical Sketch. Britsch begins with this in the preface to his book "I have chosen to recount this history in the voice of Amos Milton Musser….., who was one of the first missionaries to serve in India and spent a number of years working at the Church historian's office from 1902 to 1909. Thus he was probably familiar with the primary sources I have used…"
Britsch explained that from 1833, Britain a was in control of India. While the British ruled India many native British and other Europeans went to India hoping to find positions and get gain. They became the elite of the country and developed a strong upper class that the native Indian could never attain to. This led eventually to a tragic war in 1856/57. Much of this was going on while Latter-day Saint elders were traveling the roads and rivers of India. For the most part they were above the fray. They were affected by it, however, as noted in Britsch's book, native Indians and Mormon missionaries were excluded from association with the upper class.
I quote directly from his book, page 3. "The story of seventeen set-apart missionaries and their efforts to penetrate the almost unbreakable social and religious shell of the British in India. The elders attempted in every area to teach the Gospel to native Indians, but the main effort of the missionaries was to find Europeans who would listen to their message. At times the missionaries complained that the type or class of people who were so freely accepting the Restored Gospel in England and Scandinavia were simply not in India. This was largely true. The mission proved to be a most trying missionary experience. But it is a wonderful story of adventure, faith, faithfulness, and courage."
In Britsch's book he explained that missionaries had been sent to India as early as 1851 from Britain under the direction of Lorenzo Snow and that by spring of 1852 there had been over two-hundred baptisms. A development after January 1853 that had a great effect on the acceptance of missionaries was that the practice of polygamy became widely known. According to Britsch "Polygamy was the shout heard round the world. Everything any enemy of the Church could conceive in anger and hatred was heaped against the members of the Church because of this practice. Even before we arrived in Calcutta, word of polygamy went before us. There was no escaping its effects even in the most distant villages and camps of India, Burma, Ceylon, Singapore, Siam, and Hong Kong."
In Joseph West's account we read: "In the fall of 1852, Brother West and thirty-six others were called to go upon missions to eastern Asia. They started from Salt Lake City on the 21st of November, taking the southern route to California. On reaching San Francisco, the Elders, who were practically without means, learned that $6,250 would be needed to take them to their several fields of labor. Nothing daunted, they immediately distributed themselves over the city of San Francisco and throughout the mining regions of the state, seeking assistance. Elder West went to the latter section, and in less than two weeks the required amount was raised. On Jan. 25, 1853, Elder West made a contract with Captain Windsor of the ship "Monsoon," for the passage of the Hindustan and Siam missionaries to Calcutta, agreeing to pay $200 per passenger. On the 28th they set sail.
Five days after leaving San Francisco, Elders Richard Ballantyne and Levi Savage broke out with smallpox, to the great consternation of the captain and crew. The Elders promptly called upon the Lord in fervent prayer for the speedy restoration of their brethren and the preservation of themselves and the crew from the dreadful disease. God gave them an immediate witness that their prayers would be answered, and in less than two weeks the stricken Elders left their bunks and the smallpox, at first so threatening, disappeared from among them."

MORE ABOUT THE REMARKABLE MISSION TO ASIA NEXT WEEK -
YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS IT!

JUST A REMINDER - SEND IN YOUR DONATIONS AND EMAIL ME THE DATE & AMOUNT