Eternal Beliefs of Pioneers in the Salt Lake City Cemetery

              ETERNAL BELIEFS OF PIONEERS IN THE SALT LAKE CITY CEMETERY
by
KAITLYN CRAIG
Senior thesis submitted to my Integrated Studies Board of Utah Valley University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Studies
HISTORY AND ENGLISH
Orem, Utah
December 2013 1
Chapter 1: The Cemetery Itself
The Salt Lake City Cemetery reflects the belief in eternity—specifically that of eternal life and eternal families of pioneer members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), also known as Mormons. The saints’ belief in eternity dictated the many decisions made about the settlement of their new location in Utah, including the Salt Lake City Cemetery. The location of the cemetery, its gridiron pattern, and the family groupings and plots within the cemetery each exhibit their beliefs.
To understand the importance of the Salt Lake City Cemetery to the early saints in Utah, it is helpful to review their journey to the Salt Lake Valley. The first company, or group, of pioneers to arrive in the Salt Lake Valley did so during 1847, under the direction of the second President of the Church, Brigham Young, and more companies would continue arriving throughout the following decades. During those years, thousands of Mormons crossed the plains to reach Utah. Many lives were lost on the journey, and funeral and burial practices on the plains were minimal.
One pioneer woman, Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson Kingsford, wrote of her cross-country trek and the makeshift burial practices that occurred on this journey. She made the trip at age 29 in 1856 as a member of the Edward Martin Handcart Company, with her husband, Aaron Jackson, and their three young children. Their company encountered harsh—even fatal-- conditions, including sickness and freezing winter weather; her husband was one of many who died. 2
Kingsford wrote of the experience, recording that her husband died during the night and she had to lie beside his frozen body, until the following morning, when others were able to help her move and take care of his body. She documented that,
“When daylight came, some of the male part of the company prepared the body for burial. And oh, such a burial and funeral service. They did not remove his clothing-he had but little. They wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a pile with thirteen others who had died, and then covered him up in the snow. The ground was frozen so hard that they could not dig a grave.”1
The ‘burial’ practice was not what she, or any other member of her party, would have been accustomed to, or how they would have proceeded had their circumstances been different. To leave him in the clothes he died in, and simply wrap him in a blanket and pile him with thirteen other dead people, rather than place him in a coffin and bury him, were not the typical funeral or burial practices, and obviously did not fully satisfy Kingsford. The extreme circumstances deprived her and other pioneers of the common social practice of ceremony or a marked burial plot.
However, as Kingsford continued her recollection of the experience, she writes of how her beliefs brought spiritual peace and made the death and unsatisfactory burial of her husband easier to cope with. She wrote that her husband was left to “sleep in peace until the trump of the Lord shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall awake and come forth in the morning of the first resurrection.” She continued, stating, “We shall then again unite our hearts and lives, and eternity
1 Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson Kingsford, [Reminiscences], in Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel 1847-1868, accessed October 2, 2013, http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/trailExcerptMulti?lang=eng&pioneerId=19104&sourceId=7550. 3
will furnish us with life forever more.”2 It was her belief in an eternity—specifically, in eternal life and eternal families—that brought her peace and relief during this tragic time in her life.
Numerous other stories of death under tragic circumstances are found in pioneer trek stories and history. The passing of Hannah Clegg, and the deaths of family members of Mary Minerva Dart Judd are other examples. Henry and Hannah Clegg made their trek across the plains with their young family; on the trek, Hannah contracted cholera and died. Members of their company laid her to rest in an unmarked grave and then moved on. Later that same day, at six in the evening, her young son died. Her husband, Henry, “retraced his steps to Hannah’s grave, placed his young son in his wife’s arms, and reburied the two of them together,” before returning to the wagon train, which was then five miles away.3
While Henry Clegg at least had the opportunity to bury his wife and young son, this burial was also far from ideal. Once again, because there was no cemetery or marker, the chances of his ever having a chance to visit her grave again, even if he did return to the area, would be slim. Burying them together, so that mother and son are not physically separated at death, symbolizes a desire for our love to be stronger than death.
Mary Minerva Dart Judd was only twelve years old when she crossed the plains with her family in 1850, as a part of the Warren Foote Company. Members of her family also contracted cholera. Her brother, George, was the first to die; upon dying, his body was laid in the wagon until the family made it to the camp. Once they arrived, they temporarily moved his body to underneath the wagon. Judd records that she “was very sorrowful” and took a walk around the camp. When she returned to the wagon, she found that George’s body was no longer there. She
2 Ibid.
3 Gayle M. Clegg, “The Finished Story,” Ensign, May 2004, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2004/05/the-finished-story?lang=eng&query=the+finished. 4
found her father and asked where George was. Her father responded, saying, “He is alright now he is buried.”4
She wrote that, “It grieved me very much that they had carried him off without my seeing him. It was perhaps wise to not permit my young mind to be impressed with the rude, uncoffined way in which they were obliged to put his remains into the earth.”5
The following day, twelve hours later, her sister, Harriet Paulina, died. She was buried “on a small rise of ground away from human habitation, among the howling bea[s]ts of the plains.”6 Later that day, at midnight, her mother, Lucy Ann Roberts Dart, also passed away. As with Hannah Clegg, these individuals were buried, but in locations that, if marked at all, would likely never be visited by family members again. In the case of George Dart’s death, his entire family was not even invited to witness his burial or be present for any sort of funeral, graveside prayer or words that may have been said. These hasty burials, just as that of Aaron Jackson and the Cleggs, were missing elements that would have been present in different circumstances.
Upon arriving in Utah, the pioneers adhered to a combination of standard practices seen throughout American society at large and instructions specifically provided by their church leaders for funerals and burials. Church leaders have offered direction to their members about funerals, graveside services, and burials. Boyd K. Packer, a church leader, stated, “One of the most solemn and sacred meetings of the Church is the funeral for a departed member.”7 He issued a reminder that funerals should be attended reverently, as family members and friends of
4 Mary Minerva Dart Judd, Autobiography, in Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel 1847-1868, accessed October 2, 2013, http://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/trailExcerptMulti?lang=eng&pioneerId=6282&sourceId=19172.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Boyd K. Packer, “Funerals: A Time for Reverence,” Ensign, November 1988, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/11/funerals-a-time-for-reverence?lang=eng&query=funerals+a+time+for+reverence. 5
the deceased should be able to draw spiritual peace and comfort. He also supplied instructions for priesthood leaders presiding over funerals. While this statement was not made during the times of pioneers, the same principles and values are applicable to pioneer practices during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The first known pioneer burial site is located within Salt Lake City’s Block 49, where the first burial took place in August of 1847, just a month after pioneers arrived in Utah. Milton Howard Therlkill, a member of the “Mississippi Saints,” the second company to arrive, was three years old when he died in an “accidental drowning” in City Creek; he was the first pioneer buried at this site. In total, the bodies of eight pioneer adults, one adolescent and 24 children have been discovered at this site.8 The site, however, was forgotten, until construction workers rediscovered it in 1986. The bodies were removed and reburied in Pioneer Trails State Park, and a plaque commemorates the spot of the burial ground, providing the locations’ history; the plaque details that the pioneers were buried “in the soft earth of a prehistoric Indian mound which, when excavated, also revealed several Native American burials.”9
A few months after the first Latter-Day Saint pioneers arrived in Utah and approximately a month after Milton Therlkill was buried in the Block 49 location, the first recorded burial in what is now the Salt Lake City Cemetery is believed to have taken place; on September 27, 1847 Mary M. Wallace, a young girl, was buried there. Although the first burial occurred shortly after
8 David F. Boone, “‘And Should We Die’: Pioneer Burial Grounds in Salt Lake City,” in Salt Lake City: The Place Which God Prepared, ed. Scott C. Esplin and Kenneth L. Alford (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2011), 155-178.
9 “Fall Activity Idea: Visit a Cemetery,” Enjoy Utah! (blog), August 27, 2010, http://www.enjoyutah.org/2010/08/fall-activity-idea-visit-cemetery.html. 6
the pioneers arrived in the valley, it was not until February 17, 1849, that a council was formed to officially select land to serve as the cemetery.10
Brigham Young appointed the cemetery council, which included the father of Mary M. Wallace, George B. Wallace, with Daniel H. Wells and Joseph Heywood. Wallace suggested the location, as he had already buried family members there; the other men on the council approved of the suggestion (as did Brigham Young), as it was “away from the living area of the Valley but close enough for families to travel in order to pay their respects to their loved ones.”11
The order and structure of the cemetery reflects the beliefs of the pioneers. Latter-day Saints value order and believe that order “must be maintained…to be pleasing in the sight of the Lord.”12 The cemetery, as an important cultural embodiment, reflects that order, or structure.
Richard H. Jackson states, “Like the Mormon village, the Mormon cemetery reflects the Latter-day Saint belief that God is a god of order, and Mormon cemeteries, like their cities are platted in a regular gridiron pattern.”13 The original twenty acres that comprised the Salt Lake City Cemetery is arranged in a gridiron pattern, much like Salt Lake City. The cemetery is laid out in plats, which are “area[s] of land…developed at a specific time,” which are divided into lots, and each lot contains ten graves.14 The cemetery presently covers approximately 120 acres, with over nine miles of road, and still follows the orderly gridiron pattern established in the nineteenth century.
10 Salt Lake City Cemetery, “Salt Lake City Cemetery History.”
11 Ibid.
12 Harold B. Lee, “God’s Kingdom: A Kingdom of Order,” Ensign, January 1971, http://www.lds.org/ensign/1971/01/gods-kingdom-a-kingdom-of-order.
13 Richard H. Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries: History in Stone,” in Nearly Everything Imaginable: The Everyday Life of Utah’s Mormon Pioneers, ed. Ronald W. Walter and Doris R. Dant (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1999), 406.
14 Salt Lake City Cemetery, “Salt Lake City Cemetery History.” 7
Family is among the most important values to Latter-day Saints, and the early LDS pioneers designed the cemetery to reflect that. They believe not only in the importance of family units and relationships here on this earth, but of the importance of family throughout eternity. The use of family plots and groupings reflect the importance of family ties beyond the grave.
When the Salt Lake City Cemetery was established, family plots were common throughout the nation, as were delineations of family plots. Up through approximately the 1850s, grave fence was commonly used as a delineation of one family plot from another in cemeteries.15 Grave fence typically stands one foot or higher and completely surrounds a plot; it ranges from being very simple, or even “homely,” to very “elegant and expensive.”16 By the time the pioneers established the city of Salt Lake in 1847, the national fad was already losing momentum and there are fewer family plots of this type in this cemetery than in some older cemeteries, particularly those in eastern states. However, there are some family plots surrounded by iron fence, including the Haigh family plot, near the cemetery gate.
Similar to grave fence, is grave curb, which is also found in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, and which solidifies the importance and image of families after physical death. Grave curb is a “low border, usually of stone or concrete, surrounding a grave or plot, beginning slightly underground and extending no more than a few inches above the surface of the ground [and] is
15 Kenneth T. Jackson and Camilo José Vergara, Silent Cities: The Evolution of the American Cemetery (New York City: Princeton Architectural Press, 1989), 61.
16 Indiana, Department of Natural Resources, Terms Used to Describe Cemeteries and Grave Markers (Indiana, Department of Natural Resources), 3.
Figure 1. Grave fence, with gate, around a family plot. 8
open in the middle.”17 Like grave fence, family plots enclosed with grave curb are not plentiful in this cemetery, but they are present. Surrounding a family plot serves as a reminder of the eternal significance of the family unit, and of family bonds extending into eternity. This is one more way in which the significance of family, whether living or dead, is demonstrated in the cemetery.
Many of these plots have openings, of some type, in the grave fence or curb. Plots with grave fence vary in the type of openings they have—some have gates that visitors can open and close to enter and leave the plot, while others just have an open gap without a fence. Both of these types of openings sometimes have steps leading up or down into the plot. The Stillman family plot is one such example; theirs has grave curb around it, with their family name engraved on the step, and ornate raised curb around either side of the entrance. These openings serve as an invitation to the living to draw close to and contemplate their link with the dead. One could argue that the layout of grave plot complete with grave curb and entryway symbolically reinforces the connection of the living to the dead.
While grave fence and curb around family plots are present in this cemetery, family plots and groupings without any sort of fencing off from the rest of the cemetery are more common. Family names and ages provide the most natural form of grouping. Not only are families of the same generation buried together, but there are many examples of multiple generations buried together throughout the cemetery. Kenneth T. Jackson stated, “Older graveyards reflect the belief
17 Ibid, 2.
Figure 2. Stillman family plot, with grave curb and step in opening. 9
of generations.”18 He explains that before World War II, several generations often were buried together, as is the case with many families in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. It is especially common to see a family buried together during the second half of the nineteenth century. One customary arrangement of these group burials is to place the individual plots designated by small markers surrounding a larger family monument with the family name on it. Within some of these plots is an arrangement of family members according to both status and order of burial.19 W. Lloyd Warner adds that within these family groupings, one or both parents tend to reside in the center of the groupings, with their children and other family members around them.20
There are many such family plots and groupings in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, including the Woodruff family. There is a large monument dedicated to President Wilford Woodruff, the fourth president of the church, with the family name prominently displayed across the bottom of it. Around this memorial, smaller gravemarkers of other Woodruff family members are situated. The Woodruff graves and gravemarkers are not separated from the rest of cemetery by any grave fence or curb. This allows for an open, connected feeling with the rest of the cemetery and other nearby markers. This also allows for other Woodruffs buried nearby, but not part of this particular cluster of immediate Woodruff family members, not to be disconnected from these family members.
This physical proximity of extended family members creates a web, or a network of family members branching out throughout the cemetery. There are often clusters of family members together, with another marker or cluster—or even multiple clusters—of family members nearby. These clusters will often include family members of different generations or
18 Jackson and Vergara, Silent Cities, 60.
19 Ibid, 61.
20 W. Lloyd Warner, The Living and the Dead: A Study of the Symbolic Life of Americans (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1959), 287-288. 10
maybe include more extended family members, rather than immediate family members—however, in a cemetery where eternal family bonds is important, even these different generations and extended family relations consider it important to be buried near one another.
11
Chapter 2: Iconography
The gravemarkers of the Salt Lake City Cemetery display a wide variety of iconography. Some icons are unique to Utah’s pioneer culture while others are consistent with nationally trending symbols and motifs. Though some of these icons are on other contemporary gravemarkers, they hold significance specific to the pioneers. An understanding of Mormon doctrine is necessary to interpret these Mormon gravemarkers.
Among the oldest motifs used by pioneers in Utah is that of the hourglass and wings. This was a popular Puritan motif, making it a bit out of style when the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, when Victorian era symbols were common. However, a popular stonemason and stonecutter among the pioneers in Utah, Charles Lambert, used this motif on some of the gravemarkers he produced between approximately 1850 and 1860; some of the gravemarkers produced by Lambert are in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.21 The hourglass is an old European symbol meant to remind the living of the “sands of time” and “death’s inevitability,” while the wings “suggest the soul has gone to heaven.”22 The wings on the hourglass advocate the LDS pioneer belief in life eternal.
The pioneers rarely use the gloomy Puritan symbol of the hourglass and wings, reminding the living of their imminent death. Instead, the pioneers, in sync with a national cultural movement which romanticized death, primarily used symbols representative of life after death. As scholar Naomi R. Remes summarizes, “The symbolism of nineteenth-century cemetery art is much more directed toward resurrection and afterlife in heaven than is the skull-and-
21 Carol Edison, “Custom-made Gravestones in Early Salt Lake City: The Work of Four English Stonecarvers,” Utah Historical Quarterly 56, no. 4 (Fall 1988): 318-320.
22 Ibid, 321. 12
crossbones iconography of the eighteenth century, in which the mortality of the body was the primary concern.”23
Among the more hopeful symbols commonly used by the pioneers is the handclasp. The handclasp is found on nineteenth century gravemarkers throughout the nation, not just in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, as Mormon pioneers were not the only group to use it. It is commonly associated with Freemasonry, and since some pioneers were Freemasons as well, the connection between the two organizations and this common symbol will be discussed in greater detail later in this paper. Even though the handclasp is not just a Mormon symbol, it reflects perfectly the LDS cultural emphasis on eternal life and eternal families. Richard H. Jackson observes that the pioneers borrowed universal symbols from other cultures and adapted them to fit their own belief system; the handclaps is one such example.24
The handclasp was a popular symbol for the first several decades the pioneers were in Utah. It represents, directly and indirectly, important pioneer beliefs, including eternal families. Carol Edison writes that during the nineteenth century, “The image of a handshake or handclasp…appears to have been the most commonly chosen
23 Naomi R. Remes, “The Rural Cemetery,” Nineteenth Century 5, no. 4 (1979): 52.
24 Richard H. Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries: History in Stone,” in Nearly Everything Imaginable: The Everyday Life of Utah’s Mormon Pioneers, ed. Ronald W. Walker and Doris R. Dant (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1999), 406.
Figure 3. Top, gravemarker of John Porter; middle, gravemarker of Mary Minkler; bottom, gravemarker of Maria J. DeSaules 13
gravestone symbol within the Mormon cultural region.”25 On a similar note, Richard C. Poulsen states the handclasp motif “was used extensively in nineteenth-century Utah as a burial symbol, evident from early times, say 1850 to about the turn of the century. Indeed, it is the most esoteric burial motif encountered in Mormon cemeteries in Utah.”26 While this image is far from unique to Utah Mormon cemeteries, its associations and connotations uniquely fit the culture of Utah Mormon cemeteries.
Universally, the clasped hand motif is representative of unity and fellowship, existing between people, or between people and God. This universal meaning is applicable within the LDS community. Unity and fellowship, existing between men and with God is important to Mormon beliefs, including their beliefs regarding eternal life and eternal families. The gathering of the saints together in Utah, in a place they hoped would be their permanent home, free from persecution, where they could live peacefully with their families, demonstrates the importance of being together as family units. Gathering together to freely worship, construct churches and temples, and creating communities with their religion as a central component, demonstrate the importance of a union between man and God. The handclasp motif represents these beliefs and values.
However, the handclasp motif holds other types of meaning to the pioneers, some of which are rooted in Mormon temple symbolism, which is to be distinguished from the universal use of the symbol. Of these additional meanings, covenant making, which occurs in LDS temples, is a prominent one. The symbol represents transformation and the passing of a man into
25 Carol Edison, “Mormon Gravestones: A Folk Expression of Identity and Belief,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 22 (1989): 92.
26 Richard C. Poulsen, “The Handclasp Motif in Mormon Folk Burial,” in The Pure Experience of Order: Essays on the Symbolic in the Folk Material Culture of Western America (Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 1982), 47. 14
the presence of God.27 While these additional meanings are related to the universal interpretations of the symbol, they are unique within the context of the pioneers’ religious beliefs and social values dependent on those beliefs.
The association of the handclasp with covenant making is important in Mormon culture. A covenant, to put it simply, is a promise between man and God; “man” can be an individual or a group of people (male or female). These promises with God are binding for eternity—during life and beyond mortal death. Wouter Van Beek explains the LDS concept of a covenant, stating,
“A covenant is a special relationship with the Lord into which a person or a group may enter. The terms have been set by the Lord both for the rewards (blessings, salvation, exaltation) and the efforts demanded (obedience to rules and commandments). A covenant is fulfilled when people keep their promises and endure to the end in faith, with the Lord giving blessings during life, and salvation and exaltation upon completion.”28
Baptism is one example of a covenant between an individual and God. Church leader Robert D. Hales, speaking to members of the church, states, “At baptism we make a covenant with our Heavenly Father that we are willing to come into His kingdom and keep His commandments from that time forward.”29 Hales also quotes from The Book of Mormon, which is considered scripture by members of the LDS church, reminding saints that at baptism, they promised to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places, even until
27 Matthew B. Brown and Paul Thomas Smith, Symbols in Stone: Symbolism of the Early Temples of the Restoration (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, Inc., 1997): 134-139; Poulsen, “The Handclasp Motif,” 47-55; George H. Schoemaker, “Acculturation and Transformation of Salt Lake Temple Symbols in Mormon Tombstone Art,” Markers 9 (1992): 208.
28 Wouter van Beek, “Covenants,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 333.
29 Robert D. Hales, “The Covenant of Baptism: To Be in the Kingdom and of the Kingdom,” Ensign, November 2000, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/11/the-covenant-of-baptism-to-be-in-the-kingdom-and-of-the-kingdom?lang=eng. 15
death.” In return, God promises that “ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life.”30
President Brigham Young, calls baptism, “the new and everlasting covenant.” He expounds upon this by explaining what saints covenant to do upon baptism: “sustain the kingdom of God and no other kingdom. They take a vow of the most solemn kind, before the heavens and earth…that they will sustain truth and righteousness instead of wickedness and falsehood, and build up the Kingdom of God, instead of the kingdoms of this world.”31
Baptism is just one of the covenants Latter-day Saints make. Mormons also enter into the covenant of marriage sealing. “A man and a woman can be sealed to one another for time and all eternity. Those who are sealed in the temple have the assurance that their relationship will continue forever if they are true to their covenants. They know that nothing, not even death, can permanently separate them.”32
The teachings of Mormon prophets and scripture elaborates on the importance of the covenant of marriage sealing in the temple. Joseph Smith Jr., the first Prophet and President of the LDS Church, preached that the covenant of eternal marriage is necessary to exaltation. The Doctrine and Covenants, which Mormons hold as scripture, also contains information and teachings about marriage sealing. Section 131 in the Doctrine and Covenants, which Mormons believe the Lord revealed through Joseph Smith, reads, “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; and if he does not, he
30 Ibid.
31 Ibid.
32 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference (Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 2004): 98. 16
cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.”33
Section 132 in Doctrine and Covenants states this covenant “was instituted for the fullness of my glory,” and the fullness of God’s glory cannot be obtained without this ordinance and covenant. If a couple is not sealed in the temple, their marriage is “not of force when they are out of the world [dead],” and “they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory.”34 However, if a couple is sealed to one another in the temple and uphold their covenants, they are promised their marriage “shall be of full force when they are out of the world,” and they will have “exaltation and glory in all things.” Furthermore, they will then one day become gods themselves.35 Children who are born to a couple who has entered into this covenant are also sealed to their parents for eternity.
The handclasp not only represents the act of making covenants in the temple, but is literally a symbol used on and in the Salt Lake City Temple. The handclasp can be seen on the exterior of the temple; there is a pair of clasped right hands on both the east and west center spires in the top of the arch of the lower windows. It is also found within the temple.36 The purpose of the temple is to provide a place for the performance of sacred ordinances involving covenant making.
One of the other unique meanings of the handclasp within the context of pioneer beliefs, as mentioned above, is the passing of man moving into the presence of God. Van Beek notes that
33 Doctrine and Covenants 131: 1-4.
34 Doctrine and Covenants 132: 6, 18.
35 Doctrine and Covenants 132: 19, 20.
36 Brown and Smith, Symbols in Stone, 139. 17
in English the word “covenant” means “coming together.”37 This is interesting to note in correlation with gravemarkers. Why use a handclasp, a reference of covenants, which represents the idea of “coming together” on the stone that marks one’s departure from this world? The reason is that this symbol, this reminder of everlasting covenants, expresses the deceased’s belief in eternal life and eternal families. After death, the deceased is reunited with God—their Father in Heaven. Mormons are fond of the phrase “families are forever,” which expresses their belief that when they die, they will be reunited with family members who have already passed on. The handclasp symbol on a gravemarker, therefore, serves as a reminder to the living that death is only a temporary separation from their loved ones—they will with their families someday “come together” again, because of covenants made.
As was mentioned earlier in this paper, the handclasp symbol is often associated with Freemasonry, not just Mormonism. As some early pioneers were also Freemasons, and some of their symbols and culture are similar, it is an ongoing debate regarding whether Mormons conceived and put these symbols into practice independent of Freemasonry. Whether or not the Mormons copied these symbols, their buildings, and rituals from the Mason culture and tradition is a question with no easy answer, and will likely be debated in academic and religious spheres for years to come. However, a brief introduction of the Mason and Mormon cultures’ overlap and brief explanation of the similarities and differences of these symbols, buildings, and practices add further context and meaning to interpret the symbols, like the handclasp, used on gravemarkers in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Mormons “have been engaged in temple building since the early 1830s” and the handclasp, for Mormons, as previously mentioned, is closely associated with temples; it is used
37 Van Beek, “Covenants,” 332. 18
on the interior and exterior of temples, and represents covenants that occur within temples.38 Lodges for Masons, unlike Mormon temples, have been around since the Middle Ages. The handclasp, along with other symbols, such as celestial signs and the all-seeing eye, are used by both organizations; the Freemasons have been using them much longer than the Mormons, as the Mormons are a much younger organization than the Masons. For these reasons, some believe Mormons copied and adapted the concept of the Freemason lodge and its symbols to their temple and symbolic repertoire.
As the Masonic lodge was not introduced into Nauvoo, Illinois until March of 1842, and the Mormons had already put into use such symbols as the handclasp, it is believed by some that the Mormons conceived and incorporated these symbols into their beliefs and rituals without Masonic influences. For example, it is recorded in Mormon records that on January 25, 1832, ten years before the introduction of the Masonic lodge in Nauvoo, “The right hand of fellowship [was] given to [Joseph Smith Jr.] by the bishop, Edward Partridge, in the land of the Zion in the name of the Church.”39 This statement suggests the importance of the “hand of fellowship” in Mormon culture before pioneer men joined the Freemasons in Nauvoo. It is also important to note that both groups drew some of their symbolism from the Bible, which could lead to two independent groups using the same symbols; it is possible that this is the case with Mason and Mormon symbols and even rituals.
Connections and distinctions between Mason lodges and Mormon temples are also used to support both sides of this continuous debate. “Mormons and the Masons practice ordinances and rituals, respectively, inside their buildings. Each set of rites includes the elements of drama
38 Matthew B. Brown, Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, Inc., 2009), 7.
39 Ibid, 177. 19
and instruction and vows and symbolism. Indeed, both groups use an altar and have officiators to guide them through the ceremonies.”40 These similarities, to some, suggest the Mormons adapted Masonic rituals, as well as their symbols, to fit their own needs and beliefs. As with the symbols, there are discrepancies in the buildings of the two organizations. All Mormon temples are dedicated to God the Father—the Father of Jesus of Nazareth, while only some Masonic lodges are; other Masonic lodges may pay homage to a number of other deities.41 The overall purpose also varies between the buildings. “The Mason’s lodge is principally designed to make good men better and thereby enhance their mortal lives,” while “The Mormon temple is designed to take both men and women many steps further than the concept of general salvation by giving them the opportunity to achieve exaltation together in eternity.”42 The symbols used by both groups are relevant to these aims and rituals performed by each group in their buildings.
Scholar Albert G. Mackey, regarding the symbol of the hand to Masons, states, “The hand is a symbol of human actions; pure hands symbolize pure actions, and impure or unclean hands symbolize impure actions.”43 Christopher Hodapp defines the Mason handshake as “a symbol of two hands shaking [that] is representative of the grip or token of a Freemason, the way members may recognize each other in silence.”44 There are general similarities and specific distinctions between each group’s conception and connotation of the handclasp. While the connection of the handclasp symbol, seen on Mormon pioneer gravemarkers, to Mormon temples and covenants are undeniable in a Mormon pioneer community, it is helpful to include Masonic references and culture.
40 Ibid, 15.
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid, 17.
43 Albert G. Mackey, The Symbolism of Freemasonry: Illustrating and Exploring Its Science and Philosophy, Its Legends, Myths and Symbols (1882, Reprint, 2012), Kindle edition, 200.
44 Christopher Hodapp, Freemasons for Dummies (Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2005): 148. 20
The symbol of the beehive became an intricate part of pioneer society when the Mormons reached the Salt Lake Valley; it came to represent many of their beliefs and values, including industry and preparedness, for both this mortal life and eternal life. “The beehive began its course to becoming the most pervasive symbol of Mormondom at some time during the immigration of the Saints to a new Zion out on the great western wilderness,” and “became a personal and exclusive symbol for the pioneer.”45 The symbol is also a reminder of scriptural stories from the Book of Mormon. While not commonly seen on gravemarkers, it is present on some.
In the Book of Mormon is a story about a group of people, known as the Jaredites, who are directed by God to leave Israel at the time of the Hebrew Bible’s “great tower,” in order to obtain a promised land. They are named for their leader, Jared, a prophet who is instructed by God to build eight boats for a journey across the sea. Among other things, the Jaredites bring the honeybee, called “deseret,” with them.46 This established a “connection between the bee and the concept of a promised land.”47
The story of the Jaredites, in The Book of Mormon, describes their journey as long and difficult; it also describes their promised land as a “land flowing with milk and honey.”48 The story of the Jaredites holds parallels to that of the pioneers. The pioneers were driven from place
45 Hal Cannon, The Grand Beehive (Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, 1980).
46 Morgan W. Tanner, “Jaredites,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 717; Hal Cannon, The Grand Beehive; Brown and Smith, Symbols in Stone, 135.
47 Brown and Smith, Symbols in Stone, 135.
48 Ibid.
Figure 4. Gravemarker of William Price. Features outline of the top of a beehive. 21
to place, and sought some sort of ‘promised land,’ or safe haven, they could call theirs. As Utah became their ‘promised land,’ they adopted the symbol of the Jaredites’ honeybee, or deseret, for their new home. Hal Cannon sums this up by stating, “The land of milk and honey, and the word ‘Deseret’ and its visual symbol, the honey bee, gave great associational importance to the beehive emblems as the Mormons themselves fled…into the new land.”49
Although the scriptural significance of the honeybee is important to the pioneers, the symbolism of the bee reaches beyond the story of the Jaredites in The Book of Mormon. To many groups, Mormons included, the beehive is seen as a place, or symbol, for working and building as a community; it signifies industry. Cannon writes, “It represents a tabernacle inside which we work together in concert.”50
Working “in concert,” as Cannon states, is vital to a community, like that of the pioneers’, where they were building their Zion. Not only were they physically building homes and community centers, they were spiritually building the “kingdom of God.” It is important to note that this idea of “community” includes several types of family; these types of family are literal immediate and extended families, and church families, such as ward families. Saints refer to themselves as “brothers and sisters”—everyone is a part of a big church-driven family. This means each person is considered important and has something invaluable to contribute to their community, or family. Mormon wards, which are small church communities, are “established on a geographical basis,” allowing for saints to easily “belong to a community” and “[work] toward the same goal” of building Zion.51 These communities working together are reminiscent of
49 Cannon, The Grand Beehive.
50 Ibid.
51 Robert D. Hales, “Belonging to a Ward Family,” Ensign, March 1996, http://www.lds.org/ensign/1996/03/belonging-to-a-ward-family?lang=eng. 22
industrious honeybees—thus honeybees, and beehives, have becomes symbols to represent the Mormon people.
Industry, for the pioneers, is a family activity, in which they work towards mortal and eternal goals; since the beehive represents industry, a key value and goal of pioneer communities, this symbol is chosen for some pioneer gravemarkers. It serves as a reminder of why they came to Utah and what they worked so hard to achieve. It is also a reminder of how they achieved their goals—working with family—and that what they build (spiritually) with family will carry on for all eternity and beyond the grave. Like the handclasp motif, which is one of many symbols on the Salt Lake Temple, the beehive is also carved into the temple. There are 24 beehives on the exterior of the temple.52
Not only are symbols related to the temple used on gravemarkers, but the temples themselves are also depicted on gravemarkers. The temple image did not really begin to appear on gravemarkers until 1910, and did not become popular until 1960.53 Richard Jackson writes that early Mormon markers did not have distinctive Mormon icons; it was not until the completion of the St. George Temple, in 1877, and the dedication of the Manti Temple in 1888, that more distinctive icons, like LDS temples, began to be used on markers in surrounding areas. As the Salt Lake Temple was completed, the trend picked up popularity in the surrounding area. However, all throughout the state, symbols like the handclasp would remain more popular than temple images until after World War II.54
From the time the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake valley through the mid twentieth century, the popularity of the handclasp motif gradually decreased. As the handclasp decreased
52 Brown and Smith, Symbols in Stone, 135.
53 Edison, “Mormon Gravestones,” 90.
54 Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries,” 412. 23
in popularity, the temple image gradually increased. In fact, some believe it is a mere contemporary substitute for the handclasp image. Carol Edison states,
The representation of a Mormon Temple, the holy place where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are married and “sealed” to family members for eternity, symbolizes the reunion of the family after death in the same way the clasped hands of the nineteenth century symbolized reunion for early Mormons.55
Because of the temple image and handclasp’s close association, the temple image shares other meanings and connotations with the handclasp motif.
While temple images began to appear on markers during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they were not commonly carved on those markers. However, descendants of many pioneers have made markers in honor of their pioneer heritage; these markers may take the place of broken or lost markers, sit next to the original marker, or mark a previously unmarked grave of an ancestor. Some have chosen to have temple images engraved on these markers.
The gravemarker of Caleb and Nancy Baldwin is one such example. Their marker has a labeled image of the Nauvoo Temple along the top edge, situated between images of The Book of Mormon and Holy Bible. Stella “Sally” Waterman Phelps’s gravemarker also has an image of the Nauvoo Temple on it. The Ensign marker, shared by Samuel, Mary Everett Gordon and Ruth Kelson Ensign, depicts the Salt Lake Temple on one side of the marker. This marker contains an older
55 Carol Edison, “Motorcycles, Guitars, and Bucking Broncs: Twentieth-Century Gravestones in Southeastern Idaho,” in Idaho Folklore: Homesteads to Headstones, ed. Louie W. Attebery (Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, 1985), 187.
Figure 5. Gravemarker of Samuel, Mary Everett Gordon, and Ruth Kelson Ensign. Salt Lake Temple depicted. 24
marker, situated between two newer additions; the epitaphs between the older and newer images are identical, but the temple has been added to the newer addition.
A veil, resembling a drape or curtain, is another symbol used on gravemarkers relevant to the Mormon belief in eternity. Jacqueline S. Thursby describes the veils on markers as, typically, a “graceful, usually draped, veil.”56 The veil represents separation; it often represents the “detachment of the spirit from the body” or is used to “[delineate] the afterlife from mortal existence.”57 When an individual dies, Mormons believe the detachment of spirit from body occurs; when this happens, the spirit moves beyond this mortal existence here on earth, to an eternal afterlife.
For Mormons a veil can also represent another type of separation—that between a person (or people) and God. Stories in The Book of Mormon tell of times when the veil was temporarily lifted, or removed, so that spiritually worthy individuals, such as the brother of Jared, were able to see God or something else heavenly and not of this mortal earth. This connotation is a part of the iconography of the veil on Mormon gravemarkers, as well. Upon death, an individual moves from this earth, through the veil, into a heavenly world and the presence of God.
Gates, while not a common symbol, are also seen on some pioneer markers in the Salt Lake City Cemetery and are also representative of a belief in eternity. Richard H. Jackson, putting it simply, writes that gates symbolize “the entrance into paradise.”58 It is similar to the meaning of the veil in that it represents passing from this earth (and mortality) to heaven (and eternal life).
56 Jacqueline S. Thursby, “Mormon Temple Reproductions on Cemetery Markers,” Markers 20 (2003): 323.
57 Ibid.
58 Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries,” 408. 25
One gravemarker in the cemetery displays both a draped veil and gates; the stone of the gravemarker of James K. Baldwin, who died in 1888, is cut to suggest a draped veil covers one corner of the top of the stone and flows down along the side. Gates are carved into the front of his marker, above his epitaph. The use of both symbols on his gravemarker demonstrate the complimentary aspects of these symbols of eternity.
Two final icons that dot the Salt Lake City Cemetery are those of pioneer images and medallions. Some family members of pioneers have chosen to engrave a pioneer symbol, such as a handcart or covered wagon, into the gravemarker. The gravemarkers of George Evans Bourne and Thomas Bradford Bourne feature handcarts, signifying them as pioneers; the gravemarker of Thomas Bradford Graham features a covered wagon, similarly identifying him as a pioneer.
More commonly, however, family member have chosen to have a pioneer headstone medallion mounted onto the gravemarker. A LDS Church committee produced the metal medallions, which are two and a half by three and a half inches in size, in 1997 in connection with the commemoration of the sesquicentennial arrival of the pioneers in 1847; descendants of pioneers could purchase them to be placed on gravemarkers of pioneer ancestors. These are on
Figure 6. Gravemarker of James K. Baldwin. Gates on center-front of marker, and veil draped over top right corner. 26
both old and new markers commissioned by descendants of the pioneers who arrived in the valley prior to the coming of the railroad.59
The medallion and other pioneer icons not only identify these individuals as pioneers, but contribute to the display of their Mormon belief in eternity. Because they are identified as Mormon pioneers, their beliefs are thus communicated. Their belief in eternal families is also communicated through these markers, as it demonstrates descendants care for these ancestors and that they consider them to be important in their lives; it shows a continuation of the eternal bonds of families, that passes not just through immediate families, but through all generations.
The iconography on markers of the Salt Lake City Cemetery, selected by pioneers or their descendants, demonstrates the Mormon belief in eternity. This includes belief in eternal life and eternal families. Whether this is portrayed through unique symbols like the beehive, or common symbols with unique connotations like the handclasp motif, all contribute to the portrayal of these beliefs. And this iconography continues to provide living family members the means to express a belief in an eternal connection with those who die.
59 “‘Faith in Every Footstep’ Grave Markers,” Sons of Utah Pioneers, accessed October 7, 2013, http://www.sonsofutahpioneers.org/sup-store/misc-items/%E2%80%9Cfaith-in-every-footstep%E2%80%9D-grave-markers/
Figure 7. Top, gravemarker of George Evans Bourne; bottom, gravemarker of Sarah McCleve Young, with pioneer medallion on bottom right. 27
Chapter 3: Epitaphs
Just as the cemetery itself and the iconography of gravemarkers in the Salt Lake City Cemetery show the importance of the belief in eternity—especially that of eternal life and families—to Mormons, so do the epitaphs show the importance in this belief. The inscriptions on the gravemarkers of pioneers—literally written in stone—range from long poems, to simple sentiments, to short biographies, to mere names and dates. The originality of the epitaphs, or lack of, also varies. However, these different types of epitaphs all contribute to the overall demonstration of the beliefs of eternal life and families found in the cemetery.
A common type of epitaph on gravemarkers is that of a simple sentiment, many of which consist of just a few words. Many of the expressions found on gravemarkers are not unique to the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley—they were carried to Salt Lake with other traditions and cultural trends by the pioneers from eastern states and Europe. However, when interpreted in light of pioneer connotation, they communicate a unique belief in eternal life and families. Richard Jackson writes, “Epitaphs on the early Mormon gravestones convey a typically Christian message of hope.”60 One such ubiquitous epitaph reads, “We shall meet again.” This epitaph is engraved on the markers of Mary Minkler and one Augusta, much of whose last name as fallen off the front of her gravemarker. This simple epitaph serves as a reminder that there is life after death, and families can be reunited. A similar variation reads, “Farewell till we meet again;” John Lyon’s gravemarker bears this epitaph.
Another epitaph, “Gone but not forgotten,” as is seen on Joseph Chamberlain’s gravemarker, takes on a special meaning for descendants of pioneers. Members of the LDS
60 Richard H. Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries: History in Stone,” in Nearly Everything Imaginable: The Everyday Life of Utah’s Mormon Pioneers, ed. Ronald W. Walker and Doris R. Dant (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1999), 412. 28
church are strongly encouraged to participate in genealogy work; remembering ancestors, as well as learning about them, is important. This epitaph expresses the Mormon view that death is but a separation and the practice of genealogy confirms this view.
Scriptural verses are another type of epitaph found in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. “Verses taken from the holy scripture…are perhaps the most commonly found of all epitaphic statements.”61 One example, seen on Mary Oakley Reed’s gravemarker, is “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” This scripture, or very similar variations of it, can be located in the Bible (Matthew 5:8), The Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 12:8), and The Doctrine and Covenants (56:18) and bears a message of eternal life. L. Whitney Clayton, a Mormon leader, states, “When we live right and seek to purify our hearts, we draw closer to God....The condition of our heart…qualifies us for the eventual realization of the promise that the pure ‘shall see God.’”62 Other church leaders establish a link between the pure in heart and Zion, which is not only location but also a condition; Hyrum Smith describes Zion as “the honest and pure in heart that will hearken to the everlasting covenant.”63
Poems are another type of inscription found on many pioneer gravemarkers. Jackson writes, “Longer poems as epitaphs are very common in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”64 I will comment on the unique connotations some of these poems held for Mormons. Consider the epitaph on Janet Lyon’s gravemarker.
So full of years, good works, she passed away,
61 Joseph J. Edgette, “The Epitaph and Personality Revelation,” in Cemeteries and Gravemarkers: Voices of American Culture, ed. Richard E. Meyer (Logan, Utah: Utah State University, 1992), 88.
62 L. Whitney Clayton, “Blessed Are All the Pure in Heart,” Ensign, November 2007, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/11/blessed-are-all-the-pure-in-heart?lang=eng.
63 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 2nd ed. (United States of America, 2002), 228-230, https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/section-90-100/section-97-this-is-zion-the-pure-in-heart?lang=eng&query=blessed+are+pure+in+heart.
64 Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries,” 413. 29
A mother dear, a saint unstained of guile,
Full worthy she enjoys Heaven’s better day,-
Good-bye to earth, means God’s eternal smile.
Lyon’s epitaph characterizes life after death—a life better than her mortal life on this earth. “Heaven’s day” is “better” than earth’s, and leaving this mortal life puts her in a better place where she will live with “God’s eternal smile.” There is a comfort and confidence expressed here that offers peace and hope to family and friends. They would believe that not only is she in a better place with “God’s eternal smile,” but they will someday also experience that wonderful life, with their loving Father in Heaven and departed loved ones as eternal families.
Resurrection is a part of eternal life; “it is the mighty milepost that signifies the end of mortality and the beginning of immortality.”65 Mormons believe it is a “reuniting of the spirit with the body in a perfect, immortal state, no longer subject to disease or death.”66 They also believe “the assurance of immortality is fundamental to [their] faith.”67 Prophet and President of the Church Joseph Smith proclaimed,
“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerns Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”68
Phebe W. Carter Woodruff’s epitaph is a poem expressing her belief in resurrection.
Sleep on, dear Phebe, but ere long from this
The conquered tomb shall yield its captive prey
Then thou with husband, children, friend, in bliss
Shall reign a queen for an eternal day
65 Dallin H. Oaks, “Resurrection,” Ensign, May 2000, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/05/resurrection?lang=eng.
66 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference (Salt Lake City, Utah, 2004): 139.
67 Oaks, “Resurrection.”
68 Ibid. 30
Not only does the poem refer to resurrection, “the conquered tomb” yielding “its captive prey,” it articulates the belief that “the resurrection will include an opportunity to be with our family members” and spend the rest of time with them.69
Mormons believe in a plan of salvation, or plan of happiness, which “enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”70 A pre-mortal existence, mortal life on earth, and life after death are part of the plan salvation, or happiness, that Mormons believe in. Family is an essential element throughout all time—and the plan. The epitaphs of Margaret Harrington and John Lyon, like that of Phebe Woodruff, express the belief in eternal families. The end of the three stanza long poem on the Harringtons’s marker reads: “… with dear ones gone before-- / She sweetly lives the life divine.” Lyon’s epitaph reads,
We’ll meet together yet
Where the sun shall never set
With a welcome of the hand
And a love without regret.
Below the poem is one additional message, “Farewell till we meet again.”
The gravemarker of William W. Phelps, who died in 1872, includes two verses of the Mormon hymn “If You Could Hie to Kolob.” It reads,
There is no end to matter
There is no end to space
There is no end to spirit
There is no end to race.
69 Ibid.
70 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” (Salt Lake City, Utah, 1995). 31
There is no end to glory
There is no end to love
There is no end to being
There is no death above.
This is a very complex hymn. Phelps wrote this hymn after helping Joseph Smith translate the book of Abraham.71 In Abraham 3:2-4, Abraham “saw the stars, that they were very great,” and reveals Kolob is the star nearest to the throne of God. This explains not only the title of the hymn, but also provides some explanation for the line “there is no end to space,” as the stars were so many. Moses 1:33-35 adds to this idea of unending space; in these verses the Lord is speaking to Moses and tells him that there are worlds without number, further suggesting space has no limits. The prophet Brigham Young states, “How many earths are there? I observed this morning that you may take the particles of matter composing this earth, and if they could be enumerated they would only be a beginning to the number of the creations of God; and they are continually coming into existence…”72 This also supports Phelps’ claim of no end to matter or space.
In Moses 1:35-37, the Lord continues speaking to Moses about his creations. He tells Moses that both the worlds and heavens are “innumerable” to man, yet “all things are numbered unto me, for they are mind and I know them.” This provides a possible glimpse of the eternal love referenced by Phelps. Man cannot even fathom the innumerable worlds and heavens that exist; yet the ultimate creator knows each one. Mormons believe this is not just the case with planets and space, but with people; every person is believed to be a son or daughter of God, and He personally knows and loves each one. “There is no end to love” references this eternal love.
71 “History of Hymns: If You Could Hie to Kolob,” Mormon Channel, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, www.mormonchannel.org/history-of-hymns/31.
72 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, (United States of America, 2000), https://www.lds.org/manual/the-pearl-of-great-price-student-manual/the-book-of-moses. 32
“No end to being” deals not just with immortality, but also the nature of God and man’s relationship with him. Church President and Prophet Lorenzo Snow stated, “As man is, God once was; As God now is, man may be.”73 “No end to spirit” is related to being. The Lord told Moses, “Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years.”74 Joseph Smith taught saints that:
“Man was in the beginning with God.…the soul—the mind of man—the immortal spirit. Where did it come from? All learned men and doctors of divinity say that God created it in the beginning; but it is not so….Hear it, all ye ends of the world; for God has told me so…spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end….That which has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were not spirits….”75
Lorenzo Snow’s, Joseph Smith’s, and the Lord’s teachings to Moses all fit together to provide an understanding of what the “being” and “spirit” are in Mormon doctrine; they each also fit into the endlessness of being and spirit in Phelps’ song.
“No end to glory” refers to the endless glory of God, which Mormons learn, through scripture and their prophets, they may also obtain through sacred covenants, such as marriage sealing. “No death above” refers to eternal life, linking all the eternal and endless themes found in the preceding lyrics of this hymn.
Not all epitaphs consist of a poem, song lyrics or simple sentiments like the common “At rest.” Some epitaphs assert family title or position, such as “Mother” or “Father.” On many pioneer markers, these “titles” are boldly engraved. To put such a title on what Albert N. Hamscher claims is typically “the only lasting verbal representation” does more than identify, it
73 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow, (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2012), 83.
74 Moses 1:3.
75 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2007), 209-210. 33
prioritizes roles that this culture believes will persist beyond death.76 These roles, and everything they represent, do not cease to be important to this individual or their family when they die.
These family titles can be found on gravemarkers of all styles, including tablets, blocks, raised-top inscriptions, lawn types, and obelisks. On raised-top inscriptions and lawn types, the term tends to be located at the top or bottom, with the name of the deceased, dates of birth and death, and any other information located in the center of the gravemarker. On tablets and blocks, the title is often across the very top of the gravemarker, while name, dates, and any other inscriptions are located on the front; the gravemarkers of pioneers Catherine K. and Mifflin L. Palmer are both tablet style with “Father” and “Mother,” respectively, engraved along the top. Lucina Snow’s gravemarker is an example of an obelisk with “Mother” engraved on the marker, just above her name.
No matter what role in the family an individual fulfills, it is important, as is demonstrated on markers in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. “Mother” and “Father” among the most common family titles engraved on markers, but others are present. “Daughter” and “Son,” especially on markers of children, are seen. “Baby” is frequently used on gravemarkers of infants and toddlers; sometimes “Baby” stands alone as the name, and sometimes it sits just before their given name, like in “Baby John Mudd,” who died in 1869 at approximately 10 months old. Others, such as
76 Albert N. Hamscher, “Talking Tombstones: History in the Cemetery,” OAH Magazine of History 17, no. (January 2003), 40.
Figure 8. Gravemarkers of Catherine K. (right) and Mifflin L. Palmer (left). 34
“Granny,” are used on markers in this cemetery as well; “Granny” is used on Christina Campbell Livingston’s marker, who died in 1876 at the age of 87.
Other types and parts of epitaphs are important because they are relevant to genealogy. President Wilford Woodruff stated, “We want the Latter day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it.”77 Current church leaders encourage members to continue doing genealogy work; Russell M. Nelson tells members that they “are linked in love to ancestors” when they learn of their family history. He goes onto to say, “Those links, welded through sacred ordinances, lead to the exaltation of our families.”78
Mormons teach that temple ordinances such as baptism and marriage can be performed for the deceased. Joseph Fielding Smith wrote, “What is bound or sealed in the temples of the Lord is also sealed in heaven….The Prophet said that all of the ordinances for the living are required in behalf of all the dead who are entitles to the fullness of the exaltation.”79 Church members are encouraged to perform these vicarious ordinances for their own ancestors. Gathering information on ancestors in an important step in the process of being able to do ordinances for them in the temple, and gravemarkers are a useful tool in this goal.
The dates of birth and death, simple as that information may seem, are important in doing genealogy work. As most gravemarkers, at the very least, have a name and birth and death dates, they are a great source of information for descendants conducting genealogy research. Other dates, including marriage dates, are also sometimes engraved on markers. There are two other
77 David H. Pratt, “Family History, Genealogy,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 492.
78 Russell M. Nelson, “Generations Linked in Love,” Ensign, May 2010, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/generations-linked-in-love?lang=eng&query=family+history.
79 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual, 314-315. 35
dates descendants of pioneers will look for on markers or have placed on the marker if commissioning a new marker for an ancestor. These two additional dates are baptism and sealing dates. The date of his marriage sealing is engraved towards the top of Caleb Baldwin’s marker, just below an image of the Nauvoo Temple. The marker reveals Baldwin was sealed to his wife January 20, 1846 in the Nauvoo Temple; since he did not die until 1849, we know he actually participated in this sealing, and it is not an example of temple work done in behalf of the dead. Azmon Woodruff’s marker includes a baptism date at the bottom, below his name, birth and death dates and locations, and wives’ names. His reads, “Baptized a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints / On 31 December 1833 / At Richland, New York / The Same Day as His Brother Wilford Woodruff.”
Given the importance Mormons place on genealogy as a means to ensure eternal family ties, it is not surprising to find family relations spelled out on gravemarkers. On some markers, the names of parents are included. The gravemarker of “Baby Burton,” who was born and died on September 12, 1894, is one example; the epitaph on this marker divulges the baby as the “Infant of Alfred and Elizabeth Peart Burton.”
In families where members died around the same time, it is not uncommon to find they share a marker. There is one marker dedicated to Johanna and Anna Nilson, two sisters, who died in 1868, that exemplifies this. Anna died September 20, at age seven, and Johanna died October 1, at age two. The marker also provides the name of their parents, and informs viewers that while Johanna is “buried near here,” Anna is “buried in Echo Canyon,” at least 45 miles away from the Salt Lake City Cemetery. This simple marker provides important information to descendants, not only dates and facts on their burial location, but the names of an additional sister and both parents. 36
Conversely, on some markers the names of the children are engraved on the gravemarkers of parents. Caleb Baldwin’s gravemarker provides this information on the back side. “Children” is carved into the top; below that are the names of nine children, and each of their birth dates. Judith W. Temple Haven’s marker also has the name of her two children engraved on it. At the bottom, her marker reads, “Daughters Maria Susan & Eliza Ann.”
Spouses sometimes share a marker, as they do today. While contemporary markers tend to have one spouse on the left and another on the right, many of the older tablet or block markers have one spouse above and the other below. Some of the obelisk markers similarly have the spouses directly above and below one another, while others put each spouse on a different side of the obelisk.
One aspect that sets Mormon pioneer cemeteries apart from cemeteries throughout the nation is the indication of plural marriage among pioneers. In 1841 Joseph Smith stated that “the dispensation of the fullness of times will bring to light the things that have been revealed in all former dispensations; also other things that have not been before revealed.”80 The practice of plural marriage was a commandment for certain people and times Bible, such as for Abraham; in order to bring to light all things revealed in former dispensations, the principle of plural marriage had to be brought forth and accepted by Joseph Smith and the saints as part of the “restoration of all things.” Mormons believe God instructed Smith in 1841 to begin implementing the practice of plural marriage among the saints, although not all the pioneers participated in plural marriage. They were taught that it must adhere to the same three principles all other covenants did to be considered valid in eternity; it must be “made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of
80 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church History in the Fullness of Times Student Manual, (United States of America, 2003), 251, https://www.lds.org/manual/church-history-in-the-fulness-of-times-student-manual. 37
Promise,” be performed by proper priesthood authority, and be by “revelation and commandment through the Lord’s anointed prophet.”81 The pioneers brought the practice of plural marriage to Salt Lake, and some members continued to practice it for the following decades. Most members ceased to enter into plural marriages after 1890, when President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto of 1890, a “proclamation…that the Church had discontinued plural marriage.”82
“Generally plural marriage involved only two wives and seldom more than three; larger families like those of Brigham Young or Heber C. Kimball were exceptions.”83 The gravemarker of Caleb Haight, on the back side, demonstrates an example of a plural marriage consisting of two wives. The gravemarker lists “His wives,” Keturah Horton and Sarah Aldridge, and below that, the “Children of Caleb and Keturah.” If he and Sarah had children, no mention is made of them on this gravemarker.
It is important to note that any pioneers, including some church leaders, were hesitant to embrace practice of plural marriage; they felt uncomfortable with plural marriage, just as many modern Mormons do. This may be why some pioneer markers of polygamists to do not boldly proclaim them as such. The epitaphs of some markers place the most emphasis upon a husband and his first wife, if recognizing the plural marriage at all. Reynolds Cahoon’s gravemarker is an example of this. His gravemarker is dedicated to himself, “His first wife,” Thirza Stiles Cahoon, “And other family members.” This marker does not reveal the names any following spouses. It can be no more than speculation as to whether or not the “other family members” is intended to include plural wives. In fact, other than the mention of Thirza being the “first wife,” there is no
81 Ibid, 256.
82 Paul H. Peterson, “Manifesto of 1890,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 853.
83 Daniel Bachman and Ronald K. Esplin, “Plural Marriage,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 1094. 38
evidence on the gravemarker itself to suggest he practiced polygamy. Without knowledge obtained from outside sources and/or close observation of death dates that show Thirza outlived Reynolds (thus Reynolds could not have taken another wife simply because he was a widower), one may not even realize this couple was part of a plural marriage. Other markers will similarly focus on the first wife; they will mention the name of only the first wife or possibly provide names of children from only the first wife, even though children were born to another wife.
In contrast to the Cahoon gravemarker, the markers of Thomas Bullock and Archibald Gardner, each a pioneer of 1847, identify plural wives. On the back side of Bullock’s marker, Henrietta Rushton, Lucy Caroline Clayton, and Betsy Prudence Howard, are all listed as his wives. The gravemarker of Gardner shows he was one of the exceptions who had more than two or three wives. His gravemarker lists six wives buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery, and five wives buried in “other locations.”
Another type of information found on gravemarkers is biographical facts, such as accomplishments and community leadership roles. Richard Jackson sates, “Little is generally recorded about the accomplishments of those buried in Mormon cemeteries…few examples note individual interests or positions.”84 While most gravemarkers do not tell of an individual’s interests or positions, there are gravemarkers in this cemetery that do. Journeys to Utah, church leadership positions, and careers are recorded on some markers; other gravemarkers include
84 Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries,” 423.
Figure 9. Gravemarker of Archibald Gardner. 39
details on how the individual died, a short biography, and quote the deceased individual. These pieces of information can provide valuable information to descendants attempting to put together a historical puzzle.
Some gravemarkers very simply label the deceased as pioneers, and provide very little additional information. Much like the engraved pioneer symbols and medallions mentioned in the iconography section, the epitaphs of some gravemarkers consist of a short phrase to identify pioneers. Caleb Haight’s gravemarker, for example, reads, “Blessed, Honored Pioneer,” reference to a popular hymn. The marker of William, Matilda and A. LeRoy Hobbs is another example; it simply identifies them as “Handcart pioneers.”
Others provide more information. Thomas Bradford Bourne’s informs viewers that he was the “First man in the first handcart co. to enter the valley.” Sarah Evans Harmon’s gravemarker, erected in August 2002 reads, “Brought her children safely to the valley, fulfilling a priesthood blessing, and establishing a legacy of faith. The story of her courage continues to inspire her grateful posterity.” Mary Ann Toms Holt actually has two gravemarkers. One records the fact that she “Entered the valley 3 Oct. 1863,” and the other calling her a “Utah Pioneer” informs all she that “Immigrated on ship Amazon.”
Jane Elizabeth Manning James has a series of monuments erected to her and her family. She was the “the first Black woman to come west with the Mormons” in the nineteenth
Figure 10. The two gravemarkers of Mary Ann Toms Holt. 40
century.85 She led her family, consisting of “nine free Blacks” from Connecticut to Illinois, before joining other pioneers, her husband and son included, on a trek to Utah.86 One of the markers in this series alternates between listing life events and quoting her. It reads:
“I try in my feeble way to set a good example for all.”
Born free in 1882, Fairfield County, Connecticut
Baptized LDS in 1841, she led a group of family members to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1843
“Our feet cracked open and bled until you could see the whole prints of our feet with blood on the ground”
Jane lived with Joseph, Emma and Mother Smith
“Brother Joseph sat down by me and said, ‘God bless you. You are among friends.’”
Married Isaac James Around 1845
Arrived in Salt Lake September 22, 1847
“Oh how I suffered of cold and hunger, but the Lord gave us faith and grace to stand it all.”
Shared half her flour with Eliza Partridge Lyman, who was near starving
Died April 16, 1908, outliving all but two of her eight children
“But we went on our way rejoicing, singing hymns, and thanking God for his infinite goodness and mercy to us.”
James’ marker provides more information than most. Typical dates, like that of birth, death and marriage, are provided, but so are accomplishments from her lifetime. To cross the plains is an accomplishment shared on many gravemarkers, and considered important by the pioneers and their descendants; sharing half of her flour with a starving woman is a different type of “accomplishment” than is normally seen on gravemarkers, but is still considered noteworthy. The information provided shows her commitment to her church, and could reflect the goals, beliefs and practices of its members.
85 Salt Lake City Cemetery, “Remembering Jane Manning James,” 2.
86 Ibid.
Figure 11. Either side of gravemarker of Jane Elizabeth Manning James. 41
The gravemarker of Archer and Harriet Cross Walters similarly provides a list of accomplishments. Carved into the back of the marker they include “Embraced the gospel,” “Sailed on the ‘Enoch Train,’” “First handcart company,” “Chronicler of handcart journey,” “Compassionate husband; faithful wife and mother,” “parents,” and “Followers of the Master Carpenter.” This list provides insight into what is considered of eternal significance to the Walters. Their religious beliefs and valiance in living according to those beliefs, as well as their roles in their family were important not just in life; this family believes these goals, actions, and values carry beyond the grave.
Some markers provide a short biography or family history in paragraph form. Caleb Baldwin’s gravemarker provides a short family history. His reads, “Baptized members of the LDS Church 14 November 1830 by Parley P. Pratt. Friends of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Caleb suffered in prison with the prophet Joseph at Liberty Missouri. Driven out of Missouri and Nauvoo, by vicious mobs. They came with the saints to Salt Lake City in 1848.” His epitaph establishes a link between him and the prophet, which few gravemarkers do. Mormons believe in listening to, following, and sustaining their prophet, and all can do these things, if they so choose. To have been friends with and suffered with the prophet, however, is something not all experienced, and not only reinforces his commitment to his church and beliefs, but sets Baldwin apart from other pioneers.
Other sources of information found on gravemarkers in this cemetery include church positions and careers. Gravemarkers reveal John Proctor, who died in 1874, was “Bishop of the 10th Ward;” Thomas Bullock, who died in 1885, was clerk to Presidents Joseph Smith and Brigham Young; and Wilford Woodruff, who died in 1898, was the fourth president of the church. Careers of some pioneers can also be found on their markers. For example, Thomas 42
Tanner, in a detailed marker, is identified as a blacksmith; William W. Phelps an orator, poet and author; and Archer Walters a “builder of handcarts, cradles, coffins.”
Sometimes markers include details regarding death. Rodney Badger, Bingham Bement, and Samuel Ensign’s gravemarkers are all examples of this. Badger “was drowned while trying to rescue a woman and six children from the Weber River.” Bement died “when his son Charles fed some lumber into the saw at the old Chase Mill, in what is now Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. The lumber impaled him.” Samuel Ensign’s marker, which consists of an older marker placed between two newer pieces, tells of his death on both the older and newer stone. Ensign “Met his death by falling from the walls of the Salt Lake Temple June 24, 1885.”
The details of deaths can be noteworthy to those participating in genealogy work. Individuals interested in doing genealogy work are encouraged to gather as much information as they can find—which can include these facts. However, these types of epitaphs represent more than another gathered piece of information about an ancestor; they spark interest. A sparked interest may lead someone to participate in family history work, which could in turn, lead to the completion of temple work for deceased ancestors. As was discussed earlier, temple work for the dead, is an important doctrine to Mormons and creates eternal family links.
Figure 12. Gravemarker of Samuel Ensign. Older marker wedged between two newer stones; the epitaph on the old stone is repeated on the new one. 43
Richard H. Jackson writes,
“Each cemetery is an ever changing volume that records the history, values, and dreams of a people and place, and each stone records the life of a real person—a person who lived and loved, laughed and played, cried and prayed, and left behind memories that reverberate through succeeding generations.”87
The history of the Mormon pioneers in Salt Lake are recorded in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. The cemetery itself, the iconography and the epitaphs are records of their beliefs in eternity. The family plots and close burial locations, temple symbols reflective of eternal sealing covenants, the expressed family roles and bonds, and the proclamations of a belief in life after death with God and family, communicate the pioneer beliefs in eternal families and of an eternal life and plan for them.
87 Jackson, “Mormon Cemeteries,” 405. 44
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