Heroines of "Mormondom": The Second Book of the Noble Women's Lives Series — John Shaqi
Heroines of "Mormondom": The Second Book of the Noble Women's Lives SeriesVarious
History
Heroines of "Mormondom": The Second Book of the Noble Women's Lives Series
Various
Chittenden, Mary Dunster, 1818-; Latter Day Saint women; Latter Day Saints -- Biography; Smith, Mary Fielding, 1801-1852
She was a medium-sized, well-built woman, with kind, gray eyes and
a pleasant but firm mouth. Her step was quick, and her manner was
full of warm-hearted simplicity. She it was who ruled the children,
administering with firm justice the rod of correction. Her husband
contented himself by controlling his wife, leaving the whole of the
remainder of the domestic regimen entirely in her hands. She was never
disobeyed by her children. But withal "father" was a tenderer name
to their large flock of girls than was "mother." But with all her
firmness, she was far too womanly to possess one grain of obstinacy.
When it was her duty to yield she could do so gracefully. With these
qualities Mary united a sound business capacity, economy, thrift
and extreme cleanliness. She was, and always has been, a remarkably
healthy woman. With these gifts she had something of the visionary or
semi-prophetic character of her great-grandmother Harris.
She has been a dreamer, and her dreams have been of a prophetic
character. Most of them require no interpretation, but are simple
forecasts, as it were, of the future.
One dream, which was indelibly impressed upon her mind, occurred to
her just before the birth of her eighth daughter, Elizabeth. It was as
follows:
She dreamed she had to travel a long way. At last she reached a stately
white building, with projecting buttresses and towers. Going up the
broad steps she entered a room filled with beautiful books. Seeing a
door ajar, she walked into the adjoining room. There sat twelve men
around a large table, and each man held a pen. They were looking up as
though awaiting some message from above. She drew back, so as not to
attract attention, when a voice said distinctly to her: "You will have
to come here to be married." The thought passed through her mind, "I
_am_ married and why, therefore, should I come here to be married?"
She went on out of the building and walked through the streets of the
city that were near the building. The streets were straight and clean,
with little streams of water running down under the shade-trees that
bordered the foot-paths. Everything was clean and beautiful to look
upon. Footbridges spanned the little streams, and the houses were clean
and comfortable. She saw just ahead of her a woman driving a cow, with
whom she felt a desire to speak, but before she could reach her, the
woman had gone in at one of the gates. She walked on, pleased with all
she saw. Raising her eyes she saw in the distance, coming to the city,
what looked like an immense flock of sheep. But as they came nearer she
saw they were people, all clothed in white raiment. They passed by and
went on to the white building. "Ah!" thought Mary, "if I was there now,
that I might know what it all meant!" But she felt compelled to go the
other way. And so the dream ended.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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