Walter Peter Monson
Walter with his wife Leona
My Father
Walter P. Monson
(1877 – 1934)
[According
to our other records, his actual lifespan was 1875-1935]
By
Weldon P. Monson
Written June, 1961 for the
Westchester (NY) Ward of New York Stake Genealogy Committee, at the request of
Sister Emily Carlisle
As I write about my father, I feel quite inadequate to spell
out in words those qualities and events I am now asked to recall over the 29
years (1905 – 1934) that I was with him in life. As I attempt this task I feel that each
moment spent will provide a beauty of spirit, a spiritual radiance that, to me,
only one other might possibly surpass – the life of my Mother, Leona Parkinson
Monson. I feel both humble and blessed
to have the privilege as a son of recounting now certain events in my father’s
life, and, later, those of my mother’s life.
I was born on September 22, 1905 in Preston, Idaho, in the
old Gooch house, so my story should start from about that point. However, for the purpose of my introduction
something should be said about my Father’s earlier life.
My father was born June 30, 1877 (?), in Richmcond, Cache
County, Utah, a son of Christian Hansen [his
original name before his arrival in Utah, or so I’ve heard] (born 16 June
1837 Frederikstad, Norway; died 23 Sept. 1896) and Ellen Monsen. His father came to this country while yet a
boy, having left his family in Frederickstad, just outside Oslo, in Norway, to
join the early pioneers of the Church.
The following account of his father’s conversion should provide the
setting for a life dedicated to service in the Church to his Father In Heaven
and to his fellow man.
(set forth account of Christian Hans Monson)
My father obtained only a rudimentary education in the
schools. He had to leave school after
the 8th grade to run his father’s saw mill after his death and to
care for his mother and others of the family.
He came to know the lumber business well as later events in his life
will attest.
My father and mother were grade school sweethearts. I doubt if either one was ever interested in
anyone else in the matter of romance.
They were married while they were quite young, my father being 20 and
mother 18. They were married in the
Logan Temple and sealed for time and eternity, not that it was particularly
needed in their particular case, but to conform to their deep beliefs in Church
teachings concerning eternal marriage.
They were deeply devoted to each other, and possessed a faith which
unwavered through their most deepening trials of later years. I cannot remember of hearing a cross word, or
any form of argument between my mother and father.
My father, following his marriage, borrowed $20,000 from my
uncles, Joseph Parkinson and Lonnie Skidmore, to build a lumber yard in
Preston, Idaho. He also was the general
agent there of the Studebaker Wagon Works, and the County Commissioner. He prospered in these business undertakings
and, as the family was growing, he built a fine home, next door to my
grandfather Samuel Parkinson’s home, just across from Oneida Academy, on the
corner, facing the “square.” Preston was
built on Uncle matthias’ 60 homestead acres.
What a wonderful period that was. When I was quite young I remember the smell
of leather harnesses and the sturdy look of those Studebaker wagons in the
store on Preston’s Main Street (now J. C. Penney’s store). And how I remember the wonderful smell of new
lumber in the yard up the street in the Superior Lumber Co., built with my
father’s own hands (now Anderson Lumber Co).
And those wonderful teams of horses used in those days to deliver the
lumber, together with a big, black team we kept at house, with a fine carriage,
with leather seats, front and back. And
my grandfather next door. What a remarkable
man he was. The following account,
written by his daughter, Vivian Taylor, tells this story rather well.
[Kris' Note: He leaves space and a
few lines to indicate that the history of SRP should be added here.]
The reference made in the foregoing account is quite
appropriate, although there were other families in Preston, sons or daughters
of my grandfather, Samuel Parkinson, which were just as lovely. The Larsens (Aunt Bertha and Uncle Nephi);
the Packers (Aunt Annie and Uncle Leon) were a wonderful influence in the
community and upon my life. Aunt Bertha
was one of the most charming and gracious women I have known in my lifetime,
her home always beautiful. Her children
were ones I always seemed to enjoy, perhaps more than some of the others of my
relatives – perhaps because Uncle Nephi owned the large general store in town
and I liked to go out on the delivery rig (as it was then called) with its fine
roan pony making deliveries about the countryside. Our feet would dangle over the tail-board as
we traveled over the dusty country roads – with Platte driving. Radia (now Mrs. Donald Daynes of Salt Lake)
was beautiful, as were her sisters Roma and June. The Packers had a large farm, with fine
horses, fine cattle, large herds of sheep.
Clyde was to become Utah’s first All-American basketball player, but
there was Sam, a fine dentist, Grant, a fine farmer, missionary and teacher,
Lee, Lyman, Ora, Anna, etc. As children
we loved to go to Aunt Annie’s place in Preston. Their orchards were loaded with fruit, there
were always horses to ride or to hitch up to a nice buggy and go fishing in
Bear River. When we came home from
fishing we generally had some fine fresh baked bread, creamy milk, a bowl of
fresh strawberries or raspberries, or freshly made fresh gooseberry juice – and
go out and sleep on their very expansive lawn under the stars. One Sunday we would go through quite a
ceremony getting our team of horses and handsome, leather seated buggy ready to
take the family to church, all of about two blocks away!! As everyone went into church, it was usually
my job, and Lysle’s, to drive the team to the hitching posts in the lot
adjoining the chapel, and put the nose bags, with oats, on the horses. If not, the horses would “whinny” during the
church services. Once in church (the
plumbing was always outside in those days) we went through services much like
today, the opening prayer, the songs, sacrament, and then to our classes. I do not believe I can remember anything more
beautiful than my Sunday School teachers – the daughters of my Uncle George C.
Parkinson. They were always so pretty in
the dress fashions of that day, skirts to the ankles, and a sort of ribbed
collar about the neck, and a slim bodice.
They always had such a wholesome beauty, and a perfume, very dainty and
lovely, I have long wanted to find again.
But they taught their lessons with an aura of beauty that has impressed
me throughout my entire life as the essence of religion. There was Vera (now Mrs. Richard W. Young,
Jr.), Ann (now Mrs. Preston Nibley), Elna (now Mrs. Creed Haymond), Deanne (now
Mrs. Walter Rolapp), and Aleida and those two wonderful brothers, Parley and
Leo, later to distinguish themselves as graduates of West Point as the youngest
generals in Utah’s history. And Uncle
George who was the first president of the Northwestern States Mission, opened
by three missionaries, one of whom was my father (his first mission) and
directed out of Oneida Stake, which was in Preston.
Then there was that beautiful Cowley family, my Uncle
Matthias and Aunt Luella, their children, Samuel, who was to distinguish
himself nationally as an F. B. I. Agent; Matthew who was to become one of the
best loved Apostles of the Church, following the footsteps of his wonderful
father; Laura (Mrs. Edgar B. Brossard) who was to be such a great influence
among church members in the nation’s capital, among saints and missionaries in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where “Ed” was mission president over the
Northeastern States Mission, and in Paris and the French Mission where “Ed”
presided as President (for the second time) over that mission. Preston was a wonderful setting – I would
want nothing better as a place to start life.
My father was a strong influence in that setting. From here, as has been said, he was sent on
his first mission, to become on of the first three missionaries in that field,
and most importantly, to open that Northwestern States mission. Brother Westergaard of Portland, still lives
at this writing, and was, I believe, his first convert. His missionary diary, describing his
wonderful experiences on this mission, is in the custody of his youngest living
son, Keyne, who resides in Hayward, California.
It was from Preston also that my father was called on his second
mission, to England, where he presided over the London Conference, the
equivalent of mission president in those days, under President Rudger Clawson
and President Penrose who presided over the European Mission, as it was
called. When my father went on his first
mission there was no question as to whether he should leave his business or
not. When President Joseph F. Smith
called him, he went. Mother made ice
cream, cleaned chickens, and generally managed to keep things going while my
father was away on his mission. When
President Smith called him on his second mission he gladly accepted, leaving a
prosperous business in Preston, and a position of leadership in that community,
being called to campaign with U. S. Senator William Borah at election time
throughout the State of Idaho. Both were
strong, eloquent speakers in those days of flourishing
“rugged-individualism.” I remember
distinctly what was to be his lifetime creed, and that of my dear mother, that
“When the Lord calls there is nothing of a worldly nature which will be allowed
to stand in the way.” There was no
sacrifice too large to be made for service to his, and their, Father In
Heaven. There were now six living
children in the family, Walter Jr., Venna, LaFayette, DeLysle, Weldon, and
Blanche. All went to England. My father sold the Superior Lumber Co. to the
Andersons of Preston, and the company was the beginning of the Anderson Lumber
Co. which is the outstanding company in this field in Cache Valley, including Logan,
and Ogden.
The mission home in London was on Old King’s Highway, South
Tottenham. It was a corner building of a
grey brick, with a brick enclosed court-yard.
I remember this building well, although I was but four or five years of
age when we lived there. In Liverpool,
where we lived for a short time, the address was 293 Edge Lane, Liverpool,
England. I remember going to the Elm
School in South Tottenham and of the strict English discipline; of playing on
the banks of the River Lee, a barge canal about one block to the rear of the
school; of watching part of the coronation of King George V in 1910 along the
banks of this canal; of falling on my left arm, while playing in the mission
court-yard and which has left me with a scar at the elbow for a memory jogger. How well I remember Lysle falling in the
canal and being brought out by a chivalrous Englishman during his morning
stroll in his proper attire. And the
conferences and meetings at Old Deseret, overflowing to the street, even in
days of some of the Church’s most bitter persecution. Of Dad’s picture on the streetcars of that
day, as a Mormon preacher – with a note of warning. Of incidents occurring in the mission field
such as an attack upon meetings held on street corners and the courage of men
like Pres. Clawson, Bro. Talmage and Bro. George Albert Smith. The visits of President Nibley etc. A statement written across the wall in the
meeting room of Old Deseret, South Tottenham, seemed to carry the full meaning
of this work, it read:
“It is not any man’s work, but is the power and spirit of
God.”
Among those missionaries and saints were Thatcher Jones, who
later was to become a great teacher on the faculty of the Graduate School of
Business Administration of New York University; Will Worley of Logan, and later
a dentist in Salt Lake; Bro. Horsfal of Ogden; Bro. Smith with the “Adam’s
Apple” that used to amuse me so much as a boy and Bro. Dobson, the caretaker
who lost his life in World War I.
While my father was in England he met a young English
politician whose father did everything possible to discourage his career in
English politics on the ground that he “thought too much like an
American.” His name was Winston
Churchill. It was through the efforts,
or intervention, of this great man that permission was granted to the Church to
hold street meetings in England. Winston
Churchill introduced my father to William T. Stead, a member of the House of
Lords in English Parliament, founder of the Review of Reviews, and the Editor
of the London Times. It was really the
influence of Mr. Stead who gained for the Church this privilege, and he became
a very close friend of my father. He
also became very interested in the Church and the “Mormon” people, so much so
that he planned a trip to America with my father and his family, which was to
include seeing New York and Salt Lake City together. He insisted on using his influence further to
see that the trip was started under the most pleasant circumstances. He obtained reservations on the Titanic,
billed as the queen of the Seas. We were
al quite excited over the prospect of traveling on this superb liner after
having taken a smaller ship going over.
(Note Weldon inserted here after writing this manuscript: “In view of Lafe’s recollection of Dad
receiving a letter from Mr. Stead in Ogden, which I am inclined to believe as
Lafe was three and one half years older than I, had a good memory and recalled
that Mr. Stead wrote about coming over and would like to see him. Dad, therefore was released before the
Titanic sailed and Mr. Stead went alone. I will check this sometime with the ship’s
original register and list of passengers etc.”)
[Kris' Note: I recall Diane once telling
how the family was supposed to come home on Titanic, etc. however my father
Maurice was born in Ogden in March of 1912 and Titanic did not sail until April
1912, so I’m pretty sure Lafe’s memory serves here. I’m glad Weldon added the note with the
correction. Keep reading, but keep the
corrected timeline in mind.]
But my had instructions to remain for a week or so to show
his successor about the mission field and, generally, the “break him in” as
missionaries generally describe the process.
It was arranged, therefore, that Mr. Stead would go on the Titanic and
my father and family would join him later in New York. (Note: Possibly in Ogden – see above note) What an act of providence for us, only
occasioned by the doing of God’s will and putting God’s service first above all
things, including a trip on this luxurious ship! [Kris' Note: Such an act of providence wasn’t needed, since they were safely in Utah
before Titanic sailed.]
William T. Stead left England on the Titanic. From what my father had told me about this
fine man over the years, I believe he may have been a convert to the Church had
it not been for the disaster which overtook this ship on its maiden
voyage. Events later related to me
aboard the S.S. Niew Amersterdam as I returned from England in 1959, by the
Rev. Ralph Sockman of New York City clearly indicate the great character of Mr.
Stead. As the ship was going down, he was
offered the last seat in the last life boat.
He was one of the most influential men in England at the time and it was
probably felt that this honor, from a sinking English vessel, was due him. He asked the officer to take him to the
steerage, the door to which had been locked to prevent panic on deck, where he
took the first lady with a child in her arms, and led her to his seat. After carefully placing a blanket about her
and the child, he took a seat against the cabin where he remained until the ship
went down. The next day, Rev. Sockman
added, the London paper carried a tabloid on the first page showing the ship
striking the iceberg. Over this was
written the caption “Nature’s Conquest Over Man.” Directly underneath was another tabloid, this
time showing Mr. Stead giving his seat, the last one in the last lifeboat, to
this woman and her baby, and then, very gentlemanly and quietly, taking his
seat against the cabin – to go down with the ship! Across this tabloid was written “Man’s
Conquest Over Nature.” Mr. Stead could
have taken that seat, and continued on as one of England’s great men. That greatness, like all other of a worldly nature, could, at best, be
momentary and soon forgotten* (*see note on succeeding pages). His real greatness, certainly in the minds
and hearts of that woman and her baby, the other passengers in that lifeboat,
to the members of our family, to the countless audiences that Rev. Ralph
Sockman related the story over the many years, to his many friends and admirers
in his own country, was in his last act in life – the giving of his life for
another. It is written “Great love hath
no man than that he would lay down his life for another.” The late George Albert Smith, later to be
President of the Church, and one of my father’s closest and dearest friends,
spoke touchingly of this at my father’s funeral in 1934 [according to FamilySearch records, he died Feb. 11, 1935 ] at the
Lincoln Ward Stakehouse in Salt Lake City.
Apostle Smith said:
“Walter P. Monson was one of my dearest
friends. I have traveled with him, eaten
with him, slept with him in the mission field, and I have admired the strength
and devotion of his faith in God and the willingness with which he went forth
to bear testimony to the divinity of the mission of Jesus Christ.
Elder Monson was a great friend maker. He had many friends on both sides of the
Atlantic. Among those prominent in the
old world was Mr. Stead, who went down on the Titanic, the foremost thinker of
Great Britain. It was men like that that
he succeeded in making friends of. At
the time he became acquainted with Mr. Stead, a very vigorous and vicious
attack was being made upon the Latter-Day Saints in Great Britain and Brother
Monson was able to bring to the assistance of the people, who were being
considerably annoyed and distressed, the assistance – the help, at least – of
this great man.
I feel that he has performed a great work. While he is not an old man, he has performed
a prodigious work for the years that he lived upon the earth.
* * * * * * *
Brother Monson came from a vigorous Norwegian
family, a family that joined the Church in an early day. At the time that his people became identified
with the Church, one’s liberty was not secure in that section where they lived
if they joined the Church, and as we traveled together he told me of some of
the early experiences of this father and associates in that land.
* * * * * * *
He has told me one or two experiences that they
passed through – testimonies that came that could only be given them from a
divine source. The strength of those
testimonies remained in those families, and when the people came to this land
to make their home, they bequeathed to their descendants that same faith and
assurance of the divinity of the work.
This many had many virtues, and among them was the
ability to go on under intense odds. I
have seen him in the hospital when he could hardly breathe, and yet have
hope. I remember one time a number of
years ago calling upon him. He had been
informed by those who waited upon him how serious his condition was, but he
said at that time if I can just be administered to, I know that I can get
up. The Lord healed him and made it
possible for him to go forward. And not
only did he continue to work and struggle amidst difficulties, but he was ready
to answer the call to do missionary work for the cause of the Master whenever
it reached him. I congratulate this
splendid family, those children and grandchildren, that they have the blood in
their veins of such a man and such a woman as was their mother. It is a wonderful thing to be well born. And that entails, of course,
responsibility. This good man whose
remains lie before us was willing at any time to go to any extent to serve the
cause that he believe the Lord desired him to serve. Because of that, treasures of the most
important are his.
He did not have much of this world’s wealth; it was
a constant struggle to safeguard and rear a large family; but day by day,
because of his patience and love and devotion and assurance he has been doing
good to others and laying up treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not
corrupt or thieves break through and steal.
* * * * * * *
But I want to bear my witness that I know that this
man was a servant of the Lord. I loved him. I am grateful for him. I have an affection for his family, and I
hope and pray that the same influences that guided his life may be with them,
that they may desire as he desired, to do good to those with whom they
associate, that they may honor the father and the mother that gave them life,
that the name that they have may be made more illustrious because of the things
that they do.
* * * * * * *
This man believed in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Faith, repentance, baptism,
laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost were the cardinal principles
of his faith. He believed it was
important to live in such a way that that teachings of the Master might be made
part of his life.
* * * * * * *
He had a courage that few men possess. But he was discouraged and hurt many times
because of difficulties that confronted him and obstacles he had to
surmount. But he never lost his faith
(underscoring added). He had an
assurance.
* * * * * * *
This man was a devout believer. I have heard him many times bear testimony of
the assurance he had. His desire was
that he might devote the knowledge that he had to his fellows without money and
without price. He was willing to go
wherever he was called.”
(Note: While visiting in London during September, of
1960, the writer of this account [Weldon
Monson] was taken to the Liberal Club for lunch, by one of the heads of
British Industry, Mr. G. J. West, Gen. Sect’y, Works Managers Ass’n, 196
Shaftsbury Ave., London, Eng., and there I saw in April, 1912 edition of the
London Times an account of the Titanic Disaster, showing Mr. William T. Stead
as fifth on the list of prominent persons who lost their lives just behind John
Jacob Astor, Isador Strauss, a Vanderbilt, and one other.)
Following my father’s mission to
England, he was asked to manage the Eccles’ Lumber Company of Ogden, Utah, by
its great leader, David Eccles. He later
became President and seemed destined for a really fine association with one of
the outstanding Mormon (not church)
owned companies of the west, and the taking up of a business interest, that of
lumber, that he always loved so well.
Actually, after he had been with the Company for awhile, he was offered
all of Eccles’ lumber interests in the northwest (Oregon) with Eccles’
providing the means for paying for it.
He was very happy in this association and enjoyed a rather substantial
amount of prosperity while he continued with them. We lived first on Madison Avenue in Ogden,
and it was there that Maurice was born.
I remember the day distinctly as friends and relatives poured into my
mother’s room, at home, to see the new baby.
Children always seemed to be born at home in those days. I suppose it was just more convenient, as the
mother always managed to direct the housework, etc, at the same time from this
particular location, and also continue to guide the other children in their
little problems as they arose. My father
wa sin the bishopric of the 5th (or 12th) ward in Ogden,
serving with Bro. Thomas Wheelwright, who baptized me and confirmed me a member
of the church. He was always
active in the church, regardless of his business activities. And at his side, was a devoted wife and
mother. Later, the family moved to 2521
Van Buren Avenue, a home my father built, later sold to Dr. Pugmire, as my
father was again called by President Joseph F. Smith to preside over the
Eastern States Mission, immediately following the death of Pres. Ben. E.
Rich. When President smith called my
father for this work he put his hand on my father’s shoulder and said, “Brother
Monson, I want you to consider this as a lifetime calling and for you to
prepare for it with that in mind; you will be as near to being released ten
years from now as you are at this moment.”
(Note: Told to my directly by my
father, and my mother, confirmed by later events.) You can just imagine the happiness my father
and mother felt to receive such a calling!
There was no question of giving up a very rewarding business career,
which promised also much for the children in good schooling, financial
standing, positions of leadership in a community such as Ogden. They would give up everything that was
material in nature, at any time, for that they both deeply loved – service to
their Father In Heaven. They would say
that God would provide always for those who served Him. There were so many good families in Ogden,
such as that beautiful Jacobs family, the Touts, the Taylors, the Eccles, the
Wrights, the Tanners, the Brownings, the Rolapps, the Wheelwrights, the fine
Williams family, and so many others that we, as a family, were endeared
to. It was not easy to leave such
circumstances either. We were near
Preston, for visits with dear relatives, to Salt lake, for the wonderful
excursions by E.M.F. open touring car (fine in those days) to conference and
visits with the English saints and missionaries. How I will remember the visits to our home in
Ogden by J. Golden Kimball and the funny incidents which could only be
associated with his fine, inimical sense of religious humor; of the visits by
other authorities of the Church, and friends from far and wide. It was a beautiful setting – and of the most
beautiful in my life! Across the street
from us lived the Bristols; on our same side of the street, three doors down,
lived Judge Rolapp and his fine family; through the lot in back of our house
lived David Eccles, Jr., the Marian and Hugh Taylors, etc., within two or three
blocks were the Jacobs and Williams families.
It was all very lovely. And not
far off, was “Red” Nichols, somewhat of a conceited bully to us younger kids in
those days, but later to be one of the “name” bands and subject of a movie hit
“The Five Pennies,” or something like that, which was a portrayal of his life
as a musician and band leader. It saw it
at Radio City – so it must have been good!
And then nearby were the Malins, where we used to go for a swim (sans)
in their pond, or to the Weber River, which was also good for fishing, stopped
en route for an ice cream cone at Browne’s perhaps the finest ice cream I can
remember.
My boyhood impressions were also
very vivid. The lumber yard, with aroma
of fresh lumber; the saw-mill with the fragrance of sawdust and the humming of
the saws; the big team of horses pulling their loads of lumber and rattling
empty wagons back into the yard; the jobs I have bailing shingles, usually with
Heber Jacobs, at five cents a bundle.
The yard boss, Pete Mennick, who was killed in an auto accident on
Fourth of July in Ogden Canyon on an outing to the Hermitage. My school days at Quincy School, diagonally
across from the Williams home, where we spent a good deal of our play hours
with “Ed’s” Shetland pony and cart. And
his sister, Roma, was also a real childhood attraction. I gave her a little bottle of perfume once
and then ran as hard as I could, hiding out for the rest of the week, being
really as bashful as I was. Down the
street from this school was the Nooteboom family from Holland. He was Dutch Consul or something. The boy I played with I believe it was Bill,
eventually ended up in the penitentiary, I am told. So much for Ogden. And now to New York.
After my father’s call to return to the mission field, he
left his position as head of the Eccles’ Lumber Co., after being offered all of
the Eccles’ lumber interests on terms he could afford, and after being told my
David Eccles, Sr., that when, as, and if he returned there would be a place
with the Eccles interests again, feeling the Lord’s call was paramount, he went
to his new mission, several months ahead of the family. Later, the family, which consisted of Walter,
Venna, LaFayette, DeLysel, Weldon, Blanche and Maurice, left for New York with
mother. The mission home was an old
brownstone row house located at 33 West 126th Street, then a fine
neighborhood, now in the heart of Harlem.
We found it to be a distinct tribute to our father to be called to
succeed Ben E. Rich, perhaps one of the greatest missionaries the Church has
ever had, certainly one of the finest preachers. There was real opposition to the Church by
other churches, but as a growing youngster I found it made no difference as far
as my New York playmates were concerned.
In starting school at Public School #128, however, I was put back from
the 4th grade to the 2nd on the ground “that those
western school were backward and the difference amounted to two grades.” My brother Lysle was given the same
treatment. My other brothers and Venna
were spared this experience – perhaps because they attended different
schools. We attended school with all of
the races, creeds, and kinds of people.
We learned integration, a leading issue of today’s times, many years
ago. As a matter of fact, a colored boy
was one of my friends at school.
(Note: We used to
fight with the colored boys on the street around 135th St. just for the fun of it. Now it is so different, so much so that I
would not venture there alone. I would
want the national guard.) [1961]
At the mission home there were two converts, Maude Strutt
from England, and Martha Vanderstadt from England, who attended to the cleaning
and cooking, etc., about the home for the family and missionaries who lived
there. My father came back, as I recall,
in 1913 and we came back in the summer of 1914.
My brother Keyne was born in the mission home at 33 West 126th
Street and Richard, the youngest, in Brooklyn.
Some of the early missionaries that I recall were Lawrence W. Sloane,
Chief Surgeon at the Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York until recently
(and now retired); John Ira David of Ogden, Allen Tingey of Salt Lake, Steve
Covey of Salt Lake, Water Rolapp of Ogden, Verne McCullough of Salt Lake, Ezra
Knowlton of Salt Lake, Ted Petersen until recently President of the Standard
Oil Company of California, Helga Pedersen, Thelma Peterson, Sister Savage,
Sister Packard of Springville, Howard McDonald (Later President of BYU – now President
of Los Angeles State U), Sister Edna Stahl of Brigham City, Bro Jesse R. Winith
[sp?] of Snowflake, Arizona, now
Stake President there, Brother Hart of Salt Lake, Fred Parkinson and then came
Junius Johnson, Margaret Edwards, Karl McDonald, Nephi Larsen of Sandy, Charles
Lloyd, Norton Platte, Grant Packer, Ezra Monson, Edna Holdaway, Sadie Eccles,
Elizabeth Thomas, Carmen Genson, DelMar Egbert, Venus Williams of Ogden, Cecil
Baker, “Aunt Lou” Sloan, etc etc. They
were a wonderful group and head a great influence upon my life. I remember distinctly their taking a little
“tin suit & case” out, filled with
Books of Mormon, and tracting material, with a tooth brush, and shaving
equipment for the men, together with a spare celluloid collar and setting off
for the country “without purse or script.” They had nothing, but a deep faith and a
religious spirit that could not be held back.
After sleeping in haystacks and barns for three or four weeks they did
look a bit “seedy,” as I recall, when they returned – but what testimonies they
bore. Then there were the saints who
lived here or were in New York for study.
The James L. Knechts, Thatcher Jones, the Sims, the Touts, the Topers [?] and Harveys, Lila Eccles, Vera
Wright, Emma Lucy Gates, Allan Cutler (later became Chancellor of U.C.L.A.),
Vera Knudsen, the Flethcers, the Hoaglunds, and others who were to become
prominent later in their respective fields.
New York provided an excellent place for study, with a family life about
the mission home that supplied a home life and church life for all, young and
old, rich and poor, with no distinctions made except those which may naturally
occur in a setting where spiritual growth becomes the sole standard in the
association.
The Eastern States Mission then extended well up into Canada,
with branches in Ottawa and Toronto, down to Virginia, West Virginia and
westward to Pittsburgh. Conferences were
held throughout the mission and, in spite of the obstacles faced, the work progressed
very well, indeed. The mission home on
126th Street, with its meeting place above The Apollo Theater on 125th
Street, soon became outgrown, and my father was asked to look for a site where
the Church might build its own chapel and have its own mission home. My father recommended several sites but the
one on Franklin and Gates Avenue in Brooklyn, the City of Churches, was
selected by the First Presidency of the Church after three representatives,
including Brother Nibley and Brother Smoot, had personally inspected the
different properties. The chapel was
designed after a model of the interior of a ship Pres. Rey L. Pratt of the
Mexican Texas Mission had shown to my father.
Situated as it is, it always seems to this writer to be one of the most
beautiful in the Church – as was the mission home next door. Certainly it was one of the most beautiful in
spirit of any meeting place I have ever attended in the Church. It is for this reason, perhaps, the the
Church has retained the property in the face of a seriously deteriorating
neighborhood problem. As a matter of
fact, the Church spent an amount equal to its original cost, $40,000 (in 1916)
just for remodeling during the past two or three years (1958, I believe).
(Note: 6/18/68 The church and mission home were sold at
auction for $75,000 a few years ago. It
was bought by a colored church. I
chanced to go by one day and asked if I might go in. It was spotlessly clean and the people loved
it. So different than the last years our
church owned it. The Mission home was
direct and run down – generally a mess!)
When the Chapel was built, the Churches in Brooklyn started a
national association to stop the Church and its activities. The following account appeared in _______
edition of the Brooklyn Eagle then one of the leading newspapers. In the Four Oilack [?] Edition of July 29, 1918, page 1, First Column on the left,
appeared this leading article:
(Headline)
WAR
ON MORMONISM
IN
BROOKLYN STARTS;
PLAN
MASS MEETINGS
ANTI-MORMON
LEAGUE RENTS
ACADEMY
OF MUSIC TO
OPPOSE PROSELYTING
“NO
MENACE” SAYS MONSON
“Declaring
that Mormonism has made such a growth in Brooklyn that it is becoming a menace
the National Anti-Mormon League is preparing to carry on a campaign here from
September 2 to 7 in opposition to the sect.
It
has been decided to engage the Academy of Music for a series of meetings at
which prominent men will give addresses on the history of Mormonism and what it
is doing in the West. These meetings
will be held just previous to the dedication of the new Mormon church at Franklin
and Gates Avenues on Sunday, September 15.
The league contends that the principal menace of Mormonism is the
practice of polygamy, though this practice is denied by leaders of the Church.
Those
behind the movement assent that Brooklyn is the center of Mormonism in the East
because of the presence here of Elder Walter P. Monson of 263 Gates Avenue,
who, in addition to being in charge of the local church, has supervision over
the Eastern church missionaries and of the proselyting which has been going on
here.
The
league has been conducting an investigation here since July 2, and has offices
at 51 East Forth-second street, Manhattan.
S. D. Matthews, a lawyer, is the secretary. The campaign was started by Matt. S. Stronge,
and was followed up by Miss Myrtle Edwards, two workers for the League, and the
Rev. Dr. John F. Van Herrlich, an Episcopal rector. A movement was started today to interest the
ministers of Brooklyn in the campaign to carry on an active propaganda against
Mormonism here. They will be supplied
with the names of all persons affiliated with the local organization so that
every member will be called on personally in an effort to turn the converts
away from their new belief.
The
investigators report that they have found that there are 4,000 members of the
Mormon Church in Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan and vicinity, though the
officials of the church report on 350.
They also say that they have learned that it is planned to erect two or
three additional tabernacles in this vicinity in the near future.
The
first intimation Elder Monson had that the anti-Mormon campaign was to be
conducted here was when he was so informed by the Eagle. He said he had nothing in particular to say
about the matter, as he thought the movement would soon spend itself.
When
asked how many members the church had in this vicinity, he replied about
350. He was also asked if any other
tabernacles were to be erected here and he said he had not heard any mention of
such a plan and presumed that no such move was contemplated.
Mr.
Monson said that the new Mormon Church here had been built at a cost of $40,000
and that it was free of debt, the money having been provided by the trustees in
trust of the Head Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. When asked if he had charge of the church in
the East, he said he had supervision in the New England States, the Middle
Atlantic States, including West Virginia and four Eastern Provinces of Canada.
He
was asked if it were true that every summer 150 to 200 students were sent East
to carry on a house-to-house canvas in the interests of their church. Mr. Monson replied that no students were
employed in this work, but that there were about 125 missionaries engaged in
doing this service. They give the first
two to fives years of their services gratis.
Mr.
Monson said that Mormonism was called a menace, but that the sect was
originated in New York State eight-eight years ago; that there had been
missionaries in this city ever since, and it had never proved to be a menace. There is only one church in this section, in
addition to which services are held in a hall in Manhattan.
‘We
are not here to tear down anyone else’s religion,’ said Monson. ‘We are here to
exercise our constitutional rights of free speech and to do all the good we can
for the community at learge. We are not
making any attacks on other organizations or answering any attacks on us. We believe our time can be spent to a great
deal better advantage in constructive rather than destructive work.
One
of the fundamentals of our religion is that we respect everyone in his religious
belief and we claim the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates
of our own consciences. We are not
worried by the meddlesome attitude of those who would reform the government as
well as organizations of which they are not members. The liberty loving aspect of the American
people is sufficient warrant that such opposition as we are suffering will not
be continued long, as it appeals to a certain morbid class only.’
The
National Anti-Mormon League is backed by almost unlimited means, but up to the
present it has not carried on campaigns in any large cities. The campaign in Brooklyn will be one of the
largest it has undertaken. It is now
working in northern New Jersey also, especially in Paterson. Two very wealthy women in this city have
guaranteed that the movement shall not lack funds.
The
league has the support of many of the bishops of the Episcopal and Methodist
Churches, and the leaders of the Congregationalist churches. Among the leading men behind the movement
are: Bishop Paul Jones, for eleven years the head of the Episcopal church in
Utah; Bishop Theodore D. Breton of Jackson, Miss.; John A. Marquiss, president
of Coe College, Cedar Rapids (Iowa); and the Rev. Dr. William Quayle, Methodist
episcopal bishop of St. Louis. An effort
is being made to also enlist the Roman Catholics and Jews in the movement, but
as the cardinals must obtain authorization from Rome before they can take the step,
the Catholics have not joined in thus far.”
My father became very close friends with certain of the
ministers of other churches in Brooklyn among which were Rabbi Stephen A. Wise,
on of the great leaders of the Jewish faith, and S. Parkes [sp?] Cadman [sp?], prominent Congregationalist, I believe. He had made lasting friendships with leaders
in business, such as Mr. Krueger, Vice President of Irving Trust Co., and in
the professions, law, medicine, engineering and teaching. He was a forceful speaker, of deep sincerity and faith, and one
inspired on all occasions. He rarely, if
ever, used a note. References were
directly from scripture, using commentaries sparingly and only when necessary
to explain what may be ambiguous or something unclear for other reason. The scriptures were never put in the
background to be used only to explain commentary.
The period was just before World War I. Prices of everything were high as might be
attested by a glimpse of N.Y. Times advertisements of that day, now on file in
the N.Y. Times library. Still the doors
of the mission home were open to members who were in the armed forces, as they
left this point of embarkation on a trip from which many did not return. And the missionaries came and went. Missionaries like Henry Aldous Dixon, later
President of Utah State and a Congressman from Utah, came from Germany before
their missionary term had been completed.
Most came right to the mission home in Brooklyn. Most, like Bro. Dixon, are grateful to this
day for the manner in which they were received in this wonderful mission home.
It was about this time that members of the First Presidency
came to New York to obtain a loan for the then faltering Utah-Idaho Sugar Co.,
a church owned organization important to the sugar beet farmers in Utah and
Idaho. Through Mr. Krueger of the Irving
Trust Co. this loan was obtained, but it proved to be a serious problem for my
father later on. When the Eccles people
who owned Amalgamated Sugar Co. learned of the loan to their principal
competitor they warned my father against it, stating they would consider this
act against their interests and all prior promises, or commitments, to my
father would be withdrawn if he used his influence against them in the
matter. My father, still feeling that
service to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Stains and to his Heavenly
Father, was his first and higher obligation, and knowing full-well the
consequences, did not hesitate a moment in “playing his last card” for the
church. In a business sense, it was to
prove disastrous. David Eccles, Sr. was
no longer living, and there would be no further connection with the Eccles
interests, in any form. But my father
was that kind of a man, and this alone would seem to stamp him as great in the
service of his God. But his faith was
yet to be tested in a more serious way – within the Church. He had withstood all assaults from without
the Church and emerged always victorious and strong. Now was to come his real test – to see,
perhaps, if he would “endure to the end.”
Upon the death of President Smith went also the assurance
that the mission field would be his life-time calling. He was released immediately with the other
mission president, and prepared to return west, this time to Salt Lake City where
we owned a small 5 room bungalow at 1464 East 17th South Streets. My father had kept what remained of his
life’s savings, some $20,000, in the Merchants and Miners Bank in Salt Lake
City, of which the Church held a controlling interest. The bank failed and my father received some
10 cents on the dollar for his money on deposit. As he brought his family to Salt Lake, my
mother and 9 children, this little money soon dwindled, the house traded for an
older larger house at 151 South 11th East Street. My father was nominated as Industrial Commissioner
of the State of Utah by Governor Simon Bamberger, a close friend – and Jew, and
we bought a house with 5 acres at 3123 South 7th East Street. My father was not renominated by Gov. Mabey,
a Mormon, because of political advantages to be gained in naming a Mr. McShane,
I believe it was – a Catholic. My
father’s health broke, from an operation induced by a long standing double
umbilical hernia; my youngest brother Richard, passed away; my mother developed
myologenous leukemia from which she died; my brother Lysle died as a result of
a misdiagnosis of typhoid fever by Dr. George Allen; financial and personal
health problems became strong. We moved
to a house at 1888 South 11th East Street, for which my father paid
$20 a month. He worked for Morrison-Merrill
Lumber Company, hired by fine Catholic people in a Catholic organization, for
$50 a week, from which he paid a full tithing, and kept Lysle first, and then
Maurice on a mission. Then was appointed
Building Inspector of Salt lake by R. A. Goggin, a staunch Catholic. He was always in demand as a speaker from all
the wards in Salt lake City, and even outside, in Ogden, Provo, Southern Utah,
etc. He was booked up months in advance. I went as often as I could and I have never
heard him give the same talk twice, nor have I ever seen him sue notes. He was on the High Council of the Granite
Stake at the time of his passing in 1934 [records
say he passed in 1935], with such men in the Church as Marvin Ashton,
Elbert Curtis, LeGrande Richards, Stayner Richards, Hugh B. Brown, etc., all
his close friend, who shared with him in the doctrinal, and spiritual,
development of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bishop Thomas M. Wheeler, of Sugarhouse Ward, where we lived at his passing
said at his funeral, among other things:
“He has been to foreign lands, he has been in this
land in many of its states, and has been one of the valiant defenders of the
Church. Over in the City of London, the
City of New York, in the Northwestern States and other parts of this good country
during his short life has he sood upon the street corners and in the halls and
in other places telling the truth as we understand it.
* * * * * * *
For quite a number of years since Bro. Monson’s
return from the mission field, the family have resided with us. In that period they have had some very sad
experiences.
* * * * * * *
Brother Monson was a member of the High Priests
Quorum in our Stake, being a High Councilman and therefore associated with the
group who met each Sabbath morning in our ward as a group of that organization
in our Stake. I am sure that every
member of the group in our ward has felt the inspiration and the wisdom that
have come from the lips of this good man.
Many a time have we listened to the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord
through him as he has discussed on the subjects and matter pertaining to the
gospel of Jesus Christ and through his illustrations and explanations has made
clear to those who listened many things that seemed to them obscure.”
And Hugh B. Brown –
“Let us remember the very splendid things that
Elder Monson has told us time and time again, and let us out of his life take a
lesson. He suffered much during the
closing years of his life. His health
was not good. He was in the hospital a
great deal. He was confined to his
home. And at times he became somewhat
discouraged – not in the sense that he did not believe in what the future has,
but discouraged because his body had broken down, failed to function as he would
like it to do. He was unable to do thing
which he should like to do.
* * * * * * *
as he talked of his condition I have gone away from
him encouraged because back of anything else that he might have said there was
always that indomitable faith in God and faith in that which is to follow.”
And again, Brother Wheeler –
“Through the passing of Brother Walter P. Monson, a
mighty warrior has fallen in Israel, not a warrior that went forth to battle
with musket and powder but one who was clothed with the Holy Priesthood and
went forth with the weapon of truth to combat the error of the world.”
A mighty warrior indeed; a wonderful father, who left his
children the greatest of any heritage, a good name, was my father, Walter P.
Monson. I loved him deeply and as his
son, can pay him the greatest tribute – in adversity his faith grew and
grew. He was tested, and remained
valiant to the end.
Weldon P. Monson
June, 1961
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