It was the very thing the family stood most in need of; it was gratefully accepted and regarded as a direct answer to their prayer, and within a short time the wheat was ground and a good supply of flour returned from it.
When the Saints were preparing to leave Nauvoo, wagons for the journey were in great demand, and every person among them who had ever worked at wagon-making, and very many also who never had, set to work making them. Good timber was tolerably plentiful, but iron cost cash, and that was a scarce article. All sorts of nonedescript vehicles were hastily improvised, many of them so rude in their construction as to put the veriest bungler of a wheelwright to the blush for their appearance. Yet under the blessing of God they did good service. Some of them, for the want of iron, were made almost entirely of wood. In some extreme cases they were even made without the usual iron tires, strips of rawhide being nailed on the felloes as a substitute. One, at least, of the wagons made in this fashion stood the trip across the plains, and was used for several years after its arrival in Salt Lake Valley.
Brother L—had been fortunate enough to get the wood work of a wagon made, but how to procure the iron was a question which greatly perplexed him. However, he knew that he was engaged in the Lord's service, and he felt that he had a claim upon His mercy and blessings. Accordingly, he and his wife made their want a subject of earnest prayer, and then went on about their duties, trusting in the Lord to answer their petition.
Soon afterwards Brother L—had occasion to go out on the prairie in search of his cow, which had strayed off, and during his absence encountered a drenching shower, so that when he returned home he found it necessary to change his clothing. He hung his wet clothes before a fire in the open fireplace to dry, and as he did so a bright gold sovereign, a ten and a five cent piece dropped to the floor, apparently from his pocket. He knew, however, that he had no money previously, and he could account for its presence there only by its having been sent by the Lord. It was the exact amount required to purchase the iron for his wagon, and it was soon obtained and the wagon finished.
With such manifestations as these of God's goodness, he was encouraged to continue in his labors upon the temple of God, and when it was so far completed that the holy ordinances for which it was designed could be performed in it, he felt repaid in the blessings which he therein received for all his efforts towards its construction.
A rather remarkable case of special providence occurred when Brother L—was crossing the plains, coming to Salt Lake Valley. His shoes gave out, and his feet became very sore from having to walk so much while driving his ox-team, etc. Early one morning, when he, in company with another brother, were out hunting for their cattle, he exclaimed to his companion as he limped and hobbled over the rocky ground, "Oh! I do wish the Lord would send me a pair of shoes!"
He had not walked many rods after expressing this wish when he saw something lying a short distance ahead of him, and called the attention of his companion to it, who remarked that it must be the bell and strap lost off one of the oxen, but to the inexpressible joy of Brother L—, he found, on approaching the object, that it was a new pair of shoes, which had evidently never been worn, and which he found, on trying them on, to fit him as well as if they had been made for him. He thanked the Lord for them, for he felt that it was through His merciful providence that they had been left there, and went on his way rejoicing. The shoes did him good service.
While alluding to Brother L—, another incident may be related from his experience to illustrate the manner in which the Almighty sustains and blesses those who are valiant in defending His cause and the character of His anointed servants.
At an early period in the settlement of Salt Lake Valley, Brother L—had a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism and bilious fever, from which he suffered a long time, and which drew his shoulder out of place and left him in a very helpless condition. He was in that fix for about six months—able to walk about, but unable to make any use whatever of one arm. He could not even dress himself. Surgeons examined his shoulder, and assured him that it was out of joint, and urged him to have it set. He, however, declined accepting their advice, as he had faith that the Lord would make him whole in answer to his prayer.
Living neighbor to him in Salt Lake City, and holding an office to which he had been appointed by the vote of the members of the Ward, was a man by the name of Gallup, who was a rank apostate at heart, although he had a standing in the Church.