Gandhi's Message to Us

Shy, tongue-tied, twenty-three-year-old Mohandas Gandhi left India for South Africa as an attorney. With little knowledge of South African law, he found himself in over his head with a particularly difficult case involving accusations of bookkeeping impropriety. He chose to immerse himself in the case and learn bookkeeping. Then he made a life-changing decision to help both parties work through their intense emotions to find reasonable solutions that would satisfy all. 

Regarding this event, he wrote in 1927: "I had learnt the true practice of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men's hearts. I realized the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven asunder. The lesson was so indelibly burnt into me that a large part of my time during the twenty of my practice as a lawyer was occupied in bringing about private compromises of hundred of cases. I lost nothing thereby--not even money, certainly not my soul" (Eknath Easwaran, Gandhi the Man: The Story of His Transformation [Tomales, CA: Nilgiri, 1997], 22).

He chose selfless service as the course of his life, primarily serving the downtrodden Indian community of South Africa. "Do not worry in the least about yourself, leave all worry to God," he summarized as the main message of all religions. "He who devotes himself to service with a clear conscience, will day by day grasp the necessity for it in greater measure, and will continually grow richer in faith" (29).

About this time of his life, cruelty struck. While traveling by train to the region of Natal, he was told by a European traveler to vacate his first-class seat and join the other Indians in third-class. Gandhi asserted that he had a right to sit in his reserved seat, but the man called on the police and Gandhi was thrown off the train without his luggage.

That night at Maritzburg station, cold and without his luggage, Gandhi pondered the inhumanity of man and the plight of the Indian people in South Africa. He resolved to change the situation the way God would--he would resist violence firmly, but without violence. He determined that love would triumph over hatred. Years later, when asked what event had transformed his life the most, he told the story of that night because he had decided "never to yield to force and never to use force to win a cause" (42).

He called the quest Satyagraha ("holding on to truth" or "soul-force"). Satya means "truth" or "that which is" (48). To resist evil, falsehood, and injustice, Gandhi chose to hold fast to goodness, truth, and justice. Emptying himself of desire for retribution or even the basic physical desires of the flesh (food, clothing, and comfort), he chose selfless love over the ABC's of the natural man: Anger, Bitterness, and Contention.

"Select your purpose," he urged others, "selfless, without any thought of personal pleasure or personal profit, and then use selfless means to attain your goal. Do not resort to violence even if it seems at first to promise success; it can only contradict your purpose. Use the means of love and respect even if the result seems far off or uncertain. Then throw yourself heart and soul into the campaign, counting no price too high for the welfare of those around you, and every reverse, every defeat, will send you deeper into your own deepest resources" (49).

Pure love became his goal. "Love never claims, it ever gives," he taught. "Love ever suffers, never resents, never revenges itself." Although love may be a difficult choice, he invited us to "start where you are. If you can't love the Viceroy, or Sir Winston Churchill, start with your wife, or your husband, or your children. Try to put their welfare first and your own last every minute of the day, and let the circle of your love expand from there" (126).

Gandhi said simply, "My life is my message." And so it is with all of us. 

I close with an experience shared by some dear friends. They were teaching their young children about service and asked, "Who is the happiest person you know?"

"Brother Jensen" was their answer.

"Why do you think he's so happy?" the parents asked.

"Because he serves people."

"Exactly!" they said.

But, like any other person, I have good days and bad. In the end, I hope the good outweighs the bad, and my life will be remembered for joyful service. Because our life is our message.

Beyond Drama: Victims, Villains, and Heroes

Gary Harper wrote a profound article called "Conflict Drama: Victim, Villain or Hero?"

A Drama Triangle

As in fairy tales or movies, we often tell our own story with three types of characters: victim (damsel in distress or innocent youth); villain (witch, giant, or dragon); and hero (prince or princess). We tend to cast ourselves in the role of innocent victim or noble hero and define ourselves in opposition to a villain. Casting ourselves in these roles may, however, hinder getting what we really want.



Innocent victim
"Because conflict involves an attack or threat to us or our needs, we feel victimized. With the victim role comes a belief in our innocence as well as a feeling of powerlessness. . . . Although some people suffer in silence, we often express our frustration by complaining about the situation and blaming the person we see as responsible for our plight (the villain)."

Noble hero
"Though we initially experience conflict from victim mode, we may shift to hero mode to protect ourselves, defend our interests and even the score. This role encompasses courage and action, selflessness and nobility. . . . There is a darker side to the hero role, however, when righteousness becomes self-righteousness. In the pursuit of justice, the hero slays or captures the villain. When we agree that the hero's cause is just, we condone and even applaud these aggressive behaviors. We justify our own aggressive, hurtful behavior by telling ourselves, 'They had it coming.'"

Getting Stuck in Our Story

"When we see ourselves as victims or heroes, we automatically create villains in our conflicts. When we see (and treat) someone like a villain, they in turn feel victimized by us--and see us as the villain. Behaviors they consider self-defense, we experience as attacks and further evidence that we cannot trust or work with them. And the walls of judgment and justification thicken on both sides." These behaviors lead to a win-lose or lose-lose situation. But we can look for win-win solutions.

Casting New Roles

"We can shift our perspective to seek resolution instead of victory. We can explore possibilities that allow both sides to get what they need."

From passive victim to assertion
"We begin by taking responsibility for our feelings and reactions in conflict. We do not have to deny or devalue our feelings or needs, but can accept them as our own. After all, whose problem is it if you go home frustrated with your boss at the end of a workday? Who 'owns' the problem? (Hint: Your boss may be sleeping like a baby as you lie awake endlessly replaying the events of the day)." . . . Similarly, we can ask directly for what we need instead of quietly complaining to others about our plight. This is uncomfortable, yet empowering. It's uncomfortable because we can no longer blame others and refuse to change, empowering because we become an active participant in shaping our life."

From hero to problem solver
"The role of hero can be as unproductive as that of victim in resolving conflict. This self-righteous mindset condones our attack on the villain as justice. Attack is met with counterattack; the conflict persists and usually escalates. Our ego fuels the need to be right and we become attached to a specific outcome. At this point, the conflict often becomes a power struggle. We can address and resolve conflict much more productively if we let go of the need to be 'right' and focus instead on ways to get our needs met. This opens up possibilities we might otherwise ignore. The energy devoted to a win-lose power struggle can instead be applied to problem solving. This approach is often referred to as 'separating the people from the problem.'"

From adversaries to partners
"When we live on the drama triangle, we see the other person as our adversary--the villain. If only they would change, we reason, things would be fine. They stand between us and happiness. Ironically, they are usually thinking the same thing about us. To resolve conflict, we need to relinquish our roles as victim, villain, and hero and work with the other person to solve the problem. If we need a villain, let it be the problem, not the person." So, rather than talking about the person as the problem, we can talk with the person about possible solutions. Our enemy can then become our partner, or even our friend.

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  At this the servant fell on his knees before him. "Be patient with me," he begged, "and I will pay back everything." The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 

When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He angrily grabbed him and began to choke him. "Pay back what you owe me!" he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, "Be patient with me, and I will pay it back."  But the first servant refused. Instead, he had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. "You wicked servant," he said, "I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?" In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. Jesus taught, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35)

Elsewhere, Jesus said, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15). To forgive is to "let it go," to move on, and to stop bringing it up over and over. The choice to forgive blesses us directly, as the following article shows.

"Choosing to Forgive" (Jan. 2014 Ensign) 

By Benjamin F. Call

As a cardiologist, I attended a conference for physicians several years ago about the importance of forgiveness. I learned there of scholarly studies showing that choosing to forgive leads to better health, increased optimism, and better relationships with others.¹ In my study of the words of God, I have learned that forgiving others also brings great spiritual blessings, including peace and hope. Perhaps the most important of these blessings is that as we forgive others, we can be forgiven of our own sins. The Lord teaches us that forgiving others is a universal commandment—we are “required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:10).

Yet even when we are aware of the importance of forgiveness, it may be difficult to forgive. Sometimes we allow pride, fear, resentment, or bitterness to discourage us and block our ability to feel hope. But the courage to forgive comes to those who put their faith and trust in the Lord. With His help, we can find the strength to forgive others—whether the wrongdoer has committed a serious sin or an unintended offense. Here are a few suggestions.

Understand what forgiveness is. To forgive is to pardon an offense. It is to let go of blame for a past hurt. It is to release a great burden. It is to move ahead with life. In his last general conference address, President James E. Faust (1920–2007), Second Counselor in the First Presidency, cited this definition of forgiveness: “Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.”²

Understand what forgiveness is not. Forgiveness does not require condoning a wrong, nor does it require allowing a harmful behavior, such as an abusive relationship, to continue. Also, forgiveness is not forgetting—if the offense wounded you enough to require forgiveness, you will likely have a memory of it. As author Lewis B. Smedes explained, “Forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.”³

Understand that failing to forgive magnifies the pain. Pain, disappointment, and injustice touch every life, often wounding tender hearts. At such times it may seem natural to blame another for things that have gone wrong. When we seek to place blame, however, we actually magnify our pain. This is because the act of blaming focuses our minds and hearts on the past, causing us to relive the hurt and harbor emotional and spiritual injuries that might otherwise heal. Resisting the urge to place blame is key to our ability to forgive.

Elder Hugh W. Pinnock (1934–2000) of the Seventy taught: “Of course, heartache and pain can be spilled upon us by dishonest, manipulative, or unkind people. Accidents happen that can inflict terrible pain and sometimes lifetime disability. But to judge, blame, and not forgive always intensifies the problem. It pushes healing further into the future.”⁴

In order to fully heal, we need to accept responsibility for our reaction to whatever happens. Taking responsibility for the condition of our hearts allows us to regain control of our lives. Although we cannot always control what happens to us, we can always choose our response. Herein lies the power of our agency.

Pray for humility. Humility is the opposite of pride, which is the primary obstacle in our effort to forgive. Pride causes us to blame others for our misfortunes and to shift responsibility for what happens to us onto anyone but ourselves. But the Lord promises, “If they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27). According to our humility and faith, the Lord will help us stop blaming others and truly forgive.

Express gratitude. Expressing gratitude invites the Spirit more fully into our lives, which can soften and change our hearts. Consider keeping a journal of things you are grateful for. Look for manifestations of God’s love each day. As you cultivate an attitude of gratitude, you may find that you can even identify reasons to be grateful for your trials.

Be patient. Forgiving when your pain is great may take time. A woman who was recovering from a  divorce received this wise counsel from her bishop: “Keep a place in your heart for forgiveness, and when it comes, welcome it in.”⁵ You can make room for forgiveness through earnest prayer, study, and contemplation. Feasting upon the words of Christ daily will also help you draw closer to Him and will bring great healing power into your life (see 2 Nephi 31:20; Jacob 2:8).

Leave the past behind. The past is written in stone and cannot be changed. Focus your energy on today, for today you have the power to choose to forgive.

Write it down. When we hold grudges, we keep our wounds alive and fresh. Writing down your feelings can help you move forward. You may find it helpful to record your perspective on the situation and then rewrite your story by retelling it using a loving and forgiving tone. This practice invites the spirit of forgiveness and can bring a sense of closure to grievances and hurt feelings.

Trust that God will be the perfect Judge. The Savior said, “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:10). As we forgive, we must have enough faith to allow Christ’s judgment to be judgment enough. He will bring both mercy to the humble and justice to the wicked. Rest assured that God’s judgment will be thorough and fair.

Cast your burden on the Lord. Christ beckons, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Remember that in addition to taking upon Him the sins of the world, Christ took upon Him our pains and infirmities (see 2 Nephi 9:21; Alma 7:11–12; D&C 18:11). If you allow Him, He can make your burden light.

It can be difficult to find the strength to forgive, but the Savior and His Atonement make it possible. Truly, as we open our hearts to forgive others, we will be blessed with peace. Let us each embrace the healing power of forgiveness.

Notes

1. See, for example, Michael E. McCullough, “Forgiveness as Human Strength: Theory, Measurement, and Links to Well-Being,” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 19, no. 1 (Spring 2000), 43–55.
2. Sidney B. Simon and Suzanne Simon, as quoted in James E. Faust, “The Healing Power of Forgiveness,” Ensign, May 2007, 68.
3. Lewis B. Smedes, The Art of Forgiving: When You Need to Forgive and Don’t Know How (1996), 171.
4. Hugh W. Pinnock, “Now Is the Time,” Ensign, May 1989, 10.
5. See James E. Faust, “The Healing Power of Forgiveness,” 68.
   

Viewing Mormons as Christianity's "Other"

Today I researched growth in the Pacific region of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed Mormons because they believe the Book of Mormon is comparable to the Bible).

Manfred Ernst

In Winds of Change: Rapidly Growing Religious Groups in the Pacific Islands, Lutheran researcher Manfred Ernst raises a voice of alarm concerning the rapid growth of Mormons and other "fundamentalist" new religious groups. He complains about the tithing and the time commitment required of its members. In response, John Barker of the University of British Columbia, cautions against some of Ernst's conclusion that these new groups are "largely unhealthy" with "oppressive and paternalistic" theology, American-style individualism, racism, and political passivity. He warns against Ernst's top-down assumptions instead of consulting with the indigenous people, who usually "adapt Christianity to their own cultural premises and political ends with great facility" (see review in The Contemporary Pacific, Spring 1996, 235).

A gentle observation: I believe that well-meaning researchers like Ernst treat Mormons as the "Other" of Christianity, trying to classify it with preconceived labels such as "harmful," and "unhealthy" rather than studying it as a careful sociologist does, through evaluating the actual effects on its adherents. Jeff Thayne wrote a thoughtful reflection of "the Other" and "the Same":

According to Levinas,  . . . people try to make sense of "the Other" in a way that turns it into "the Same." It destroys the otherness of the Other by reducing it to the Same. When we describe the Other in words or abstractions, we turn it into something that we can grasp, understand, encapsulate in words, and remake it in our own image. We use the idiomatic phrase, “I get it!” or “I’ve got it!” to describe the way we know the phenomenon we’ve encountered. We thus take possession of the Other, and it thus becomes part of us. We become masters of the Other, because the Other has surrendered to us and has lost its alterity. The word alterity means “the state of being other, or different.” “Perceived in this way,” said Levinas, “philosophy would be engaged in reducing to the Same all that is opposed to it as other.” In essence, the goal of Western philosophy is to turn that which is alien into that which is familiar. (Jeff Thayne, “Levinas and Two Ways of Approaching the World,” http://thinkinginamarrowbone)

Human beings are complicated, and it is vital to see them from "the ground up," as individuals, and not from "the top down," as monolithic abstractions.

So I asked myself, How well do Mormons "adapt . . . to their own cultural premises and political ends"? What do the actual studies say? I searched for "sociological studies on Mormons' well-being" and found a neutral site. Here are a few trends from the same period Ernst wrote his book:

Data from the U.S. Govt. Census Bureau lists Utah as the state with the lowest teen pregnancy rate and the lowest abortion rate in the United States. [Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States 1997: National Data Book. Washington, D.C.: Census Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Commerce (1997).]

Based on a large variety of factors, Utah was ranked as the #1 best state in which to raise children in the 1996 rankings by the Children's Right's Council. [Source: Children's Rights Council Annual Ranking of States Based on Child Well Being] 

Latter-day Saints generally adhere strictly to their health code which prohibits the use of tobacco and alcohol. These practices have always shown up in national health data, which consistently rate Utah as having the lowest rates of smoking, alcohol use, lung cancer, etc. The National Institute of Mental Health ranked Utah as the second-lowest U.S. state in new inpatient admissions to state mental hospitals and the ranked Utah as having the lowest per-capita alcohol consumption. 

Those facts didn't surprise me, but here is one that did: 

Since 2002, Utah has been the state with the #1 highest bankruptcy rate in the nation. Economists and sociologists seem uncertain about exactly why this is the case.

In this very quick survey of sociological studies, I conclude that Mormons seem to adapt to their cultural premises and political ends with great facility (with the possible exception of money management).

When Tragedy Strikes

The daily newspaper screamed the headlines: “Plane Crash Kills 43. No Survivors of Mountain Tragedy,” and thousands of voices joined in a chorus: “Why did the Lord let this terrible thing happen?”
Two automobiles crashed when one went through a red light, and six people were killed. Why would God not prevent this?
Why should the young mother die of cancer and leave her eight children motherless? Why did not the Lord heal her?
A little child was drowned; another was run over. Why?
A man died one day suddenly of a coronary occlusion as he climbed a stairway. His body was found slumped on the floor. His wife cried out in agony, “Why? Why would the Lord do this to me? Could he not have considered my three little children who still need a father?”

So begins a powerful essay by Spencer W. Kimball. He thoughtfully concludes that these questions are unanswerable without a precise understanding of God's motives. Yet too often we grow angry with God for allowing problems to happen. Or we choose to dwell in self-pity, blaming those who have caused our problems, not realizing that it poisons our own future growth and happiness.

President Kimball faced several health challenges that could have ruined his attitude toward life. Instead, he pressed forward with courage. In 1932 he began suffering from painful boils and infectious sores. In May 1948 in Arizona, he suffered severe chest pain from a heart attack. On his next assignment in Idaho, he again experienced chest pains, which escalated into another heart attack several days after his return. These^]chest pains returned during the next several years, particularly in times of greatest stress. Then, in early 1950, his throat began to be persistently hoarse. In late 1956, his hoarseness came back, coupled with occasional bleeding in the back of his throat. In early 1957 a doctor operated on his throat to remove some cancer and surgically removed one of President Kimball's vocal cords and half of the other, leaving him barely able to speak above a whisper. His voice remained raspy the rest of his life. In 1972, at age 76, he began having difficulty breathing and sleeping. Doctors discovered that he had serious heart disease and that his throat cancer had returned. Heart surgery was postponed so that he could undergo radiation on his throat, which was successful. On April 12, 1972, he underwent a 4.5-hour surgery, which was also successful.

After overcoming these severe health problems, President Kimball guided the Church through a period of dramatic growth. During the twelve years of his presidency, the number of missionaries increased by 50 percent, the priesthood was extended to all worthy male members, and the number of temples doubled.

Writing from this unique perspective of dealing with severe adversity, President Kimball discussed our premortal life and the attitude that we might adopt toward our challenges:

We knew before we were born that we were coming to the earth for bodies and experience and that we would have joys and sorrows, ease and pain, comforts and hardships, health and sickness, successes and disappointments, and we knew also that after a period of life we would die. We accepted all these eventualities with a glad heart, eager to accept both the favorable and unfavorable. We eagerly accepted the chance to come earthward even though it might be for only a day or a year. Perhaps we were not so much concerned whether we should die of disease, of accident, or of senility. We were willing to take life as it came and as we might organize and control it, and this without murmur, complaint, or unreasonable demands.

In the face of apparent tragedy we must put our trust in God, knowing that despite our limited view his purposes will not fail. With all its troubles life offers us the tremendous privilege to grow in knowledge and wisdom, faith and works, preparing to return and share God’s glory.⁹

What an inspiring example of pressing forward with faith and courage! For more on this topic, see https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-spencer-w-kimball/chapter-2?lang=eng.

Gold Panner to Mail Pioneer: Henry Wells Jackson’s Unlikely Path to the Civil War

On May 8, 1861, Henry Wells Jackson began a journey from Springville, Utah, to Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. He later volunteered for the Union as a lieutenant. How did a Utah Mormon get involved in the Civil War? This is a surprising story involving the Mormon Battalion, the gold rush, Indian attacks, the Utah War, Camp Floyd, the overland mail service, congressional budget battles, and a skinflint postmaster general.

Twenty-year-old Henry Wells Jackson completed service in the Mormon Battalion and then the Mormon Volunteers and traveled north to Mormon Island.

On July 16, 1847, Henry was mustered out of the Mormon Battalion in Los Angeles. He reenlisted in the Mormon Volunteers while many of his comrades headed northeast to the Great Salt Lake Valley and some headed north to Sacramento and began working for John Sutter.

In 1848, two events ten days apart triggered an avalanche of immigration to California: the January 24 discovery of gold at Sutter’s sawmill and the February 2 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ceded from Mexico what is now the western United States. 

William Henry Jackson, Marshall Finds Gold, Scotts Bluff National Monument.

Regarding the gold discovery, Sam Brannan later wrote: “On January [24], 1848, when James W. Marshall let the water into the millrace and the water had run clear, he picked up a piece of gold—or rather what he supposed to be gold—at the bottom of the race. . . . A number of young men from the Mormon Battalion were at work on the mill. . . . Marshall, Weimer, Bennett, and Captain Sutter claimed the right to the discovery of gold and charged every man who worked there 10 percent of what they found. Some of the boys became dissatisfied and went prospecting down the river for themselves and found good digging about twenty-five miles below on an island which has ever since been known as Mormon Island.”[1]

Hiram Dwight Pierce, Miners Working at Mormon Island (1849). California State Library.

This discovery at Mormon Island (now under Folsom Lake) was made by Sidney Willis and Wilford Hudson on about March 2. On March 14, twenty-year-old Henry was mustered out of the Mormon Volunteers and traveled there, where he panned for gold for about a year. Meanwhile, Sam Brannan’s newspaper, the California Star, announced the discovery, which furthered the flood of immigration. Of course, this immigration affected not only California but also Utah Territory. Kenneth Owens concludes that “without the 1848 gold discovery and the rush for riches that followed, the development of the LDS church and community in the Great Basin must certainly have taken an alternative course. The difficult economic challenges the Saints faced in their valley in the mountains would have intensified.”[2]

While hordes of Forty-Niners traveled west to the gold fields, Henry traveled east to the Salt Lake Valley. There, he and many others made deposits in the gold account worth tens of thousands of dollars, which became an important resource to back the early Mormon currency and furthered trade with the California-bound emigrants.[3] However, “this was a mixed blessing,” wrote Kenneth Davies and Loren Hansen in Mormon Gold. “With their bags of gold, they became a disruptive force in the days of dire community poverty. They served as a visual reminder of the gold to be found in El Dorado and of the poverty of the Saints.”[4] Shown here is a 2½-dollar gold coin.

Original coins such as this were auctioned in 2014 for $500,000.

In Bountiful, Utah, Henry Jackson’s fiddling, riding, and shooting abilities captured the heart of twenty-year-old Eliza Ann Dibble,[5] and the two were married by Brigham Young on February 3, 1850.[6] 

Henry Wells Jackson, about 1861.

Eliza Ann Dibble Jackson. International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

Throughout his life, Henry was strongly motivated by his family’s financial well-being and traveled extensively. They first homesteaded in Tooele, and while his first child was being born, Henry was on the road to Iowa to claim 160 acres of bounty land for his Mormon Battalion service. He returned to Utah in early 1851.[7] The Tooele settlers lived on the western frontier and were easy prey for marauding Goshiute Indians, who often killed their cattle or stole their crops. “It is estimated that the Indians cost the Tooele settlers over five thousand dollars in stolen horses and cattle. . . . The Goshiutes regarded land, water, and food resources as belong to everyone, meaning no one owned them at all.”[8] For safety, the settlers moved their houses into a fort in 1851. 

Henry enlisted in the Utah territorial militia and often participated in campaigns to pursue these raiders.[9] In 1852, Henry traveled to San Francisco to make another land claim for his reenlistment in California.[10] Then, in 1853, he enlisted again in the Utah territorial militia.[11] 

Utah Territorial Militia, 1861. Church History Library.

After a three-year stay in San Bernardino, they were called back to Utah in 1857 during the Utah War. The Jacksons moved to Bountiful in late November to early December 1857. Later, the family relocated again, temporarily moving south to Springville, being prepared to torch the crops to deny the federal troops any forage.

Commanding General’s Quarters, Camp Floyd, Utah Territory, January 1859. Photograph by C. C. Mills, National Archives. 

Despite caustic rhetoric on both sides, most hostilities were mitigated, with the notable exception of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.[12] The army peacefully marched in and established Camp Floyd, the country’s largest outpost of troops. Ironically, the unwelcome presence of federal troops infused much-needed cash and job opportunities into the local economy.[13] For example, early in 1858 George W. Chorpenning Jr. resecured a contract to deliver “mail every two weeks between Salt Lake City and Placerville, California, for about $34,000 a year. By the time service started that July, the route had been improved to weekly, and his pay nearly quadrupled.”[14] 

George W. Chorpenning Jr., western mail pioneer.

To prepare for this weekly service, Chorpenning ordered twenty Concord coaches, and “mules were stationed in teams at remount points twenty-five miles apart. . . . Chorpenning’s associates in the old Utah–Southern California contract, meanwhile, hustled their gear north and built a similar line of stations from Salt Lake City to Wells, Nevada.”[15] In the fall of 1858, Henry began working for Chorpenning. 

Major Howard Egan. Painting by William Egan Sylvester.

One of his coworkers was Major Howard Egan, who had created a shortcut trail through the desert.[16] Essentially, Egan’s shortcut “ran south out of Salt Lake through the Jordan Narrows into . . . Utah Valley, where it then turned west and ascended through Rush Valley at Five Mile Pass. This new route, used for both passenger and mail transport, shortened the traveling distance at least 250 miles. . . . There were 54 stations marked on the Egan trail from Salt Lake City to Placerville, covering a distance of approximately 650 miles.”[17]

Chorpenning's mail route in 1858–1860 is marked with a dotted line. John M. Townley, “Stalking Horse for the Pony Express: The Chorpenning Mail Contracts between California and Utah, 1851–1860,” Arizona and the West 24, no. 3 (Autumn 1982): 233.

Over the years, mail was delayed by Indian attacks and the snow-packed northern Utah valleys and Sierra Nevada. Congress heard about the mail delays and then delayed payment because of budget battles (some things never change!). In June 1858, Congress adjourned without appropriating money for the mail. Postmaster General Aaron Brown apologetically offered “letters of obligation” to use as security to get loans.[18] 

Postmaster General Aaron Brown, March 1857– March 1859.

To stay afloat, Chorpenning mortgaged several properties, and his coaches finally arrived in October 1858. “On November 21 he dispatched a column of fifty wagons and over 300 animals southwest from Temple Square along the new cutoff. Weekly coaches would thereafter be rerouted south from Granite Pass, bypassing the snow-clogged northern valleys.”[19] Then in December 1858, Chorpenning had a bright idea that others eventually coopted. He had men on horses deliver a presidential message from coast to coast in just seventeen days, proving that his central route was the quickest way to the West. He thus unwittingly gave William Russell the idea for a faster Pony Express, which displaced his service two years later using the very same roads and stations.

Pony Express rider flanked by American Indians.

In February 1859, Chorpenning was promised an additional $60,000 a year, but then the postmaster general died in March. The new postmaster general, Joseph Holt, was very budget conscious and cut the deliveries back to bimonthly, trimming the fee by $70,000. Congress again adjourned without paying for the mail—this was the final straw.

Postmaster General Joseph Holt, March 1859–December  1860.

On May 11, 1860, the postmaster general acted on complaints of mail delays and Chorpenning’s indebtedness. He nullified the mail contract with the claim of “bad management.”[20] That same day a contract was signed with the Pony Express, which had begun service a month earlier. Ironically, the Pony Express would be replaced eighteen months later by the transcontinental telegraph. Talk about disruptive technology!

Pony Express rider passing workers laying telegraph line.

Chorpenning’s financial woes left many workers unpaid, including Henry Jackson. In April 1861, just after Civil War broke out in the East, Henry finished gathering the papers necessary to file a claim for his back pay of $1,300. On May 8, 1861, he left his wife and three children in Springville. He traveled between various states, staying with his siblings and their families and working to pay his bills. In Washington, D.C., he contacted Chorpenning, who promised to pay him in four months. For the rest of his life, Chorpenning unsuccessfully attempted to collect his promised $430,000.[21]

In the fall of 1861, being low on cash, Henry began working as an assistant wagon master for thirty-five dollars a month. He hauled provisions and forage for federal military units located around the city.[22] His duties eventually expanded to areas outside the capital, and during one trip he was captured by Confederate forces. For about three months, he was held in a Southern prison camp and later exchanged for Confederate prisoners. Because of the way he was treated, he decided to fight for the Union, volunteering as a lieutenant in the First Regiment, District of Columbia Cavalry.[23] Unfortunately, he was soon transferred from his defensive position around the capital to an overland campaign in Virginia to control railways supplying Confederate troops. 

Typical cavalry skirmish in the Civil War.

Exactly three years to the day that he left home, he would be mortally wounded while taking a railroad bridge from Confederates, becoming Utah’s only Civil War battle fatality.

Notes

[1] Samuel Brannan, “Gold Discovery in California,” Calistoga Tribune, April 11, 1872, 1, 37. For a discussion of Mormon Battalion involvement in the gold rush, see Kenneth N. Owens, “Far from Zion: The Frayed Ties between California’s Gold Rush Saints and LDS President Brigham Young,” California History 89, no. 4 (2012): 5–23.

[2] Kenneth N. Owens, Gold Rush Saints: California Mormons and the Great Rush for Riches (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004), 369.

[3] Henry Jackson’s deposits to the Utah gold accounts are listed by amount in J. Kenneth Davies and Lorin K. Hansen, Mormon Gold: Mormons in the California Gold Rush, 2^nd ed. (North Salt Lake City: Granite Mountain, 2010), 83–84, 153. For the minting of Mormon currency, see chapter 7.

[4] Davies and Hansen, Mormon Gold, 87.

[5] Eliza Ann Dibble was born on August 16, 1829, in Claymore, Cayuga County, Ohio, to Philo Dibble (1806–95) and Celia Kent (1803–40). Eliza was briefly married to Orson Spencer, though Brigham Young later canceled the marriage.

[6] The Youngs and the Jacksons were indeed well acquainted. Brigham Young performed their wedding, and Henry Jackson paid fifty dollars in California gold dust to Brigham’s wife Mima for providing the wedding party. The Story of Eliza Ann Dibble and Her Three Husbands, Orson Spencer, Henry W. Jackson, and Julius A. C. Austin (n.p., 1995), 49, 60.

[7] Smith, “Hidden Personalities among Mormon Battalion Members.”

[8] Tooele County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, History of Utah’s Tooele County: From the Edge of the Great Basin Frontier (Tooele, UT: Transcript Bulletin, 2012), 262, 17.

[9] Archival records show him as a private in James Ferguson’s Company from April 23 to May 1 and in W. McBride’s Company from June 14 to 27, 1851. Territorial Militia Service Cards, Utah State Archives and Records Service, Series 6195, reel 1. I appreciate the research assistance of Tony Castro and Doug Misner at the Utah State Archives.

[10] Smith, “Hidden Personalities among Mormon Battalion Members.”

[11]He appears on militia records as a private in W. H. Kimball’s Company from August 25 to September 10 and in J. W. Cumming’s Company from September 6 to October 9, 1853 (the last two periods overlap a few days).

[12] For a history of the Utah War and Kane’s intervention between the Saints and the federal army, see Matthew J. Grow, “Liberty to the Downtrodden”: Thomas L. Kane, Romantic Reformer (New Haven, CT: Yale, 2009), chaps. 9–10.

[13] Durwood Ball, Army Regulars on the Western Frontier, 1848–1861 (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001), 166.

[14] Smith, The Story of Eliza Ann Dibble and Her Three Husbands, 61.

[15] John M. Townley, “Stalking Horse for the Pony Express: The Chorpenning Mail Contracts between California and Utah, 1851–1860,” Arizona and the West 24, no. 3 (Autumn 1982): 240.

[16] http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Central_Overland_Trail.

[17] Massey, “Synopsis of Major Howard Egan,” http://www.xphomestation.com/ks-massey.pdf.

[18] Townley, “Stalking Horse for the Pony Express,” 246–47.

[19] Townley, “Stalking Horse for the Pony Express,” 245.

[20] Townley, “Stalking Horse for the Pony Express,” 248–52.

[21] Obituary for George W. Chorpenning, Somerset Herald, April 11, 1894.

[22] Henry Wells Jackson to John and Rachel Wright, October 27, 1861, transcript of letter in author’s possession.

[23] Smith, The Story of Eliza Ann Dibble and Her Three Husbands, 63.