Description

A Very Strange Blessing

It was on June 5, 1838, that the Alfred Bosworth Child family was baptized in St. Lawrence County, New York. George Blakely was the elder who taught and baptized them. On August 11 of that same year, the family began the journey to join the saints in Kirtland, Ohio. It was while traveling through the heavy forests of eastern Ohio, that the following experience occurred.

The Child family was in the lead wagon. Two other families were following behind. The canvas wagon sides were rolled up and all the family rode in the wagon, enjoying the sights and sounds as they journeyed. Suddenly, a voice was heard, “Whoa!” Alfred, who was sitting in the front, looked around, but no one was in the vicinity. The Child team stopped so abruptly that the team following behind made contact with the Child’s wagon. Then, according the account written by Warren Gould Child, who was there:

“A personage walked unconcernedly up to the wagon. He had the appearance of being very aged, well dressed, with an unusual long white beard, tidy in his appearance from head to foot, apparently about six feet tall, of rather spare build, carrying a very pleasant and happy look on his face. He asked no questions as to who we were or where we were going, but proceeded to shake hands with the family, commencing with Father first, then Mother, and each of the children according to age, blessing them in the name of Jesus Christ, the writer being the next to youngest in the family at that time.

After getting through in this manner, he turned to me the second time and pronounced a further and special blessing, placing his hand on my bare head. Without further words, he slowly passed on. The visit was so sudden and unlooked for that not a word [was] spoken by the family. Father expected he would do likewise with the families occupying the two wagons behind us, but he simply made a slight bow as he passed them. Some of the families got out to hail him and get a further explanation of so strange and unlooked for occurrence.

They went quickly to the rear, and to their surprise, he was nowhere to be seen. They made a hasty search in every direction, but he was nowhere to be found. Search in each direction was made in the road for his tracks, but none were anywhere to be found. The families traveling with us remarked that we had received a very strange blessing from a stranger. On arriving in Kirtland, Father related the occurrence to the Prophet Joseph Smith, [who] told him that the personage was none other than one of the Nephites who were permitted not to taste death, and that they made occasional visits where they were permitted.”

Source:

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWJY-B3N