Description

The Money Has Come

In 1852, Lott Russon was given a copy of the Book of Mormon, read it, and knew it was true. He wanted to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At that time, a neighbor came to his house. Lott said:

He had a large boil on his arm, the size of a hen’s egg. He said to me, “Look, Lott, when I come back from meeting, this boil will be gone, and this arm will be as well as the other arm.” When he came from meeting (he had been blessed by the Elders), he called in to show us, and there was nothing on his arm, not even a scar. We gave our names in for baptism and the following week we were baptized by John Price, who is the man that had the boil.

Lott still had lingering doubts though. He yet wondered if the Church was true. One day, while walking to his home, he said:

Again, that feeling of perplexity came into my mind. I took my hat off my head and knelt down and began to call upon the Lord in solemn prayer, asking God to show me if this was the true Church of God. I hadn’t prayed for long when suddenly a light from heaven shone about me, and the bible was opened before me. Then all came so clear to me and I understood. This satisfied my mind. The light stayed with me for a mile, and I shall never forget the joy I felt. When I got home, it was 12 o’clock.

Shortly after, Lott was promised that he and his wife would gather to Zion. After that, Lott’s life was a series of accidents, injuries, and miracles. He worked deep in the mines of England. He was buried in a cave-in, twice. Another time, the elevator he was riding in, gave way, and he plummeted 450 feet to the bottom of the pit. He narrowly escaped explosions and other disasters. Then one day, October 14, 1871, His wife, Eliza, came to the mine where he was working near Derbyshire, England. She had him called up out of the pit, where he was working waist deep in water, helping to lay pipe. He obeyed her summons and went to the top where she stood before him and said, “Take off the wet clothes Lott, and never put them on again. The money has come to take us to Utah.” Lott said, “Let me go down and finish the job.” She said, “No Lott, you might get hurt.” “Reluctantly, I complied,” he said.

At that moment, a cave-in occurred and buried all the men Lott had been working with. He was saved to gather his generations to Zion. The following year, Lott and Eliza made their way to Utah where they were endowed and sealed in the Endowment House. They lived out their days in Lehi Utah, true and faithful to the end.

And by the way, where did the money come from? $535.36 was donated by Elder Peter Nebeker, a missionary and minuteman who had taught and helped convert the Russon family.

In the 19 th century, the Russon’s and others of the Lord’s people were “gathered to Zion” when they first, emigrated to Utah, and secondly, were endowed and sealed in the holy temple. Today, we are “safely gathered” when we come to the Temple and are endowed and sealed. We remain safely gathered when we honor those promises and stay on the covenant path—as Lott and Eliza Russon did.

Source: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/K2MW-CSR
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWJZ-CVG