Description
The Tithing Pony
Samuel Robb and his wife, Amanda (Mandy) were second generation members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His parents had joined the Church in Australia, immigrating to Zion and settling in the small southern Utah town of Paragonah. His little son, Sammy, was born November 28, 1883.
Being a cattleman himself, Sam wanted his sons to learn the business, and gave each a pony when he was old enough to stay on its back at a slow gentle walk. He taught the boys to feed and water their ponies before they ate their own meals, and to groom them with curry comb and brush. They loved their ponies dearly.
When “Little Sammy” was eight years old, he became ill (possibly of diptheria, which was an epidemic then), and somehow knew he was not going to get well. One day, Sam was sitting by Little Sammy’s bed before leaving for his day’s work, and he asked if there was anything he could do to make his son happier. After a short pause, Little Sammy answered, “Yes there is, Pa. When I die, I like you to give my pony to the Bishop for tithing.” With a lump in his throat so big he could hardly speak, Sam said he would do so. “Promise me, Pa?” asked Little Sammy. “I want to be sure to pay an honest tithing.” Picking his son up to give him a warm hug, Sam again gave his promise.
After Little Sammy died on June 8, 1892, Sam led the precious pony to the Bishop’s house and after telling him the story, said, “Bishop, I don’t ever want to cheat the Lord, but I surely would hate to see anyone else riding this little pony. Will you please have three honest men in this ward come and give their opinions of its worth. Then let me pay you the cash and keep the pony for myself?” The Bishop agreed, and Sam paid the highest price quoted.
From that day forward, Sam was very strict about tithing. When tithing “in kind” he picked his prize animals and the choicest grain. If the Bishop had a surplus (which he often did) of apple, plums and other perishable items, Sam and Mandy paid cash instead. The Bishop once said that “if everyone in the ward had paid tithing so generously, Paragonah would have been a prosperous little town indeed.”
Source:
Robb Book of Remembrance. The life stories of William Robb, Helen Bell Robb, and Suzanna Drummond. Robb and their posterity from Sydney, Australia to Paragonah and Harrisburg, Southern Utah.
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KW8Q-MKC
