John Jacob Zundel and his wife Sarah joined other Mormons by moving to Nauvoo, Illinois. They bought a farm and built a brick house. They lived comfortably and enjoyed the Gospel. John Jacob worked building the Nauvoo Temple and taught the Prophet Joseph Smith the German language.
John Jacob and his family were forced to leave Nauvoo by mob violence. In doing this he lost all of his property and suffered with the other Mormons, enduring many hardships. They moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In September of 1847, he wrote: "I dare write to you, though in exile. Myself, my wife and five children are well and hope that this may reach you the same. We live in the main camp at Winter Quarters, west of the Missouri River, surrounded by six different Indian tribes. The land is very good. We have a city consisting of more than a thousand wagons and tents. We had a very hard winter and lost a great number of cattle for lack of food and excessive cold and much was stolen by the Indians." With a testimony burning within him of the truthfulness of the Gospel, John Jacob and his family in the year of 1852, joined Captain David Wood's company, and with their covered wagon, oxen and two cows started the long journey west. They milked the cows, and what milk was not used was put into a barrel on the back of the wagon, and the roughness of the trail soon churned the milk into butter. Many experiences were witnessed on the plains, but they were blessed exceedingly in their journeyings although progress was slow, sometimes with the loss of a few head of cattle. When they first arrived in the valley, they stayed with John Jacob Zundel's sister, Magdalena, a pioneer of 1847. I am very proud of my pioneer heritage. I ponder the struggles of these ancestors and feel so grateful that they had the fortitude to endure and do what they needed to do. I often wonder if I could have done the same. So on this the 24th of July, 2012 I exclaim: Blessed Honored, Pioneer!
(This post was stolen word for word from my cousin Lisa's blog, but I wanted all my kids to see and know it) THANKS LISA!!
