This is John Jacob Zundel. John Jacob Zundel was working as a butcher in
Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania when a Mormon Elder came there and taught him the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. As soon as he heard the missionary preach, he knew it
was the true religion and was baptized in the Ohio River in
1836.
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!!
