James Rutherford Stuart came to Utah in the 1860s and settled in Morgan. He was very active in the Church serving as Sunday School superintendent with Robert Hogg and E. Crouch; later he served as counselor to John K. Hall, Stake Superintendent of Sunday Schools; and as counselor to Bishop Charles Turner in the South Morgan Ward for thirty years.72 It must have been a personal sorrow to him to hear about the problems of Moses Thatcher. Porterville Ward Union For quite some time in the stake there had been talk about uniting the East and West Porterville wards. Elder Francis Marion Lyman referred to it in a talk he gave in Morgan Stake Conference. He said that he preferred to see larger wards. During the summer of 1897, petitions were circulated and signed by all the people in East Porterville and by two thirds of the people in West Porterville requesting the wards to be consolidated. In August 1897, George Teasdale, a member of the Quorum of Twelve, attended conference in Morgan. He mentioned the petitions. He understood the majority of the members favored the proposition, but he addressed the minority who were opposed to the union and asked them to consider the best interest of the entire community. He told the people he would return the next Sunday and go to Porterville with the stake presidency to unite the two wards. He asked that every member of the East and West Porterville wards be in attendance.73 On the next Sunday, 22 August 1897, by direction of President Wilford Woodruff, the members of the East and West Porterville wards met together in a beautiful grove of cottonwood trees on the north side of East Canyon Creek. Here the members of the community had built a bowery to meet in. The ward leaders took a grain header box and turned it up on its side to make a sort of canopy to shade the brethren who were coming to conduct the meeting. Elder George Teasdale was present, along with the Morgan Stake Presidency. Bishop Joseph Porter of the East side and Bishop Samuel Carter of the West side were there with their counselors. President Fry conducted the meeting. The combined choirs of both wards sang under the direction of L H. Durrani. The prayer was given by Lyman W. Porter, and the sacrament was administered by Hyrum Phillips, Heber Carter, and Marlow R. and Hyrum K. Porter. Elder Teasdale addressed the congregation and disorganized the two wards and then united them as one. He called on the people to unite their hearts as the ward was united and to sustain the man who would be called as bishop. He asked the Lord to bless all the deliberations, that things might be done in harmony. The first thing to be done was to honorably release the two bishops with a vote of thanks. That action also automatically released the counselors. Elder Teasdale then wanted to hear from the bishops. Bishop Joseph R. Porter said that the action just taken would be best for the people. He told the group that he knew that the two wards would be united as much as ten years earlier and he had patiently awaited the day. He gave reasons he 61