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Show • • JPEG -Bk13 ···TITLE PAGE PIONEER (full name) History of the Mormon Church in Alberta Canada BIRTH (date and place) DEA TH (date and place) ·PARENTS . MARRIED (who and date} ARRIVAL IN UTAH (date)1 (Company arrived with) 1-llSTORY (who wrote) (date written) (who submitted) (address) Hilda P. Russell March 1 5, 199 2 Hilda P. Russell Lethbridge, Canada CAMP & COUNTY SUBMITTING Lucille 0. Williams' Camp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - County ( Camp Historian & address )_ __., B.. a.... ..r._ .b... a. "r~ael..-C.__..~p_,_a,...r_.t~.e.. .r. ..___ _______ County Historian & address) ___________________ _ SOURCE OF INFORMATION & PAGE NUMBERS: • • • Beginning and Growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and The Relief Society in Southern Alberta Given by Hilda P. Russell in Lethbridge 1st and 2nd Ward Relief Societies March 15 and 29, 1992 1992 is a very exciting year for the 3.1 million members of the Relief Society of the Church of Jersus Christ of Latter Day Saints as we celebrate 150 years of the organization of this great world wide women's organization. We are grateful for the inspiration of the Prophet Joseph Smith to organize the sisters of the church on March 17, 1842. We are grateful for the inspired leadership we have had through the years - and the wonderful general presidents, Stake and Ward leaders. I am not going to talk about the first organization of the Relief Society. As you leave this meeting you will be given a handout telling about the first meeting held in Nauvoo. I am going to tell you about the settling of the Saints in Alberta, and the beginning and growth of the church and the Relief ·society in this area. We are all familiar with the history of the settling of the Saints in Cardston in June, 1887, but I would like to read a little from this book, A History of the Mormon Church in Canada, which gives the reason for this migration. The first three chapters in the book were written by Melvin S. Tagg, and the rest was written at the request of the Lethbridge Stake Presdency in 1966 as a centennial project to the former members of the Stake Presidency (Palmer, Russell, Ellison) and their wives. I give Eva Ellison sincere praise and appreciation for her share in compiling the rest of the history of the church in Canada. Following Brigham Young's death in 1877, colonization to outlying areas was intensified under President John Taylor's direction. Established Mormon areas were "filling up" and were considered to be over populated. Accordingly over a hundred new Mormon settlements were established outside of Utah between 1876 and 1879. It is not surprising then that John Taylor, who had lived in Canada, encouraged the establishment of a Mormon settlement there. The practice of plural marriage by the church at that time and the reaction of the non-Mormons to it, was a factor which stimulated a migration of some church members to Canada. Jane Bates was a girl of thirteen years of age when she arrived in Cardston, and over the years kept a wonderful record of the development of the area. According to her record, the first Relief Society inaugurated by the Latter Day Saints in the Dominion of Canada was organized at Lee Creek, Alberta, North West Territories, once known as "The Great Lone Land" on 1 JPEG-Bk13 • • • November 20th 1887, by Charles Ora Card, grandfather of Rhea Matkin, and president of the Cache Valley Stake of Zion. This new settlement was in that Stake. The First Relief Society President was Mary L. Woolf. The Alberta Stake of Zion was organized on June 9th 1895. My grandmother Martha Webster Pratt and her children, along with her mother, brothers, wives and their families arrived in Cardston in 1894 and settled in the Mountain View area. On the 9th of July 1898, the First Presidency of the Church entered into contract to build a canal for the Alberta Irrigation Company, near Cardston. Payment was to be given one-half in land, one-half in cash. And so, the call came from the First Presidency to members and their families to go to Canada to help with this project. This brought many families to southern Alberta, among them Adam and Hannah M. Russell and their family. William was their oldest son, and he said he would not come unless he could persuade Mary Ellen Criddle to become his wife and come with him. She said yes, and they were married in the Logan temple on July 12th 1899 and left for Canada the next day. They arrived in Stirling on the 17th of July the same year. By the fall there were fifty-four families who had arrived, and the Relief Society was organized in November with Hannah M. Russell as the president. On the 17th of March 1900, the Relief Society held a dinner and dance, and William and Mary attended. After leaving the party, it was time to call Hannah, who was a midwife, to deliver her first grandchild. Francis Criddle Russell arrived at 3:00 A.M. two months premature and weighing about two and a half pounds. His life was despaired of, and he was given a name and a blessing. For six weeks he was wrapped in cotton and kept in a shoe box in the warming oven of the stove, but survived. In 1930 I became his wife in the Alberta temple. Even before the first settlers arrived in Cardson, a new industry, coal mining, was starting in Coal Banks, later to become Lethbridge, in 1880. During the winter of 1899 and 1900, some of the Stirling and Magrath settlers came to Lethbridge to find employment to supplement their farm income. At this time the population was 2,100. Among them was Adam Russell and his son William. What prompted more members of the church to come here later was the fact that the Lethbridge civic authorities offered favorable incentives to the Raymond Milling Company to establish a flour mill in the city. It was suggested that the name be changed to the Ellison Milling and Elevator Company for its founder, Ephraim P. Ellison, the grandfather of our beloved late Reed C. Ellison and great grandfather of Lynne Sherwood. About twenty members of the church were employed in the construction of the Ellison flour mill in Leth.bridge. This was in 1906. Few cottage meetings were held. As more members of the church arrived, a Sunday School was organized, and during the next several years several attempts were made to hold church meetings, but had to be discontinued due to sickness and cold weather. In 1909 a Branch was organized. Eventually by 1912 there were enough members that it was considered by the Taylor Stake presidency that a Ward should be organized in the city of Lethbridge. This was done on the 19th of May that year, with Bishop Brigham S. Young set apart as the bishop. There were forty members present at this meeting. I am one of five members of the church now living in Lethbridge who were 2 JPEG-Bk13 2..16 • • • members of this original Lethbridge Ward . The auxiliaries of the church were not organized at the time the Ward was organized. It was on Joly 27th 1915 that the Relief Society was organized with Afton H. Elton as the president. At this time World War One was on and the Relief Society immediately set about helping the war effort by sewing pyjamas, shirts, and hospital gowns, and making bandages for the Red Cross. The work was done weekly in the various homes. Among other projects for the war effort was the publication of a cook book of favorite Mormon recipes. From the time the Relief Society was organized, they always celebrated the anniversary of the Relief Society on the 17th of March with a dinner and dance. The kitchen in the building was very small and inadequate. The baptismal font was at the west end of the kitchen. Sometimes the sisters were encouraged to wear gingham dresses. With the influx of families in Stirling, Raymond, and Magrath by 1903, it was deemed advisable that the Alberta Stake be divided, and on August 30 1903 the Taylor Stake was organized. It was named after the late president John Taylor. Heber S. Allen was the first Stake President. Hannah Maria Russell was the first Stake Relief Society President and served for seven years. At the end of 1903, the membership of the Taylor Stake was 2,163. By the fall of 1912, the membership of the Lethbridge Ward had increased to about one hundred in attendance at their meetings which were held in the Sons of England hall, later the Masonic hall on 10th Street South. This hall was not adequate, so it was decided that a building of their own was needed. A building site on the comer of 7th Avenue and 12th Street South was purchased in October 1913. The first meeting in the basement of the building was held on October 18 1914. World War One halted the completion of the building until June 1918, at which time the membership had grown considerably. The building was dedicated on August 5, 1923. On November 10th 1921, the Lethbridge Stake, the 84th in the Church, was organized in Lethbridge. With the growth of the church in the area it was deemed advisable to take some Wards from the Alberta and Taylor Stakes into the Lethbridge Stake. Hugh B. Brown was the first president of the stake. Mildred C. Harvey was the first Relief Society president. The Ward building was now used as a Stake building also. Over the years, as the membership of the Stake increased, this building was not adequate for Stake conferences and the meetings were held in theatres which were rented for the occasion. So, it was necessary for a new Stake and Ward building to be constructed. The ground breaking ceremony took place on August 17th 1941 on property that had been acquired on 5th Avenue South between 11th and 12th Streets. Again the building program was talcing place during the war years of World War Two, and it was difficult to raise the necessary 50% of the cost of the building. During these years the Relief Society helped out in many ways providing many lunches for the volunteer workmen. I remember the sisters going over to help unload the bricks for the building. They also helped in the many projects to raise money. For three years, each fall a Jingle Jamboree was held to raise funds. The first one was held in December 1942 in 3 JPEG-Bk13 • • • the uncompleted building, and it took many hours of material moving, floor sweeping (sub flooring), and make-shift lighting and staging to produce the event. Again, the sisters of the Relief Society worked very hard. Eventually the cultural hall and the class rooms were completed to the point where meetings could be held. With the sale of the old church on 7th Avenue to the Red Cross Society, it was necessary to move into the building on August 1st 1943. During the war years, the ReEef Society again assisted the Red Cross Society in sewing projects. They also put on suppers, one of which was a tremendous effort. The Governor General of Canada and his wife, Lady Wellington, were making a visit to the city in 1948, and it was necessary to put on a banquet for them. However, there was no place in Lethbridge where they could accommodate one thousand people, so the Relief Society was asked if they would cater for the dinner. And they did, and it raised a nice amount for the building fund which was much appreciated. During these years the Relief Society sisters also were a great help to the sugar beet project for the church. The sisters responded to calls to go out and thin beets, and when it was time for the harvest they again went out to top the beets. I can remember one fall when we sisters were the last ones to finish up the harvest in a rain storm, walking in deep mud. Also, I remember for two years when I was president spending the morning with my counsellors making a lunch to take out to the workers, and one year in particular when about as soon as lunch was served, most of the helpers went home. Bessie Johansen and I remained and topped beets until the job was finished, at 4:00 P.M. Thanksgiving Day . The Relief Society is no longer required to give this help, but they are always responding to calls to go to the Welfare canning projects. Over the years, the Relief Society sisters have always responded to calls to go and help with the Red Cross Blood Donors Clinics. For many years, Eva Emson and I served as social convenors for one clinic a year, and it was wonderful to work with the sisters in this worthwhile project. At the beginning of 1948, the Lethbridge Ward had increased in membership to over eleven hundred and it was deemed advisable to divide the Ward. This took place February 1st 1948. So, with two Wards and the Stake using the building it was decided it was very necessary to complete the building by constructing the chapel. A contract was let in August 1948 and the dedication took place on September 4th 1949. A great effort was made to have the building ready for the dedication, and again the Relief Society sisters worked hard in preparation for the wonderful event. The evening before the dedication, Alexander Schreiner, tabernacle organist, gave an organ recital on the beautiful Casovant organ. It was a real challenge to raise the $13,000.00 for this beautiful instrument. President David 0. McKay of the First Presidency presided at the dedication meeting and gave a beautiful dedicatory prayer. The completed building had cost $200,000.00. A beautiful Steinway piano was a gift from the George Stringam family of Lethbridge. It was a day of great rejoicing . 4 JPEG-Bk13 • • • January 13th 1968 was a sad day for all members of the two Wards and the Stake who were using the building to learn that in the early morning hours this beautiful building had been destroyed by fire. It was later learned that the night before there had been an activity in the building, and sometime before it was over a man who was not a member of the Church, who was angry at his wife because she was a member, entered the building, went down into the furnace room, and when everyone had left the building, set fire to it. He later received a jail sentence of two years for arson. At the time that the building was destroyed we were devastated, but as I look back on it now I think of it as a blessing in disguise. At that time we were holding four Stake conferences a year, and each time as members would come in for conference, all the parking places for blocks around would be taken, and the home owners were complaining that there was -no :room for them to park. We now have the beautiful Stake and Ward building on Scenic Drive, with plenty of parking, which was dedicated on November 28th 1971 . The approximate cost of the building was $700,000.00. We all appreciate hearing Lynne Sherwood play the Casovant organ which was damaged in the fire but was repaired and re-installed in the present Stake Center. ChanKes In Relief Society Over The Years NAME When the Relief Society was organized on March 17th 1842, it was given the name "THE FEMALE RELIEF SOCIETY OF NAUVOO." Later it became "FEMALE RELIEF SOCIETY." In 1873, "FEMALE" was dropped. On October 10th 1873, the name was changed to "THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S RELIEF SOCIETY" following its affiliation with the U.S. National Council of Women. On June 27th 1945, by action of the General Board of the Relief Society it was given the name "RELIEF SOCIETY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS." DUES In 1898, a motion was made and carried that the 17th of March should be kept as a memorial day of Relief Society, and that each member should pay into the treasury ten cents each year. This was later increased to twenty-five cents, and then to fifty cents. In 1950 this was discontinued. I remember that before a sister could be enrolled in Relief Society, they had to attend three meetings, and then they were voted in. Now every young woman in the Church at the age of eighteen years is enrolled in Relief Society. VISITING TEACHING At the beginning of the Relief Society, sisters were called to visit the home of the sisters to seek out the sick and the needy. In 1923, the General Board required the use of special topics for Visiting Teaching, and the outlines were published in The Relief Society Magazine. Now the messages are in THE ENSIGN . 5 JPEG-Bk13 2.\~ • • • MAGAZINE In 1915, THE WOMAN'S EXPONENT, the first magazine published by the Relief Society, was discontinued and The Relief Society Magazine took its place. This contained the lessons for the meetings which were held from the 1st of October each year until the end of June the year following. This changed with the introduction of the block system of meetings when the Relief Society became a year round program. Manuals containing the lessons were issued. LESSONS Over the years, the titles of the lessons were changed: Theology became Spiritual Living; Work and Business meeting became Homemaking; Literature was changed to Cultural Refinement; Social Science is now Social Relations. MONEY The Relief Society no longer can put on bazaars or bake sales to earn money. They are given money from the Ward budget for their needs, but not their wants. And now I am going to tell you about how much joy and happiness was brought into the life of a very dear sister because of Relief Society. In May 1953, the bishop of our Ward called me into his office one day and told me that there was going to be a change in the Relief Society Presidency and I was to be the new president. I told him that I could not accept this position. I had never worked in any of the auxiliaries of the Church except as an organist. I had served since about 1937 as the Ward and Stake organist up to that time, but was not experienced enough to assume such a position as president in the Relief Society. He was a very determined person, and so was I. He told me to think about it. I did more than think about it -- I fasted and prayed, hoping that I would get a negative answer. However, one day for some unknown reason I went over to the church and went into the Junior Sunday School room. There on the blackboard was that very familiar quotation from Nephi, "I will go and do that which the Lord hath commanded etc." My very negative feelings vanished, and I knew I had to accept the position. When I discussed counselors with the bishop, I told him that I wanted a woman I had known for quite a few years, although not intimately, for my work counselor. She had married a man who became very bitter toward the Church and so Sue could not go to Church; neither could their four children. But even after her husband passed away, Sue did not go to Church. When the bishop and I went over to ask her to accept this position as the work counselor, she said a very positive no, as I had done. However, after I talked to her, she finally , very reluctantly, accepted the position. She immediately started going to Church, never missing a meeting. At this time the Relief Society had to do projects to earn money to finance the organization. We decided to make dish towels. From the Ellison Mill we bought used flour sacks, ripped them open, washed and bleached them, and then hemmed them. Sue was very, 6 JPEG-Bk13 • • • very particular, and it ended up that I was the only one she trusted to do the work to her liking . At Relief Society we would have the sisters paint with chem pens or embroider the dish towels, and we always had a market for them. I think we did hundreds of them. At most of our work day meetings we would put a quilt on. Many of the sisters enjoyed quilting. Sue would always bring a dish of hard tack candy. One day I asked her why she always brought hard tack and she told me that as long as the sisters had their mouth full of hard tack candy they couldn't talk, and they worked faster. I knew that Sue had a heart problem, but she never complained. Nothing stopped her in her service. A little over a year and a half after Sue became my counselor, she went to the temple and recieved her endowment. It was about four months later that she passed away. She was a great and beloved sister. Relief Society had been a great blessing in her life. About two years later, a loving relative went to the temple and did the work for Sue's husband, and then he and his wife acted as proxies for them to be sealed. And to the rest of my story. Sue had a daughter, Helen, who had never been interested in the Church. After she was in her seventies she had two very serious operations for cancer, and then was involved in a car accident and seriously injured. When my sister-in-law who was a cousin of Helen's, went to see Helen one day in the hospital, she told Helen of a dream that she had had about two years after Sue had passed away. In this dream, Sue appeared to her, and three times said to her, "Talk to Helen about the Church." And it was now time for Helen to hear about the Church. This same cousin, who had been responsible for Sue and her husband to be sealed in the temple, was very influential in getting Helen to have the missionaries. She accepted the Gospel and was baptized. A year later this cousin and his wife took Helen to the temple in Seattle where she 1teceived her endowment and was sealed to her parents. Helen died a few months later, but had been so happy to be in the Church. TESTIMONY 7 JPEG-Bk13 2.21 |