Читать книгу Essentials in Church History - Joseph Fielding Smith - Страница 76

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“As our children had, in a great measure, been debarred from the privilege of schools, we began to make every arrangement to attend to this important duty. We established our second son, Hyrum, in an academy at Hanover; and the rest, that were of sufficient age, we were sending to a common school that was quite convenient; meanwhile myself and companion were doing all that our abilities would admit of for the future welfare and advantage of the family; and were greatly blessed in our labors.”

These desires, however, were rudely shattered, for an epidemic of typhus fever passed over the land and all the Smith children were sorely afflicted. The oldest daughter, Sophronia, lay for a long time nigh unto death, and was saved only by Divine providence in answer to prayer. Joseph recovered from the fever after an illness of two weeks, but was left suffering with extreme pain in his shoulder which was first treated as the result of a sprain, but later developments proved it to be from another cause. A bag of pus had formed which had to be lanced. The description of his suffering is very vividly told by his mother in the following words: