Moses Mecham

My Father and Mother belonged to the Methodist Church, but for years I had not really believed in any creed or religion of being of any consequence as there was to my knowledge, none that held to the principles contained in the Scripture. I had heard about the deluded Mormons, but nothing good. My cousin Elain Mecham was going to hold a Mormon meeting and asked me to come, but I would not as I would be ashamed to let people know he was a relative of mine. He left a Book of Mormon with me and ask me to read it: I told him if I got time I would. Soon after, I was too sick to go to the store to work, so I thought I would see what was in the Book, but before I started I kneeled down and prayed, that I might know if there was any good in it. I read all day; at bed time my wife went to bed, and I read on until 1 AM. The next morning when I awakened my wife to tell her that I knew the Book of Mormon was true, when I spoke it was in tongues. It frightened my wife and she sent two of the children to her sister and my brother one and on-fourth miles away. When they came they were very pleased; said I was speaking tin tongues. They had already joined the Church. I was convinced of the truth of Mormonism; I thought I would never speak in my own tongue until I was baptized. I applied to Brother Snider for baptism, but he refused on account of so much excitement caused by the mob, but about the tenth of March 1839 my wife and I were baptized by Elder James Tomlinson and confirmed by Elders James Tomlinson and John Strokes. I was perfectly convinced of the cause of this remarkable occurrence. On April sixth we attended Conference in Quince, Illinois, and was ordained a Seventy under the hands of Brother Joseph Young and others. In a short time, I started on a Mission in company of my brother Lewis Mecham to Montrose, Iowa where my brother was ordained a priest by Elders John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff. We traveled from there to Burlington, changed our course Westward, preaching till we came to an Indian village on the Des Moines River, about 125 miles from its mouth. The Indians were of the Saukee and Fox nations: we were treated very kindly by the Indians. We tarried with them through the night, and on the next day (the remainder lost)