The story about 3 young men who helped carry people across an icy river during the migration westward by Mormon pioneers in the wintertime. According to the story, the 3 died shortly thereafter due to the effects of their exposure to the cold. Brigham Young claimed that those boys would make the celestial kingdom based on that act alone.

This is a very inspirational story of charity. There is even a monument commemorating the supposed 3 people that died in 1856.

http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~raymondfamily/2002_0621%20Martin%27s%20Cove/images/06210094%20Marker%20to%20the%20four%20boys%20at%20the%20crossing%20of%20the%20Sweetwater.JPG


Only problem is, the story is not true.


In 2006, LDS historian Chad Orton discovered through historical records that none of the "boys" in the rescue mission was eighteen years old; that a number of the men helped the hand carters across the river; and that many of the handcart pioneers crossed the Sweetwater unassisted, and nobody died from the cold.

Orton found the true death dates of the 3:

Grant 1872
Kimball 1883
Huntington 1896

Funny enough, 2 of them outlived Brigham Young, who died in 1877.

Now you ruined a great story! Oh well, it had to be bull-$%itted to be like it was...

truth tellers in Morland : Heretics.

hopefully with the internet, the false FPRs will fade into the sunset.

Told at a SM (Oops, now 'Worship Service'):

The U.S. is the Only Country that celebrates Thanksgiving.


a) Who Cares? what c/would that do for Christ, his gospel, or my faith-conficence in things?

b) It's FALSE: Canada also celebrates T.day.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2012 04:12PM by guynoirprivateeye.

Why would anyone expect anyone not descended from American pilgrams to celebrate Thanksgiving?

I suppose some sort of US exceptionalism was intended.

Crazy.

They died a long, long, long, long, long, slow death...especially if they stayed in the church.

:-) :-) :-)

I was told that story recently and would something concrete for rebuttal.

I'm beginning to think all the stories I've been told through the years are just that. Stories. The children's song "Book of Mormon Stories that my teacher tells to me"......now has a whole new meaning to me. Think those words were inspired?

Any light shed on the 'story' of the 3 boys dying to save the others would be very helpful. A link would be great. Thanks.

Every story they tell is a slicked up, faith-promoting fabrication. Some are based on a real event, but always twisted to show heroism and faith of the participant. My infamous fave is the time JS got tarred and feathered. The church version has it that evil haters of the church, prompted by satan did it.

Reality: JS was trying to boink a guy's teenage sister and plotting to talk their old father into "consecrating" his farm over to JS. The brothers had enough and showed Joe a little lesson. Another fact is that JS very nearly got castrated in that event, but the doctor they brought to do it apparently remembered his hippocratic oath and decided to leave Joe's cojones attached. Pity.

Yes, i heard that the 3 boys lived but later in life died from the effects of that day.

I didn't have a medical degree so i have no idea what these effects could be- i presumed some lung problem from the cold that never really resolved or some arthritis or something.

But i do remember origionally thinking that the 3 'boys' died shortly after the event, and then having that corrected.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2012 04:42PM by karin.

The thing that always bothered me about that story is the comment from BY about boys going to Celestial Kingdom.

Isn't JC supposed to be the judge?

There is also some D&C scripture about converting others will cover a multitude of sin.

Doesn't JC cleanse us by his atonement?

This reminds me of the Jihad thinking and smacks of cult behavior mind control. If you die for the cause you will receive the greatest reward.

So if a murderer dies saving a mormon, do they go the the highest kingdom? Or do you have to be a mormon saving a mormon to go to heaven?

What if a mormon dies saving an exmormon? Does he get punished or rewarded.

I will stop here, as I am glad I don't have to use mormon logic to try and set my mind at ease. It is all BS. Thanks for the additional info.

... un-useful. Nasty fact checking...

Great find tillamook!

I haven't listened to this yet ... But I think this the source to the OP: http://mormonchannel.org/legacy/49



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2012 08:46PM by Major Bidamon.

Original source

http://byustudies.byu.edu/PDFLibrary/45.3OrtonHandcart-60fc35f2-245b-497b-a7ce-e32aa44f58a8.pdf

"While some of these rescuers complained of health problems that resulted from the experience, most lived long and active lives that terminated in deaths that cannot be definitively attributed to their exposure to the icy water that day."

I remember this story...and I also remember hearing that one of the boys later married a girl he carried across the river, and that he was an ancestor of mine. Don't know how that's supposed to match up with the story of all the boys dying from exposure to the icy water...in fact I don't know for sure if either story is true.

Finding lies told by the church is sorta like having an Easter egg hunt at a chicken farm. Is there anywhere you can look and NOT find one?

Thank you for posting this tidbit about the REAL history of TSCC. I love reading stuff like this.

How could ANYbody die from exposure crossing that little thing. Jeeze, I could piss a stream bigger'n that (as Sterling Kimball would say).

Ronnie

Yeah, i noticed the 'river' was rather narrow.

I do remember the story. This is very interesting. It makes you wonder about all the stories you hear in the church--are they all twisted to make them sound better?

TBM DW I think was shocked when I told her this story an hour ago. She said "they have that story in the gospel art kit" hopefully that planted a seed.

You're just trying to hurt my testimony, goddammit.

Just reminisce on the story, do some bonding, shed a tear together, really feel the spirit... then drop the bomb and ask whether "feeling" the spirit is such a reliable method for learning the truth, or whether plain old researching of facts might be a better way.