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Christmas in 1847

Below are the quotes that were used in the video.

What was Christmas like for pioneers as they spent their first winter in the Salt Lake Valley? I marvel at their gratitude and joy that marked their first Christmas in the valley. As we close our year of study of the Doctrine and Covenants, I want to thank you for studying with me. Merry Christmas!

​Mary Jane Mount Tanner: "We had no floor but the ground, but we were thankful for a roof,"
"My father laid the floor on Christmas Day, and my mother called it a merry Christmas. It was indeed a time for rejoicing; we had been so long without a home and suffered so much living in a wagon during the cold weather, for we had no stoves and the only chance we had to warm was by the fire outdoors which was also used to cook by.“ (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

Parley P. Pratt:
“nearly every house leaked during the first winter, and umbrellas, where such a luxury as an umbrella was owned, were frequently in demand to shelter those engaged in cooking.” (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

“One pioneer spent part of the day rigging a canvas cover to keep muddy drips coming out of the sod roof off the baby cradle.” (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

Rebecca Riter:
“Christmas came and the children were hungry. I had brought a peck of wheat across the plains and hid it under a pile of wood. I thought I would cook a handful of wheat for the baby. Then I thought how we would need wheat for seed in the spring, so I left it alone.” (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

Eliza R. Snow
wrote about a small afternoon lunch party at Lorenzo Young's home. "After a splendid dinner at which we freely and sociably partook of the good things of the earth, father John Smith blessed the babe of Brother and Sister Lorenzo Young. I served as scribe.” (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

There was no mentioning or expectation of gifts on Christmas in 1847. (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

On Sunday, the day after Christmas, everyone gathered around the flagpole in the fort. "What a meeting it was!" Huffaker wrote. "We sang praises to God, we all joined in the opening prayer and the speaking that day will always be remembered. They were words of thanksgiving and cheer; not an unkind word was uttered. The people were hopeful and buoyant because of their great faith in the work they were undertaking. After the meeting there was handshaking all around. Some wept with joy." (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

"When the evening came, the Saints gathered again around a sagebrush fire. As the flames leapt upward, the group sang the song that took them across the plains, "Come, Come Ye Saints." (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

​Sidney Elizabeth Huffaker:
"In the sense of perfect peace and good will I never had a happier Christmas in all my life." (https://www.deseret.com/2009/12/24/20377769/christmas-1847-in-salt-lake-valley-was-full-of-warmth-gratitude)

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