A Voice from the Dust

Salt Lake City Cemetery from Find a Grave

We talk a lot in the LDS Church about the Book of Mormon being the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 29 about a "voice from the dust." In fact, the Book of Mormon itself makes the claim. I believe it.

Yet there there are other voices related to these principles. One of them came to me today.

I won't spoil my friend Ardis's research project. She blogs at Keepapitchinin.org. So I'll only share what she posted publicly on my Facebook page. The voice came from my 3rd-Great Grandmother, Adelaide Whiteley Ridges (1830-1919). Here's a brief summary of her life::

MRS. RIDGES DIES AT WOOD'S CROSS 

Adelaide Whiteley Ridges, 89, wife of the late Joseph H. Ridges, builder of the Mormon Tabernacle Organ, died of general debility August 26 [1919] at the home of her eldest daughter, Mrs. George C. Wood, in South Bountiful.

Mrs. Ridges was born June 17, 1830 in London, Eng. She embraced the L.D.S. Gospel in Australia and came to Utah in 1857. All her life she was a faithful worker in the L.D.S. Church, and for twenty-five years she served  as secretary of the Relief society.

The surviving relatives are two daughters, Adelaide R. Wood of South Bountiful and Annie R. Williams of Salt Lake; one son, Ernest E. Ridges of Salt Lake; twenty-eight grandchildren and thirty-six great grandchildren.

Funeral services were held in the  twenty-second ward chapel in Salt Lake, last Friday at 2 p.m.

And now the voice:

"Sister A Ridges said we could look forward with joy to a meeting with our dead friends that we had performed the ordinance of baptism for, she had thought many times when old Saints had died what joy they had in meting Joseph and others that had gone before said she had abundant testimony without seeing mericles." -- 12 December 1873

"Sr A Riges Said She was thankful the Lord had preserved us in the truth up to the present time,that we should be careful to not speak against the authority of the Holy Priesthood, and do nothing by which we will forfeit Eternal life." -- 26 February 1875

"A Ridges I am glad to meet with you and talk of the things pertaining to our salvation, what tries one will not trie another but God knows our hearts and if we do right he will give us his Spirit I thought at conference how good the Lord was to us to give us another chance to renew our covenants I thought of Christ weeping over Jerusalem how often would I have gathered you together like a hen gathers her chickens but ye would not. I never heard but one sermon till I was baptized and that was on the baptism for the dead, I feel those who keep out of the Order on account of their property will weep and mourn, but I think there are a great many who have not bowed the knee to Baal amen." -- 13 October 1875

"A Ridges it is a great pleasure tome to meet here, I would rather meet with the saints than go on these excursions, when I look back on my troubles and trials a few years ago I feel to laugh at them and so it may be in a few years with those we are passing through now, we should not think too much of them. I have learnt a great deal since I came herein the way of living, I think we ought to be saving and retrench in every thing we can and patronize home manufactures, all I want to live for is to bring up my children int he way they should go and do all the good I can, it is so good to feel that we have a Father in heaven who hears and answers prayer, I often think of that passage there are many called but few chosen, it is my prayer that we may all be chosen. I ask an interest in your prayers" -- 17 May 1876

"A Ridges I feel well this afternoon and like the rest of you enjoyed conference I thought how many years Bro Young had been preaching and teaching us how to live if we could only live in such a manner that angels would visit us, my greatest desire has been to be faithful and my children, I think the time has come that He will prune the vineyard B Young said the Lord chastened whom he loved how thankful we ought to be for the gospel, how thankful I shall be if I ever have the priviledge of going into the Temple to work for my dead. I hope we may ever be guided by His Spirit amen." -- 16 May 1877

I shared my great appreciation to Ardis for sharing this along with my testimony that I agreed with my Grandma Ridges's sentiments. And I'm going to take some vacation leave Monday afternoon to go to the Church History Library with Ardis. I told her in an email that, "My theory is, along with perhaps Grandma Ridges, is that once you start stirring in Family History, they start coming after you." And I don't mean in any spooky or unnatural way. I mean it as another fulfillment of scripture:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers [& Mothers] to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers [& Mothers] . . . . Malachi 4:6.