history of daniel wood

Chapter 17 – Woods Cross

I was thrilled my bloodline included a man willing to swear and stand against religion and a corporation because his moral compass told him it was the just and right thing to do.

Why didn’t he use this same fury to fight against slavery, especially when Utah voted to make owning human beings legal within its territory? He did not call his neighbors for meetings to discuss the horrific treatment of native tribes and the stealing of their land. Nor did he create petitions asking to eradicate the ban on blackness which the church wickedly perpetuated.

Chapter 16 – Orphans

Lucy, Mary, and Thomas’ stories are not unique. Brigham Young encouraged Mormon families to purchase or barter for native children believing they would be better off in Mormon households. Native Americans, called Lamanites, could lighten their skin, becoming white and delightsome through conversion to the Mormon church. The saints saw bringing native children into their homes as an opportunity to save them while increasing the church roster.

Chapter 14 – People Of The Land

“Pioneer’s ownership was made possible by our participation in the genocide and forced removal of the indigenous tribes.

Before Brigham Young’s claim that God wanted us here, these tribes had lived on and stewarded the mountains and valleys. They used bows and arrows to hunt for birds, bison, and mammoths and fished in lakes and rivers.”

Chapter 12 – Mother Mary

“Mary Snyder Wood was more than the words ascribed to her, including faithful, beloved, devoted to her husband, mild, and modest with a sincere disposition.

Although Daniel called her Mrs. Wood or Aunt Mary, I call her Mother Mary. I hear Paul McCartney’s “Let It Be” song lyrics in my head each time I think of her.
“When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me.
Whisper words of wisdom. Let it be.”

I yearn for Mary’s whispers to fill the spaces around her so I can see the authentic, complete, and complicated woman she was.”

Chapter 11 – Good Dirt

“Daniel planted our family in the soil of the Mormon church. He watered us with his loyalty to them. His faith in the gospel’s truthfulness was the warm sun, inviting us to sprout and bloom, taking hold of the church dogma with blind trust.

As adept as he was in finding good dirt for corn and wheat seeds, he did not spot the church’s tainted soil, which allowed racists like me to grow. Or maybe, the less tasteful truth is he did see it and planted us there anyway.”

Chapter 10 – Hiding Wagons

“While my grandfather helped a wagon escape because his outrage moved him to take action, others were taking action to end the greed-fueled brutality of enslaved men, women, and children, living their entire lives as someone else’s property.”

Chapter 8 – Journey To Utah

“Assassinating a leader is a powerful way to send a message.
The message sent with Prophet Joseph Smith’s murder was, “Mormons are not welcome here.”

Chapter 6 – A Persecuted People

“Unfortunately, instead of being left to practice their faith peacefully, the saints faced intense mistreatment for nearly fifteen years before beginning their mass exodus to Utah.

Their beloved prophet, Joseph Smith, was murdered in Carthage jail while awaiting trial. Shot in the back while trying to flee the assassination attempt by an angry mob.”

Chapter 5- Leaving Canada To Follow A Prophet

“God’s latest revelation to Joseph Smith instructed him to gather his chosen people in a central place called Zion. Here the saints could practice their faith while waiting for Christ’s second coming. Little did he know the Mormon search for a utopia was only beginning.”

Chapter 4 – Missionaries

Once upon a time, a boy named Joseph said he talked to angels. He claimed he began receiving holy revelations as a teenager. In 1830, at the age of twenty-five, those conversations became the foundations of the church he built, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also called the Mormons.