So I have to give a talk today in Sacrament Meeting, and this is it:
Many kids dream about their future careers. When I am older, I want to be an author, work with animals or maybe be an illustrator. But I would throw all of that away to have a family of my own.
Our church really stresses the importance of family. Having a family is part of our Heavenly Father’s plan.
If you read the Strength of Youth pamphlet, it talks about how you can be blessed with a family.… How you can learn to really help and be a part of your family’s lives. I’m not sure if they had anything like the Strength of Youth pamphlet when she was alive, but my great grandmother Hannah was an amazing example of what a daughter of god should strive to be.
This may sound familiar to those of you who heard my sister’s talk in Primary. Anna Johanna Nielsen (known as Hannah) was born in Denmark in 1853 and was one of six children. Her family joined the church when she was 19 and they moved to America when she was 22. They had been trying to get to America for quite a while, and there were times when Hannah turned down opportunities to go just so her mother wouldn’t be alone. When she was on the voyage to America, she would sleep upright on a chest instead of the bed so that she could help her mother when needed. In fact, Hannah did this so much for her mother that her legs became swollen.
Hannah married Christian Christensen Brown two years later. They were blessed to have children. Even with such a busy life with so many kids, she would travel by horse and buggy to her crippled mother in Richfield, Utah, as often as possible, to care for her until her death.
There were many times of sorrow for their family. Out of 9 kids, only five made it past their twenties. Two-year-old Dorothy was following her father one day, probably without anyone knowing. While trying to cross the bridge over a ditch, she fell in and drowned. Two years later, twelve-year-old Christian died. An epidemic of Diphtheria haunted quite a few lives in that area, and he was not the only child in the area to die from it. Their third son, Hans, died at age eighteen. He would often chase around with a group of boys that, in joke, called themselves “The Dirty Dozen.” His went with his friends to Marysvile to work, and somehow came down with Typhoid. His friends brought him home to Monroe, and he died one week later. In 1909, their fourth child and oldest daughter, Kisty Marie, married Eugene Gray. She was age 23. Kistie was a special young woman, because somehow she was really close to the other side of the veil. Hannah was actually Christian’s second wife; he had had two children with another woman who had died. Kistie had seen the spirit of one Christian’s two other children who had died at age nine. That’s another story to tell. But right before Kistie gave birth to her first child, Crystal, she had a vision that she would die. So she asked her mother, Hannah, to care for her child. And, sure enough, Kistie died of childbirth fever right after Crystal was born. So at the age of 54 my great grandmother now had a new baby that she happily raised as her own.
She became a widow at age 53. Even with so many tragedies, Hannah continued to stay strong and help all she could. Her second son, Jim, married a woman named Annie. They had four daughters. Sadly, Annie died after the birth of their fifth child. Now age 70, Hannah left her own home and moved in with Jim to care for his 5 motherless daughters, including a new baby.
I think Hannah was an amazing example. So many lives would have been different without her help. She knew exactly how to have a wonderful family. Hannah lived an honorable life and was remembered by all that knew her as a strong woman physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I want to follow her example, even now when I’m only twelve.
God is there and He helps us and answers our prayers. Jesus Christ DID come to Earth and die for EACH AND EVERY ONE of us. I love my church, I love my God and Savior, and I love my family, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Many kids dream about their future careers. When I am older, I want to be an author, work with animals or maybe be an illustrator. But I would throw all of that away to have a family of my own.
Our church really stresses the importance of family. Having a family is part of our Heavenly Father’s plan.
If you read the Strength of Youth pamphlet, it talks about how you can be blessed with a family.… How you can learn to really help and be a part of your family’s lives. I’m not sure if they had anything like the Strength of Youth pamphlet when she was alive, but my great grandmother Hannah was an amazing example of what a daughter of god should strive to be.
This may sound familiar to those of you who heard my sister’s talk in Primary. Anna Johanna Nielsen (known as Hannah) was born in Denmark in 1853 and was one of six children. Her family joined the church when she was 19 and they moved to America when she was 22. They had been trying to get to America for quite a while, and there were times when Hannah turned down opportunities to go just so her mother wouldn’t be alone. When she was on the voyage to America, she would sleep upright on a chest instead of the bed so that she could help her mother when needed. In fact, Hannah did this so much for her mother that her legs became swollen.
Hannah married Christian Christensen Brown two years later. They were blessed to have children. Even with such a busy life with so many kids, she would travel by horse and buggy to her crippled mother in Richfield, Utah, as often as possible, to care for her until her death.
There were many times of sorrow for their family. Out of 9 kids, only five made it past their twenties. Two-year-old Dorothy was following her father one day, probably without anyone knowing. While trying to cross the bridge over a ditch, she fell in and drowned. Two years later, twelve-year-old Christian died. An epidemic of Diphtheria haunted quite a few lives in that area, and he was not the only child in the area to die from it. Their third son, Hans, died at age eighteen. He would often chase around with a group of boys that, in joke, called themselves “The Dirty Dozen.” His went with his friends to Marysvile to work, and somehow came down with Typhoid. His friends brought him home to Monroe, and he died one week later. In 1909, their fourth child and oldest daughter, Kisty Marie, married Eugene Gray. She was age 23. Kistie was a special young woman, because somehow she was really close to the other side of the veil. Hannah was actually Christian’s second wife; he had had two children with another woman who had died. Kistie had seen the spirit of one Christian’s two other children who had died at age nine. That’s another story to tell. But right before Kistie gave birth to her first child, Crystal, she had a vision that she would die. So she asked her mother, Hannah, to care for her child. And, sure enough, Kistie died of childbirth fever right after Crystal was born. So at the age of 54 my great grandmother now had a new baby that she happily raised as her own.
She became a widow at age 53. Even with so many tragedies, Hannah continued to stay strong and help all she could. Her second son, Jim, married a woman named Annie. They had four daughters. Sadly, Annie died after the birth of their fifth child. Now age 70, Hannah left her own home and moved in with Jim to care for his 5 motherless daughters, including a new baby.
I think Hannah was an amazing example. So many lives would have been different without her help. She knew exactly how to have a wonderful family. Hannah lived an honorable life and was remembered by all that knew her as a strong woman physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I want to follow her example, even now when I’m only twelve.
God is there and He helps us and answers our prayers. Jesus Christ DID come to Earth and die for EACH AND EVERY ONE of us. I love my church, I love my God and Savior, and I love my family, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
