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Show A PATRIARCH INDEED. (Communicated) - Mr. Joel H. Johnson, of Johnson, Kane Co., Utah, may be truly styled as patriarch. He is one of the oldest members of the church, having been baptized June 1st, 1831; and has been a constant and zealous laborer in the cause from that day until the present time. He has shared in the persecutions of the Saints, being several times robbed of house and home, threatened with death and deprived of all the rights of a free born American citizen. He came to Utah in 1848, and was a pioneer in the settlement of southern Utah, planting orchards and vineyards wherever he settled. Although in his eightieth year, he is still hale, hearty and industrious, with much energy and enterprise. He was present when the Prophet received the Word of Wisdom, since which time he has never used spirits, tea, coffee or tobacco, and to this principally, he attributes his strength and vitality. On the 1st of June last, he celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his baptism with a family meeting. His descendants numbered twenty-nine children, one hundred and nineteen grandchildren, and forty-six great grandchildren, none of whom ever denied the faith. He is the father of Mrs. J. H. Martineau, of this city. He was intimate with the Prophet Joseph from the days of Kirtland to his murder in Carthage jail, and his memory is stored with many interesting incidents and teachings of the Prophet, who took three of his sisters in marriage. He is also a poet of merit, having written many songs, hymns and poems, which will doubtless be published ere long. At this date, when so few of the old veterans remain, it seems fitting to bring some of them to the notice of the Saints as examples of faith and integrity. X. |