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Show THELASTOFEARTH Mrs. Anna K. Sincofs Funeral Fun-eral Ceremonies. " i AN IMMENSE CONCOURSE. ; The Tabernacle Filled President John Officiates Bishop Whitney of Salt Lake City the First Speaker -Obituary Life Reminiscences. (" At 12:30 today the meeting-nouse bell bean toiling solemnly and all Provo was wrapped in sorrow and was mourning. The last sad rites over the mortal remains ot Mrs. Anna K. Smoot' were to be performed and all that is mortal ot that good lady laid to rest in mother earth. The cortege bearing the remains left the residence of M. C. Newell where the deceased breathed her last, at 12:30. In it were relatives, intimate friend3 atd others of the mourning hosts. At the tabernacle were all the primary children of the various wards of Provo, the officers of the associations , I and delegations of officers of the primary prim-ary associations of all waros of the county. They formed lines between ""7 which the funeral procession marched. J The Btudents of the 13. Y. A. filed in I solemn march into the building and many friends from Provo and else- where fairly packed the large taber- r nacle. " President David John presided. The 1 choir lendered the usual luneral hymns I and music softly, BOlemuly, beautifully. J The eland was draped. There were beautiful floral emblems, tokens oi' f love from the associations over which I the departed was president. The casket 1 was a beautiful one bestrewn with I flowers and evergrrens. The opening prayer was offered by President Wru. I Taxman of the Juab stake of Zion. I The primary choir, more than one J hundred children's pure voices, sang ' sweetly the hymn, "O My Father." I BISHOP ORSON "WHITNEY I of Salt Lake city, a relative of I the family by niairirtre, was the J rst speaker. He ea-a i)y invoked; the spirit of God to direct his thoughts J J and words and eiked for the support of 5 his hearers. The sweet strains from I the voi(3S of the little ones had raised ! his t'aoughts t? things al )ve this earth, j Those strains and be-utiful words were, I it seemed to hi-ja, sufficient to melt a heart of stone. The hvtnn saner em- bodies in few wo.t'3 the whole scheme of God's dealing wi' i mankind. It - , JmW. into rim tn lit ion ni tli Cjrtui Had "T cm Savior. Following this thought the speaker dwelt teautuully uj on tne lov- 1 ing.kindness of Gc 1, showing that for a j mortal to dep?rt from this life to d ? live with Gcd is not cause for bitter mournirj. A "uneral occasion I I is a solemn one, and it :s 6ad to part I 1 even for a t:me with tho: a we love, but God wiU not leave faithful mourners 1 comfortless. It is th-'s r surance that I enable3 us 3 be fv'thful. The living I - were urged to L2ek a'. ways the aid of the Almighty ') live pure lives. Some of the many viiuea andge jd deads of the deceased were reviewed and many cojiforting words said. Alter Bishop Whitney's sermon EL hop Johnson spoke eulogistic of tl: labors of the deceased in the ward an Elder lirimhall citrd to eome of the very much good work done in the . county. The Boshard and Pyne quar tette rendered most beautifully that charming eelection "Xearer, My God, to Thee" and a large concourse of people followed the remains to the cemetery. ""S BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. j-"""" At Provo, on January 19, 1894, Anna K. Bnioot died, after a five months i 11 ' nees. The deceased was born December 19, 1S33, in tne district of Onsu, near the town of F redrickstadt, Norway. Her parents were of the well-to-do farming class. Being strict adherents to the Lutheran faith their daughter was very strictly brought up in that religion. reli-gion. From childhcod she was remarked for great industry, decided character, and a quick discerning epirit. At fourteen four-teen ehe had mastered the details of making cloth from raw material, and was considered an expert in fine needle work, which was esteemed at that time an essential part of a woman's education. She was fairlv well educated edu-cated for her station in life, and the requirements of the age, and belonged to a claes of ninety young ladies, who were fitting themselves for church members. Even then, the common sense which has been a prominent characteristic throughout her life, made her conscious of many inconsistencies, and tenets inharmonious with Bible teaching in her religion. Her parents were very proud of her, and life seemed very bright before her. Two Mormon elders first vieted that section in 1852.0ne of them was BiBbop John Darius of Ephraim, Sanpete county, xhey were seized and im prisoned for preaching false doctrine. Anna's brother 'e!s .Naniseon, who was disaffected toward Lutheranism persuaded her to go and her them. She went, she has stated, partly out of enriositv, and with a firm belief that she could refute their doctrines, and make them ashamed of deceiving the people. She went and instead of converting con-verting them, was herself converted, as was also her brother Nels, On the 27th of April, 1S53, she and her brother were baptized. It was a terrible blow to her parents, who could better realize what worldly advantages she was sacrificing to her convictions Nels they thought could be persuaded to relinquish his belief, but from the steadfastness of her nature, they knsw her action would be final. She, with a number of others, was summoned be i fore a magistrate, and required to state the particular tenets of their new belief. be-lief. She was selected to voice the sentiments of all and there began to preacli the gospel of- Jesus- Christ of Latter-Day Saints,continuing until the hour when death sealed her lips. Space lorbids detail, but in the two years and a half that she remained in her native laud after baptism she paused through trials that might have appalled the heart of a strong man, much less an inexperienced gin. Her parents turned against her and really persecuted her; she was stoned and reviled in the streets; her friends and associates shunned her, and yet she remained steadfast in her purpose. In the summer of 1854, with her brother Xels,his wife and two children, she began the long journey to America without so much as one kind good-bve, She is one of those who literally obeyed the injunction of the Savior, for she gave up home, country? parents, brothers and sisters, bright prospects f.nd the praises of the world for His sake. From Onsu to Dramen some hity miles where they took a fisherman's boat to Mens where they took a Bteam ship to Denmark. From there a five week's voyage fraught with dangers and disasters landed them in Hull, from thence by train to Liverpool. One New Year's day 1855, they, with a great many other faints, set sail for America This company was under the care of P. 0. Hansen, of Manti. Almost every stage of this journey from Onsu to Salt Lake city is a separate separ-ate tragedy. The brother's wife and two children died oti the iournev. and when thev landed in Salt Lake city on the fourth day of September, they were indeed strangers in a strange land. Here the brother and sister separated, the sister taking Service as house maid in the family of Apostle Oreon Pratt. As soon, however, as it became known that Bhe was mistress of the art of j cloth-making, 6he was eaeerly sought, to work and teach others in that indus try. In this capacity she entered the family of A. O. Smoot, where her real value was appreciated, and she was loved and respected by all. Some time after, following the dictates of her own heart, and with the consent and approval ap-proval of his other wives, she married A. 0. Smoot. j Anna K. Smoot is the mother of seven children, three sons and four daughters, all of whom are in Provo ana were present with ner when she died. The lady has been an exemplary wife, honoring aact respecting ner husband in all things, and bearing nobly those duties and burdens, that naturally fall to the lot of plural wives. She has been a fond and indulgent mother, and has been a factor in public affairs. For the past ten years she has occupied oc-cupied the important position of stake president of the primary associations, which numbers some fiftv-three organizations. organ-izations. She has been very faithful, and her grasp of the subject both in its entirety, and in detail was remarkable. A fine intuition of the fitness of per- sons for special departments of the j work enabled her to select local of-i of-i fleers yery successfully. Many new reat-rres reat-rres to interest and instruction of the little ones came from her fertile brain, and her energy was untiring. One ot her latest ideas, was the crystal globe, with its silver fittings, onyx table, and native wood staine, which contained one grain of sand from each member of the stake associations, and was exhibited ex-hibited at the World's fair. A brief sketch like this is necessarily very imperfect, but this good and noble lady died as she had lived, J honored and respected by all who j knew her. |