Marriner Wood Merrill: Life sketch and early vision

Craig Merrill directed me to a General Authorities page on Marriner Wood Merrill, which contained the following account of a remarkable vision he had when 9 years old. He still lived in New Brunswick, Canada at the time, and it would be 10 more years before he was baptized into the LDS church.

When I was a boy of nine years my mother sent me to the hayfield where my father and brothers were at work, to call them to dinner. On the way I became unconscious and was clothed with a vision which I distinctly remembered when I gained my usual feelings and thoughts. After I became conscious I found myself in a log cabin located on the way to the field. In this cabin I was on my knees in the attitude of prayer. In the vision I saw the Church and the Prophets Joseph and Brigham. I saw the travels of the latter and of the Saints from Nauvoo and Winter Quarters to Utah. In the vision the sight of covered buggies and wagons was peculiar to me, for at that time I had never seen such vehicles, nor had I ever seen the mules which I beheld in my vision. I saw two and sometimes six mules to a wagon, and in the company of pioneers I beheld two men who had been boy friends of my youth, and each of them had more than one wife. In my vision at that time the divinity of plural marriage was revealed to me. I comprehended the doctrines and principles as they had been revealed. The progress and development of the Church were shown and the persecutions of the Saints were made clear to my understanding, and I heard a voice which told me that all I beheld was true, but I was cautioned to keep to myself what I had seen until I should have the opportunity of leaving my native country. Upon reaching home I was pale, and it was some time before I could speak distinctly. That incident of my life made a very strong impression upon my boyish mind, and one day I ventured to ask my mother a question about plural marriage, why it was not practiced now as in the days of God's ancient people. She answered in surprise by asking what I knew about such things. Fearing that I might betray that secret revealed, I made no more mention of the matter.

Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.

Life Sketch

Marriner Wood Merrill was a Utah pioneer and an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was the father of Louis Edgar Merrill and grandfather of Malcolm Hendricks Merrill.

Marriner Wood Merrill was born 25 September 1832 in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, to Sarah Ann Reynolds and Nathan Merrill.

According to Wikipedia:

The family farmed, and Merrill later wrote of "not having any opportunities of even a common school education." Merrill left Sackville and worked briefly as a cook on a fishing schooner based in Boston, Massachusetts, before returning on word of his father's fatal fall into a tidal marsh in May 1851. Merrill assisted in farm work in Sackville after his return. 

Merrill joined the LDS Church in April 1852. He migrated to Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, the following year in a wagon company led by William Atkinson, also of Sackville. 

During his first winter in Utah, Merrill married Sarah Ann Atkinson, the daughter of William Atkinson. 

Apostle M[arriner] W[ood] Merril and wife Sarah Ann Atkinson.
(Picture appears on the wall at the James Hendricks museum in Richmond, Utah)

Merrill at first engaged in farm labor and made shingles. The Merrills briefly relocated to Spanish Fork before the arrival of Johnston's Army in the Utah War. 

In 1860, Merrill was among the first to move to Richmond, Utah; he soon became a civic and ecclesiastical leader in Richmond. In July 1861, he began eighteen years of service as a bishop in the LDS Church. He became the Postmaster of Richmond in 1866 and was a County Selectman from 1872 to 1879. Merrill was a member of the territorial legislature for two terms. 

With two business partners, Merrill built a gristmill. He also worked as a contractor in the construction of the Utah and Northern Railway and as a supervisor in its operation. Merrill also operated a large farm near Richmond.

Merrill was called as a member of the Cache Stake presidency in 1879.... [He] became the first president of the Logan Temple in 1884 and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on 7 October 1889. He served as both an apostle and temple president until his death. 

Like many early leaders in the LDS Church, Merrill practiced plural marriage. [He] eventually married eight wives and had 43 children. During the time of the polygamy raids in Utah Territory, Merrill lived in his bedroom on the second floor in the west tower of the Logan Temple; for weeks at a time, he would not leave the temple. He was arrested for unlawful cohabitation on 10 January 1889, but was released within two days without being convicted....

On 6 February 1906, Merrill died in his home at Logan, Utah, from Bright's disease. He is buried in Richmond, Utah. 

Jean Merrill Wilson and Bruce Merrill at the grave of Marriner Wood Merrill in Richmond, Utah.
(taken on June 26, 2010, during the Henry Hendricks Family Organization 5-year reunion)

At a family reunion in 1935, his descendants numbered 797, of which 291 were grandchildren, 429 great-grandchildren and 31 great-great grandchildren. Many of his descendants still live in Cache Valley today.

The red book entitled "Utah Pioneer and Apostle Marriner Wood Merrill and His Family", edited by Melvin Clarence Merrill, 1937, can be found online at Ancestry.com. Of special interest is Marriner Wood Merrill's autobiography (up to 1860), which is in chapter 2 (pages 25-61).

I recently re-read the autobiography and learned some interesting things. For example, he was injured in a fight with Indians at Battle Creek, and he helped deliver supplies to those who were harassing Johnson's Army to prevent them from reaching the Salt Lake Valley before cooler heads could prevail. One of the things that impressed me about him was just how hard he worked during his whole life: cutting lumber, making shingles, clearing land, planting, harvesting, raising livestock, as well as his overlapping church callings.

For those who would like to learn more about Marriner Wood Merrill, I encourage you to to borrow a copy of the red book from someone in the family, or follow the above link to the autobiography. For a shorter overview of his life, see the General Authorities page on Marriner Wood Merrill referenced above.