[Original typewritten. There is no date given; it was likely written on May 1, 1934 because it is the same typewritten format of, and was included with, biographical sketches she dated May 1, 1934. Contributed by Paul R. Day, Nov. 4, 2006]
Contents:
Testimony
Obituary
Patriarchal Blessing
Poetry
[Original typewritten.
There is no date given; it was likely written on May 1, 1934 because it
is the same typewritten format of, and was included with, biographical
sketches she dated May 1, 1934. Contributed by Paul R. Day, Nov.
4, 2006]
Testimony of Euphrasia Cox Day
First I believed that
Joseph Smith was a true prophet because my parents believed he was a true
prophet.
Second: If Joseph Smith
was a true prophet his teachings must be the true Gospel that Jesus taught
and the same plan of perfect progression.
Third: If his teachings
were true then it was necessary to pray and to study.
Therefore I did so.
This was the beginning,
the foundation of my testimony.
Prayerfully and gratefully
I went to be baptized when I was eight years old. The first evidence
I had was at that time. I had a distinct uplift of my spiritual being,
and when the elders placed their hands upon my head to confirm me a member
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and said "receive ye
the Holy Ghost" a thrill, a quiver, went through my whole being, as of
an electric shock. Then I was sure this was the true Church of Jesus
Christ.
Later I doubted.
I wondered if the thrill
I had experienced had been just a childish joy in a new experience.
My mother wanted me
to read the Book of Mormon and she outlined it to me, teaching me how to
get the most out of it. (ie) Read the last chapter first, then pray
about it. Then read the Book of Ether, because that is a brief history
of the earliest people of whom the book speaks. After this begin
at the first and read the book through.
I finished reading the
Book of Mormon when I was twelve years old.
I continued to read
religious books. The New Testament, the Life of Parley Pratt, and
of Brigham Young, and other biographies of leading men in the Church, and
some Church Histories.
One day in a sacrament
testimony meeting a Scandinavian man was bearing his testimony and he said
that when a boy, his parents joined the Church, and he wondered if this
was the right church, and he doubted and did not want to be baptized.
Then one day suddenly a remembrance came to him of all he knew about the
Church History, the work and teachings of the Elders, his own parents'
conversion, and he said to himself, "How do I dare to doubt that it is
the Gospel Christ taught and His Church. And I have never doubted
since."
Then I said to myself,
"If this Scandinavian boy, who could not possibly have known as much as
I know about the Church, its elders and its accomplishments, and whose
parents could not have gone through as much for it as mine have gone through
in Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, crossing the plains, pioneering in this region,
could say he did not dare to doubt, then surely I should never dare to
doubt."
From that time on I
have not doubted.
Very many new evidences
of the truth of the Gospel and that this is the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints have come to me.
I have had my prayers
answered so often, that I am afraid to ask for things without saying "if
it is thy will." Sometimes we receive the thing we ask for and it
is a detriment to us. So I am careful, knowing that "if I ask I shall
receive."
I have been healed of
sickness by the administration of the elders and also by the prayers of
faith. Some cases when doctors have said, "there is no hope."
For such difficult diseases as cancers, tumors, dropsy, etc. What
is to me even more remarkable, I have seen death and its attendant sorrows
become occasions of joy and rejoicing.
My testimony now is
strong and sure, and I believe it will so continue unless I wilfully sin
in some way.
May the Lord save me
from sinning! May my children and my children's children to the latest
generation seek and find testimonies. And may all my relatives and
all my friends and all honest people find proof that the Gospel is true,
and live according to their highest lights to the end, is my prayer.
-
Obituary of Elvira Euphrasia
Cox Day
contributed by Paul R. Day
Sudden Death Takes
Euphrasia Cox Day
Elvira Euphrasla Cox Day, age 80, died here in her home at 144 East, 5th South in Manti about 2 A.M. Saturday, October 7, 1944.
Her sudden death came as a shock to her many relatives and friends here. She had been up the day before. Friday morning she was in so much pain from liver and gall trouble that has bothered her almost twenty years, the doctor gave her an opiate that stopped the awful pain.
A dozen friends had called to see her and had begged to stay, but she said she felt so very tired (as she often did when her heart was not working just right) and insisted that they "go on home" so she could sleep, saying she could sleep much better if she were alone.
Homer Sidwell and Ethel his wife, and "Aunt Caroline" wife of Euphrasia's brother A.M. Cox, had visited her that day. So at nine o'clock Friday evening Caroline phoned to "Phrasia's" son Orville at American Fork about his mother's illness.
Euphrasia had visited her grandchildren in Highland near American Fork the Sunday before and they had begged her to stay longer, to make her home with them, but she "wanted to be in her own home." Her son Orville reached his mother's home Saturday morning, only to find she had died during the night.
Her funeral services were held at eleven o'clock Wednesday, October 11th. Following was the program:
Song, by the choir, "Come Come Ye Saints"; prayer, Ernest Mickelson; music, South Ward Quartet, "Come unto Me", Biography read by Mary Peacock; address, President L. R. Anderson; quartet, "What Was Witnessed in The Heavens"; address, Roscoe Cox of Ephraim; vocal solo, Vera Keller; remarks, Bishop Ivan E. Carlson; choir music, "How Firm a Foundation," benediction, Elder A. D. Livingston.
Since Sister Day had lived in Fairview where she was born, another funeral was held in the Fairview South Ward at three o'clock. She was buried in the Fairview cemetery near her father and mother.
Elvira Euphrasia Cox Day was born in Fairview, Sanpete County, May 19, 1864. She was herself a pioneer, for she arrived in Utah before 1869. She was a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers for her parents came to Utah in September 1847.
Her brother Orville Cox was born in Utah September 29, 1847, being the first white boy born in Utah that lived to manhood. Her brother Delaun Mills Cox was born in Manti March 24, 1850, and was the first white boy born in Manti that lived.
Her father, Orville Sutherland Cox, helped the Mormons flee from Far West, Missouri in the winter of 1838 to Nauvoo, Illinois, and then married Elvira and joined the church. In the spring of 1848 he moved to Bountiful and was the first bishop there. He was a great ditch builder and helped pioneer thirteen towns in Utah and on the Muddy in South Eastern Nevada. A stone house built by him in northwest Manti still stands, sturdy and strong. The cedar he set there over ninety years ago still looks just as good as new.
Her mother, Elvira Pamela Mills Cox, was baptized into the church as a child in 1831. She was in Jackson County, Clay County, Far West, and Nauvoo.
Euphrasia was eligible to join the daughters of the American Revolution, for her great grand father, Sylvanus Hulet, as a soldier was a "trusted scout in General Schuyler's army". Sylvanus is said to have been an eighth Indian, of the Mohawk tribe, so that through his descendants the promises of the Lord to Lehi are fulfilled that his seed should become "a white and a delightsome people." Not only her Indian ancestors were here, but "Harold the Greenlander", son of the King of Norway, was in America with Lief Ericson almost 500 years before Columbus.
She might have joined the "Colonial Dames". Several of her ancestors were in Salem, Mass., in 1628, two years before the "great Puritan Migration" of 3000 people to Boston in 1630. Three hundred of her know ancestors were in New England before the Revolution.
She could join Magna Carta Baron's Society. At Runnymede, twenty four great English Barons forced wicked King John to sign the first great paper giving us freedom from tyranny, the Great Charter. Twenty-two of these left know descendants. She traces to every one of these twenty-two magna Carta Barons.
King Edward III of England was her eighteenth great grand father. She is descended from William the Conqueror, Alfred the Great, and Carlemagne; from Joseph of Arimathea in whose tomb Jesus's body was laid; from King David and Solomon, from Jacob and Abraham.
Sister Day was born in Fairview, May 19, 1864, in a log house with a dirt roof. They sheared their own sheep, washed and carded the wool, spun it into thread and wove it into cloth and made their own dresses, sewing it by hand. She was fourteen years old when she had her first dress made of store cloth.
They made their own dye: Yellow from rabbit brush blossoms, orange from the madder roots that looked like red roots, blue from the dye pot; brown from the squaw berry bush; and colored their home-made cloth. They saved the grease and tallow and made the only candles and soap they had.
For sixty-six years Euphrasia was a teacher. She began teaching in Sunday School when she was age fourteen. The next year she was employed by the Fairview school trustees to teach at $25 per month. She saved her money and next year went to school in Provo to the Brigham Young Academy under Carl G. Maeser. She graduated from the two year normal course in June 1882 with 92 to 100 percent. She has taught school at Fairview and other places in Sanpete County, in three towns in Emery County and in Mancos, Colorado and Bliss, Idaho.
In the B.Y. Academy she received 100 percent in composition. In 1888, a long continued story of hers, signed E. E., entitled "From Darkness Into Light", was published in the Juvenile Instructor. Many other stories, poems and articles written by her have been printed. For special occasions she has written songs, dramas, plays, cantatas, farces, pageants, poems, histories and stories. Her songs have been in the temple, in church, reunions, celebrations and on many other occasions, and loved by singers and audience.
In 1924 she moved to Manti and here she was chosen by the big Cox family organization to keep their precious temple records. She has filled seven big temple books with records of work completed. She has saved the names of more than 1000 women for whom she herself has taken endowments. She has taught genealogy classes and written genealogy songs.
She loves flowers and is loved by everybody.
She married Eli Azariah Day on July 1, 1884 in the Logan temple. They had five children, four of whom are living. Seventeen of her nineteen grandchildren are alive; nineteen of her twenty-one great grand children. Her descendants total forty-five. She is survived by one sister age 85, Tryphena Sidwell of Jerome, Idaho; three sons, Orville Cox Day of Highland, Utah; Earl Day and Erael Day of Camas, Washington, and one daughter, Ellen Heloise Day Merkley of Mesa, Arizona, now a WAC, stationed at Roswell, New Mexico.
Grandma’s Patriarchal Blessing,
Fairview, March 1883
contributed by Stella Day Norman
A blessing on the head of Elvira Euphrasia Cox, by James M. Works.
Sister Euphrasia, I lay my hands upon thy head at this time to seal upon thee a Patriarchal Blessing that shall be a source of comfort and consolation unto thee, and be a guide to thy path in the future.
Thou art one of the very select, according to the Grace of God which is in thee and around about thee at the present time like a well of living water, springing up unto life everlasting. For thou art one of the Daughters of Zion, and thou art an heir by birth unto all the blessings that pertain to the New and everlasting Covenant. Thou art also entitled by birth, to all the rights and privileges guaranteed unto us by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America for which our forefathers fought and bled, but which are withheld from us for a short time for a wise purpose in the Lord.
If thou wilt be faithful and live to thy covenant engagements, thou shalt grow in grace and in favor with God and His holy angels, and with the priesthood that bares rule here on the earth.
Thou shalt do much good in thy day and generation among the Saints, and especially among the young and rising generation in teaching them how to read and write and speak the English language properly. Thou shalt teach them by precept and example to refrain from the evil of their ways and to approach the Lord in a right and acceptable manner. Many of them will yet rise up and call thee blessed.
I say unto you, listen to the teachings and instructions that you receive from the elders of God from time to time when they speak and are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. Search the scriptures that are contained in the Bible and the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. Make thyself acquainted with the history of nations and especially with the history of this nation that we constitute a part of, for it will be useful to thee in the future. Thou wilt yet have the privilege of conversing with many of the honorable men and women of the earth upon the principles of eternal life.
The Lord will manifest unto thee by visions and by manifestations of the Holy Spirit from time to time as occasion may require. For thou shalt converse with Holy Angels and with the spirits of just men made perfect, and with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn. Thou shalt be numbered among the mothers of Zion and raise up sons and daughters to the honor and glory of God.
If thou desire it thou shalt assist in giving the saints their endowments. Thy name shalt be had in honorable remembrance among the Saints for thy deeds of charity and benevolence. For thou shalt help comfort the sick and feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, for it is a part of thy mission to the earth in this evening of time.
If thou desirest it, and thy faith fail not, thou shalt live to see the winding-up scene of this generation when all jarrings and contentions shall be done away with, and the laws of the Lord be the laws of the land. Peace shall extend from the rivers to the ends of the earth.
During the Millennium thou shalt associate with the Prophets, Seers, and Revelators, both ancient and modern. Thou shall be able to attend to the redeeming of thy friends and relatives that have died without a knowledge of the truth.
Thy lineage is of Abraham and Sarah through the lions of Isaac and Rebecca. Thou shalt come to thine inheritance in the land of Zion, when the earth is redeemed and sanctified and prepared for the abode of Celestial beings.
These blessings I seal upon thy head and seal
thee up unto eternal life, upon conditions of they faithfulness, in the
name of Jesus Christ, Our redeemer, Even so, Amen.
See also: Grandma
Euphrasia -- a history of Elvira Ephrasia Cox Day written by her grand-daughter,
Stella Day Norman.
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Poetry by Elvira Euphrasia Cox Day
Seek, sisters dear, in all good books
From flowers and trees and mur'mring brooks,
Wisdom, and love, and kindness dear,
That all who know you may feel near
To peace and goodness, and may know
Great joy in life where e'er they go;
That work, and faith, and ev'ry duty,
May educate and show us beauty.
Think less of self, and more of others;
Each do their best and help their mothers.
'Tis little homelike things we see
That count the most eternally.
Be bound together as friend to friend,
Each fault in self, not others mend;
Teach and be taught, thus growing strong,
Make Zion's girls a world-famed throng.
A woman's duty here on earth
Is to make her soul a thing of worth.
Food and clothes we all must get,
But mind and soul we oft forget.
The spirit lives eternally
Progresses learns supernally,
This life is a school where all may learn
The intellectual fires to burn.
Each sacrifice of self we make
Is just one lesson we may take
Into the great beyond. 'Twill give
An impetus to help us live
As God and angels through all time
Are living in their homes sublime.
So let each one seek best to know
How mind and heart forever grow.
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O Pioneer
by Euphrasia
1930
(Tune: "O Ye Mountains High")
O you great Pioneer!
To our hearts you are dear,
When we think of the work you have done;
Conquered mountains so steep,
Rugged canyons so deep,
And the desert to beauty have won.
O Parents! Dear Parents!
Humble yet bold–
Your great works we admire,
All your virtues desire,
May your story forever be told!
Poison reptiles you've killed
Savage hearts you have stilled,
And a nation of red men controlled;
Builded homes safe and strong,
Opened roads wide and long,
And our country's best laws have extolled.
O Parents! Dear Parents!
Faithful to God—
May your precepts live long,
May your offspring grow strong,
In the firm path of duty you've trod.
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Poem for brother Amasa
Transcribed by Esther Smith on Nov. 11, 2009.
[Esther Smith: This poem, written by Euphrasia
to her brother Amasa (always called Am), caught my fancy. I feel
a lot of love in it.]
Eightieth Birthday
of Amasa B. Cox
March 23rd, 1941
Well! Here is another year we’ll miss,
And Am is still Am, and I am his Sis.
In three more years and a week or two
I’ll also be eighty–as old as you.
But whether we live, or whether we die,
It matters but little; the world goes by.
One thing I hope you’ll remember is this:
Am is still Am, and I am his Sis.
—Euphrasia
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Seventy Years Young
Transcribed by Esther Smith on June 16, 2008.
[Esther Smith: I'm 70 now and was happy to find
this poem saved by Kate and given to me by Dorothy. I collect
all sorts of fun toys. But don't call me 'young.' I'm 70 going on
90.]
Seventy
Years Young
by Euphrasia (age 78)
Jan. 21, 1943
Oh yes, we are young folks,
Not old folks at all.
We're forgetting our wisdom
And growing less tall.
You must always remember
It's the seventy years young
Or the eighty or ninety,
That you are among.
"Old Folks" is taboo now!
‘Tis a name we regret!
We are young folks today,
And we'll be younger
yet.
"Young ladies" the women,
"Young fellows" the
men,
Second childhood is with us;
We are kiddies again.
Mud pies on the ditch bank,
Play dinners we'll eat:
Pin a bib ‘neath our chin dear,
To keep us all neat.
"Old Folks" seems disgraceful.
Keep calling us young.
We'll go back to our rompers—
Oh, won't that be fun!
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One More Year has Gone
Written by Euphrasia on a scrap of paper saved by Kate.
No date.
Transcribed by Paul Day on Nov. 24, 2009
One More
Year Has Gone
by Euphrasia Cox Day
One more year has gone,
School days full of fun;
Gladly we return,
To our House;
Students from the Ricks,
Full of youthful tricks,
Mistakes we've had to fix,
Ere we come.
Parker! Parker! the ward that is alive!
All things worthy find a place to thrive.
Onward Upward students' call is clear,
More in number each succeeding year.
Glad are we to greet,
Every friend we meet.
Mothers seem more sweet,
Than before.
E'en the very farms,
Seem possessing charms.
Work has less alarms,
We'll do more.
We'll help the world along,
With our smile and song.
Hope's been growing strong,
And faith more clear.
Acting the best we know,
Ev'er will strive to grow.
Then back to school we go,
Another year.
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A Mother's Prayer
The following unfinished poem was written on scraps of paper by Mrs. Elvira Euphrasia Day shortly before her death. The depth of thought they contain is impressive
A Mother's Prayer-
By Euphrasia Day
Restored by OrvilleDear God, I am growing aged,
My body is weak and ill;
In every step and movement
My end draws nearer still.Please God, don't let me linger,
A burden to those I love;
Especially, Father, my children,
O, God, let them always love
That mother may always be near them
And welcome them above.I love them, O Father, such loving
As a mother may give, steadfast.
I feel that I could not endure
To have them oe'rburdened at last.E'en if their father was with me
To give me a man's strong care,
A strength in my desolate longing,
A support in hour of prayer.I think that my heart would almost
Be utterly broken with grief,
That would come with my children's coldness;
Oh, where could I find relief?The dear, dear children I mothered
In pain and nervous distress,
The ones that I nursed and labored
Always to comfort and bless!For their health and growth and pleasures,
Their loving and winning ways,
I have not forgotten to thank Thee
And render to Thee my praise.When in sickness and pain and in danger
They suffered in deep distress,
I have sought Thee and found Thee my comfort,
Forever willing to bless.And now once more I humbly
Beseech Thee in earnest prayer,
To keep me from being a burden
My children unwillingly bear.O Father, before that hour
Of blackness and hopeless despair
Shall poison my soul, I pray Thee
To take me over there.Perhaps I am somewhat morbid;
Maybe I feel too soon
The touch of a thoughtless sentence
But I seem to feel a doom.They are living their lives as nature
Decreed Thy children should.
No longer the tiny babies
I fondled and kissed and hugged.But though they have fully responded
To my loving and tender care,
The love that their mother has given
The hope, the faith, and the prayer!O Father, fill them with kindness
For my ageing weakness here,
Help them to love me a little
And show me that they care.Help them to see in me somewhat
Of beauty and love always;
Don't let them feel that their mother
Is a burden in her last days.I know I have found Thee ever
So loving and patient and kind;
I come to Thee now with a burden
The greatest a mother can find.So take this sorrow forever
From my heart in my fading years;
Remove from my mind this horror,
And patiently dry my tears.Grant that my children, my dear ones,
A love for their mother may say.
And make them blind to my errors,
And help them on life's way.Be to them always a comfort
When mother no longer is here,
And a glorious hope of a meeting
When I pass beyond this sphere.And may they join me in heaven
When their work on earth shall end;
I pray to Thee Father in Meekness
In Jesus name; Amen.
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Missionary Goodbye
by Euphrasia Cox Day
April 30, 1919
Written to Fred Knight, for a party (given at
Cook's) just before he left for his mission to the Easstern States.
Transcribed by Paul Day on Nov. 30, 2009, from original hand-written
verse on a small piece of paper.
Goodbye, old chap, we wish you luck,
And we're sure you'll have that
same,
For we know by the pas you've full of pluck
Enough of spunk to e right game.
I see where your dreams are coming true,
Travel and sights in lands afar,
You'll see ocean broad and blue
And measure strength with men
that are.
O, I envy you! -- No, hardly that,
But women's chances are mighty
small,
They're crimped and trimmed to a narrow sphere,
And bounded by many a hindering
wall.
But then, perhaps there's a recompense,
"Where much is given, much is
required,"
A woman's supposed to have small sense,
And get small pay wherever she's
hired.
So, of course her duties are equally small,
But we carry our burden and don't
complain,
And we're glad when our men folks get a call,
Rejoicing over the things they
gain.
The thought that strengthens a woman's will,
And makes her willing to work
and slave,
Is, you're not in the army that goes to kill,
But the army that goes to bless
and save.
So go on your mission with head erect,
Teach the Gospel with all your
might,
Don't worry at faults you may detect,
But pray, be humble, and get the
light.
As for Bell, of course she's going to cry,
All little girls do that at times,
It'll be quite hard, but the mails come by,
And she'll send her "hubby" lots
of dimes.
She's plucky, and smily, and by and by,
She'll be counting the days till
you return,
And she has the kiddies to kiss and dry,
And the Lord will make her His
concern.
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Bernice
Written to Kate because she had asked for a copy from her grandmother
(Euphrasia).
Transcribed by Paul Day on Nov. 30, 2009, from original hand-written
verse on a small piece of paper.
Bernice
by Euphrasia
June 8, 1942
Your whole desire
Is to help and inspire.
The weak and sorrowing here,
makes a shroud of pure white,
And a halo of light,
What beautiful clothes she must wear,
If the kind words we give
To all where we live,
Plants a blossom of beauty up There
What masses of bloom --
What exquisite perfume,
She has planted in Heaven with care.
When one's spirit has flown
To God's great unknown,
If the wealth we take with us from earth.
Is the gifts that we give
While in this life we live,
What marvelous wealth she is worth!
If our mansion above
Is built with our love,
And desire to do more than we can,
Her dwelling must be
More than mortals can see --
Past all comprehension of man!
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Woman and a Man
Woman and a Man
by Euphrasia
(no date)
How does a woman love? Once, no more.
Though life's forever its loss will deplore.
Deep in virtue or deep in sin
One king reigneth, her heart within.
One voice only her heart can call
Back from the grasp of death's enthrall.
One alone by night or day
Moves her spirit to curse or pray.
How does a man love? Once for all.
The sweetest voices of life may call,
Sorrows daunt him or death dismay,
Joys, red roses bedeck his way,
Fortune smile, or jest or frown,
The cruel frown of the world turn down,
Better than wife or child or pelf,
Once and forever he loves himself.
Meaning of the word "pelf" in the second to last line (from http://en.wiktionary.org)
--
Etymology - Old French pelfre, "booty, stolen
goods." It is related to pilfer.
(archaic) money; riches; gain; especially
when dishonestly acquired
Thoughts about this poem:
Paul Day (great-grandson): This poem is not the end-all of Euphrasia's opinion of men. She had a hard life as a single mother, and knew firsthand the disadvantages of women in her time. I put this poem in that context. It should be read in the tone of exaggeration to make a point. It's a sporty jab at men.
Miriam Greenland (ganddaughter): I think every woman has felt frustration at the selfishness of her husband at one time or another, but that’s not to say that is what defines us. I also think there are times when men feel the same about women, they just don’t write a poem about it. Grandma was apparently going through a difficult time when she wrote it and at the moment undoubtedly believed it. Personally, I don’t think it needs explanations, the reader can come to their own conclusions. A news reporter once asked Sister Hinckley if she had ever considered divorce. Her answer, “Divorce, NO! Murder, YES.” Who knows what Grandma Day’s intention was.
Esther Smith (granddaughter): I just think it's funny. I laugh when I read it.
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Love
Transcribed by Paul Day on Dec. 2, 2009
from original hand-written verse on a torn scrap of paper.
Love
by Euphrasia
Sept. 30, 1926
'Tis a word that's breathed by every soul,
'Tis a thought that comes to young and old,
'Tis bruised and broken and battered and bent,
'Tis given new meaning that never was meant,
'Tis mistaken for thrills for emotions of lust,
'Tis desecrated and tramped in the dust,
And is still called
love.
But the thing that gives you an infinite joy,
This thing whose virtue you cannot destroy,
That enters your soul with peace that's kept,
That shows you why Christ both died and wept,
That leads man up to an infinite call,
That teaches you God and heaven and all,
Yes that is love.
And a thing that's placed in a woman's heart,
To keep her performing a mother's part,
The passion she feels for the babe at her breast,
When the tiny hand relaxes in rest,
Is also love.
You have learned how tender and pure and true,
Is the love that I'll have forever for you,
The mother's love.
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Said Something Good
Transcribed by Paul Day on Dec. 2, 2009
from original hand-written verse on a small piece of paper.
Said Something
Good
For Manti Old Folks, March 29, 1942
by Euphrasia
I met Peter Monk. Kindly nodding his head.
"I heard something good about you someone said."
"About me? Whose been saying a good thing of me?"
"'Twas good, but I mustn't tell who, don't
you see."
You may think it was Parley, or Peter, or Fred,
Wilfred, Harry or Russell, or Haze Clark, or Ed,
Charley, L.R., Robert, Leland, or Chris.
Just any of these the good credit won't miss.
But if I'd said "someone has said something bad,"
I'd tell you just who, tho it might make
you mad.
Then you wouldn't be blaming an innocent one,
You could think all the rest were as friendly as
fun.
Like Laura, Louisa, Luella, and Chel,
Karen, Miranda, Agnes, Isabelle,
Dorotha, Evalyn, Stena, and May,
These always are kindly, with good things to say.
In fact you may think that all Manti folk
Say good things, not bad things, tho sometimes they
joke.
But one can take jokes for just what is meant,
And never get angry at Alma or Brent.
And have a good laugh.
Bill Mc, or Howard, or Julius, or John,
Andrew, or George B, or Gerald or Don,
Lou, Charles, or Joseph, or Dose, Edgar T.
Ray, Earnest, or Lawrence, or Jim, or L.P.
Fred, Henry, or Frank, or Merit, or Lloyd,
Elmer, Alphonzo, or Gerald or Howard,
Adella, and Jessie, and Vera, and Lettie,
Katherine, Jane, and Sarah, and Nattie.
Antoinette, Lizzie, Olena, and Jan,
Frances, and Millie each good as her man.
Tina, and Stena, and Emily too.
Be sure we are all saying good things
About you.
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In the Temple
Transcribed by Paul Day on Dec. 5, 2009
from original hand-written verse on a small piece of paper.
In the
Temple
by Euphrasia, 1939
My burdens were heavy to bear.
Life seemed a sad delusion:
All things of
earth
were shorn of
worth,
And Heaven and God confusion.
From the shelf
I took
That worn old
book,
And read of the temples of old;
Then I tried
to fin
a house of that
kind,
With blessings of which it told.
The house I was seeking I found!
Though I entered with doubts and
fearful,
When a holy
calm,
Like heavenly
balm,
Gave joy where I'd been so tearful.
Now day after
day
I'm wending
my way,
To thehouse that seems divine;
And the peac
we share,
as we tarry
there,
I hope shall for age be mine.
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Sleepy Head
Transcribed by Paul Day on Dec. 6, 2009
from original hand-written verse on a small piece of paper.
Sleepy
Head
by Euphrasia, January 1941
"Wake up!" My mother shook the bed.
"The sun is up. You sleepy head."
And I can hardly ope' my eyes.
It seems too early for bright skies.
But now the sun's
a "sleepy head."
This time of
year it lays a bed.
The school bus
often comes for me
Before a speck
of sun I see.
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Alone!
Transcribed by Paul Day on Dec. 7, 2009
from original hand-written verse on a small piece of paper.
Alone!
by Euphrasia (no date)
Alone I tread life's dreary pathway sent
I know not whence.
Across my troubled way
Rising in mysts uncertain cold and gray --
Shadows of hope and fear together blent,
Anon the dark
thick clouds apart are rent --
Love wakens and makes glad the passing hours,
My way leads onward o'er upspringing flowers.
And past brooks
murmuring with a sweet content.
Yet as I clasp this joy and think this hour
my own,
Behold it fades!
Again in solitude
I stand,
And watch the
lights wane o'er a darkening land.
The wind soles round me
With a bitter moan;
When all unlooked for, with a grim firm hand,
Death ope's the gate,
And I pass out -- Alone!
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Commentary on this poem (Alone!)
Paul Day:
Regarding these two lines:
The
wind soles round me
With a bitter moan;
I found only three definitions for sole(s) in the dictionary: (1) the sole of your foot (underside of foot) (2) a type of fish. (3) solitary, the only one.
I studied Euphrasia's handwriting of this word, and she definitely wrote "soles," so I wondered if there is a meaning of "soles" that is out of use today. I consulted a 19th century dictionary, and did not find another useage for that period. So I put myself in Euphrasia's shoes and thought of different words that could fit here instead of "soles." I came up with "rolls", "sails", "rushes", "passes", "fans", "roars", "storms", "slides", "blows", "rages". A cousin said "soars" would work. I like Esther's suggestion of "swirls" best. Hence, "The wind swirls round me with a bitter moan".
It is interesting how a single word can change the impact and mood of a verse.
At least my question goads me to ponder her words more slowly. Thinking what other words could fit is a unique exercise. It is a good way to ponder a key word in a favorite scripture, to stretch intuitive powers, to be inspired. You can ask yourself, if you were Euphrasia, what other word might you have used here instead of "soles"? Or if you were you, what word would you use?
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Esther Smith (granddaughter)::
I like the sound of "soles". It gives
me the feeling of blowing right into her soul. I guess you could
change it to "swirls". I think this expresses more truly her feeling about
men. And life. She was more lonely for family than she ever
expected to be as one of 27 children in her parent's family. Years ago,
I gave Euphrasia's history at the DUP. I used this poem at the end
as I told of her death. Yes, it's poignant.
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The Golden Wedding
Transcribed by Paul Day on Dec. 7, 2009
from a typewritten copy on onion skin paper.
The
Golden Wedding
by: Euphrasia, Nov. 13th, 1940
Tune: "Secret Prayer"
A day of peace and deep content
Looms large before you now;
For fifty years of life well spent
To keep your saced vow.
Chorus
Fifty years of smiles and tears,
Duties done, successes won,
Patient work in ev'ry way,
Brings Golden Wedding Day!
May mem'ries of your self control,
And kindly favors given,
To many a sick or sorrowing soul,
Make your last days a heaven.
The kindly words and helpful deeds,
You've reched to the distressed,
Will be remembered years and years,
By those whom you have blessed.
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Genealogy Song
Transcribed by Paul Day on Dec. 8, 2009
from original hand-written verse on a small piece of paper.
Genealogy
Song
by: Euphrasia (no date) Tune:
Waiting
for the Reaper's cycle, p. 132
[Another tune - O
Thou Rock of Our Salvation” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, no. 258]
Hail to all our Kindred gathered!
Hail to Relatives all dear!
Each one hopes to know each better,
For the days we're spending here.
Chorus
Gather names of all our people,
Gather names from far and near,
Genealogy completed,
We the sons of God appear.
Stories, songs, and games, and laughter,
Hymns of praise, and words of
prayer,
Lift our souls to the Creator,
Make life helpful, bright and
fair.
Get acquainted all you cousins,
Know each sire and mother's name,
Sing the praise of great ancestors,
Learn the source from whence you
came.
Gather up the names of Coxes,
Follow His'try's tangled thread,
When the lists are all completed,
Join the living with the dead.
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Commentary on Euphrasia's poetry
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Paul Day - I can tell these
scraps of paper with Euphrasia' poems are original. First, by the
original ink. Second, because the scraps of paper are unique.
And third, most intriguing, because some words are crossed out and replaced
with other words.
Two examples:
I'd tell you just who, tho it made you quite
mad.
changed to
I'd tell you just who, tho it might make you
mad.
And a thing that's placed in a mother's
heart,
To keep her pure for a
mother's part,
changed to
And a thing that's placed in a woman's
heart,
To keep her performing
a mother's part,
She could have penned these poems from scratch with almost no alterations except the crossed out words here and there. Or she could have had an earlier draft with more tries, thrown away. Anyway, it is provocative to see how she changed some words. But I have not shown the alterations in her poems, because they are distractions from the final words.
I like this activity of transcribing and preserving these poems. Like a trek back in time, into the heart and mind of Euphrasia. Like Esther said, having the actual paper in hand is like a spiritual contact, like in the movies when a clairvoyant or visionary asks to hold something owned by the missing or deceased person, to feel their presence and sense a message.
I have never thought of myself as one who enjoys poetry. In general
I prefer dialogue or straight prose. Most poetry is too complex to
appreciate - I wish they would just say what the message is and forget
about trying to rhyme. But Euphrasia's poetry is enchanting to me.
Her words flow well, easy to understand, and I marvel at her inspiration
and skill. Instead of to an impatient mood, her words draw me to
musing and to her spirit, as I envision her penning the words, and because
I have grown close to her and want to know her better. And because
of empathy and love for her life and her devotion. I like pioneer
women, most especially when I am from them, and part of them, and they
of me, literally and in spirit -- I feel and find myself in them.
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Elvira Euphrasia Cox Day
