Question
Which of the founding fathers was the work NOT done for in the St. George temple? I think there were 3.
Dennis
Answer
Dennis,
All the founding fathers had their work performed for them. In 1877, President Woodruff shared the following:
“That two weeks before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, ‘You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever been done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.’ These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them. The thought never entered my heart, from the fact, I suppose, that heretofore our minds were reaching after our more immediate friends and relatives. I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon brother McCallister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others; I then baptized him for every President of the United States, except three; and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them.”
The current President, Ulysses S. Grant, was the only President living. As you traverse the list of baptized Presidents, you see that they are done in order, with two noticeable absences: Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan. Martin Van Buren is infamous in LDS history. The Prophet Joseph petitiioned President Van Buren for redress on account of their sufferings in Missouri. The President replied, “Gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you. … If I take up for you I shall lose the vote of Missouri.”
James Buchanan was the President during the so-called “Utah War”, sending Johnston’s Army to stop a rebellion that hadn’t begun. President Heber J. Grant had the work of these three men done.
Gramps
