The Beck Line
The last weekend of May, we continued our documentation of family graves, this time in Utah and Sanpete Counties to follow-up on the Beck line.
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw's Fan Chart with burial locations. |
Springville City Cemetery
Springville is the resting place of Elder Burkinshaw's great-grandfather Reid Beck and his second wife, Willda Maycock Beck.
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw at the grave markers for great grandfather Reid Beck and his second wife Willda Maycock Beck in the Springville City Cemetery where Willda's family, the Maycocks are also buried. |
 |
| Grave of Reid Beck, for which Elder Burkinshaw added GPS coordinates in FindAGrave to make it easier to find. |
 |
| Grave of Willda Maycock Beck, one of the few great grandparents Elder Burkinshaw knew growing up. |
Provo City Cemetery
Elder Burkinshaw's great-grandmother, Annie Passey Beck, who died in the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 following childbirth where the baby girl was stillborn. Annie's mother had died four days before her daughter. The son of Reid Beck and Annie Passey Beck, Reid Woodrow Beck, who died of leukemia at age 12 is also buried near his mother and maternal grandparents.
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw behind the grave of his great grandmother Annie Passey Beck at the Provo City Cemetery where she was buried near her parents. |
 |
| Gravestone of Elder Burkinshaw's great grandmother Annie Passey Beck. |
 |
| Gravestone of Reid Woodrow Beck, son of Reid and Annie Beck, who died of leukemia at age 12. |
 |
| Gravestone of Elder Burkinshaw's great great grandparents George Passey and Adeline (Addie) Daley Passey. George was baptized at age 14 in Birmingham, England and emigrated with his family to Utah in 1861. He met "Addie" in Paris, ID and they were married by Wilford Woodruff in Endowment House in 1874. From 1883 to 1898 they lived in Mesa, AZ before moving to Provo. Because they both lived in Utah before the coming of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, they are considered pioneers and in 1997 the "Faith in Every Footstep" plaque was added to their grave marker. |
Farmington Cemetery
Adeline "Addie" Daley Passey's parents, Phineas Marion Daley and Adeline Grover Daley lived and were buried in Mesa, AZ. Adeline Grover Daley's parents were Thomas Grover and Caroline Emma Whiting Grover. Caroline Whiting Grover died at the young age of 31 a week after bearing her seventh child and is buried in the old Nauvoo Burial Grounds with no legible grave marker. Her husband, Thomas Grover, lived a long life (with five additional wives) and is buried in the Farmington Cemetery. Thomas and Caroline joined the church in 1834 in Freedom, NY (65 miles SW of Palmyra). Thomas served in various callings in the Church including the Nauvoo High Council (see D&C 124:132).
 |
| Grave marker for Elder Burkinshaw's 4th great grandfather, Thomas Grover in the Farmington Cemetery. |
 |
| The south side of Thomas Grover's memorial reads as follows: Thomas Grover, An enterprising, industrious & charitable pioneer. A devoted & faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Captain in the Nauvoo Legion & personal bodyguard of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Called on several missions and to serve on numerous High Councils of the church. |
 |
| The east side of Thomas Grover's memorial gives the names of his beloved wives. Elder Burkinshaw's family comes through his first wife, Caroline Whiting, who died in Nauvoo a week after giving birth to her seventh child and she is buried in the old Nauvoo Cemetery. |
 |
| The north side of Thomas Grover's memorial recognizes some of his accomplishments: Member of the Original Pioneer Co. of 1847 One of the founders of Centerville (first mayor) & Farmington, Utah Served in Territorial Legislature & as Davis County Judge |
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw with the grave marker of his 4th great grandfather, Thomas Grover. |
Spring City Cemetery
Elder Burkinshaw's great great grandparents Simon Thomsen Beck and Sarah Ann Crawforth Beck are buried in the Spring City cemetery next to Sarah Ann's parents, Charles Longhorn Crawforth and Martha Moore Crawforth.
 |
| Aunt Robyn with Elder Burkinshaw behind the grave marker of Simon Thomsen Beck and Sarah Ann Crawforth in Spring City, Sanpete County, Utah. |
 |
| The gravestone of Simon Thomsen (or Thompson) Beck and Sarah Ann Crawforth Beck. |
 |
| Sister and Elder Burkinshaw behind the grave marker of Charles Longhorn Crawforth and Martha Moore Crawforth at the Spring City Cemetery. |
 |
| A close-up of the grave marker for Charles Longhorn Crawforth and Martha Moore Crawforth. The inscription, which is a little hard to read from the photo, is as follows: IN MY FATHERS HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS CHARLES CRAWFORTH Born in Hull Eng MAY 24, 1824 Died Spring City OCT 30, 1910 MARTHA CRAWFORTH Born in Sutton, Eng SEP 27, 1831 Died Spring City FEB 9, 1886 Our dear parents |
BYU and University of Utah Campus
While we were in Provo visiting the graves, Elder and Sister Burkinshaw took their morning walk from the Provo Marriott all the way around the BYU campus. It continues to change quite a bit and with the season of COVID-19, the campus was essentially empty on an early Saturday morning in May.
 |
| Vivian Park in Provo Canyon where Sister Burkinshaw's father (Grandpa Stevens) tried to belly-bump Elder Burkinshaw into the creek when he was still evaluating him as a potential son-in-law. |
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw with the Y in the background from BYU's south campus. |
 |
| Karl G Maeser Building and garden. |
 |
| Statue of Karl G. Maeser who served as the Mission President in Switzerland and who taught Elder Burkinshaw's third great grandfather, Johannes Kunz II in Diemtigen, near Bern Switzerland (see our London Temple Blog) |
 |
| Statue of Brigham Young between the Smoot Administration Building and the Harold B Lee Library. |
 |
| Just north of the Law School, there was a nice lawn (now a parking lot) where Elder and Sister Burkinshaw met each other playing volleyball for a ward activity. Five months later, we were married! ;-) |
 |
| The old Engineering (Clyde) Building where Elder Burkinshaw lived during graduate school and where Sister Burkinshaw typed his Thesis after 10:00pm when the cheap computer time was available! ;-) |
 |
| The new Engineering Building which is attached to the old Engineering (Clyde) Building. |
 |
| Elder and Sister Burkinshaw along the walking path on the south side of Campus. |
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw in front of Amanda Knight Hall where he learned Portuguese at the Brazilian LTM (Language Training Mission) back in June 1974). |
 |
| Sister Burkinshaw enjoying a hot dog from J Dawg's on the south side of Campus. |
 |
| Elder and Sister Burkinshaw along the nice walking path with stream along the south side of the BYU Campus. |
The previous week, we had walked around the University of Utah campus, so here's a few pictures for comparison.
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw in front of the John R Park Administration Building on "The Circle". |
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw in front of the new Institute Building at the University of Utah where the old Institute was located and where Elder Burkinshaw attended classes. |
 |
| It was a snowy morning when we walked the University of Utah campus on Saturday May 23rd. |
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw in front of Gardner Hall where he took Music 101 from Paul Banham. One day Professor Banham was late for class and the rule was that 15 minutes after a class should have started, the students may leave without penalty. During the 15 minutes, several students made disparaging remarks about the Professor. So at 15 minutes, all the students started to leave and suddenly the grand piano opened and Professor Banham crawled out. He wanted to know what the students thought of his class and he got plenty of uncensored feedback! ;-) |
 |
| The University Ward building where Elder Burkinshaw also attended a few Institute classes and several firesides. |
Paul and Molly's Visit to Utah
Paul and Molly along with Olivia, Aislee, Ewan, Elin, Esme, Adelaide, Isobel and Emerson traveled from Prosper, TX to SLC because Molly's brother Coy and his wife were sealed in the Oquirrah Mountain Temple on Saturday, June 6th so we got to have the older 6 grandchildren stay with us. We also took a hike along the Mormon Trail which prepared us for our mission activity the following week.
 |
| The monument at Big Mountain Pass where the downward (backward compared to the pioneers journey) began. |
 |
| A closeup of the plaque at Big Mountain pass with a summary of the history. |
 |
| From on top of Big Mountain Pass, Brigham Young had his first view of the Salt Lake Valley. It was here that he made the famous statement "This is the right place. Drive on." |
 |
| Three of our little hikers, Esme (6), Elin (9) and Adelaide (almost 5), on the Mormon Trail which leads down from Big Mountain to Little Dell Reservoir. |
 |
| Ewan (10) cooling his feet in Little Dell Reservoir which was at one end of the trail. |
 |
| Paul and Isobel hiking up from Mormon Flat to Big Mountain Pass. The original plan was for Paul and Elder Burkinshaw to park the cars at the bottom (Mormon Flat) and meet Molly and Sister Burkinshaw and the rest of the kids half-way as they started at the top (Big Mountain Pass). However, being unfamiliar that there were two paths, we ended up at different locations with no cell service, very exciting. But in the end (after Paul did a little more hiking) we all ended up together. ;-) |
 |
| The plaque at Mormon Flat. |
 |
| Paul and the little sweeties in the pool at the Draper Springhill Suites. With the virus restrictions, you could sign up for an hour of exclusive family time in the pool. |
 |
| Aislee, Esme, Elin and Isobel (with Lamby) eating popsicles in Elder and Sister Burkinshaw's apartment. |
Elder Burkinshaw's 65th Birthday
Elder Burkinshaw has reached Medicare age! ;-) Here's a few pictures of his birthday.
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw with a dozen Crumbl Cookies sent by his children. After age 65, calories no longer matter! Actually we had plenty of Sister missionaries happy to assist in eating the cookies ;-) |
 |
| President David E Young, who was our mission president in the Brazil Vitória Mission, brought Elder Burkinshaw some birthday balloons, Crumbl cookies and a very special baseball cap with the Angel Moroni in front and "Keep on the Covenant Path" on the back. It was great to see President Young as the last time we saw him was in Billings before we went to serve in the London Temple in the late summer of 2017. |
 |
| Sister Burkinshaw brought some Laffy Taffy to the office so that everyone who came to wish Elder Burkinshaw a Happy Birthday could have a treat and tell him a corny joke to add to his repertoire! ;-) |
 |
| Aunt Robyn took Elder and Sister Burkinshaw to Ruth's Diner (up Emigration Canyon) for Elder Burkinshaw's Birthday on Saturday, June 13th as we were busy with the mission activity until late on his birthday and the two following evenings. Great location, great food! |
Mormon Trail Mission Activity
Before President and Sister Fisher depart at the end of June, they wanted to have a special activity for the Sisters of the mission so we divided the mission into three groups to hike the Mormon Trail from Big Mountain Pass (where Brigham Young looked on the Salt Lake Valley for the first time and said, "This is the right place. Drive on.") to Mormon Flat. This was the steepest part of the Mormon Trail and this is the spot where the Donner Party disastrously lost so much time the year before (1846) because they had to cut a trail for their wagons. However their work, aided the Saints in 1847. The pioneers actually went uphill from Mormon Flat to Big Mountain Pass (1400 feet increase in elevation over the 4.5 miles) but we had the Sisters hike the opposite way which made it downhill. ;-)
 |
| Sister Fisher gives some directions to the Sisters before beginning their hike. |
 |
| The beginning of the the trail from Big Mountain Pass to Mormon Flat. |
 |
| Sister Weitziel helps Sister Duapa (Phillipines) across a stream along a narrow log. |
 |
| Sister Davik (Norway) and Sister Knudsen (reassigned from Brasil and from New Braunfels, TX). |
 |
| Sister Orr (South Dakota) and Sister Lourenço (Minas Gerais, Brasil). |
 |
| At the end of the 4.5 mile trail, the Sisters enjoyed the cool mountain stream. |
 |
| Sister Burkinshaw finished the hike first and took a selfie as she completed her hike. |
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw coming out of the undergrowth at the end of the trail. |
 |
| At the end of the trail, there was a covering for shade with plenty of cold water and popsicles. |
 |
| Elder and Sister Burkinshaw with the rest of our East 1 Zone with tie-dyed Tee-shirts. |
 |
| Sister Mace, the Mission Nurse and Sister Burkinshaw sitting under the pavilion waiting for dinner. |
 |
| Three of the Sisters from our District showing their spiffy tie-dyed t-shirts with East 1 (for East Zone 1). |
 |
| Elder Burkinshaw with his favorite, Sister Jimenez from Nicaragua. She tore the ligaments in her ankle several weeks ago and Elder Burkinshaw has provided regular priesthood blessings of both health and comfort for her. For his birthday, Sister Jimenez gave him a nice card and a new aluminum consecrated oil vial to carry on his key chain. |
 |
| Volleyball was a favorite activity after dinner. |
 |
| The Thurston Family brought a team of Clydsdales to pull a wagon of Sisters around the property. |
 |
| There was a handcart and some of the Sisters had a chance to pull and push while others rode. |
 |
| The final activity of the evening was gathering around a fire with some of the Sisters making S'mores and President Fisher in his cowboy hat with his guitar singing hymns and John Denver and other songs from the '70s. The Sisters loved it! |
The Signs of the Times
Charles Dickens description in A Tale of Two Cities is so fitting for us at this time.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." It describes how the agency of men makes all the difference in how we approach life and in how we progress, as Father Lehi taught (see 2 Nephi 2:16)
Here at Temple Square, our missionaries are particularly busy teaching on-line since so many people are at home and given more time to consider the important things of life, are seeking to know if God has a plan for them.
Once the Sisters have investigators to the point of seeking the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, they work with the missionaries in the area of that investigator (be in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America or North America) so they can join the Church. Our multi-lingual Sisters get requests everyday to teach in a plethora of languages. People's lives are changing for the better every day.
At the same time, in the past two months, our missionaries have experienced "... pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matthew 24:7) and now most recently riots! Who would have ever believed what has happened in downtown Salt Lake City? The mission president's wife, Sister Fisher, told our Sisters that in the past two months they have learned more than they could have learned at any University.
 |
| A Salt Lake Police car overturned and set on fire by protesters at 4th South and 2nd East while other protesters hurl rocks and bottles at the police on Saturday, May 30. |
 |
| Protesters passing in front of our apartment at 201 E South Temple on their way up to the Utah State Capitol Building. The entrance to our parking garage was spray painted with obscenities by members of this group. |
 |
| A picture from our apartment at 201 E South Temple looking about 4 blocks south with protesters, police in riot gear and armored vehicles. |
After two cars were overturned and set on fire and several clothing stores and the Apple Store at City Creek Mall were looted, the Mayor of Salt Lake asked the Governor to send in the National Guard and mandated an 8:00pm Saturday, May 30 to 6:00am Monday, June 1, 2020 morning curfew to stem the violence.
 |
| Another picture from our apartment as the curfew took affect and protesters who would not leave were loaded into a large white Salt Lake County bus. The news reported that 41 persons were arrested. |
 |
| This is what we saw on the corner of State Street and South Temple just across the street from the Beehive House when we walked to work on Monday morning after the weekend of protester violence. Note the soldier with the AR-15 in the shadows. |
 |
| After several stores were looted at City Creek Mall on Saturday night, the entire Mall was closed for the week and boarded up so no additional damage could be done. |
 |
| Protesters sitting at the intersection of South Temple and 200 East, which is in front of our apartment building on Monday evening, June 8, 2020. |
For Elder and Sister Burkinshaw, this was a deja vu of the Vitória police strike (see our Vitória Brazil Mission blog) which happened just before we finished our mission in February 2017, complete with the looting, helicopters, armored vehicles and soldiers with machine guns. Surely this is a sign of the times.
During the past two weeks (May 30 to June 14) Temple Square has had to be closed at 5:00pm each evening and barricaded to protect the buildings from the protesters. While it was a bit scary for our Sister Missionaries at first, they are now taking it all in stride and the work continues.
Two weeks before the protests and riots began, we had shared the following message at the Sunday morning devotional for our Mission.
Our Perspective on Life's Adversities
Temple Square Mission Devotional, Sunday, May 17, 2020
Jeff
We want to share a message of optimism in the face of the adversities around us.
About 10 days before we were to finish our mission in Brazil, a police strike allow a very small, but lawless minority to terrorize the city of Vitória where we lived. No one dared to leave their home. 144 people were murdered, over a thousand cars were stolen and hundreds of businesses were looted. A week later, it took over 3,000 armed soldiers, 180 armored vehicles and 3 helicopters to restore order. Our hearts ached for so many good people who suffered so much and we thought we would never see such adversity again.
Stacey
President Dallin H Oaks said, "a scripture is not limited to what it meant when it was written but may also include what that scripture means to a reader today." (Dallin H Oaks, "Scripture Reading and Revelation" Ensign, January 1995)
Our Brazil experience and COVID-19 today brings to mind Paul's admonition to the Corinthian saints in the midst their adversity:
"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; ...For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor 4:8-9)
This is called perspective: The ability to look beyond today's troubles and see Heavenly Father's ultimate plan.
Jeff
45 years ago as a young missionary in Brazil, I heard Elder James E Faust share a similar perspective:
"...Last week I ... walked to the São Paulo Temple site ... where the first temple in South America will soon be erected. ...I recalled how thirty-six yeas ago it took missionaries 21 days at sea to reach São Paulo. ...In all of South America, there was but a mere handful of members... As I stood ... where this new temple will stand, I recalled how difficult and unpromising the future of the Church appeared in South America thirty-six years ago. In all of our mission, we had only three baptisms in one year, despite the conscientious labors of over seventy missionaries. We did not have the [scriptures] translated into Portuguese. We held our meetings in rooms where we had to empty bottles and trash from the revelry of the night before prior to holding our meetings. It was always difficult and often discouraging." (James E Faust, "The Keys of the Kingdome," GC, October 1975)
Stacey
In 1939, there were only a handful of members of the Church in Brazil. By 1975, when Elder Burkinshaw was a young missionary, there were about 40,000 members. Today, there are over 40,000 new members baptized each year in Brazil and there are nearly 1.5 million members.
Before leaving Brazil, Elder Burkinshaw and I walked on the grounds of the Temple in São Paulo which was but a distant vision when Elder Faust was a young missionary back in 1939. That perspective gave us hope during the Vitória police strike and it should give us hope in the "earthquakes and pestilences" and tumults of today.
Jeff
When life becomes difficult, I like to read the biographies of the Presidents of the Church, who have all weathered the storms of life. President Spencer W Kimball is my favorite. He had many of his own trials and often quoted his cousin Elder Orson F. Whitney who also knew much adversity, but provided perspective on the challenges of life:
“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to obtain and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.” ("Tragedy or Destiny", BYU Devotional, Dec 6, 1955)
Stacey
The Lord repeatedly gave the prophet Joseph Smith this grand perspective:
"Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings." D&C 58:3-4)
As the poet said, "The best is yet to be."
Elder and Sister Burkinshaw
