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justfun77 (The Glass for the St. George Tabernacle ** )

The Glass for the St. George Tabernacleby Thomas S. Monson


    In his conference talk of April 4, 1987, President Thomas S. Monson recounted the following story, dealing with obtaining the glass for the windows of the St. George Tabernacle:

    “The glass had been manufactured in the East.  Then it had been placed on a ship in New York, which sailed forth on the long and at times perilous journey around Cape Horn and up to the West Coast of America.  The precious glass, stored in cartons, was then transported to San Bernardino, California, to await the overland trek to St. George.

    “David Cannon and the brethren in St. George had the duty to go to San Bernardino with their teams and wagons to retrieve the glass, that the tabernacle of the Lord could be completed.  One problem remained – they needed the astronomical sum of $800 to pay for the glass.  They had no money. David Cannon turned to his wife and his son and asked, ‘Do you think that we can raise the money, that we might obtain the glass for the tabernacle?’

    “His tiny boy, David, Jr., said, ‘Daddy, I know we can!’  He then produced two cents of his own money and give it to his father.  Wilhelmina Cannon, David’s wife, went through the secret hiding places that all women have in their houses.  Her search produced $3.50 in silver.  The community was scoured for money, and at length the sum of $200 was accumulated – $600 short of the required amount.

    “David Cannon sighed the sigh of despair of one who had failed although he had tried his best.  The little family was really too weary to sleep and too discouraged to eat, so they prayed.  Morning dawned.  There gathered the teamsters with their wagons and teams, prepared to undertake the long journey to San Bernardino. But they had no $600.

    “Then there came a knock at the door, and Peter Nielsen, from the nearby community of Washington, entered the house.  He said to David Cannon, ‘Brother Cannon, I have had a persistent dream that I should bring the money that I had saved to expand my house – bring it to you, that you would have a purpose for it.’

    “While all of the men gathered around the table, including little David, Jr., Peter Nielsen took out a red bandanna and dropped gold pieces, one by one, upon the table.  When David Cannon counted the gold
pieces, they totaled $600 – the exact amount needed to obtain the glass.  Within an hour the men waved goodbye and, with their teams, set forth on their journey to San Bernardino.

— The Ensign, May 1987.


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