They Knew The Prophet Joseph

James Houston Sr. Knew Joseph Smith; His wife Margaret had a visit from a stranger telling her to join the Church

Here are the conversion stories of James Houston and Margaret Crawford. James knew the prophet Joseph Smith. His wife's conversion story about the stranger that visited her home and wrote on their freshly white-washed wall is equally fascinating.

James is the father of James Houston who is the father of Lucy Houston (grand-daughter of James Houston Sr.) Lucy Houston is the grandmother of Reid A. Robison (mother of Gloria Dawn Adams Robison). This means James Houston Sr. is the great-great grandfather of Reid A. Robison and the first person in that line to join the Church.

Margaret Crawford is the wife of James Houston Sr. and the great-great grandmother of Reid A. Robison and the first person in that family line to join the Church.


Conversion Story of James Houston Sr.

“I was brought up to be a shawl weaver. I saw a lot of trouble in my youth. It caused me to reflect much and I had a strong desire to know the true way to be saved in the kingdom of God. I saw that the great men did not agree on what was right. There was no use of me trying (presumably to reconcile my religious desires with the common teachings of the time), but still I had a great desire to know, (the truth about religion).

One day I was at an election meeting when the priest was doing his best. While he was speaking upon the subject of “What To Do To Be Saved,” I felt a desire to (some day) be with the good people when they were gathered together.

I continued praying in my heart when eventually something came over me that made me feel good all over. I did not say anything about it to others. I often thought about it, but did not know what it was. But I know now.

The Lord heard my prayers and gave me the answer (the knowledge) that I would be shown the right way. At this time I think that I was about 14 years old. (James Sr. was born on June 4, 1817)

I worked as an apprentice for two years under my brother, John (just before he died). After his death, he came to me one night in a dream. He asked me some questions and I asked him some. From that time on things took a turn (presumably he meant to say that he began to understand). I can see many ways that the Lord opened up the way for me to see the gospel.

The Elders (Mormon) came to Paisley about the time of my dream. The Elders were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was so engrossed in company that I did not get to hear them.

I went to a place one night and they would not let me in for they had been disturbed the night before. However, I did get into conversation when one of those who did hear and had attended the meeting the night before. He told me of the Angel appearing to Joseph Smith and what the Angel said. I got the loan of a “voice of warning” and began to read. The devil was mad and I did not know what was the matter. The man of the house where I lodged was religious and what I read in the book was so good, I began to preach to him. It made him “raving” mad and he said “all these things are done away….” In anger he went on to speak of “……sins…..” etc. I could not understand why he was so mad and me so glad. But I was not to be put off that way. I could not get ride of that feeling (of gladness) and I would argue in the workshop until I was astonished at myself.

I sailed for America in 1840 with a small company of the Saints under the direction of Brother Millner. I could see the same spirit manifest against the Saints (on board ship). All this confirmed my newly found faith.

After a pleasant journey of nine weeks, we landed in New Orleans. The Gospel had a great affect on my mind and I thought a great deal. Brother Millner invited me home with him to Springnel (State not mentioned). While I believed the Gospel to be true, I thought that I was not good enough to be baptized. However, I went to the meetings regularly and in 1841, I was baptized and confirmed the same night.

I knew that the Gospel was true for I received the ‘spirit’ according to the promise. In the spring of the same year (1841) Brother Lyman Wright came on a Mission. He gathered some stock for the Temple and Nauvoo House. He needed someone to help drive the cattle and I volunteered. I eventually arrived in Nauvoo, the City of the Saints on April 30, 1841. I cannot begin to describe the many strange reflections; suffice it to say that I saw the Prophet of the Lord, Joseph Smith. A few days following my arrival, I began to board in the house next to that of the Prophet and I continued to live there for nine months.

I can assure you that the Prophet was all he professed to be. I know he was a true Prophet of God for I have heard him speak and prophesy as he was lead by the Holy Ghost. He was a fine and great man. I knew this by the Holy Ghost that was in me.

I labored at the Nauvoo House that summer. I got my blessing from Patriarch, Hyrum Smith on September 29, 1841 and he requested that I should be ordained into the Seventies Quorum. I was ordained at the October Conference.

I kept working, looking, watching and praying and the experience I got did me great good. In 1842, I continued working the same as the year before. An apostate named Bennett tired to do great harm by stirring up the people against us. The word of the Lord was for all the brethren to go and preach the Gospel. It had the desired effect upon me for on November 1, 1842, in company with Brother Samuel Mulliner, I started on a three-year mission to Scotland. While on this mission, I married Margaret Crawford, whom I baptized July 26, 1845 in the River Clyde, New Lauark-Shire, Scotland.

Margaret Crawford Life Story

Margaret Crawford, the daughter of James Crawford II and Elizabeth Brown was born March 1, 1825 in Dunsyre, a small village at the southend of the Pentland Hill range. She was raised near the Boghall Castle and experienced living closed to where here ancestors lived.

At the age of two, Margaret moved to Wilsontown in 1827 where her brother, James was born and in 1829 on to Peebles-Manor parish where John another brother was born. In 1831, at the age of six, they moved to Eddleston, Peebleshire where Christine, a sister was born. Then the family moved to Biggar, where Margaret, being the eldest of the family, helped her father on the farm.

Margaret attended a dress-making school which proved to be a benefit to her during her life. While in here teenage years, her mother, Elizabeth Brown Crawford, died, and she was able to sew her mother’s burial clothes.

Margaret was very well-educated and had a knowledge of the Old English handscript. Her son, Thomas, later would write most of his missionary journal in this language which she had taught him because they were living in America at the time.

The Crawford family lived near Dalveen Pass, one of the finest passes in the Lowlands. James Houston traveled past this site many times while on his mission in Scotland. The Crawford family also lived close to the land of Crawford and Crawford-John, where the Crawford families had many castles and were a well-to-do people and were closely related to one another. This was also the valley in which they raised Clydesdale horses which also was helpful in Margaret’s later years in southern Utah when her family raised Clydesdales.

When Margaret was seventeen years old, she helped her mother clean and white-wash the walls in their home using a mixture of white-chalk and water. After they had just finished the large fireplace at one end of the room, they stepped back to admire the snow white walls and hoped it would not have to be done again very soon. Just then there was a knock at the door and there was a stranger who entered the room and took a piece of charcoal from the hearth and proceeded to write upon the beautiful white walls. Margaret and her mother stood watching the stranger in speechless amazement.

The stranger wrote on the wall the following: “Margaret would be visited by a young man who was teaching a new and strange religion, who was from the New World and had crossed many waters to teach the gospel to her. He was from their own nationality. She would listen and accept this strange religion and marry him and go to the New World and build a home and have a great posterity.”

Three years later, a missionary by the name of James Houston, who was from Scotland, but had moved to America, knocked on her door, taught her the gospel and baptized her. Shortly after that, they were married.