My Best for the Kingdom

My Best for the Kingdom

(Note: at the conclusion of his autobiography, John Lowe Butler wrote his personal testament affirming he had given his best for the Church.)

“I fear that I have seen my best days, but I can say that I have done my best to help to roll forth the kingdom of God.

I have seen and been through many trials and close places, and my family has suffered from want, and I have always felt to give God praise for all things which came unto us for our good.

And I can bear my testimony to this work, I know that it is the Kingdom of God for the Lord has bless me with the knowledge thereof.

I have seen the sick healed under the power of the Priesthood.

I have seen the power of God displayed in many places.

And I have always felt to do my best in all things that I have had to do.

My prayer is that all of us who are in the Kingdom of God may be led to do what is right in the sight of God at all times, is the prayer of your humble servant. Amen.”

John Lowe Butler

John Lowe Butler is the Great Great Great Grandfather of Grandpa Reid A. Robison on his Grandfather Thomas Adams' side of the family. (His mother - Gloria Dawn Adams'father).
His grandfather Adams’ mother was Maria Luella Redd Adams and her mother was Keziah Jane Butler Redd.
Keziah Jane Butler Redd’s father was John Lowe Butler

Excerpt from Autobiography

"The Saints there were much persecuted, and they went and laid out a county and called it Caldwell County. The Saints all moved there and called it Far West. I moved there myself and assisted in making the first settlement; but first we moved into Clay County and stayed there a little while, and from there into Caldwell County. We moved there in the fall and stayed there two winters and from there we moved to Davies County.
I went with Brother Gee, he lived close by us, and we went to the election [Gallatin] in Davies County when the Saints were refused the privilege of voting, and rescued some of the Saints from a furious mob, and the Lord did strengthen my body far beyond the strength of man. Just after I joined the Church, I took a second growth and grew two inches and a half and grew very stout indeed, and my health became strong, and I felt as if I could handle any two men on the earth. When myself and Brother Gee got there, there was a large crowd of folks. Soon after the election commenced it was rumored around that the Mormons should not vote and that drew the brethren together. They commenced talking about how there had been a man going around among us finding out who the Mormons were going to vote for and when they heard it made them mad. They said that the Mormons should not vote because the Mormons did not vote to suit them; they must not vote at all. Now this the Saints did not like to be deprived of, their liberty and rights, so some were determined to go and put in their vote. Now for my part, I felt like backing everyone for it was our right.

There was Riley Stuart, Hyrum Nelson and myself and another man that I can't think of his name just now, but we all started to go and put in our votes. I was about the last one and the brother that was on ahead got knocked down and then Brother Riley Stuart interfered for him and one of the mob rushed at him with a knife. Riley turned and ran when he saw the man draw his knife. I then ran after the ruffian and as it happened, I saw an oak stick lying in the road; it was split, one of those sticks that they have to build chimneys with and just as the fellow struck Stuart, I struck him and as I struck him there had been another fellow running after me with a loaded horsewhip and struck me right between the shoulders, but it did not seem to hurt me much only I felt that I could take them all if they would come along. Just as the fellow struck me, I turned around and struck an underhanded lick and just fetched it under his chin and broke his jaw in two places and down he came; we had no more trouble with him.

There was so much excitement after that, that I could hardly tell what did transpire, but one of the brethren had a large cotton handkerchief full of earthenware and some fellow broke some of them with a stick, and he then made a weapon of them and commenced breaking the rest of them over their heads. I know that I knocked them right and left, every one that came in my reach and I know that there were over eight or ten. There was one fellow commenced bawling when he saw one of his companions lie motionless on the sod. He said that they had killed poor (Dick Wilkdin) [Weldon] Bill, and a brother hearing the poor fellow wailing for his companion thought that he would give him something else to cry for, it was Washington Vorus. He came up with a rock and threw at him and struck him right in the mouth. He boohooed and cried out what d--nd hard licks those d--nd Mormons do hit. They then commenced carrying off the men that had been knocked down and some killed and some were standing up against the fence and against the house with the blood running from their heads and faces, and I expect that some of them were from the effects of the teacups and saucers. However, they looked pitiful objects indeed, and when it was all over, Brother Vorus looked at the crockery ware and there was not a piece left the size of an inch and the handkerchief and all was covered with blood.

The officer then came up to me and said that we could come and vote, but I told him that I did not care whether I voted or not, but he said that I'd better come and put in my vote, so I started on behind. I had not yet put down my stick and he saw it and said, "For God's sake put down your stick, there is no use for it now." But I told him that I had no weapon and I did not care about leaving it, for it had been a good friend to me. "For God's sake don't come here then." So I turned back and he kept on. It was only a bite to draw me in and then they would have taken me or used me up and then Brother Samuel H. Smith came up to me and said let us go home, but when I got to where I had left my wagon, I found it gone, so Brother Smith said, "Come and go home with me," which was about three miles from my house. Brother Gee started home with the team and my wife going out of doors saw the team and started to meet it, but there was but one man in the wagon and he was standing up and had the whip in his hand laying it onto the horses and horses going at full speed.

My wife had gotten some distance from the house when she met him and she said to him, "Who was [Why?] Brother Gee, what in the world is the matter, where is Mr. Butler?" "Why," said he, "hasn't John Butler come home? I thought that he would have been home by this." "Why," said he, "he has killed five or six men at the election," and on he drove past my wife and stopped at the house and got out and started for home, leaving the horses all hitched up and leaving my wife to take care of them. She took them off the wagon and fed them and then waited anxiously for my return, but I returned not until the next morning after breakfast from Brother Smith's.
I concluded to ride over to Far West some fourteen miles from where we lived and I saw Brother Joseph Smith. He resided there. He asked me if I had removed my family. I told him no, I had not. "Then," said he, "go and move them directly and do not sleep another night there." "But," said I, "I don't like to be a coward." "Go and do as I tell you," said he. So I started back again and got home about two hours after dark. I then said to my wife, "We must pack up our things and leave here directly, for Brother Joseph has told me to." My wife was very glad for she had been wanting to move for a long time. So we loaded up one wagon load and took it down to Brother Taylor's about one mile and a half and my wife and Malinda Porter, a young woman that was boarding with us, who was keeping school. They packed up another wagon load by the time I got back and we all started off just about the break of day.

Now about sunrise, or a little while after, Brother Gee saw in the distance a large body of men. He said that he thought there was about thirty-odd. He watched them come toward the house and surround it. He then ran down to Taylor to tell them that we were all killed, I suppose, and when he saw us, he said, "Oh, I am so glad that you are here for there are about thirty men around your house to kill you all." I then saw the hand of the Lord guiding Brother Joseph Smith to direct me to move my family away. If he had not, why in all probability we should all have been murdered, and I felt to thank God with all my heart and soul."