As soon as we saw Nathaniel, we feared that consumption had marked him for the grave. The hectic flush was upon his cheek, yet we hoped and prayed that the Lord would spare him, that his talent might be employed in the cause of God. But the Lord saw fit to order otherwise.
(LS 147.1)
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Nathaniel and Anna came into the truth cautiously yet understandingly. They weighed the evidences of our position, and conscientiously decided for the truth.
(LS 147.2)
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May 6, 1853, we prepared Nathaniel’s supper, but he soon said that he was faint, and did not know but that he was going to die. He sent for me, and as soon as I entered the room, I knew that he was dying, and said to him: “Nathaniel dear, trust in God. He loves you, and you love Him. Trust in Him as a child trusts in its parents. Don’t be troubled. The Lord will not leave you.” Said he, “Yes, yes.” We prayed, and he responded, “Amen, praise the Lord!” He did not seem to suffer pain. He did not groan once, or struggle, or move a muscle of his face, but breathed shorter and shorter until he fell asleep, in the twenty- second year of his age.
(LS 147.3)
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After Nathaniel’s death in May, 1853, my husband was much afflicted. Trouble and anxiety of mind had prostrated him. He had a high fever, and was confined to his bed. We united in prayer for him; but though relieved, he still remained very weak. He had appointments out for Mill Grove, N. Y., and Michigan, but feared that he could not fill them. We decided, however, to venture as far as Mill Grove, and if he grew no better, to return home. While at Elder R. F. Cottrell’s at Mill Grove, he suffered much extreme weakness, and thought he could go no farther.
(LS 148.1)
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We were in much perplexity. Must we be driven from the work by bodily infirmities? Would Satan be permitted to exercise his power upon us, and contend for our usefulness and lives, as long as we should remain in the world? We knew that God could limit the power of Satan. He might suffer us to be tried in the furnace, but would bring us forth purified and better fitted for His work.
(LS 148.2)
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I went into a log house near by, and there poured out my soul before God in prayer that He would rebuke the disease and strengthen my husband to endure the journey. The case urgent, and my faith firmly grasped the promises of God. I there obtained the evidence that if we should proceed on our journey to Michigan, the angel of God would go with us. When I related to my husband the exercise of my mind, he said that his own mind had been exercised in a similar manner, and we decided to go, trusting in the Lord. My husband was so weak that he could not buckle the straps to his valise, and called Brother Cottrell to do it for him.
(LS 148.3)
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