JULIA HILLS JOHNSON

JULIA HILLS JOHNSON Born September 28, 1763 in Upton Massachusetts Died May 30, 1853 in Council Bluffs Iowa Married Ezekiel Johnson January 12, 1801 in Grafton Mass. Her father died when she was young from tuberculosis. Her mother married Enoch Forbush. She was from a substantial New England family, being a descendent of the early Massachusetts settlers, intelligent, and reasonably well educated. She was a staunch Presbyterian and taught her children to read the bible and pray. Her oldest son, Joel H. went to Anerherst where he was baptized, She sent him a letter warning them of the "Mormons". He wrote back and said he'd already been baptized and sent a copy of the Book Of Mormon. She read it with family members and close friends, and when Joel and the missionaries came, she was secretly baptized in the middle of the night. When Ezekiel found out, he was very upset, he had been considering baptism also, but because she did it without discussing it first, he was turned away from the Church. She was the first mother-in-law of plural marriage. Her daughter Almera became the Prophet's 1st plural wife and also the first plural wife in the church. Julia made hats, neckties, and did needle work to help make ends meet and later to help with building the Kirkland Temple. She wrote the hymn THE JOY AND THE SONG which Emma Smith requested be put in THE FIRST BOOK OF HYMNS FOR THE RESTORED CHURCH. Because Ezekiel wouldn't join the church and had left the home for good, Julia was advised to be sealed to John Smith. She was a member of the first Woman's Relief Society of the Church. She trusted fully in the Lord. When writing to her half sister of the death of her four children, she said "What can I say, but the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." In all she did she was faithful. She traveled with "Kirkland Camp" to Missouri. During the trip, near Springfield, Illinois, Samuel Hale and his wife died leaving a ten year old daughter. Julia adopted her and raised her as one of her own. While they were in Springfield, Julia and her son George Washington contracted typhoid fever and nearly died. She was a very strong member and loved the church very much. When the great migration west started, she stayed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she died. She was a very loved and highly thought of person.