The Work and the Glory (338 page)

Rebecca, who had always been closest to Matthew both in age and relationship, nodded in satisfaction. “That will do.”

“Well,” Benjamin said, “we’d better be going.”

But Mary Ann didn’t move. She was watching Matthew as he stood beside Jennifer Jo and looked down at her in pure joy. Suddenly, Mary Ann found herself blinking at the burning in her eyes. Matthew looked up, and when he saw her face he stepped across the porch to sweep her up into his arms. He bent down to whisper in her ear. “Thank you, Mama,” he said. “Thank you for everything. I’m so happy.”

She held him tightly for a moment, then pushed him back away from her. “Would you look at you,” she breathed, “all tall and handsome in that coat.” And then the tears spilled over and she had to look away.

Sarah Rogers, Melissa’s three-year-old, left the line of cousins and came to stand beside her grandmother. She tugged on her dress, looking up with great concern. “Why you sad, Gramma?”

Mary Ann reached down and took her granddaughter’s hand. Then she turned back to Matthew, smiling at him through her tears. “Because this is my boy,” she whispered softly. “This is my little boy.”

The sunlight filtered through the overhead canopy of leaves, dappling all beneath it with shimmering patterns of light and shadow. There were well over two hundred people gathered in the shelter of the grove to witness the marriage of Matthew Steed to Jennifer Jo McIntire. There were longtime friends and close neighbors, English converts who had known Matthew while he was laboring there, and the brethren with whom he had traveled and labored in the mission field. Joseph and Emma and Mother Smith were there. Hyrum and Mary Fielding came with them. There were people who did business with the store and those for whom Matthew had done carpentry work back in Far West. They came to honor the young man recently returned from across the sea. They came to honor his bride-to-be. And they came to honor this family that was loved and respected on both sides of the river.

The Steeds filled the first two rows of benches and chairs, with Benjamin and Mary Ann seated on the first row, directly in front of where Matthew and Jennifer Jo stood facing the congregation. The time had arrived and Joseph had asked the two of them to take their places. Kathryn stood beside Jennifer Jo. She had the ring and would step forward when required. On the opposite side, next to Matthew and a little behind him, the five little flower girls stood proudly, taking their part on the program—which was to look pretty and charm everyone—very seriously.

Joseph, who was standing directly in front of the two about-to-be newlyweds, turned and surveyed the audience. Seeing that everyone was in place now, he raised one arm as the signal that it was time to begin. Immediately the noise subsided and all in the congregation turned their eyes forward.

“Thank you, brothers and sisters. We are pleased to welcome you on this joyous occasion. As we begin, I should like to call on Brother Brigham Young, Matthew’s business partner and missionary companion in England, if he would open these proceedings for us with prayer.”

Brigham was seated four rows back. He rose and stepped forward quickly, stopping long enough to give a warm handshake to Matthew and to kiss Jennifer Jo quickly on the cheek. Then as heads were bowed and hats swept off he offered a short and simple prayer of thanks, asking the Lord’s blessings to smile down upon the proceedings of the day.

“Dear friends,” Joseph began again, once Brigham had returned to his seat, “we are here today to witness the joining of this fine young couple in marriage.” He glanced over his shoulder at the two of them and smiled warmly. “If you can see what I can see, I think it’s safe to say these two are in love.”

Laughter rippled across the group, and both Jennifer Jo and Matthew blushed and ducked their heads.

“And that is as it should be,” Joseph said, his voice rising a little. “God is pleased with the love between a man and a woman. He knows it is the source of our greatest happiness and our greatest fulfillment. There are some who would have us believe that marriage is a necessary evil, accepted by God only because there is no other way to perpetuate the human race. But we do not accept such doctrine; it is the doctrine of men, and not of God.”

Now he turned around and faced Jennifer Jo and Matthew directly. “I have known Matthew Steed since he was a boy of six. I have pulled sticks with him and played ball. I have sat in his house on many occasions. We have broken bread together. We have labored side by side in the fields. This is a fine young man, a happy young man. But I wish to ask him this one question. Matthew, have you ever been happier than you are right now in the presence of this lovely young woman?”

“No!” he answered loudly and firmly. “I have not.”

“And you, Jennifer Jo McIntire,” Joseph said, his face softening. “Have you ever been happier than you are at this very moment?”

She slipped her arm through Matthew’s. “No, Brother Joseph, I can truly say I have not.”

“And that is as it should be, brothers and sisters,” Joseph cried. “God wants us to be happy. He created man and woman so they could become as one and find a fulness of joy.”

Now he swung around and his eyes found Emma. “There sits Emma Hale Smith,” he said, his voice going softer now. “She is the love of my heart and the wife of my youth. Oh, how empty my life would have been without Emma. Oh, how bleak my days had she not been by my side through all these years.” He smiled at her, and she smiled back, and now he was no longer speaking to Matthew and Jennifer Jo or to the crowd. “I love her as I love my own soul, and I thank my God for the gift he gave to me when he took me to Harmony, Pennsylvania, so I could find her there.”

Emma’s eyes were shining as he finally turned back again. “You have heard me speak of late about the eternal nature of the family. Here today, on the occasion of joining these two fine young people together in matrimony, I once again testify to you that the bonds forged here today are meant to last forever. The love that Matthew feels for this pure and wonderful young woman is not meant to end at death. Will the feelings that stir so deeply within Sister McIntire’s heart on this day simply dissolve if Matthew should die before she does? Of course not. That is not the will of a Father who loves us and cares for us as his own children.

“Matthew, you embark on a great adventure this day. You will shortly take the hand of this young woman and swear to her eternal allegiance. You will swear to cherish and to love her, to make her happiness and joy more important to you than your own. I say to you, as I have said before, if a man cannot love his wife in such a manner and treat her in such a manner as to make her happy in this life, he will not be worthy to have her with him in the next.”

He stopped for a moment, then reached out and took their hands in his. “Bless you, you two wonderful young people,” he said, speaking only to them now. “This union is pleasing in the sight of God, and he will bless you forever as you honor and sustain it.”

“We will, Joseph,” Matthew said firmly. “We will.”

He nodded, his face solemn now. He moved slightly so that he was directly in front of the two of them. “Matthew, would you take Jennifer Jo’s right hand with your right hand please?”

Matthew did so, smiling down at her.

“As a minister of Jesus Christ and a holder of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, I now act in my office and unite you in holy matrimony. Matthew Steed, as you hold her hand in yours, do you take this woman, Jennifer Jo McIntire, to be your wife and companion; to love her and to cherish her as you love and cherish your own flesh; to provide for her and to care for her in whatsoever circumstances may befall you; to nurture and sustain her whether that be in health or illness, poverty or riches, youth or old age; and do you do this in the sight of God and all of these people who have gathered here to witness these proceedings?”

He squeezed her hand. “Yes.”

“And do you, Jennifer Jo McIntire, take the hand of Matthew Steed as a token that you do take him to be your husband; to love and to cherish him above all others throughout your life and into the eternities; to stand by his side as Eve did with Adam through whatever circumstances life shall place upon you, be they pleasant or ill, difficult or easy; and do you do this in God’s sight and in front of those who are here with you this day?”

She squeezed Matthew’s hand back and looked up into his face. “Yes.”

Joseph smiled warmly now. “Then as an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, I pronounce you, Matthew Steed, and you, Jennifer Jo McIntire, to be husband and wife, legally wed in the sight of God and all men. Remember that you make this covenant with each other and with the Lord. If you keep that covenant, God will bless this union and bring you happiness and joy.”

He turned to Kathryn and nodded. Almost shyly, Kathryn stepped forward and handed the ring to Matthew. “Now you’re really my family,” she whispered as she handed it to him.

Matthew took the simple silver band and slipped it onto Jennifer Jo’s finger. Joseph was smiling broadly at them. “Matthew, you may now kiss this woman as your wife.”

A cry went up and applause rang through the grove as Matthew turned to Jennifer Jo and took her in his arms. He gave her a lingering kiss before he let her straighten again. That sent the flower girls into a peal of giggles, which brought smiles all around.

Turning to Benjamin and Mary Ann, Joseph motioned for them to join him. “I think it’s time for some congratulations, Mother and Father. You come up here and be the first.”

Mary Ann got up quickly and went forward, her face shining with pride. She went to Jennifer Jo first and hugged her tightly. “Welcome to our family. We couldn’t love you more, Jennifer.”

“And I you,” Jennifer Jo said, tears of happiness spilling over now. “You’ve been so good to me.”

Benjamin had Matthew in a strong embrace. “We’re proud of you, son. Very proud. You’ve got yourself a wonderful woman.”

“I know, Papa. Thank you. Thank you and Mama for everything.”

They switched places, and now Mary Ann couldn’t bear it. The tears started all over again as she stretched up to kiss Matthew on the cheek. “Oh, my Matthew, my Matthew,” she whispered.

“I love you, Mama.”

“I know.” She hugged him hard, then stepped back again. “You’ve made us very happy today, Matthew,” she whispered.

The others swarmed in around them now. Mary Ann and Benjamin stepped back to make way. Family, friends, well-wishers—they all pressed in to give their congratulations to the smiling couple. Mary Ann took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped at the tears. “This is it, Benjamin. This is our last one.”

He nodded, not speaking.

They stood there together, off to one side, watching quietly. Finally, Benjamin put an arm around her waist. “That’s your family,” he said softly. “Look at them. Sons, daughters, husbands, wives, children, babies—this is quite the brood we’ve raised, Mrs. Steed. And every one of them here with us today.”

She laid her head against his shoulder. “Isn’t it wonderful? And they’re still growing.”

“There are not many finer things a man could ask for in life, are there?”

She shook her head, and her voice was suddenly a fierce whisper. “No, I can’t think of anything I would trade for this. Not anything.”

Book Six: The Work and the Glory - Praise to the Man

The Work and the Glory - Praise to the Man

Text illustrations by Robert T. Barrett

© 1995 Gerald N. Lund and Kenneth Ingalls Moe

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Deseret Book Company,
P. O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130. This work is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church or of Deseret Book Company.

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First printing in hardbound 1995
First printing in paperbound 2001
First printing in trade paperbound 2006