Elder Ballards Family Miracle
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Elder M. Russell Ballard shared this wonderful miracle that happened in his personal family, and it has been passed down through generations. This miracle took place in Cache Valley, just after the Logan Temple was dedicated in 1884. This miracle is recorded in the book "Crusader for Righteousness," by Melvin J. Ballard, beginning on page 13.
Henry Ballard was a bishop in the Logan area:
Henry Ballard had been a dedicated servant of the Lord, and worked very hard to help build the Logan Temple. It is recorded that Henry Ballard hauled the first load of sand for construction in July of 1877. The whole family participated in helping build the Logan temple in different ways. Even before the Temple was dedicated Henry prayed fervently to find the names of his relatives in preparation to do his families work in the Lords house. As the temple dedication drew near the family became even more passionate about finding the names of their family from England.
At last the day of dedication arrived—May 17, 1884. The temple was crowded to capacity as the prophet, President John Taylor, led the sacred services and stirred all hearts with his dedicatory prayer. Recognizing the faith of the members in the area, and wishing to spread wider the sweet spirit of the services, President Taylor arranged for another dedicatory session on Sunday, the 18th, which all worthy members who so desired might attend.
The 18th found a line of members outside Bishop Henry Ballard’s home as he wrote recommends for his ward members. The day was warm and pleasant, and Ellen, Henry’s nine-year-old daughter, was chatting with friends on the sidewalk outside the house when two elderly men approached, walking in the middle of the street. One of the men called, “Come here, little girl.” As Ellen hesitated, the stranger pointed to her and said, “I mean you.” Placing a newspaper in her hand, he said: “Take this to your father. Give it to no one else. Go quickly and don’t lose it.”
The rest of the story is told by Henry’s wife, Margaret. “Ellen came in and asked for her father. I told her that her father was busy [writing recommends] and asked her to give me the newspaper she had in her hand so that I might give it to him. She said, ‘No, the man who gave the paper to me told me to give it to no one but Father.’ I let the child take the paper to her father.”
Henry quickly took in the situation. The newspaper was the Newbury Weekly News containing “Wanderer’s” jottings from Thatcham churchyard—names and other genealogical details for sixty or so now-dead acquaintances of Henry and his father. Who had brought it? Rapidly quizzing Ellen he hurried outside, went around the block searching and questioning. In that sparsely settled community, where all the inhabitants were known to each other, no neighbors had seen the two strangers. They were never found. This disappearance of the messengers was itself cause enough to wonder, but perhaps even more impressive was the date on the newspaper—May 15, 1884. In an era long before the advent of air transportation and when mail took several weeks to get from England to western America, this newspaper had made the journey in three days!
The next day Bishop Ballard took the newspaper and recited the facts to President Merrill, president of the Logan Temple, who concluded: “Brother Ballard, someone on the other side is anxious for their work to be done and they knew that you would do it if this paper got in your hands. It is for you to do the work, for you received the paper through messengers of the Lord.” To their great joy, the Ballards received baptism and endowment in the temple for all the people he had listed... Henry was then unaware of what subsequent generations have discovered—that some of the listed names link with Ballard family genealogy.
The Ballard family have always accepted with complete assurance that this incident occurred as recorded and that it reflects the hand of the Lord. Indeed, Henry’s daughter, Rebecca Ballard Cardon, who was six when the event occurred, is alive today (1966) and recalls the circumstances clearly, as well as the local knowledge of the matter and the testimonies she heard in her mature years from people who were at the Ballard home when the newspaper was received. Rebecca’s sister, Myrtle Ballard Shurtliff, has similar recollections. But sometimes rationalizers have tended to question—for instance, perhaps the newspaper was postdated. Consequently, the family made checks. Miracles cannot always be documented—but this one is. The following facts emerge in summary:
Elder Ballard, when serving in England as a young missionary went to Newbury Weekly News in 1948, and saw and handled that office’s copy of the issue of May 15, 1884. The entire issue was then photographed on the spot and a signed statement completed certifying that it was copied at its place of publication in England. Comparison reveals that the photographed copy is identical with the copy handed to Henry Ballard on May 18, 1884, which now rests in the Church Historian’s Library in Salt Lake City.
At the 1948 interview the Publisher, Mr. Ashley Turner, affirmed..., before several witnesses that the newspaper had never been postdated—it had always been printed on Wednesday night and distributed on Thursday morning of every week.
By official Somerset House records the family confirmed the death of a prominent citizen recorded on the same page as “Wanderer’s” article, as May 8, 1884. Bells [that] rang in the parish church “last Sunday,” as the death notice states, must have been rung on May 11, only seven days before the newspaper was delivered in Western America. The point is conclusive.
Small wonder that the newspaper, now yellowed and somewhat ragged with age, has always been regarded as a sacred treasure by the Ballard family. 2
The “representative of the family” mentioned is Henry’s great-grandson, Elder M. Russell Ballard, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. In a recent interview he recounted the event to the author.
As a young man I was serving a mission in England for the LDS Church. At an appropriate time I asked the mission president for permission to go to the office of the Newbury Weekly News, telling him why it was important that I go. Permission was granted, and I soon found my way to the desk of Mr. Ashley Turner, then the publisher of the Weekly. I explained to him that I wanted to see the original copy of the May 15, 1884, issue of the paper. He offered a variety of reasons why he could not accommodate me, and was ready to dismiss me without granting my request.
Saddened, but determined, I told him the story behind the reason for my request, and I then bore powerful testimony to him of the truthfulness of it. At that moment all of the aforementioned reasons seemed to melt away as he led me to the archives. The issue was located, and Mr. Turner allowed me to photograph it for my family and any other interested parties. What a thrill it was to be able to verify that which I already knew to be true!
Notes
https://m.facebook.com/mrussell.ballard/videos/426047988724652/?locale2=ps_AF
Sources:
https://www.ldsliving.com/the-mysterious-newspaper-that-led-to-a-temple-miracle/s/80005