Thomas Jones Poem to His Mother

Married: 9 May 1816

Hartlebury, Worcestershire, England.rriag

1816 • Worcester, Worcestershire, En

LINES INSCRIBED TO MY MOTHER [Mary Trow Jones]

by Thomas Jones Dearest Mother thou that dwellest In a Cottage near the line Would to God I lived more near thee I could blend my Prayers with thine. O’er my days of youth and childhood Thou didst watch with tender care ‘Twas thy lips that first did teach me For to breathe my earliest prayer. Would to God I loved more near thee I could teach the words sublime Which are contained within the Gospel Revealed to man for the last time. Twenty years have gone and past us Since the Gospel I first heard But through all my cares and trouble, I ne’er forgot the precious word. Which I obeyed when it was taught me By a humble man of God Called and ordained to preach the Gospel Altho a tiller of the sod. ‘Tis the Gospel that was promised Should again be brought to man By an Angel from the heavens According as John’s vision ran. Then dearest Mother let me pray you To this message lend an ear And obey what has been taught you By your son who loves you dear. Never mind the scoffs or scandal Raised by people or the Priest Buckle on the Gospel Armor Come and join fair freedom’s feast. Thomas wrote this poem to his Mother who remained in England when he immigrated to America. Since she was baptized in the Endowment House by proxy after her death, she must not have joined the church during her lifetime. This poem was Thomas’ testimony to her. She died eight months after he arrived in Utah and may not have received this poem before her death.