The Legacy of Gospel-Sharing Homes

In 1828, about 100 miles from Joseph Smith’s Sharon, Vermont birthplace, Moses Cluff was born in New Hampshire, in the town of Durham near the seashore. By then the prophet was 22 years old, and he was 700 miles away in Harmony, Pennsylvania., two years before the church was organized. Moses’s was a prominent New Hampshire family, and his Cluff ancestor was one of the Jamestown settlers in 1635.

When Moses was 7 years old, his father, David, heard about a book that described ancient American people. Having an interest in ancient peoples and their civilization, he decided to travel to Kirtland, Ohio to find out about this gold bible. On his way, traveling on a canal boat on the Erie Canal, he met a man named Martin Harris. Brother Harris taught David about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days. This information intensified David’s desire to meet the prophet. In Kirtland, David met the prophet and immediately accepted the truth of the restored gospel. “His whole soul was illuminated and he partook of the fruit of the tree of life. His soul was lifted from the dogmas of man made religions and he had a glimpse of the joys within the veil.” (Autobiography of Harvey Cluff)

The Cluff family pulled up their roots in New Hampshire and went to Kirtland, Ohio to be with the saints. In Kirtland, the Clough’s established a gospel-sharing home. David was one of the first to be licensed by the church to be a traveling preacher of the gospel. My cursory search of Church history has revealed no large congregation converted by David Clough. Admittedly, I did not search the Church archives, but I did find at least one person who was converted because of David’s determination to serve the Lord. That person was his son Moses. David set an example for his young son, Moses, by serving the Lord.

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

(D&C 18:15.)

What if you labor all your days and the only ones saved are your children?

Moses Cluff grew up in the tumultuous times of Kirtland and Nauvoo and, eventually, the trek to the Rockies. When Moses was about 23 years old, he followed his father’s example and went on a mission. He was called to England and assigned to the Faceby area of Yorkshire to establish a branch of the church there. Elder Cluff found refuge in the home of James Stanger. Stanger invited his family and friends, including his daughter Ann and her husband Charles, to come hear Elder Cluff preach. The message touched Charles.

Ann and Charles were newlyweds, married by Parson Brown in the local parish. (I wonder if he said, “Are you married?” And they said, “No, man, but you can do the job when you’re in town.”) Elder Cluff worked with Charles for several months before Charles finally felt the Spirit, overcame his fears, and was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in May 1853. Ann was not yet ready to make the commitment, but Charles took hold of the Gospel and, within months, was, himself, seen proselyting through the area. Charles later said that he found great joy in his efforts to spread the Gospel. Within two months after Charles was baptized, their first child, James, was born. Even though Ann was not a member, Charles created a gospel-sharing home by practicing the Gospel there. Not long after James’ birth, Ann was ready for baptism. Charles was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood and, on the same day, was set apart as the branch president. Charles and Ann used all of their spare means to support the traveling elders and to buy tracts to be distributed in the Faceby area. Their home and their lives became filled with sharing the gospel.

In those days, members in foreign lands gathered to Zion in the Rockies. Charles and Ann left England in 1855 from Liverpool and made a difficult crossing of the Atlantic. They went to Kansas by train and steamship and then from Kansas to Utah on foot with wagons. When they left Atcheson, Kansas, on foot, with a wagon carrying their possessions, Ann was nine-months pregnant. Their second child was born on the plains, somewhere in Kansas, en route to Salt Lake City.

Since Charles joined the church, six generations of Hogge’s have enjoyed the blessings of the Gospel. Next month, we’ll make that seven generations. Generations of Hogge’s, along with many others, will call the names of David and Moses Cluff blessed.

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

(D&C 18:16.)