Studio et Quoque Fide

Review of: Scott R. Christensen, Sagwitch: Shoshone Chieften, Mormon Elder, 1822–1887 (Logan, Utah: Utah State University, 1999).
Note: The Following was written for my Utah History class. Given its relevance to Mormon History, I thought I would post it here. As with before, the bold, run-on sentence stating the author’s thesis and the repetitive opening statement for each paragraph were requirements for the paper.
The author’s thesis is that Sagwitch provided much needed leadership to his people, the Northwestern Shoshone, during a time of major transition, from the initial arrival of the Mormons, to the near extinction of his people in the Bear River Massacre, to the their widespread conversion to the Mormon faith and various attempts to adopt a settled, agrarian lifestyle which finally succeeded to some degree at Lemuel’s Garden, and more fully at Washakie, and thus Sagwitch’s life and legacy serve to exemplify the overall Northwest Shoshone experience from the mid- to late-nineteent…

In February of 2004, my Grandfather on my Dad’s side passed away. I was a junior in high school at the time, and had never had a family member die before. I still remember where I was when I found out. It was after school. My friend had come over and we were going to burn some music onto a couple CDs (I know, so old-fashioned!). My parents had left a note on the counter that they went to visit my grandpa in the hospital. Nothing in the note sounded urgent, so I thought nothing of it. My friend and I went down stairs and I got on the computer to start burning CDs. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. I answered it. It was my sister Noelle. She asked if mom and dad were there. I responded, “Noelle? Why are you calling?” She and my brother Devin were in the MTC at the time, and they are not supposed to call family (or anyone, really). So, it was a valid question. She responded, “The MTC president said we could call because Grandpa died.” Me: “GRANDPA DIED!?!?” She didn’t know that I didn’…