NIGHT WORKERS WHO SERVE IN THE TEMPLE DURING THE DAY—MANY WOMEN SERVE AT GREAT PERSONAL SACRIFICE—TEMPLE WORK A BOON TO THE BLIND.

Among those who are in daily attendance at the Salt Lake Temple, officiating for the dead, are quite a number of men who are deserving of special credit, because of the personal sacrifice the service involves. Allusion is made to those who earn their living by working at night, and then deny themselves the sleep and rest their tired natures crave, by devoting a good half day's service to Temple work, either for their own kindred dead or others. Indeed, it occasionally amounts to considerably more than half a day. They usually form part of the morning company, all the members of which are supposed to be present and seated before 9 a. m., when the introductory service commences. Under ordinary conditions, they may expect to emerge from the Temple about two o'clock; but if the company be unusually large, (as it is quite frequently,) it may be nearer 4 p. m. before they get out.

Most men object strongly to being deprived of ample and regular hours of rest and sleep, and many persons would rather make a financial sacrifice than forego the sleep and rest they feel that they require.

If they had to work all night they would feel that any kind of service during the day, to which they would have to give strict attention for several successive hours, would be absolutely out of the question.

The examples in mind are men in humble or moderate circumstances, who possibly couldn't very well afford to hire others to officiate for them; so if they failed to do it themselves, by sheer self denial, it would probably not be done.

August Roth is employed at the car barn in this city, cleaning out cars (which is very tiresome work,) from 6 p. m. to 6. a. m., every night in the week, yet is almost invariably at the Temple two days a week, and sometimes three. He and his wife (and a lady friend who occasionally comes with them) have, during the past six years, done the work for about 800 persons, mostly his or his wife's relatives. For a poor man, he has also been very generous in his free will offerings to the Temple. It has been his habit to contribute fifty cents every time he comes to the Temple.

Karl Niemelka has also been employed at the car barn at night for several years past, and done a good deal of work in the Temple (though not as much as Brother Roth) for his dead kindred, and has just left to fill a mission to his native land. While absent he hopes to engage in genealogical research, and be the better prepared for Temple work on his return.

John C. Hoggan is employed as a nightwatchman, having the care of a large amount of business property, and is required to be on duty and generally moving about from 8 p. m. until 6:15 a. m. every night in the week. Notwithstanding this, he has averaged fully two days a week at the Temple for the past eight years, working mostly for his own and his wife's kindred, but occasionally for others, and all that he has received for his service in behalf of others he has contributed to the missionary fund, in the ward in which he resides.

Albert A. Quellmalz is janitor in a large office building and a number of stores, to which he has to devote eight hours work between the time business closes at night and opens in the morning. Yet he never fails to serve in the Temple on Tuesday, the day devoted to baptisms, as well as the three succeeding days of the week. He has during the past eight years officiated for about 650 dead relatives and friends. Brother Quellmalz is a very studious, methodical man, and enjoys quite a reputation for efficient service in other capacities in the Church.

John N. Swift is employed as a janitor by one of the railway companies every night in the week, being on duty from 5 p. m. until 8 a. m. In addition to this, he has served regularly in the Temple during the past six years on Thursday and Friday. Some indication of the sacrifice this service involves is conveyed in the statement that, although his home is in Sugar House Ward, not a great distance away, he is necessarily absent therefrom continuously from Wednesday at 4:30 p. m. until Saturday at 9 a. m. His service in the Temple has been entirely in the interest of his own relatives.

John S. Muir has been employed by the Church for twenty years past as nightwatchman, formerly at the tithing office and yards, but since its erection at the Bishop's Building, every night in the week. During the past twelve years he has spent from one to two days a week in the Temple, having done the work for rather more than 600 persons.

Jedediah M. Brown, of South Bountiful, has been janitor at the large public school building in that region for the past twenty years, and during six years of that time was also nightwatchman at the Deseret Live Stock Co. Store. Yet during all that period, with the exception of fourteen months while he was absent on a mission, he has spent on an average two days a week in the Temple. For a number of years past his health has been quite poor, having contracted chills and fever while on his mission, which later developed into chronic rheumatism, from which he has suffered ever since. Whatever the condition of his health, however, he has never yet felt willing to give up his service in behalf of the dead. In addition to the service mentioned, he is under the necessity of traveling about twenty miles by train or otherwise every day he serves in the Temple.

Ernest R. S. Schnelle is also employed as a nightwatchman, in an outlying business district, and is responsible for a great deal of valuable property, some of which tramps are specially liable to prey upon, so that he has to be constantly wide awake and alert for twelve hours at a stretch every night, but he is among the most regular and devoted of the Temple workers.

Robert Hunter, who is nightwatchman at Z. C. M. I., is a frequent attendant at the Temple, mostly laboring for others, because of lacking names of his own kindred dead, and is in the habit of voluntarily contributing to the Temple expense fund all that he receives for his service.

Doubtless many of the women who are in daily attendance at the Temple, so serve at very great personal sacrifice. Self denying women seldom expect or receive full credit in this life for what they do in the way of service. Perhaps only the All-seeing Father or recording angels know all of the heroism involved in the nightly toil and rigid self-denial with which many, possibly most, of the sisters patiently and uncomplainingly serve in the Temple for the benefit of those who are powerless to repay them in this life. It would be difficult to find a more devoted and truly charitable class of women than those laboring in the Salt Lake Temple.

The women in attendance at the Temple almost invariably far outnumber the men—sometimes two to one. Another characteristic of the regular attendants is that there is a preponderance of foreigners. A very large proportion of the regular workers are Scandinavians. The Swiss and Germans are also quite largely represented.

One of the most self-denying and devoted women who ever served in the Salt Lake Temple was Sister Berger, or (as she was known in the Temple, by the name of her first husband) Catherina B. Moosheer. She was a native of Zurich, Switzerland, being born January 25, 1823. From the time she embraced the Gospel she was very much concerned about the salvation of her dead kindred, and took care to obtain all the information possible about her ancestors.

She arrived in Utah July 4, 1872, accompanied by her son and daughter. She purchased a home and exerted herself to the utmost to make her own way in the world by engaging as a nurse, by which she accumulated considerable property. She had the work done for her immediate ancestors as early as 1876, in the Endowment House. After that she found an opportunity of having her genealogy traced up by a party who was engaged in that line, and spent money very freely for that purpose. She worked in the Temple almost from the time it opened. In 1895 she was partially paralyzed, and never fully recovered therefrom. This made her if possible more anxious than ever to hasten the work for her dead kindred. She sold her home to obtain the means necessary to secure as many names as possible of her dead kindred, and to employ men and women to help her in doing the work for them. Her records show that in all sixty-five different people were employed to assist her. For a period of two and a half years she had twelve persons—six men and six women—constantly employed in helping her in the Temple. She had the work fully done for 1,748 of her dead kindred, and sacrificed all that she possessed in order to accomplish it.

It may be of interest to note that Sister Moosheer was the first Temple worker to complete a record of 1,000 names.

She died in Salt Lake City June 9, 1899, shortly after completing the work for the last name she had of her dead kindred.

Her son and daughter and their families gave her every possible encouragement in the Temple work while she lived, and are now more proud of what she accomplished therein than they would be if she had left them fortunes.

Another very devoted woman in the Temple work is Sister Catherina Z. Schuler. She is also a native of Switzerland, having been born in Glarus, May 22, 1834. She not only sacrificed her home there for the Gospel's sake, but left her husband also because of his determined opposition to her religion.

Bringing her son with her, she came to Utah and located first at Logan, where she remained for several years, and where her son subsequently died. She was present at the dedication of the Logan Temple, and did a good deal of work there for her dead kindred, of whom she had or subsequently obtained a very extensive list.

She removed to Salt Lake City in 1892, and witnessed also the dedication of the Temple in this city. She was dependent entirely upon her own earnings, and went out sewing as she found opportunity, and did Temple work occasionally. Since 1898 she has devoted herself exclusively to her Temple work, in which she has been assisted by many friends, and devoted every cent she could save to hiring men to work for her male kindred. In all, she has done, or had done, the work for fully 2,400 of her kindred dead.

A look at Sister Schuler's face is sufficient to convince any person that hers is a joyful work. Though she is now past eighty years of age, and has always been used to hard work, she is well preserved and active, and, though not mirthful, she is ever good natured, patient and contented. As in the case of many others who are active in Temple work, that labor has doubtless added years to her life, and rendered her declining days in mortality about the happiest she has ever spent. The consciousness of being a savior of others has brought her more joy than the possession of wealth or worldly honors ever could.

Sister Annie Davis Watson, widow of the late Joseph M. Watson, was a worker in the Temple for seventeen years, and only gave up the work because of her hearing growing so bad that she could not continue. Her husband died in the year 1895. She never had any children, and her life would have been extremely lonely if she had not interested herself in the work for the dead. She had a desire to devote herself to working for her husband's dead kindred, and mentioned the matter to President Snow, telling him if she could not so labor she had no desire to live; also that she had no genealogy of her husband's kindred farther back than his parents, for whom the work had already been done. He told her she would be able to obtain the genealogical information necessary, advised her to take up the work and promised there should be no end to it. He also told her that her husband in the spirit world would be familiar with every circumstance connected with the work as it progressed.

She has since devoted her life and her income to the work, and either officiated herself, or employed others to officiate, for 15,247 dead persons, most of whom are her husband's kindred.

She says it is the most glorious work she ever engaged in, and she has felt the presence of her husband's spirit upon many occasions.

There is one special class to whom the vicarious work in the Salt Lake Temple must be a very great boon. The blind, of whom there are quite a number of both sexes, in daily attendance, seem to find special comfort in the work. The opportunities people have of making themselves useful to their fellows, after being deprived of the priceless gift of sight, are extremely limited. People of independent minds dislike to be always treated as objects of charity. They like to feel that they are of some use in the world, and it is doubtful if there is any other work in which the average blind person can engage with so much satisfaction as that in the Temple. It is usually conceded that the loss of sight by a normal person has the effect of quickening and strengthening his remaining senses, and it is quite possible that the most of the sightless workers in the Temple get more enjoyment out of the work than the average person who retains his sight. He is perhaps able to think more profoundly, and is more susceptible to the impressions of the Spirit than if he had the use of his eyes.

Perhaps no man that ever labored in the Temple enjoyed the Spirit of the work more and shed a better influence among his associates than did Samuel W. Jenkinson, a blind brother of rather unusual intelligence and devotion, who died about three years since, and of whose experiences more may be said hereafter.