Lucretia Hupper was the daughter of William Loud Hupper and Margaret Craig Hupper. She was born September 15, 1818, in Port Clyde, Maine.
Her father was a pilot for ships, that is, he conducted ships in and out of the harbor. He also owned a farm and here her early life was spent. She was the only child and as she grew up she had much of the farm work to do. She enjoyed it, and was never happier than when she was doing the farm work and looking after the cattle on the farm. She developed a strong body and all through her life enjoyed good health.
With her mother, a talented New England lady, for her teacher, she received her early education at home, and became a great lover of books. When she was fifteen years of age, her mother died, and as they had been such dear companions, her sorrow drove her to study the scriptures. She was of a religious nature, both of her grandfathers being ministers of the gospel, one a Baptist, and the other a Methodist. She studied the doctrines of both churches, but could not make the doctrines of either conform to the Bible. This worried her a great deal, as she felt she ought to join some church. She kept studying the scriptures, and finally on 21st of June 1839, joined the Baptist Church and tried to live up to the commandments of God as far as she understood them.
Quoting from her diary: "Therefore, the Lord, according to the honesty of my heart, blessed me with his spirit, but I found there was something wanting that I had not obtained. In the February following, I had the privilege of hearing Elder William Hyde, a member of the Mormon Church, so called, speak. He set forth the plan of salvation in such a plain and comprehensive manner, proving that the Lord never had but one plan to redeem the human family, one kingdom governed by one immutable and unchangeable law, by which we could become citizens of his kingdom and members of his family. I could compare it to nothing but coming out of a dark dungeon into the blaze of the sun at mid-day. My understanding was opened by the spirit of God and I was enabled to comprehend the great and glorious things of his Kingdom. I felt willing at once to yield obedience to the requirements of the gospel and to forsake everything for it, if necessary, was, therefore, baptized and received the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and have ever been able to rejoice in the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant."
Her father and stepmother heard the gospel as it was restored through the prophet Joseph, but they would not accept it, and begged her to leave the despised Mormons alone. She could not think of doing this, as she knew with all her heart and soul that Mormonism was true, so she decided to cast her lot with the saints and leave her home, family, and friends and go to Illinois, where the saints were then located. When she left she composed the following poem:
Dear Scenes of my childhood, I bid you adieu;
The pathway to Zion, I now must pursue,
For Jesus has called me and bids me to flee
To the place where He's promised deliverance shall be.
Farewell, dearest friends and relations, adieu.
I never again expect to see you.
But memory before me will often present,
The sweet hours of pleasure together we've spent.
Farewell, you companions and friends of my youth.
I leave you behind for the sake of the truth;
The gospel of Jesus I'm bound to obey,
Remember, 'tis duty that calls me away.
Dear friends, I exhort you the warning to hear,
For Jesus is coming. To meet Him prepare,
Then you with delight from the tomb shall arise
And meet Him in triumph descending the skies.
On earth then, with Jesus forever you'll reign,
When freed from affliction, from sorrow and pain,
When knowledge of God shall the universe fill,
And all things in love, peace and harmony dwell.
My all I resign to the hands of my Savior,
To live to His glory, my chief aim shall be.
If I can but gain His approval and favor,
Farewell, dearest home that I ne'er more shall see.
Her family would rather have followed her to the churchyard than to have had her gather with the Mormons. Only those who leave everything near and dear to them for the gospel can truly sympathize with this dear girl. At the time she joined the saints, they were being severely persecuted, and she wrote several poems on the subject. No matter how severely she was persecuted, her faith was implicit in our Heavenly Father. The following is a verse from one of her poems written during this time:
Ye children of Zion, rejoice in the Lord
He soon will appear, He's declared in His word,
We'll then be released from affliction and pain
And with our Redeemer eternally reign.
During this time she never forgot her letters to her parents and friends. They were filled with her testimony of the gospel, ever urging them to study and investigate for themselves.
In answer to one of Lucretia's letters, her folks told her they wished she would get homesick and come home. Quoting from her diary in answer to this letter: "I am just in that place now, if I have a home on the face o[ the earth, it is with the saints of the Most High God. Therefore l believe I shall stay where l am until God commands me to change. I should be happy to see you, but I do not expect I ever shall. We have been driven from our beautiful city of Nauvoo. The orders of the country are given for us to leave the soil for which our fathers fought -- we go we know not where. We bid adieu to the land of our birth, the friends of our youth and all we hold near and dear on earth. We are despised and rejected on this generation, because the Lord has called us out of their midst to bring about his purposes in these last days. The blood of our prophet and patriarch stains the soil of this free republic and cries to heaven for vengeance. Woe to them who have shed the blood of Jehovah's anointed ones and also to those who rejoice because it is done. For God will avenge His own elect and save the seed of Israel and place them in their own land, and pour upon them His choicest blessings, for all Israel shall be saved and earth and hell cannot prevent it. I warn you, my dear parents, to beware how you speak against this church, for you will be found fighting against God, and He will bear me out in saying it. I desire with all my heart to see the salvation of my kindred and cannot be saved in any other way, but that laid down in the word of God. I know the Lord has set his hand to gather his people and that church is the onIy one l wish to belong to, for if l continue faithful, l shall inherit eternal life. For this cause l go to the wilds of the west. God has seen our sacrifices and will render unto us fourfold in this world and in the worlds to come.
Therefore, we go cheerfully from the scenes of civilized life, trusting in Israel's God. He will deliver us and freely give us all things in His own due time, and although we lay these bodies in the dust, we will take them up again in the morning of the first Resurrection, fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body, and as He is our elder brother, we shall be joint heirs with Him in possessing the blessings of our Father's kingdom.
Mormonism is destined to revolutionize the world and restore man to his original standing with his creator as he was before the fall. That he may be made fit for society of Celestial beings made Kings and Priests to God to inherit glory, honor, immortality and eternal life to reign over principalities and powers worlds without end. May God bless you in His kingdom, is my prayer."
Farewell to Nauvoo
Farewell, dearest city, farewell for a time,
We're now called to leave thee for a distant clime.
Fair city of Joseph, we bid you adieu,
Farewell for a season, our own loved Nauvoo.
Adieu to the spot where the Prophet once stood,
And boldly declared the whole council of God.
Before the rude hand of a blood-thirsty mob,
Forced him from our midst to a peaceful abode.
Farewell to the temple, where oft we have heard
The precept of life and salvation declared.
Dear House of our God, we thy memory will love;
Although in a far distant country we love.
Adieu to the friends of our childhood and youth,
For they have rejected both us and the truth;
Therefore we will leave them in darkness to roam,
And seek in the far western forest a home.
Adieu to the states that have given us birth,
Our own native country, the proudest on earth.
The soil is bedewed with the innocent blood
Of Joseph and Hyrum, the prophets of God.
Then flee from these states, you saints of the Lord
And spread forth the kingdom of Heaven abroad;
That Zion may rise in her beauty and shine,
With beams of salvation and glory divine.
Every letter she received from her family entreated her to return home and not get any deeper in the mire, but she tells them that she had wandered long enough in the mire of sectarianism to value the principles of truth and righteousness.
Quoting from her diary again, "You say you cannot bear the thought of me going into the wild country where there is no one but savages. If there are any more savages on the face of the earth than the people in these states, them as a body, Lord deliver me from them. We cannot expect much worse treatment from the savages the wilderness, .allowing to go where they are, than we have received from the enlightened Christians of the 19th century.
You say you have a presentiment that the religion of Joseph Smith will come to naught. I too, have a presentment concerning it which is that it will stand the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds, and when all other systems of religion are lost in oblivion, Mormonism will stand erect like a rock in the midst of the ocean."
She received her blessing in the Nauvoo Temple, then left with the exiles for the west. She stopped at Kanesville until she could make arrangements to come out west.
Here she met Henry Mower, a widower with ten children. Their friendship ripened into love and on February 5, 1847, in Council Bluffs, Iowa , she became his wife and reared his children. The children have all said she was a wonderful mother to them.
At the time she married, her husband had been mobbed and driven until his earthly belongings consisted of a small log room, a bedstead, a chest, three three-legged stools, a rude table, and some bedding, but she never faltered. She had plenty of clothing, which she cut up to clothe the children.
They were driven with the saints for four years, through their persecutions, and after a three months' journey across the plains, arrived in Utah in October 1851, having buried their first child enroute west.
They settled in Lynn, Weber County, and remained there until 1858 when they came to Springville, where they made their permanent home.
Her impressions of Utah at that time are best given in the following poem, which she sent to her people:
I would not change my mountain home
For any other on the earth,
For gilded palace's lofty dome-
Nor the loved spot that gave me birth.
For here the servants of the Lord
The everlasting priesthood hold,
Dispense to us His holy word
And by its precepts we're controlled.
Her lofty mountains wall us round,
And never, never wish to roam,
No spot on earth I love as well
As Deseret, my mountain home.
She was the mother of six children. She was a home woman and did not aspire to public office. She was not blessed with much of the world's goods, but always had plenty to help a friend in need.
She did not have the privilege of ever seeing any of her people again, but corresponded with them all her life. She wrote poetry all her life, and left to us a book of her poems in her own handwriting. These were written for many different occasions, and most of them were printed in the Springville paper.
Independence Day - (written for July 4, 1894)
Rouse, patriots, rouse! Behold the glorious day
Again returns with its enlivening ray.
The day our fathers raised their standard high,
Resolved to gain their victory or die.
Oh, let not their descendants idly stand
While strife and anarchy stalk o'er the land.
Her institutions are in danger now.
Let not her children to oppression bow.
To friends of freedom to the rescue rise.
Seek help from Him who dwells above the skies.
Let not our starry flag trail in the dust.
But let your motto be, 'in God We Trust.'
Father in Heaven, may thy mighty hand
Save from destruction our own chosen land.
Let not her enemies her peace destroy.
But lead her forth to happiness and joy.
She was an invalid for seven years, but up to the time of her death, her mind was clear, and she was able to converse intelligently on any subject. She lived to within fifty days of her 96th birthday, and died July 28, 1915.