I love this picture because he looks so sad - and I think he was. At age 62 (about 1875) he was struggling, having been in the leading counsels of the church he was attracted to another spiritual philosophy and confused. He was estranged from at least some of his polygamous wives because of these beliefs. He was excommunicated from the church after having been reproved once for his preaching contrary to the gospel. Before his death in 04 February 1877 he bought some paper and the family believes that he intended to write in regard to these issues but he never did use that paper. Pride seems to have stood in his way.
A daughter, Martha Lyman Roper tells of having heard his voice calling from beyond a river - she called back asking what could she do? The answer came that Francis would know what to do. Francis was serving in the Quorum of the Twelve and would present his father's claim for restoration of blessings. The petition was granted and his blessings were restored through the man who had taken his place in the Quorum of the Twelve when he was excommunicated.
As a boy, Amasa (pronounced in the family Amassee) had been left with his grandfather when is mother remarried and then left with an uncle when his grandfather died. He was in a way a homeless child who found a spiritual home in the gospel. He was born 30 Mar 1813 in Lyman, Grafton, New Hampshire to Martha Mason and Roswell Lyman.
Amasa Mason Lyman spent his life in the service of the Lord, he was known for the power of the sermons he preached. He was often homeless, yet had eight wives and at least 30 children. His wives often found themselves alone as he went on mission after mission. He was one of the first settlers of San Bernadino, California.
2 comments:
Greetings. I'm one of the many great-great-great grandsons of Amasa Mason Lyman through his son Platte Lyman. I always heard the name pronounced "A'masa Mason" by my grandfather's generation with the emphasis on the first "A" as in the word "at" always spoken together with the middle name.
I always heard it pronounced Amasee and have wondered at that then I read some journals where names that are commonly written with an a on the end were written with the double e on the end. That made me think that it was probably a common way of speaking.
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