Miracles and Tender Mercies: The Faith of Eliza Jane Stewart Ensign
Compiled by Wendy Kay Smith
I recently found a story of my great-great-grandmother Eliza Jane Stewart Ensign written by her daughter, Elizabeth Ensign Wardlaw. It is the only information that I have found about her.
In her account, Elizabeth describes several remarkable experiences from her mother’s life. One of the most memorable was a miracle Eliza Jane witnessed during her first summer in the Salt Lake Valley when crickets began devouring their newly planted crops. Eliza Jane sat in the hot sun and killed crickets with her bare hands and feet until she was exhausted; she became ill and had lost hope that the crops could be saved. She witnessed a miracle. In her words: “I will never forget that day. The sun was shining, the sky was clear blue not a cloud be seen, when way in the west a tiny white cloud becomes visible. We all looked and wondered; it was moving toward the east and kept getting larger and larger. Then we could hear the peculiar noise of wings. The birds came and settled down on the fields. Then we felt sure we were doomed for we thought that what the crickets had left the birds would destroy. But when we saw the birds begin to eat the crickets great was our joy and thanksgiving. They would gorge, go to the lake, and disgorge and continue thus until the pests were destroyed. When their work was done, they rose in a body and flew back to their island home.”
Life is full of experiences that help us learn and grow and to come closer to the Lord. Eliza Jane experienced many hardships in her life and it was through those hardships that she became a devoted disciple of Christ. One experience that stood out to me was Eliza’s loom. Her husband, Horace had made the loom for her not long before he suddenly passed away. That loom ended up being a tender mercy from her Heavenly Father as it provided a way for her to support her family of six children when her husband died suddenly. Elizabeth recalls “she wove carpets by the hundreds of yards, wove blankets and linsey. Despite the long hours she spent at her loom and raising her family, she spent time in the scriptures and in serving others.
We can learn from Eliza Jane’s story that the price that we must pay for our discipleship is worth it. When we become acquainted with the Lord as she was He will be there to help and comfort us in our trials and in turn we will be there to run His errands for Him.
I hope that Eliza Jane comes alive for you as she did for me. Here is the link to her story on FamilySearch.
👉 Read her full story on FamilySearch.
Source: Elizabeth Wardlaw, “Eliza Jane Stewart Ensign History by Elizabeth Ensign Wardlaw,” FamilySearch Memories, https://www.familysearch.org/memories/memory/67982455