Nephi Jepperson

Nephi Jepperson son of Christen Jeppeson and Sina Nielsen, born November 8, 1869 in Provo, Utah. His father was a sailor in his early days. He heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and joined, coming to Utah with the early pioneers. He then married Sina Nielsen. There were four boys and five girls born to this union: Christen, Nephi, Zina, Daniel, Sarah, Ephraim, Alfreda – in this order. Mary and Tennie died when little girls, Alfreda died after she was married, leaving two children.

 

The family lived at Provo until Nephi was nine years of age. Then the family moved to the farm, three miles northwest of Provo. Nephi had the responsibility of herding cows. There was much open country at that time. It was sandy and covered with burrs and hot summer sun without shoes or stockings made it plenty hard but there was no getting out of it. Work at home made it quite impossible for him to get much schooling so he only got a few months each year for a few years in grade school.

 

When Nephi was thirteen, his father died leaving the young mother with seven children all under fifteen. So it was up to the boys to make the living. Chris being the oldest tried to care for the farm and Nephi started to work out to help himself and his mother.

 

At the age of sixteen, he had a hard experience. He worked for Bishop Brinton just south of Salt Lake City. He worked very hard all summer. Not too good of food and when fall came all he got for his labors was an old horse. That made it hard for him that winter. Nephi knowing this man a Bishop, thought there couldn’t be much to the church with men like that at the head of it. So this rather embittered him toward the church. He then headed out into a rough world to make a go of it. At age seventeen, he started working for Mr. Rasmas Rasmussen who was trying to take up land out in Raft River Country in Southern Idaho and Northern Utah. That summer it was so hot and dry nothing could grow. So he left and went into Marsh Valley and things were the same there. At the age of twenty, he started working on the Bear River canal as powder man so he learned the use of powder. He then started shearing sheep and did this each spring for fifteen years. In the fall, he worked and ran a threshing machine. In those days their only power was horse power. Nephi bossed the outfit because he was good at mechanics at the age of twenty-two. He was on the thresher as usual - there were seven men in this crew. At this particular place the lady gave them canned salmon for dinner. It had been standing open and became poison, they all became deathly sick and in those days there were very few doctors and only horses to travel with. They were several miles from town but something had to be done so they put them all in a wagon with straw in the bottom and hauled them to Bear River City. They laid them on a few blankets and some straw in a sheep barn and none of them were expected to live. Bishop Carl Jensen came and took charge and they were all administered to and everyone was made well enough so they could talk and be taken to where they could be cared for and everyone lived. Nephi’s words after the experience, “I knew there was power in the Priesthood and that the Lord had a hand in it.” It was a power far greater than man power. He also met Rasminnie Jorgensen on the same occasion. Through experience he was converted to the church and later married Minnie Jorgensen in the Logan Temple and was sealed for time and all eternity.

 



They made their home in Bear River City. He then bought both an irrigated and a dry land farm and ran them for 23 years, he then moved to Corinne. He then sold out and moved to Brigham City and has lived here 13 years in May 1930, at 137 South First West, Beehive Apartments. He was 70 years old November 8, 1939 and still likes to work. He hasn’t been so well the last few years, but has enjoyed his flowers and garden. He also created a job for himself sharpening lawn mowers and saws.

 

He has raised a large family — six boys and three girls (all good).

 

He served as a ward teacher for 23 years without missing a visit if it was humanly possible to get there, three years as a teacher supervisor, filled a three months home mission in the years 1921 and 1922.

 

Has been very active in all his undertakings, both spiritual and temporal.

 

Written by his daughter, Effie May Jepperson Webster