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Provo, Utah April 13, 1915
Mr. John Reeve
Hinckley,
Utah
Dear Brother Reeve,
If I had a dollar for every time I have read your letter,
I’d have enough to finish my college work. For I’ve studied the English, the
diction, the spelling, the construction, the description, the paragraphs, the
subject matter and feeling that prompted the writer in making such a plea. But
it was a something beyond all of them that grips my heart strings and makes me
say Yes to all your appeals. And I say it feeling that the God of destiny has
led our paths together! Try hard as I might to look at it in any other way it
is impossible! And now I feel my plans for the future are subject to vital
reconstruction, in order to utilize the choice material God has thrown in my way.
Not that I can do as He should like, But that I am willing to try and shall I
say ready? And anxious for his next edition of palns for me! I feel that I make
this choice in the situations in which I am placed, because it is the only one
for me to make. My warring impulses might and do struggle against my will.
Which I feel is prompted against by the Spirit and voice of God to me. And the
balance is thrown into the proper scale – and the new law of gravitation points
me to you and yours, and the message presumes to promise me strength and
courage to do my best – If dear brother I were a different sort of individual I
could not presume to assist in such a gigantic task. But it seems as I look at
it now, My whole life has conspired toward this end. And I feel now that my
place is not where a week ago I thot it was. And the climax of my prayer and
supplication came to me in the night – “That is your path now.” And I feel that
I am ready for your next move – Since this comes up – I feel without you
interefere that I must quit school and go to my sister who needs care next
month. But I shall await here your next letter. And hope it won’t be long
coming for maybe I am imbibing some of the anxiety you refer to!
Of course my letter is not as classical as yours. But I
believe my feelings are as deep as yours only you can express them better.
Now accept my heart felt wish for God’s protecting care over
you and the children and since Sister Wilkins gave me your photo I do want to
win the confidence of your mother. Don’t you think I can? Please burn this and
answer right back. And I’ll be happy with you forever.
With Love,
Mary
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Hinckley, Utah, April 16, 1915
Mine, My Dearest Mary,
I cannot express to you the feeling of gratitude that comes
welling up in my heart for the great blessing that has now come into my life.
Yes, dear, I know your struggle and what a battle you have
had to fight. But when I even faintly try to imagine what I have done to merit
the love and confidence of so sublime a life as you have consented to give me I
say by the help of God and the influence and beauty of your life I will be
worthy of you.
Dear, you will pardon this hastily written note as the
dramatic troupe is waiting to take me to Oak City, where we play tonight and in
Leamington tomorrow night. So I will write you from Leamington. And I wish to
say frankly my happiness would be complete if you my queen were with me on this
trip. Especially could I enter with a genuine feeling of affection into the
reconciliation love scene if you were my companion!
Now, Mary, relative to our plans for the next act. I am sure
we both realize the fact that when the curtain rises on the second act it must
be done by obtaining information from the same source that so beautifully and
majestically inspired the proceedings and climax of the first act in our
sublime drama and romance of life.
My dear, will you please cease to minimize your ability as a
letter writer, For really I don’t believe that a more beautiful and magnificent
message was ever written than the one you penned to me. And if should study the
Bible as much as I am now studying this sweet message I would be a walking
Scriptorian.
You come down here? Sure, you must see all. Must know all.
But let me fix the date. For I want to prepare for the coming of the Queen, Not
that I want to deceive you. But that I would like to entertain you in a manner
worthy of you.
May the choicest blessings of Him who has guided our lives
together ever remain with you.
With sincerity and love
I am very affectionately yours
(signed) John
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Oak City, Utah
4-16-15
My Dear Mary –
Say, do you know that I kept the troupe waiting two hours to
write that letter to you? But I wouldn’t cared if they’d waited till the
judgment day I’d have written the letter before I left.
I am writing this letter in Joshua Finlinson’s home 5:30 in
the evening – Just one hour before supper, So I knew I’d rather write to you
than not, For by so doing it means
another letter from you.
With reference to what you say about living years in the
last few days: It all seems so wonderfully marvelous. So unexplainably
important – that without taking into account the voice of inspiration it
becomes as you say so staggering in its hugeness and immensity.
I am intensely impressed with the little, but mighty big
story of the sister Wilken-incident – Just one more convincing evidence that
Divinity is playing such an important part in uniting our lives together; And
its further details I shall be most happy to learn from your own sweet lips
when I see you.
Do I think you can win the confidence of my mother? I not
only think you can but I know absolutely that you can. And I know further that
you could win the confidence of any clean man, woman, or child in the world,
for to know you is to love you; To look into your eyes is to see the grandeur,
sublimity and purity of one of the finest types of virtuous womanhood God ever
created.
Now in relation to your leaving school to assist your
sister, and also as to the time when we shall begin this splendid voyage. I
don’t know hardly what to say; But one thought came to me. Why not embark at
the time of the June conference. So without having a personal talk with you.
You may take that merely as a suggestion to think and pray about as I am not
doing and shall continue to do. And then when we meet and I am sure that
whatever we decide to do will be exactly right.
You ask what brother Lon would say. Why I know exactly what
he’ll say. He’ll say as I say that I have occasion to feel and that I am the
richest, wealthiest and most fortunate man in all the world.
Did you notice dear, that the last time we dined together
that our orders were unconsciously practically the same. And did you not notice
how congenial and happy we were together? It simply shows how our feelings were
converging and harmonizing together.
I haven’t told mother the details of our affair yet, But I
promised her I would when I returned from this trip. I simply told her, that
when she heard the story she would see the hand of God in it in bringing us
together.
Supper is ready, dear, won’t you please come and dine with
me again tonight? I’d enjoy it immensely, and I believe you would, too.
So with a heart overflowing with love for you I will say
unto you My sweet heart good Night!
Lovingly
(signed) John
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