Relief Mine Chapter Five

2002-9-12 04:56:00

Been very busy. Just enough time to post another chapter and read your posts.

The Relief Mine
By Ogden Kraut
First Published 1978

Chapter 5

THE MINING MISSION

Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you, and the heavens and the earth are in mine hands, and the riches of eternity are mine to give. (D & C 67:2)

John Koyle arrived home from his LDS Church mission in March, 1884. He immediately resumed his former occupation of farming and building a business of selling butter, cheese, and other farm produce. For the next eight years, he engaged in this business without any unusual events occurring.

One of the best markets for his produce was in the Mercur and Tintic Mining Districts. They were boom towns where many people were being employed for mining explorations and ore processing. John travelled considerable distance to these areas selling his wares, and on several occasions he was invited to enter the mines and see how they were operated. However, at that time John had little interest in mining.

One night he had a dream in which he was shown a large deposit of ore in one of the mountains at Tintic. He later related his dream to the bishop of his ward, who told him to pay no attention to it. He was warned against trying to find ore through dreams. However, a short time later the rich ore deposit that John had seen in his dream was discovered--proving that his dream was inspired but apparently the counsel of this Church authority had not been.

[36] Then one night, on August 27, 1894, John Koyle received a very unusual manifestation. A heavenly messenger came to his home to visit with him. John was informed that he had been chosen to perform a very special work--or mission. He was informed about an ancient civilization that once flourished on this continent--how they rose in power, wealth and intelligence--and how they became corrupt, wicked and were finally destroyed. He was told that this generation had also begun to take a similar course toward destruction. However, there were some people whom God would spare; therefore, John would be instrumental in this great task of preparing a way for their deliverance.

The messenger then took John, in the spirit, to a mountain east of Salem, explaining to him that a rich Nephite mine had been located here. The heavenly messenger told John that he was the man chosen to direct the work of drilling these tunnels, but it would take a great deal of time and money, because they were not to obtain the ore through the tunnel that the ancient Nephites had used; they would be required to build their own tunnels. He would be directed through dreams of where to dig and how to accomplish that mining operation.

As they proceeded through the mountain along a course which had the appearance of a worked-out mine shaft, the messenger talked freely and explained the various formations and the runs which appeared along the excavation. They followed a cream-colored leader, "which," the apparition said, "will mark your future course if you are obedient and work as directed." At an undetermined depth, Koyle was shown a tunnel he was to dig which would penetrate the mountain from an undisclosed point on the surface and intersect the excavation he had just passed through. He stated that he plainly saw mine cars carrying rich loads of ore out of this tunnel.

[37] He observed that along its length there were various take-off points which led to incredible quantities of valuable ore. The first of these was some 1,000 feet from the portal and was identified by a red iron formation in the top of the tunnel. This formation led in a southerly direction until it struck a big white vein which dipped almost straight down to a large ore body, measuring eighteen feet to the square, and running in an easterly direction under the tunnel for about 2,000 feet. Approximately 1,000 feet further on, the second take-off point was located and was recognizable by a white vein about an inch wide on the north side and eighteen inches wide on the south. He saw that by following this vein, he would come to five very rich ore bodies. (Historical Study of the Koyle Relief Mine, 1894-1962, by James R. Christiansen, pp. 13-14)

These five tunnels would be called the "five fingers", and the first ore shipped from the mine would come from the No. 4 tunnel or "finger". This discovery of ore here would set off the news of a great gold strike at the mine. This ore would be the means of bringing much needed relief to the Lord's people. The winze located at the first 1,000-foot point would be the next producing body of ore. The third deposit, richer than the first two, would be located beneath a "capstone" at the end of the main shaft.

But this caprock itself would be so hard, that even though it was only three or four feet thick, it would require a month or more to drill through it, and there would be almost a continuous chain of sharp drills coming in to replace the dull ones going out. Under this caprock, we will find a very rich chimney of white quartz contain leaf gold, dipping down about 175 feet and coming out into the nine large caverns that contain these great Nephite treasure that are beyond your belief to imagine. [38] This messenger talked to me freely and answered my questions as one man would talk to another. He was exceedingly anxious that all the details of the mine be fixed clearly in my mind, and as we went along, he pointed out all of these ore bodies so plainly that I can never forget them, nor where they are located. (The Dream Mine Story, Pierce, pp. 9-10)

The nine rooms were separated by pillars supporting the roof. The wealth from this area was so fabulously rich that it appeared that the ore was mostly gold. As they passed through the nine rooms, Koyle was led out through the old Nephite tunnel which came out into Water Canyon.

It seemed necessary that the information about this ancient mine needed to be firmly fixed in Koyle's mine because the messenger came three nights in succession to retell the details of that mine. On the third night the messenger said the time had come to commence; therefore, to convince him of the certainty of his mission, the angel would give him a sign that his work must begin.

The messenger told John that he had been chosen to bring about this work and to develop the mine after the pattern that had been shown him. But John responded that he was a farmer; farming was his only occupation, and he knew nothing about mining, or claims, and he had only a little money. He couldn't understand how he could accept such a herculean task without the knowledge, money and influence that would be required to do it. John was then assured that if he would accept the task, that men and money would always came to his assistance as they were needed.

The messenger explained to John that his neighbor had been digging a water well without any success, but tomorrow at 12 noon he would strike water--and this would be a sign that he should be willing to accept his appointment on the mine. John replied that if the well [39] came in as predicted, then he would accept that mining mission; however he felt reluctant to begin such a mammoth project.

The next morning John related the account of his strange manifestation to his wife, Emily. She didn't want to seem skeptical, but she could hardly fathom such a tremendous undertaking. He then told her to watch the neighbors who were digging the well to see if they would strike water at noon. Then John left for the fields to do his work for the day.

Emily was somewhat doubtful of the whole story so she proceeded to do her housework without much attention to the well. Suddenly she heard shouting and yelling. Going to the door to see the cause of so much commotion, she saw water flowing up through the water-rig at the well. The workmen were waving their hats and shouting with excitement. She looked at the time and it just 12 o'clock!

That evening when John came home, she was out by the gate to greet him. She opened the gate for him and his horse, which was something she had never done before. She had a big smile on her face; so John looked down at his clothes to see if something was wrong. She then pointed over to the neighbor's well. He looked over and saw water flowing through a two-inch pipe, which was shooting water several feet out from the well.

John then realized the validity of the task that was before him. The angel had kept his promise about the well; now he must keep his promise about the mine.

The very premise of the mine and the story of its purpose is not beyond reason. The Saints have been promised that they would become the richest people on earth--solely because they would be given their wealth by God. They would not prospect for it as others do,nor would they develop scheming methods of selling merchandising to get their wealth. Brigham Young once said:

[40] Brother Lorenzo Snow says, that the Lord will bless my brethren and sisters. He says that all the mules in the territory cannot haul away the gold that is concealed in these mountains. (JD 10:34-35)

And again he declared:

When it is necessary that we should possess gold in great abundance, the Lord will show it to us in vision, and we shall not have to prospect and dig to find it, as the wicked have to do. The liberty of the Saints is to possess power with God to open gold mines, when we want gold. (JD 10:288)

It was very clear to John Koyle's mind that wars and calamities were about to befall this nation and the nations of the earth. But the riches of this mine would not be reached until this time of crisis had arrived. It would then become a means of temporal salvation to millions of people in distress. This treasure house would have several missions--one of which was to build huge storage bins and fill them with grain, just as Joseph did in Egypt. The real purposes of the mine would then be fully understood. Many would be saved from starvation, financial ruin, and other calamities. The Mormon people, too, would succumb to many of the perils that would come upon the Gentiles, for they would suffer temporal and spiritual bondage. (See D & C 103:17) In this crisis, the Church would exhaust its resources and means to help its members. Thus, this venture would become a means of providing food and supplies to a poor and humbled people in distress. This mine would then be called the "Relief Mine".

-- End Of Chapter --

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Chapter Six

Chapter Four

Dream/Relief Mine Chapter Index

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