"It was necessary to cross through a meadow, and there a swamp lay directly where the wagon had to go. Rocks were dumped into the swamp. They sank out of sight. Hardwood planking was tried, but that did not help. The onlookers asked Brother Wells what he was going to do. He said, 'going to pray.'

"The weather was relatively warm for December. Before retiring for the night he opened his heart, pleading with the Lord to help him find a way to get the monument in place.

"That night when he was in such desperate need and offered such a moving prayer, the temperature miraculously dropped 30 degrees in a very short time. In the morning when Junius examined the swamp, it was frozen solid. The horse-drawn wagon was able to pass over without difficulty.

"A proper foundation base was prepared at the site of erection, and by means of a great block and tackle, the polished granite shaft was raised without injuring it in any way.

"It was a miracle. At that time, it was probably the largest single polished shaft anywhere in America, if not the entire world. It may still be so.

"Its creation and erection were almost like Joseph's description of his own life when he said:

"I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by striking with accelerated force against mobs, blasphemers, licentious and corrupt men and women — all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty."

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com