"Those that have gone before.....Are with you now"

This is Abraham, and I'm sharing this for my children & grandchildren so they will always know about a very special experience of their father/grandfather.

It was the night before our hardest & longest day of Handcart Pioneer Trails, pulling handcarts in Wyoming on our Riverton South Stake Trek in July 2019.  This final day of Treking would take us on the actual Mormon Trail and over Rocky Ridge and finally down into Rock Creek Hollow.  It was going to be (and it was) 15 miles of 90 degree-plus temperatures, with wind & dust near-continually in your face, brutal hiking.

The youth Ma's & Pa's of the 3 Handcart families (7 or 8 youth each) were VERY concerned about their families and what they were headed into for this final, longest day.  They asked for Priesthood Blessings and as Elinor was one of the Ma's, it was my honor to be able to give her a Priesthood Blessing, around 9:30pm, on Wednesday, July 24th Pioneer Day.

The Spirit was very strong during all of the blessings given that night.  It was then time to get to bed quickly because we were all getting up at 4am the next morning to try to beat the heat as much as possible.

Before going to bed I was able to say a simple prayer asking for God's blessing to be with all of us for the next day.  The response I received I will never be able to forget.......I heard a voice, a VERY recognizable voice.......the voice of my father, James Russell Fox......say to me:

                        "Those that have gone before...... Are with you now"

My father was allowed to share a wonderful Statement of Absolute Truth with me, in his own voice!

And his spirit was near me, very near, and would be near me during this final day of Treking, and would always be near me......but it wasn't just him.  Others were near as well.

Betsy's mother, Alene Clark Cannon was with him.  Her love is so powerful.....I felt that love again!

Our beloved 4th child, our daughter, Tessa Alene Fox was near.

And others.....MANY others, including my Great, Great, Great Grandfather Joseph Angell Young, who rode the very same trails in Oct & Nov. 1856 as a Lead Rescuer of the Willie & Martin Handcart Companies.  Here is a painting of him entitled the "The Blue Angel" which hangs in the visitor's center of Martin's Cove, Wyoming, and a print which hangs in our home.  I grew a beard specifically for Trek to honor him.

We absolutely forget and do not realize how much they LOVE us and are concerned about us and want to help, support, encourage & bless us!!  God Loves us, His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ Loves us, and so do our ancestors so very much, who we may know or not know at all......but they are there.  There are Angels all around us ALL the Time.....during the small & simple & mundane moments, as well as the huge & tragic & crucial moments.  You are not alone.  You are never alone.  And never before in my life has this truth been shared with me with greater force.

I have not felt the presence of my father like this....... since the day of Greta's Blessing in Sept. 2016, which was the weekend of my father's funeral.

He never met Greta in this life but I know, I absolutely know, he has been watching over her......as he has all of his children & grandchildren!

I was so VERY blessed by Alene Clark Cannon in this life, and I know that this loving, joyous mother is still blessing her daughter, Betsy, her husband, and our children even now!

Tessa, in family order, is between Elinor, born Feb. 2003, and Faith, born March 2006.  Betsy has had experiences where she has felt Tessa's presence since her funeral.....but it was at this moment that I now can say the same.  She was with my father & Betsy's mother.....they KNOW and are with one another!!  And they are with us!!

I will always REMEMBER this amazing, powerful and yet simple, sweet & pure experience......with those beyond the veil.

Great Eternal Thanks to God and to His Son.....who have made it all possible, including the Incredible Blessing of Eternal Families.

And Thank you to a father who wanted to remind his son that he is ALWAYS there!!

Thank you Dad!