Rachel Ibbotson Fielding (1767

Mormon History 1830-1844

Rachel Ibbotson Fielding (1767–1828)

Rachel Ibbotson Fielding and her daughter, Mary, had much in common. Both converted from the faith of their parents to other religions. Both married widowers (though both were determined not to) and had a difficult time raising stepchildren. They married religious leaders and became mothers of religious leaders. Both were pious women and strict disciplinarians.

Rachel was raised in a strict Calvinist home. Orphaned as a child. Converts to Methodism. Marries widower and Methodist minister, John Fielding §. Three sons became Methodist or Anglican ministers and three daughters married prominent religious leaders §.Known for acts of charity, Rachel had A stern and pious mother, Rachel was known for her acts of charity, and she always had "a word in season for all" §.

Born	November 30, 1767 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, the second of four children and the only daughter.	Except where noted, information about Rachel comes her daughter's published essay, Rachel Fielding memoir.
Died	October 15, 1828 in Yorkshire, England.
Father	John Ibbotson (1745–1781)
Mother	Hannah Foster (1739–1781)
Strict Calvinists Orphaned at 7 Then raised by irreligious uncle	Twenty-year-old Rachel Ibbotson was taking a leisurely stroll with a friend. Suddenly a woman rushed past them, late for church. Normally Rachel might not have taken notice, for she was not strictly religious not—not since her parents died and she had gone to live with her father's brother in Denham. Raised a strict Calvinist, with no witness of redeeming grace, she had imagined herself one of those poor, wretched souls destined for eternal damnation. As a child she "would gladly have exchanged condition with brute creatures, thinking their state far preferable to her own." But in Denham, fashion, plays, cards, and other amusements gradually replaced her anxiety.	father's brother: Matthews states that John Ibbotson had two brothers. The Ancestral File lists three—John (b. 1766), William (b. 1770), and Thomas (b. ca. 1774)—and an older sister, Sarah (b. 1742).
Providential Sunday	But Rachel was still a believer. "O! how I wish I was like that woman!" she exclaimed. She should be in church, not out pleasure walking. Spurning her friend's protestations, Rachel followed the woman into the chapel, where the minister's sermon was, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" She was deeply convicted of her sins, and at the same time inspired by the hope of redemption.
Wesleyans	Unlike Calvinists, who relied wholly on the inscrutable will of God for salvation, followers of John Wesley believed in a universal atonement. Salvation was available to all who confessed Jesus as Lord. In addition, perfection was attainable through grace and the methodical application of Christian principles. Methodists aspired to sanctification through the "second blessing" of the Holy Spirit. These teachings, and the use of lay preachers, rankled Calvinists and threatened to split the Church of England.
Rachel becomes a Methodist	Rachel, however, was not concerned about church polity, it was personal salvation she sought. She joined the Methodists and shortly thereafter received a powerful assurance that her sins had been forgiven and her course was approved by God.
Marries John Fielding, Methodist preacher and widower	Four years later she married John Fielding, a Methodist preacher seven years her senior. John was a widower with a ten-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy.
Honeydon	John and Rachel had been married four years when, in 1794, his godfather, a maternal uncle in northeastern Bedfordshire, invited John to take charge of a farm at Honeydon, four miles west of St. Neots in Bedfordshire. After visiting the site, John had to admit that the land was poor and the accommodations inconvenient, but he wanted to be a farmer.	godfather:James Dyson. Mary, 7.
Providential call in scripture	When he opened the Bible, his eye fell on a passage that he interpreted as confirmation of his desire. But Rachel continued to oppose the move. After considerable discussion John opened the Bible again, and again his eyes fell on a confirming passage. He was sure he had "a providential call" to move to Honeydon.	Joseph Fielding referrs to this practice as application of scriptures. ¶ Joseph Fielding Letter (1841)
Preacher without pay	In Honeydon, John continued his career as a Methodist preacher, which meant he often rode ten to thirty miles on Sundays to preach, without financial compensation.	¶ Joseph Fielding Letter (1841)
Rachel a religious enthusiast	For Rachel the move meant exchanging her comfortable home in an urban center for a small rural cottage, and a circle of lifelong friends for the company of strangers. Making a virtue of necessity, she threw herself into the religious life of the village, speaking in class meetings, leading prayer meetings, and injecting religion wherever she went. Slackers "hardened in iniquity" often found themselves on the receiving end of "affectionate expostulations."
Rachel's charity	Rachel's children praised her as a model of Christian piety and benevolence. "It was a maxim with her," wrote Ann,
	that whatever is given to relieve the necessities of the poor, is, if given in a right spirit, lent to the Lord. …Frequently, when asked by her children, ‘Mother, where is such or such a thing?' she would pleasantly reply, "O, my dear, it is gone to heaven!"
John's charity Lived in a Biblical world	As for John, "Like Cornelius of old, he feared God with all his house, prayed to God always, and gave alms to the people to the utmost of his means," Joseph Fielding recalled, "and God in his mercy, by particular applications of scriptures, gave him promises … he only obtained a particular impression on his mind on an application of some promise made to the Former-Day Saints."
	However, "several years" before John died,
Became disillusioned with Methodism	although he had been so long and so firmly attached to the Methodist cause, while he evidently increased in the spirit, and drew nearer to God as he drew nearer his end, yet he appeared to be entirely weaned from that body; in fact, he long lamented its corrupt state.
Family saw parallels with Israel	We often used to think that we must be in some way related to the children of Israel, because we saw the dealings of God with us resembled his dealings with them, though of course far inferior, for the Lord did not personally visit us, neither did angels minister to us as they used to do in those days.	¶ Upper Canada (1832–1837)
Religious education, ministers	The children were well schooled in religious matters. The eldest sons, John and James, became Methodist ministers; the eldest daughter, Ann, married Timothy Matthews, who became the curate of Colmworth.	Timothy was born June 26, 1795 in Lincolnshire and died September 4, 1845 in Bedford. curate: A member of the clergy engaged as a paid assistant or deputy to an incumbent in the Church of England or in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland.
3 Mormon children Mission to congregations of James and Timothy	The fourth, sixth, and ninth children, Joseph, Mary, and Mercy Rachel, became prominent figures in early Mormon history. In 1837 Joseph and several other Mormon missionaries, including apostles Heber C. Kimball and Orson Hyde, converted much of James' congregation to Mormonism and baptized many members of Timothy's church as well.	Men with a Mission, 29–40
Live in the Spirit Have a word for all	Not given to praise or flattery, Rachel's expressed her love for her children in prayer and in firmly "opposing the gratification of every desire which she knew to be prejudicial to their best interests." She had high expectations. Her parting words of counsel to her children were, "You must live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit, if you would be useful, and have a word in season for all."
Impending financial ruin	This might also have been a reminder to Mary herself, for her father, at seventy-three, was unable to farm and family finances were deteriorating rapidly.
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