The Enduring Legacy of Thomas Coke Sharp

[Everybody Wang Chung]

One of the Afore's favorite pastimes is criticizing Thomas C. Sharp and painting him as an evil, terrible man who left no mark on the world, except as an "evil footnote in Church history." The Afore recently made this interesting comment about Thomas C. Sharp, casting doubt about his posterity:

I wonder how many of Mr. Sharp's posterity, assuming that he has posterity, are aware of their descent from him, or care much about it.

Well, as we've seen time and time again with the Afore, the truth is not in him. A quick visit to familysearch.org revealed that history remembers Thomas C. Sharp as a well respected judge, state senator, educator and business owner. His days were long in the land and he died at the age of 76. Thomas C. Sharp (1818-1894) was married to Hannah Gregory Hardy (1818-1879). They had a long and fruitful marriage of over 40 years. Their children were Catherine Sharp, George Noel Sharp, Charles Guilford Sharp, Mary Jemima Sharp and William O. Sharp. They were also blessed with 24 grandchildren (Catherine Sharp had 7 children, Charles Guilford Sharp had 8 children, George Noel Sharp had 1 child, Mary Jemima Sharp had 4 children and William O. Sharp had 4 children).

This is where things in Thomas C. Sharp's family tree get interesting. Thomas Sharp's great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren number in the hundreds. They live in almost every state in the country. And after a very brief search, I found a highly decorated war hero, doctors, lawyers, 2 judges, professors, entrepreneurs and a cardiologist among Thomas C. Sharp's descendants.

By their fruits ye shall know them, and by any measure, the fruits of Thomas C. Sharp have been good. His descendants have contributed and blessed society and countless lives. I've thought about sending an email to a few of these descendants with links to a couple of the Afore's derogatory articles about their great-grandfather. It would be very interesting to hear their responses.

[Moksha]

Oh yeah? Joseph Smith and Brigham Young's descendants number in the millions and include a former leader of the Soviet Union during WWII, the leader of Cambodia after the Vietnam War, and Howard the Duck. Dr. Peterson would be too shy to mention them.

[Gadianton]

Is that a real quote? I’m not buying it. Screenshot or it did t happen.

[drumdude]

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... to-go.html

[sock puppet]

I'd say Jack the Ripper is more well known that Joseph and Hyrum Smith combined, not to mention Hitler and Stalin. If that's the ruler by which DCP wants to measure people's importance, I dare say DCP must be overly impressed with crowd size and be in utter awe of some of history's villains. Oh, that's right, DCP is dumbstruck by Joseph and Hyrum.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

I'd say Jack the Ripper is more well known that Joseph and Hyrum Smith combined, not to mention Hitler and Stalin. If that's the ruler by which DCP wants to measure people's importance, I dare say DCP must be overly impressed with crowd size and be in utter awe of some of history's villains. Oh, that's right, DCP is dumbstruck by Joseph and Hyrum.

The Afore (and other Mopologits) certainly does seem enamored with Hitler. Louis C. Midgley once stated that Dachau Concentration Camp was his "favorite" concentration camp to visit.

[Tom]

I’ve read several hundred thousand accounts of near-death experiences in which those who have entered into the next life have been met upon their arrival by previously deceased spouses and other family members. So I have absolutely no doubt that Thomas Sharp was greeted by his first wife, Hannah G. Wilcox, and that they were reunited after their long separation. (Thomas married Anna E. Hewitt after Hannah died.) Which is wonderfully good news.

A few weeks ago, I checked Family Search to ascertain if Thomas Sharp’s temple work has been done. Brother Sharp has been baptized (2003), confirmed (2003), endowed (2008), sealed to two different couples as his parents (Samuel Sharp and Susannah Chew in 2008 and then Solomon Sharp and Jemima Budd in 2009), and finally sealed to three women: Hannah Gregory Hardy (2018), Ann Elizabeth Wells Lawton (2018), and Sarah Ann Lawton (2019).

[Doctor Scratch]

That *is* wonderfully good news, Tom! It would seem that Brother Sharp has been welcomed into the bosom of Heaven--all his work has been done, and Brother Peterson should really cut him a break. Granted, the Afore has a bad habit of badmouthing other Latter-day Saints, so I don't know that we can expect a change of behavior in that regard--at least as it concerns Mr. Sharp.

[Tom]

That *is* wonderfully good news, Tom! It would seem that Brother Sharp has been welcomed into the bosom of Heaven--all his work has been done, and Brother Peterson should really cut him a break. Granted, the Afore has a bad habit of badmouthing other Latter-day Saints, so I don't know that we can expect a change of behavior in that regard--at least as it concerns Mr. Sharp.

I have no doubt that Brother Sharp accepted the ordinances. Even if it means he has two sets of parents now and a wife he never married on earth.

Speaking of ordinances, I wonder if anyone has performed the work for Frenchy yet. He’s waiting. I am reminded of President Spencer W. Kimball’s powerful words in this regard:

The spirit world is full of spirits who are anxiously awaiting the performance of these earthly ordinances for them. . . .

[W]e as members of the Church . . . stand in jeopardy if we do not do our temple work. Much of our time is taken up with the mundane details of everyday living, which must be done, of course; but those who are members of His kingdom at this critical time should endeavor to give much time and effort to this important work. . . .

Some of us have had occasion to wait for someone or something for a minute, an hour, a day, a week, or even a year. Can you imagine how our progenitors must feel, some of whom have perhaps been waiting for decades and even centuries for the temple work to be done for them? I have tried, in my mind’s eye, to envision our progenitors who are anxiously waiting for those of us who are their descendants and are members of the Church on the earth to do our duty toward them. I have also thought what a dreadful feeling it would be for us to see them in the hereafter and have to acknowledge that we had not been as faithful as we should have been here on earth in performing these ordinances in their behalf.

[Gadianton]

The Afore is making a strange argument. Billy the Kid made a bigger mark on history than some deputy sheriff who failed to stop him, so what? Why would anyone expect otherwise? Is Dan trying to say that Adolf Hitler was a great man because he made a bigger mark on history than underground activists who tried to stop him, that nobody has heard about?