Zaidee Walker Miles — The Providence of the Silver Tabernacle Bell

Zaidee Walker Miles authored a history titled 'The Old Bell and the Clock,' which documents the remarkable providence surrounding the acquisition of the St. George Tabernacle bell. During a time of extreme poverty in the Cotton Mission, the women of the St. George Relief Society, including Zaidee's mother and neighbors like Abigail Dodge, donated their precious gold and silver jewelry—often their only remaining heirlooms—to be melted into the bell's molten metal. Zaidee recorded that this sacrifice resulted in a bell with a 'sweet, silver tone' of supernatural clarity that could be heard for miles across the valley. The arrival of the bell in 1872 was viewed by the community as a miraculous reward for their sacrifice, providing a spiritual 'voice' that unified the isolated Saints.