Susannah Stone joined the Church in England when she was 18 years old, the only member of her family to join, and made the decision to emigrate to America when she was 25 years old. Sailing to America in May 1856, she was a member of the Willie Handcart Company. The following account was featured in the book, Follow Me to Zion, published in 2013.
One time, Susannah became so discouraged that she was ready to give up. At this lowest point, she received a miraculous prompting that helped her keep pressing forward:
“Only once did my courage fail. One cold, dreary afternoon, my feet having been frosted, I felt I could go no further, and withdrew from the company and sat down to await the end, being somewhat in a stupor. After a time I was aroused by a voice, which seemed as audible as anything could be, and which spoke to my very soul of the promises and blessings I had received, and which should surely be fulfilled and that I had a mission to perform in Zion. I received strength, and was filled with the Spirit of the Lord and arose and traveled on with a light heart. As I reached camp, I found a search party ready to go back to find me, dead or alive. I had no relatives, but many dear and devoted friends, and we did all we could to aid and encourage each other.”
Susannah Stone married Thomas Lloyd after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley and they went on to have 14 children, 12 of whom survived past infancy. After Thomas’ death in 1894, Susannah moved to Logan, Utah where she lived out the remainder of her days, passing away in 1920 at the age of 89.