Martha Ann Thomas was born January 11, 1857, in Salt Lake City, Utah. She must have been a special spirit sent to do a great work, for although she was deaf most of her life, she raised a wonderful family—nine of hers and three who children of her husband by his second wife, who had died.

Martha’s father was John Pledger Thomas and her mother was Mahala Matthews. Her childhood was hard, for her family was very poor and had to work very hard. However, they were blessed with a great love for one another and with a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel, and they reared their children with a love for the Gospel, too.

When Martha was very young, about 6 or 7 years old, something struck her which could have been a tragedy, but which only made Martha work harder. She was very ill with scarlet fever, and one morning after the crisis had passed and the fever had finally broken, she awoke to find the family kneeling around her in family prayer. When they finished, her mother came to her side and spoke to her, and Martha answered saying, "Don’t talk so quiet like that. I cannot hear what you are saying." The family was startled, realizing that the disease had left Martha deaf.  For several years, time passed slowly and Martha grew sad. She was a courageous person, and she had an exceptional memory.  Though she was never able to get much formal schooling, she remembered well that which she did learn, and she put it to good use. She studied the scriptures diligently and eventually she became unequalled in the reading of lips. So perfect was she at this that one could not talk of anything in her presence that she did not read every word of it. At times it almost seemed that she could read one’s lips even when the back was turned to her. Yet she lived always in a world of silence!

She was a popular young woman, for she was a beautiful girl and a wonderful dancer. She kept perfect time with the music whether it was fast or slow. She was able to feel the rhythm, either from the air, or from the dance floor, though she could not hear the lilting melodies.