Of all the questions that we could be asked about our company and our products, one comes far more often than any other: "Where did you guys come up with the name White Knight?" A second question comes almost as often: "What does all that stuff on your coat of arms mean?"

The complete answers to these two questions are inseparably connected. In the early days, we simply said that the legend of a White Knight represented what we wanted our company and product to be (Honest, Pure, Reliable, Strong, Honorable, and full of Integrity). Also, that it was a good name to symbolize the pump (the first of which was completely white). While this answer was true, it was far from complete.

We here at White Knight (at least the family owners) have been accused of being a bit too outspoken on a religious note, at least through our company. If you are one of those who feels this way, we respect your feelings, please read no further. But the story of White Knight cannot be told without reference to religion. The entire company has been designed around Christian principles and teachings. This does not mean that we do not respect the teachings of other religions. We do. But the family member/owners here at White Knight are Christian. More specifically, we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commonly referred to as Mormons. While we try to base everything that we do on our religious beliefs, we are far from perfect. We hope that our imperfections will be taken in stride, and while we ask no leniency in judgements against ourselves for weaknesses and imperfections, nor for the wrong doings of any other member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, past or present, leader or layman, we do ask you to understand that the Christian teachings that we attempt to follow are beyond reproach, whether or not we perfectly follow them.

A brief understanding of Mormon teachings and history is necessary to grasp the vast amounts of symbolism woven throughout the tapestry of the Coat of Arms so I must begin there. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints prefers to be known by it’s formal name rather than the nickname "Mormon" a name placed on members of the church since its inception. This nickname came from their belief in an ancient record abridged by an ancient American prophet named Mormon, hence, Mormon’s book, or The Book of Mormon. While Mormons believe in The Bible as do other Christians, The Book of Mormon is also considered as scripture by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In recent years the church has become more outspoken in its desire to be known byits formal name, probably because of bombardments from some individuals leading others to the misconception that Mormons are not Christian. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe their religion to be a restoration of the exact Church that Jesus Christ set up during his lifetime. We also believe that Priesthood authority was restored to Joseph Smith (the first prophet/leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) by the resurrected beings John the Baptist, and later, Peter, James, and John, the same who had lived during the days of Jesus Christ. We also believe that baptism is essential for salvation based on the Bible scripture John 3:5 (Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God). This belief goes hand in hand with the belief that this baptism may be performed by proxy for those who did not have the opportunity to receive baptism by someone holding the proper authority while in this life. Based on Mathew 16:19 (And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven). Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also believe that the family unit can continue throughout eternity if marriages and family sealings are performed by those in authority in places set apart and dedicated for such purposes. These ordinances may also be performed posthumously for those who did not have the opportunity during mortality. Hence, our preoccupation with temples, buildings set apart and dedicated for these purposes. We also believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct individuals who are one in purpose. There are those who would say that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons as a whole are not tolerant of other religions. This is quite obviously a misunderstanding.

One of my ancestor’s families joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in its early days. He and his family left their home in New Jersey and went to "Join the Saints in Nauvoo", Illinois. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had earlier head quartered in Kirtland Ohio, (near Cleveland)". Soon, mob violence and threats drove them from their homes and they moved to the frontier of Missouri. It was not long until mob violence again erupted. Attempts to stop Mormons from voting occurred and it was only after severe physical confrontation and injury on both sides that ballots were cast by members of the Church. The ill feelings and confrontations escalated up to the point of Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issuing his infamous "Extermination Order". This official state government document mandated that Missouri troops drive the Mormons from the state of Missouri, or if necessary, exterminate them. (The state of Missouri rescinded this order and apologized in 1976). Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints left Missouri for Illinois. They again built a city in the wilderness from a swamp on a bend of the Mississippi River. It was during this period that the Van Wagoners (my ancestors) joined them.

But soon after the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith (Prophet, and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and his older brother) by a mob while imprisoned in Carthage Illinois while under the promised protection of Governor Thomas Ford, they left under the direction of Brigham Young for the Salt Lake Valley. After crossing the plains of Iowa it became necessary for the Pioneer group to find a place to wait out the winter. The winter of 1846-47 was spent at "Winter Quarters" at the present Council Bluffs Iowa on the Nebraska border. It was there that my fourth great grandfather, Halmagh Van Wagoner and his Wife Mary are buried with about 600 other members of the Church who did not survive the winter. Their family went on to the Salt Lake valley and continued their legacy. Recently I had the opportunity to visit the cemetery at Winter Quarters. As my tears watered the grass of the peaceful setting I felt the pains of those who died there in search of religious freedom, free from persecution. I know of few other religious groups whose love for religious freedom could come from so deep and somber a history.

We believe in religious freedom with every fiber of our beings, but we also believe this right to extend to our being able to share these beliefs with those who would listen. This is perhaps one reason that our family may seem a bit overbearing in our interweaving of our business and our religious beliefs. To those whom we may have offended, we apologize, for this was never our intent. To those who would prefer not to listen to the religious message or symbolism, the name White Knight can remain merely as a good representation of our products. To those who request no explanation of our coat of arms, it may remain in their minds as only a beautiful piece of art. For those of you who really want to know what all of the symbolism stands for, here it is.

The coat of arms was drawn by my wife Amy Simmons. Amy began the artwork as a pencil sketch and it was later scanned in and colored by computer. Amy spent months studying heraldry before beginning the art work. The one thing that we found was that the rules for doing heraldry "by the book" were numerous and strict. The other problem in staying "official" was that an official coat of arms needed to be far more simplistic than what we had in mind. We decided that our coat of arms was ours, that it was to tell our family and company history. It was more important to us to tell this story than to stay "official". The heraldry scholar will quickly see errors and inconsistencies with heraldry rules and protocol, but we hope that you will enjoy the story whether or not it is told in "official" format.

The Knight helmet at the top of the shield represents my father Jack Simmons. Many times as a knight went to battle he took with him a scarf from his lady. The scarf around the helmet is in my mother’s (Sharen Ann Denney Simmons) favorite color (Peach).

To the left is a Blue Marlin representing my maternal grandfather, Marlin Franklin Denney. The Water, which "supports" the Marlin represents my maternal grandmother, Edith Clair Rawlings Denney. The White Stallion to the right of the picture represents my paternal grand father, Merlin D. Simmons, a great horse trainer and worker. The Mountain Setting which "supports" the Stallion represents my paternal grandmother Grace Ellen Winterton Simmons.

About 30 miles east of the Salt Lake and Provo valleys in Utah is a beautiful mountain valley whose major town is Heber. My ancestors on my father’s side were among the first settlers to this valley. Those familiar with the area are aware of a Native American legend of a beautiful Indian Princess who lost her love. She went to search for him but never found him and eventually died searching for him in the mountains. To mark this legend, the gods formed the top of Timpanogas Mountain to look like her. From the Heber side of the mountain the shape of the Indian Maiden is very clear, starting from the left (or south) side of the valley at Provo canyon. The mountain, forming a long hair pattern extends upward and rightward to the horizon where it drops down rightward to the forehead. Continuing to the right and also downward other facial features are clear including an eye, nose and mouth. Further to the right the horizon drops downward to form the chin and neck which in turn angles back up to the chest. The horizon extends for miles showing the complete body, clear to the feet of the Indian Maiden where the mountain again slopes downward and to the right where the figure ends. Upon examination of the horizon of the mountain in the Coat of Arms, directly behind the stallion’s tail, one familiar with the Heber valley will recognize the face of the Indian Maiden down just past the chin line to where the mountain just begins to move upward to the chest. This is where our Coat of Arms ends on the right side.

Many of my ancestors on my father’s side farmed the Heber valley for generations and it was here in the shadow of these great mountains that my father grew up herding cattle. Countless ancestors and relatives of mine have been laid to rest in the beautiful foothill cemeteries surrounding and overlooking this mountain valley.

Knights also customarily took a tree sprig from their home land as good luck as they went into battle. My father chose for our Coat of Arms sprigs from the cottonwood trees, which line the mountain streams where he grew up. These sprigs are shown above the knight helmet.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that those who die without receiving baptism and other ordinances are restrained from moving forward in their eternal progression until these ordinances are performed for them. The keys hanging from the cottonwood sprigs over the knight helmet represent our ability and responsibility to do these ordinances for our dead ancestors "unlocking" the restraints and allowing them to move forward.

Directly under the knight helmet are four frames. The symbols inside the frames are official symbols from medieval time coats of arms designating first, second, third and fourth sons. The symbol to the left represents myself, John Merlin Simmons, while my wife, Amy’s, favorite color, red is in the background. The upward facing crescent moon represents my Brother, Tom Marlin Simmons, and his wife, Michelle’s favorite color, blue is in the back ground. My brother Rodney Kurt Simmons, who died several years ago is represented by the star with his wife, April’s, favorite color, green shown in the back ground. Another brother, David Michael Simmons is represented by the dove. In the original Coat of Arms artwork, the background behind the dove was blank, as at the time that the coat of arms was originally designed, David was still single. Since then, David has married and the background has been changed to his wife Rachael's favorite color, purple. While in medieval times, daughters were typically not shown in coats of arms, we didn’t feel like our story was complete without our sisters. The symbol with the red back ground that represents myself points leftward to another frame. Inside the frame is a Sego Lilly, the state flower of Utah where our pioneer ancestors settled. The sego lilly represents my sister, Shirree Patten. The dove symbol that represents David points rightward to another frame. Inside the frame is a white rose, the favorite flower of my sister Careen. Since then, Careen has married and the background has been changed to her husband Kevin's favorite color green.

The main shield is divided into four main sections. The upper left section has a sun in it. We used the sun to represent Jesus Christ, the Son of God (or as is stated in the Bible, the Light of the world). We, as all Christians believe in the divine calling of Christ’s original 12 apostles. These apostles are represented by the 12 smaller inter-most rays around the sun. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also believe in 12 living apostles, which are represented by the 12 outermost rays around the sun.

The upper right section of the main shield contains another shield. This smaller shield is also divided into four sections, each represent some of our ancestors. The windmill in the upper left section of the small shield represents our Dutch ancestors, the upper right section represents our Mormon pioneer ancestors with a wagon wheel, the lower left section represents our Native American ancestors with eagle feathers (My father’s fourth great grandfather was a Cherokee Indian Chief). The wood carving knife with the yellow and red background is used to represent our German ancestors.

The lower left section of the main shield also contains a four section smaller shield. The upper right section of the smaller shield represents our British ancestors with a ship. Below, in the lower right section of the smaller shield represents our French ancestors with swords. To the left of the French swords is a torch representing the Flame of Freedom. Above the torch is a dove representing the Holy Ghost and the promptings that he gives us to do righteous things and to protect us. Above the dove is a balance scale. This is to remind us of the importance of exact balance in many areas of our lives, for instance: Mercy and Justice, Agency and Accountability, Rights and Responsibility.

A compass is shown in the lower right section of the main shield. This compass has pointers pointing in all directions and represents our children. The many directions that it points to is representative of the scripture in the Bible in the book of Mark, chapter 16, verse 15 which states: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. A literal belief in this scripture is perhaps the reason that we may seem a bit over-zealous to some in our speaking of religion through our business. The compass also shows another subtle symbol. The director is pointing directly toward the sun (which as was mentioned before represents Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Light of the World).

Below the center of the main shield is a small black shield showing a square with two other straps woven through it. Amy (my wife, and the artist who designed this coat of arms) designed this symbol to represent the weaving together of generations as families are sealed together through all generations by special ceremonies in temples operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

While appearing more decorative than representative, this is not the case. The lines in the knights cape (behind the helmet) are used to represent the many friends who helped us to build this company even though they had no monetary interest in it.

The very center of the coat of arms has a shield showing a lion with three feet raised as if fighting. The placement of this lion at the exact center is not by accident. As was mentioned earlier in this document, We believe that God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct individuals who are one in purpose. The three raised paws of the lion were used to represent these three individuals. Many times as we built the White Knight company, due to our naivete, we made many mistakes. Some of these mistakes could have cost us the company, and several times almost did. We have always felt that because of our goals and desires (though our actions have not always been perfect), with what we wanted to do with this company that we received divine protection. One thing is in-arguable. The owners of White Knight, uneducated and inexperienced as we are, hold many valuable patents, technology that all of our competitors wish that they had, and privately own the fastest growing high purity pump company in the world (at least from two years prior to the time of the writing of this document). We have a hard time thinking that this might be coincidental.

As we always do at the end of any writing such as this we would ask you not to believe any of these things just because we said them. The best counsel came from James, in the Bible, chapter one, verse 5, which states: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

If nothing else, we hope that you have enjoyed the story of our Coat of Arms and the beautiful art work.


Respectfully,

John Simmons
President, White Knight Fluid Handling, Inc.