Yesterday I gave a talk in Church and thought that I would post my outline below. I don't believe any talk is fully written until it's given. I researched this talk over the last two weeks - although I must confess to getting sucked in to the Overland Travel Database a couple of times.
A funny thing I learned while researching. I have a copy of David Osborn's (1807-1893) journal, but I did not know his connection to my family. As I was going through the journal I found reference to my 4 times great grandfather William Moore Allred. Come to find out, David's daughter Mary married William Moore after his first wife died. I thought, "Well, there's the connection. Strange, but a connection none the less." As I was talking to my mother we were discussing the other lines of my family and the people of those lines that crossed the plains. Mom mentioned that my grandmother's grandmother Lydia Osborn, crossed with her father David. Come to find out Lydia and Mary were sisters. So, Barbra Hall, granddaughter to Lydia Osborn married Elwood Malcom Allred, great-grandson of Bryon Harvey Allred Sr. whose step-mother was Mary Osborn, sister of Lydia. There you go.
A funny thing I learned while researching. I have a copy of David Osborn's (1807-1893) journal, but I did not know his connection to my family. As I was going through the journal I found reference to my 4 times great grandfather William Moore Allred. Come to find out, David's daughter Mary married William Moore after his first wife died. I thought, "Well, there's the connection. Strange, but a connection none the less." As I was talking to my mother we were discussing the other lines of my family and the people of those lines that crossed the plains. Mom mentioned that my grandmother's grandmother Lydia Osborn, crossed with her father David. Come to find out Lydia and Mary were sisters. So, Barbra Hall, granddaughter to Lydia Osborn married Elwood Malcom Allred, great-grandson of Bryon Harvey Allred Sr. whose step-mother was Mary Osborn, sister of Lydia. There you go.
Historians look backwards
- The basis of history is in the word itself - story.
- Who, what, where, when, how, and why
- We take historical events in context with the whole: what came before and what resulted afterwards.
- We look for patterns and cause and effect
- Historical analysis shows that the pioneers were not the first to migrate in the name of following God’s commands.
- Moses 5:1 tells of Adam and Eve
- “And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.”
- Israel takes his family to Egypt and Moses brings them out again.
- Genesis 46:3-6 “ 3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. 5 And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:”
- Exodus 3:8 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites”
- The Jews return from Persia
- Ezra 1:2 &3 “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him,and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
- The Jaredites
- Ether 2:7 “7 And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.”
- The Nephites
- 1st Nephi 2:2-4 "2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness. 3 And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him. 4 And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness."
- Our very existence on Earth
- Abraham 3: 24-26: 24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; 25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; 26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
- Others - Abraham, Lot, Joseph and Mary
- Of all the questions the most important is why. Why has the Lord has called his people to travel?
- Adam and Eve - As a result of transgression, but also to learn and grow
- Joseph of Egypt - to prepare and save others to follow
- Moses - to escape persecution and bondage
- Ezra - to build a temple
- Jaredites and Nephites - to rise up a righteous people
- Our own Journey on Earth - to learn, grow, and ultimately return to God.
- Our church’s own pioneer heritage mirrors so many of these previous journeys.
- Prepare the way for others
- To escape persecution and bondage
- To build a temple of the Lord
- To rise up a righteous people
- To prove the merit of their faith
- Pioneer roots
- Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Whether you are among the posterity of the pioneers or whether you were baptized only yesterday, each is the beneficiary of their great undertaking... We stand today as the recipients of their great effort. I hope we are thankful. I hope we carry in our hearts a deep sense of Gratitude for all that they have done for us. “(“True to the Faith,” April conference, 1997)
- For those who have ancestors who made the trip - Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database.
- Find your ancestors
- Read journal entries about the trail
- What heritage have we receive?
- William Moore Allred (4 greats), 31, Byron Harvey (3 greats), 4
In the spring of 1851 we started and crossed the plains arriving in Salt Lake City on the 7th day of Oct. after a toilsome journey. On the 30th of July my wife had a little girl, Second Daughter, stillborn on the Loup Fork. Elder Pratt told us to name it so we called her Amelia Lorinda. My wife was quite poorly the rest of the way.
I had a very hard time on the road, although I had a gentle team and I did not have to work more than ten minutes on my wagon all the way. I did not even break a bow key, but someone that unyoked my cattle lost one.t I had some extra ones in a little side box so that did not hinder. Many times I would have to drop my whip when we drove into camp and go to work on a wagon or something else, and let someone else unyoke my team. I had charge of all of Elder Pratt’s teams and they were mostly wild cattle that never was yoked till he started. He had only enough of broke cattle for leaders, and the teamsters were about as bad. When I would get across a bad place, I would give my whip to Lansing, (he was not quite nine years old) and he would drive my team, and I would help all the others across and then run till I over took my team again. When we got into the City I heard Br. James W. Cummings (one of the captain of hundred) tell Br. P. H. Wells that he would not go through what I did crossing the plains for five hundred dollars. For fear some might think that Elder Pratt put too much on me, I will say he has always done well by me. - Spirit of Elijiah - Turn the hearts of the Children to the fathers
- A legacy of service, preparedness, and meekness.
- Patience Loader Archer, 28, Edward Martin Company (1956)
- We had nothing to eat that night. The last we had to eat that day was at twelve o’clock in the day as near as we could tell the time; however we were all very tired and soon fell asleep as it was past two o’clock when we found the camp. We did not have very long to sleep. We were awakened very early and had to travel on before we had breakfast then we camped and got something to eat. This was quite hard on us as we had no supper after we got in camp. At the same time it seemed we did not suffer with hunger. It seemed the Lord’s fitted the back for the burden. Every day we realized that the hand of God was over us and that he made good his promises unto us day by day. As we know, God our Father has promised us these blessings if we will call on him in faith. We know that His promises never fail and this we proved day by day. We knew that we had not strength of our own to perform such hardships if our Heavenly Father had not helped us, and we prayed unto God continually for his help and we always acknowledged his goodness unto us day by day. Sometimes in the morning I would feel so tired and feel that I could not pull the cart the day through. Then the still small voice would whisper in my ear, “as thy day, thy strength shall be.” This would give me new strength and energy and thus we traveled on day after day, week after week, and for four months before we reached the valley; we would travel all day and when we got into camp we would get some little to eat then we would sit around the campfire and sing the Songs of Zion. Oh yes and our favorite handcart song: some must push and some must pull as we go Marching up the hill until we reach the valley. . .
- Examples of faith.
- Many historians stop there. Few ask the question that President Packer is famed for asking, “Therefore, what?”
- Dallin H. Oaks, October 1997, “Following the Pioneers”
- “For many months we have studied the lives and accomplishments of our pioneers,early and modern. We have thrilled to some modern reenactments, in which many have been blessed to participate. I was humbled to walk in the footsteps and wagon trails of my 31 pioneer ancestors for 13 miles over the Wyoming heights called Rocky Ridge, and for 5 miles on the trail 3 of them later followed down El Cajon Pass to settle what is now San Bernardino, California.
Now after all these studies and activities, it is appropriate to ask ourselves,“Therefore, what?” Are these pioneer celebrations academic, merely increasing our fund of experiences and knowledge? Or will they have a profound impact on how we live our lives?
It is not enough to study or reenact the accomplishments of our pioneers. We need to identify the great, eternal principles they applied to achieve all they achieved for our benefit and then apply those principles to the challenges of our day. In that way we honor their pioneering efforts, and we also reaffirm our heritage and strengthen its capacity to bless our own posterity and “those millions of our Heavenly Father’s children who have yet to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 2 We are all pioneers in doing so.”
Pioneers Look forwards
- What are the “great, eternal principles” the pioneers applied?
- Faith
- Faith is looking forward
- Pioneers planted crops they would never harvest
- Missionaries teach investigators they will not baptize
- We invite friends who may turn us down
- We follow promptings not knowing the results
- Every journey started with Faith.
- Nephi had not seen the promised land.
- They left a land they called “Bountiful” to build a ship and sail the ocean.
- The analogy of the dark path.
- Harold B. Lee to Elder Boyd K. Packer, “You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you.” - Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith - Ether 12:6
- We have no Exodus before us. What is our journey and how do we show our faith?
- “We no longer think of Zion as where we are going to live; we think of it as how we are going to live”
- We must do. (Alma 32:37-43)
- 37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree,therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.
40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.
41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root;and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea,and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.
43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you. - The fruit of faith is conviction
- Conviction: Conviction refers to the state of being convinced and confident that something is true [I would say converted]; it means a strong persuasion or belief. In other words, conviction stands opposed to doubt and skepticism [It is faith perfected]. When we think of a man of conviction, we also think in terms of action and direction. We think of a person whose convictions have a definite impact on how he lives, on what he does, says, and where he goes. (source - https://bible.org/seriespage/mark-6-biblical-conviction)
- Which would we rather do: Cross the plains or be a faithful member of the church every day?
- J. Golden Kimball - rather die than pay their tithing
- Our task is not to cross the plains, despite some of us who may wish to.
- Our modern world may seem more dangerous than that of the early saints. They just had to deal with the elements and the mobs.
- Social Media, additions of drugs and pornography, wars, natural disasters, international conflicts, large scale acts of terror, identity theft.
- Regardless of what challenges we have, the answer is the same.
- Matthew 11:28-30
- 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. - Just as the pioneers yoked their oxen together to be able to pull their wagons, we can yoke ourselves to Christ and with faith in him pull our burdens to that promised land that awaits us. Christ promises not just a place to rest at the end of the journey, but we can receive rest along the way. When we are yoked to Christ the decisions are easy.
Faith in Every Footstep, by K. Newal Dayley
1. A marvelous work has begun to come forth among all the children of men.
O ye that embark in the service of God, give heart, mind, and strength unto him;
For prophets have spoken and angels have come to lift the world from sin,
That Christ may reign over all the earth and bless his gathered kin.
2. Those marvelous Saints who embraced this great work and shared it in lands far and near;
Who gave all their heart, mind, and strength to the Lord with wisdom and vision so clear;
Now stand as examples of virtue and faith, of souls prepared to hear,
Of knowledge sure, born of humble heart, and love that banished fear.
3. If we now desire to assist in this work and thrust in our sickle with might;
If we will embark in the service of God and harvest in fields that are white;
Our souls may receive the salvation of God—the fullness of his light,
That we may stand, free of sin and blame, God’s glory in our sight.
Chorus
With faith in every footstep, we follow Christ, the Lord;
And filled with hope through his pure love, we sing with one accord.
