Good Afternoon Sisters and Brothers
I’ve been invited to speak to you day
about a scripture found in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.
As my mind has been focused this week on
our Pioneers, I wanted to share with you how this scripture must have been a
great comfort to them and can be to us as well.
The July ensign has an article titled, Five Pioneer Virtures That Can
Save Our Homes Today. It jumped out at
me and I wanted to know more.
Have you ever wondered if your faith is
as great as the Pioneers faith was?
Saints today may not be called upon to walk 20 miles a day for months on
end, leave everything they own behind, or face severe persecution, but we do
have to make unpopular decisions, guard ourselves against spiritually deadly
situuations and say no to the endless stream of inappropriate entertainment
that can distract us from what matters most.
When we choose to follow Christ, we have
to call upon the same virtues that gave our pioneer ancestors their miraculous
strength.
Here are just five of those virtues that
can strengthen us each day.
Faith, The pioneers strength was
actually found at an individual level.
Each of them knew personally that they were children of God. We too can build our own faith in Christ so
our testimonies will stand strong no matter what the storms may bring.
Mary Tyndale Baxter Ferugson was born in
Glasgow, Scotland and orphaned at a young age.
After she was intorduced to mormon missionaires, Sister Ferguson was
apprehensive, but the more she studied, the more she knew that the church was
true. She was baptized in October 1846
nd recoreded that as a result, “all my companions left me and I had my good name cast out oas evil, for the gospel’s
sake”
Mary met John Baxter at a church
conference and they later married in 1849.
They imigrated to the united states in 1851, In the section of Augusts
ensign, At the Pulpit, a talk Mary gave to a gathering of Young Women in 1879
is recorded. She spoke about What is
Faith? She said… “Time would fail me
to tell you of the trails of our faith caused by crickets, grasshoppers,
droughts, floods, and also by the persecution of our enemies, but in all we are
an exceedingly blessed and happy people and through faith we intend to grow and
increase and spread abroad till like Abraham of old, of our increase there
shall be no end. “ Mary was amazing and
it said in her obituary when she died in 1909 “Hard struggle to rear and care
for so large a family of small children, but the Lord heard her cry and blessed
her and fitted her back for it’s heavy burden.”
Courage it might seem silly to compare
your courage to theirs. The pioneers
were faced with real physical danger every day but we have to use that same
courage within us to share the Gospel with others and live differetnly than the
world does. Remembering the Pioneers
courage can help us conquer our challenges.
Last week in Primary I was invited
to share one of my pioneer ancestors who had courage and was blessed. My great great grandfather was Robert Harris. He was a member of the Mormon Battalion and
did a lot of marching across the country.
When they left Nauvoo his family stayed in Council Bluffs until his assignment
was completed. His wife was expecting
their seventh child and waited there for
him to return. On his return, it was
December, the weather was cold and their was nothing to eat. They were starving as they were going back to
Council Bluff to get his family. One
evening after they had made soup of their saddles, even made soup out of
leather belts, they were about to give up when they offered a prayer to heaven
asking for help. Shortly afterwards a
flock of wild turkeys came into camp and they were able to catch 4 of them and
had food to eat. What courage it took
for these men to do what they did. What
faith they grew relying on our Heavenly Father. Great Great Grandpa Harris has
taught me much
Determination is the next Virtue. When tragedy struck the pioneers could have
easily questioned the fairness of their situation, but their determination
helped carry them, trusting that all would be well. Today, we can have that same conviction and
realize that no matter what the world tells us, “all things have been done in
the wosdom of him who koweth all things.2 Nephi 2:24
The
Duncan and Bowmaan families began making plans and saving to come to
Zion , but were delatyed by the death of Margarets father on February4,
1850 Finally in 1952 they felt their
dreams were comining true and that they were finally going to America. A few days before they were to sail, Charles
was severely injured while at work when hiis arm was drushed between two larg
rocks. He was rushed to the doctor and
they said he would have to amputate his arm.
Charles felt that he would not be able to make a living for his family
without his arm and would not consent to the amputation. Saying he would die first. The doctors took several pieces of bone and
flesh and patched it up as well as they could.
Margaret wanted to take her luggate off the ship but charles insisted
that she go with the rest of the family or she might never have a chance to
go. The morning they were to set sail,
the doctors told Charles that Gangrine had set into his arm and he chances of
survival were dim. He knew his wife
wouldn’t go if she knew so he had himself put onto the ship.
So on the 10th
day of January, 1852, they set sail for America.
That evening, the elders administered a
priesthood blessing to Charles and everything possible had been done for his
comfort. Margaret sat beside him a
prayed to the Lord for guidence. The
answer came very clearly in every detail what she needed to do. After telling Charles and getting approval
from the ships captain, they dressed charles in the warmest clothing they
had and wrapped him in a large woolen
quilt leaving only his arm free. They
place him in a life boat and secured him tightly. He begged not to be burried at sea while he
was alive. Margaret climbed into the boat
with him She removed the bangages from
his arm as it was being lowered into the water.
His injured arm was left over the side to dangle in the cold salt water
could wash over it. He cried out with
pain and Margaret hung onto him assuring him everything would be ok. At a given signal the life boat was raised
out of the water and they were changed into dry clothes and his arm rebandaged
and Charles slept for the first time since the accident. This was repeated night after night and when
they arrived at the port in New Orleans, his arm was healed. Grandpa Duncan was a Stone Massion and he and
his sons bult many of the beautiful stone homes in Centerville, Utah. He also helped to build the beautiful Salt
Lake Temple. What a lesson of Faith
Courage and Determination to follow those insturctions to be healed.
Sacrifice is the Fourth Virtue. The pioneers strong vision of what they were
working for helped them to make the necessary sacrifices to carry on. We can rely on the same vision that carried
the pioneers forward building up the Church of God wheh we have to sacrifiice
things today.
One of my favorite quotes given by our
dear President Gordon B. Hinckley goes as follows “ You will come to know that what appears today
to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you
will ever make. “ I was thinking about
this quote in connection with early morning seminary. It seems like a great sacrifice to give up an
hours sleep and come to the chapel at 6:00 in the morning to study the
gospel. But what President Hinckley was
assureing us, it will be the greatest investment we can make.
The friend shares the story of an
upcoming activity day for the Primary girls.
They were invited to bring a story of a Pioneer to share with the other
girls.
“Are you excited for
Activity Day?” Chloe asked Gabby as they sat down in sharing time.
Gabby shrugged. “We’re
supposed to learn about a pioneer ancestor and do a presentation, right?”
Chloe nodded. “I’m
excited. My great-great-great-grandma was from Scotland. She crossed the plains
to Utah in a covered wagon. I think I’m going to bring her journal and read it
in a Scottish accent.”
“That’ll be cool.”
Gabby looked down at her hands. “I don’t think I’m related to any pioneers,
though.”
“Hmm,”
Chloe said. “Well, Sister James says we’re all pioneers.”
Gabby imagined
everyone in the room dressed in pioneer clothing and laughed. “I’m glad we
don’t have to wear bonnets!”
Later
that day, Gabby was helping Mom cook dinner when she thought about Activity Day
again. “So … what pioneer ancestors do we have?” Gabby
asked, stirring a pot of bubbling red sauce.
Mom threw some spices
into the pot, then started chopping little sausages.
“Ancestors? I tell you
about them all the time. You should know.”
“Wait, like who?”
“Like your
Great-Grandpa …”
“No,
I mean pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains. Ones who
pulled wagons and wore bonnets and stuff.”
Mom laughed. “Well, we
don’t have any of those. But we do have other awesome ancestors who did pioneering
things. Like your Great-Grandma Luisa.”
Gabby smiled. “I love
hearing stories about your grandma! She grew up on a farm in Spain, right?”
Mom nodded. “Then she
moved to Argentina and started her own business. Even though she never had a
chance to finish school, she made sure her children got a good education.”
As the sauce simmered,
they sat at the kitchen table, and Mom told Gabby more stories about Grandma
Luisa. She was a gardener and talked to her flowers. Whenever she went on a
trip, the flowers would wilt a little, just because they missed her.
“And the most
important thing to remember about Grandma Luisa is her faith,” Mom said. “She
would pray out loud as she did dishes, as she cooked, as she gardened … she
loved talking to God!”
Mom got a happy-sad
expression on her face, like she was looking at something far away.
Gabby reached out and
put her hand on Mom’s arm. “Those are cool stories, Mom,” Gabby said. “I think
I’ll tell the other Primary kids about Luisa. I wish I could have known her.”
“Me too. She would
have loved spending time with you,” Mom said.
When the day of the
activity came, Gabby was ready. She’d gathered a few of Luisa’s things to show:
her favorite lotion, a beaded rosary she held while praying, and a gourd she
used as a cup for traditional drinks. But Gabby’s favorite thing to show was a
picture of Luisa when she was 18 years old. It made her seem so real!
At the activity, Chloe
presented first. She had dressed up like her great-great-great-grandma, with a
bonnet and everything. Then it was Gabby’s turn.
“I want to talk about
my Great-Grandma Luisa,” Gabby said. “She was my mom’s grandma …”
As Gabby kept talking,
she felt really good inside. Even though she had never met Luisa, she loved
her!
“Because of Luisa’s
faith, my mom learned about God,” Gabby said. “And then my mom joined the
Church when she grew up. And that’s why I’m here!”
As Gabby sat down, she
looked down at her picture of Luisa.
Thanks
for being a pioneer, Gabby thought
with a smile.
The fifth virtue that
can strength us each day is Unity. Traveling in wagon trains meant that
everyone took care of everyone else during their journey to Zion. As we labor to build Zion today in our wards,
stakes, branches, home, and communities we also must try to life and include
those around us.
President Henry B
Eyring shared this story in the friend this month.
In the early days of the Church, many people
were moving into the city of Nauvoo. The Prophet Joseph Smith needed a way to take care of them. So he organized wards.
Then, when the Saints started moving across the plains toward Utah, they were
organized into companies. This helped them
take care of each other better.
companies: groups
My great-grandpa got
sick on the trail west. He was too weak to walk. Two women were sent from the
nearby company to help him. They saved my great-grandpa. He got better and
walked the rest of the way to Utah with one of the women by his side. They fell
in love and got married. He was my great-grandpa Henry Eyring. She was my
great-grandma Maria Bommeli Eyring.
Years
later, people said it must have been hard for her to travel so far. But
Great-Grandma said, “Oh no, it wasn’t hard. While we walked, we talked the
whole way about what a miracle it was that we had both found the true gospel
of Jesus
Christ. It was the happiest
time I can remember.”
Today,
wards help us take care of each other. We succeed when we
love each other more than we care about ourselves. The Spirit can help us know
what is best for the person we are trying to help. The Spirit can help us feel
charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47).
succeed: do a good job
I have loved learning and thinking about Pioneers this
week. I love these five virtues that can
help us just like they helped our Pioneers.
I hope we can choose one this week to focus on, Faith, Courage,
Determination, Sacrifice, or Unity to study about and to develop and use in our
homes to bring us closer to our Heavenly Father.
I would like to close with this quote from our dear
prophet President Russel M Nelson.
When our hearts turn
to our Ancestors, something changes inside us.
We feel part of something greater than ourselves.
