LDS Pioneers and Converts

I gave this talk on July 25, 2003, the day after "Pioneer Day", which commemorates when the first Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, where they settled after their trek west. This topic was challenging to me, since I am a convert, and had no relatives who made the trek.

As it turns out, the other speaker (who spoke after me) was descended from people who survived the Martin Handcart Company. This was one of the last hardcart companies to leave for Salt Lake during 1856. They experienced a number of problems, including most of their cattle being stolen by natives, early snow storms. Many died along the way, and many of those that survived lost fingers, toes, or feet and hands from exposure to the cold.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Church History
Dan Jones
C. Allen Huntington
Ephraim K. Hanks
Amanda Barnes Smith
Conclusion

Introduction

Dear brothers and sisters:

I figure that if I live long enough, the Lord will teach me what I need to know. It hasn't been easy for him, but fortunately he never gives up. This week, several things came together to help me (once again) learn a lesson He has been trying to teach me for some time.

It all started last Sunday during our Branch Presidency Meeting, when they were discussing today's Sacrament Meeting. The topic would be pioneers, and I wondered to myself, "what do the pioneers have to do with me?" I'm a convert. None of my ancestors crossed the plains to get to Salt Lake.

Shortly after that, President Boik assigned me that very same subject for a talk. Great! I don't mind giving talks, especially if it is on a topic that I know and love, but this topic? Why me? It seems that I have a short memory.

Church History

When I first joined the Church, my least favorite part of the scriptures was the Doctrine & Covenants. There were a few sections that seemed important, but there was also a lot of revelations to early church members, and I wasn't sure how they applied to me and my life.

That was the first sign that I needed to develop a better appreciation of early church members.

At one point I was called to teach in Primary. I was the Valiant B teacher, which is now called the Valiant 10 class. These were 9 year olds turning 10 that year. They were great kids, and I loved to teach them. The only problem was the lesson manual. Back then, each class learned a different topic. And the topic for Valiant B was Church History.

I loved teaching that class. I really got to enjoy the portions of church history covered by the class. We learned about the early beginnings of the church, the pioneers, and the presidents of the church.

Well, eventually I was released from Primary, and after several callings, I was asked to teach early morning Seminary for our ward. This is where Sister Boik and I first met. We were both teaching Seminary that year. As most of you probably know, each year, Seminary studies a different set of scriptures. They will study the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. Care to guess what they were studying the year I was called? Yep, Doctrine and Covenants.

I very much enjoyed teaching Seminary, and got a much better appreciation of the Doctrine and Covenants that year. But, as before, shortly after I got released, I seemed to forget how much I enjoyed Church History.

One of my favorite Primary lessons consisted of four letters that were written from early pioneers to my Primary class. The lesson manuals had these four letters that were based on the writings of these early pioneers, but they were worded as if they were written for you and me today.

If you haven't served in Primary, it is hard to imagine how spiritual it can be. Some of my most spiritual experiences in the Church have happened in Primary. As I read these letters again in preparing for this talk, I was able to remember how much the pioneers meant to me.

I would like to share them with you at this time.

At this point in my talk, I read four letters that were part of the Primary Lesson from back in the 1980's and early 1990's. The manual, of course, was copywritten, and unfortunately, the LDS Church has not granted permission to post these letters on this site. As a result, only a summary can be provided at this time.

Dan Jones

He was born in Wales in 1810
Although he received a college education (which was rare back then), what he really wanted to do was be a sailor.
He sailed all five oceans until he was 31, at which time he came to America.
He built a steamboat, The Maid of Iowa , and transported people up and down the Mississippi river.
When Parley P. Pratt needed a boat to send some people to Nauvoo (a Mormon settlement) he hired Dan's boat.
When Dan met the prophet Joseph Smith, he was very impressed, studied the Church, and was baptized a member in 1843.
Dan become good friends with Joseph Smith, and when Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested and sent to Carthage Jail, Dan went along to keep his friend company.
The night before Joseph and Hyrum were killed by a mob, Joseph Smith hinted that he knew he was going to die, but promised Dan that he would live to see Wales again.
The day of the killing, Joseph sent Dan to see Governor Boggs with a message warning of the problems in Carthage, but the Governor wouldn't listen
After seeing the Governor, Dan went to see Joseph's lawyers. By mistake, he took the wrong road, but later found out that a gang of men had been waiting to kill him, had he taken the correct road.
He eventually served a mission in Wales (where Joseph promised he would visit) for four years, and baptized an average of a thousand people each year.
After crossing the plains to Salt Lake, he explored southern Utah.
He was called to serve a second mission in Wales in 1852. During this mission, he baptized John Perry, who was the first director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Dan died in 1861 at Provo, Utah.

(See Ivan J. Barrett, Dan Jones: The Modern Day Paul mimeographed [Provo Utah: Missionary Training Center]; Rex L. Christensen, Ensign, Mar. 1982, pp. 19-20)

C. Allen Huntington

Allen was 18 when Brigham Young learned that the Martin Handcart Company were in trouble trying to get to the Salt Lake Valley.
Brigham organized several groups to travel east to meet the company at various times and to provide help (food, clothes, blankets, etc.)
Allen and two of his friends, George W. Grant and David P. Kimball, went with a group to offer assistance.
The group met up with the Martin Handcart Company as they arrived at the Sweetwater River on Nov. 3, 1856.
The river had large chunks of ice floating downstream, and the company was too weak to cross the river. Stepping into the frozen river seemed like certain death. Grown men sat on the ground and cried when they saw what seemed to be the end of their attempt.
Allen and his friends jumped into the icy water, and carried almost all the people across the river.
When Brigham Young heard what the three boys did, he cried and said that their actions would ensure everlasting salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of God.
In later years, all three boys died of complications related to their exposure in the icy waters while carrying the people across the river. Nevertheless, they often said they were glad they were able to serve the Lord by helping the company get to Salt Lake.

(See Solomon F. Kimball, Improvement Era, Feb. 1914, p. 288.)

Ephraim K. Hanks

Eph (as his friends called him), wanted to be a sailor, so he sailed the Atlantic Ocean, visiting Europe and South America.
He returned home in 1844 to Ohio, where he found that his father had died, and his brother had joined the LDS church.
The boys' mother was upset, and had several ministers try to talk his brother into quitting the Mormon church. Eph found the ministers' behavior rude, and wanted to learn more.
Eph travelled to Nauvoo, where he met Joseph Smith, and gained a testimony that he was a prophet.
He helped build the Nauvoo temple, and travelled to Utah with the Mormon Battalion.
When returning from a trip, he stayed the night at a friend's house. During the night he heard a voice tell him that the handcart people were in trouble, and asked him if he would help. This happened three times.
The next morning, he told his friends that he was going to help the handcart people. He travelled to Salt Lake City, and arrived the day that Brigham Young asked for volunteers to help the company. Most people said they could be ready in a few days, but Eph declared that we was ready to go right then.
The next day, Eph was travelling through the mountains in a light wagon with supplies. He ran into the worst snow storm he had ever seen. The snow became so deep the wagon couldn't pass through the snow.
Eph abandoned the wagon, then placed supplies on one horse, and rode the other, to continue on his journey.
That night, he was thinking about how nice a buffalo robe would be to keep him warm, and how good some buffalo meat would taste. Upon completing a prayer for a buffalo, he looked up and saw a buffalo within fifty yards of his camp. His first show brought it down, so he had meat for dinner, and a robe to keep himself warm.
At the end of the following day, he met the Martin Handcart Company. This was shortly after they had crossed the Sweetwater River. He gave them the meat and food that he had, and went around ministering to the sick. He later killed several more buffalo for the company.

(See LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion [Glendale, California: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1960,] pp. 135-146; "Church Emigration," Contributor, Mar. 1893, pp. 202-203.)

Amanda Barnes Smith

Amanda married Warren Smith when she was 18, and they had two children.
When she was 20, she and her husband joined the Mormon Church. She was baptized in April of 1831.
Her doctors told her she could not have any more children, since she had experienced unusual pain during childbearing. She had the Elders of the Church give her a blessing, and she give birth to a pair of twins without pain.
They moved to Nauvoo, where her husband helped build the Nauvoo Temple. They were forced by mobs to leave and move to Missouri in 1838. As they were leaving, they stopped by her mother's place, who was still angry that they had joined the Church, and told Amanda she hoped she would never see her again.
On October 30, 1838, they were travelling across Missouri and arrived at a small village named Haun's Mill, that had been settled by other members of the Church, and decided to stay the night.
A little before sunset, a mob of around 300 men came into the village and began shooting at the inhabitants. The men of the village told the women to take the children and hide in the woods, while they tried to distract the mob. Amanda couldn't find her boys, so she grabbed her two young girls and ran for the woods, with bullets whistling past her head as she ran.
Some of the men of the village ran into the buildings for protection. The mob shot through the walls of the buildings, as well as at anyone who was in the open.
After the shooting stopped, Amanda went back to see what happened. She found her husband and ten year old son dead on the ground. Her six year old son was still alive, but bullets had shattered his hip. The entire hip joint was gone, and there was a 3-4 inch gap between the bones.
Amanda prayed for guidance, and was impressed on how she should treat the wound. The boy was made to lie perfectly still for five weeks on a soft bed that she had set up, while she tended the wound. During that time, a new hip joint grew in place of the old one.
In later years, the boy could run and jump like any other. He served a mission in Hawaii, and became a leader in both the Church and the community.
Amanda stayed at Haun's Mill for about three months with other widows and children. During this time, mobs would often show up, threatening to kill them if they continued holding prayer meetings and teaching their children.
Eventually, Amanda travelled to Illinois without any money, bothered by mobs as she went. They usually had to sleep outside, and were almost always hungry.
Eventually Amanda and what was left of her family arrived in the Salt Lake valley. She was part of the first Relief Society (women's organization) that was formed, and helped to establish the first Sunday School in Salt Lake City.
Amanda and her children remained true to their faith for the rest of their lives. She commented that if she were going to lose her husband, she was glad he died for what they believed. She said it is far better to die for the faith than to fall away into inactivity.
Regardless of her struggles, Amanda felt that God was there to comfort and care for her, even during the most trying times.

(See Amanda Barnes Smith, An Account of the Haun's Mill Massacre, original notebook and typescript found in the Church Archives.)

Conclusion

As I think about the Pioneers, two things come to mind.

The first is that, not matter how hectic my day gets, it is never as bad as what those early pioneers went through.

The second is that, in some ways, we are all pioneers. Hopefully our children, our grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and the children and youth that we work with will look back on our lives and be impressed with how we were true to the Gospel.

Each of us should live our lives so that we can set a good example, and encourage others to love the Gospel.

And this is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.