The Mormon Pioneers

THE "MORMON" PIONEERS By Herbert B. Maw [This speech was given by invitation before the students of the North- western University. The author served as chaplain in the late war. He was formerly superintendent of the Y. M. M. I. A. of Liberty stake; has been a teacher in the L. D. S. University, and is now a, law student in the North- western University, Chicago. Much favorable comment about the "Mor- mons" has been heard at many student gatherings since the speech was given, and it has helped to destroy many adverse impressions so often entertained by students concerning the Latter-day Saints. — Editors.] Dean Hardy: Ladies and Gentlemen: If I were to provide a stage setting for this address which would be in harmony with prevailing ideas about the "Mormons," I suppose I should form a half circle of chairs behind me, and in chair number one, place wife number one, in chair number two, wife number two, and so on around the circle until all the chairs were filled, and then I should ask the resit of my wives to crowd into the rear of the auditorium. (Laughter.) But I want you to know that, when I tell you of the "Mormon" Pioneers, I tell you of my people and the people of my friends. When I tell you of their faith, I tell you of a1 religion which I believe in more sincerely than anything else in life. The story of these people includes an account of a young woman who left Old England three-quarters of a century ago, crossed the Atlantic, and walked for fifteen hundred miles across the uninhabited plains which lie between the Mississippi river and the Salt Lake Valley, to get to a place where she might worship God according to the dictates of her own con- science. She was my grandmother. Their history includes an account of a Methodist minister, my grandfather, who heard the voice of this religion, and leaving jhis career as a minister, a legislator, jand orator behind him, joined the trains of fearless emigrants, which crept across the hot and solitary desert, to spend his declining years as a tiller of the soil, ever praising God for the faith and hope that had come into his life. Their story is one of small bands of converts gathered together from every part of the civilized world, who gave up their homes, their wealth, and their friends to answer this call of religion; and who endured unceasing persecution because of their beliefs. The story of the "Mormons" is a story) of the trail breakers of the West, the subduers and colonizers of deserts; of men and women who overcame the ravages of disease and famine; subdued fierce and warlike Indians, endured cold and hunger, conquered a section of the earth that had never been disturbed by the hands of man

832 IMPROVEMENT ERA — a land that Daniel Webster said, before the United States Senate, was an abode of rattlesnakes and wild Indians and unfit for human habitation; and they made that land blossom as the rose. Every American should be interested in the "Mormon" pioneer, because: 1. His story is one of America's greatest epics. 2. He is the most outstanding example of America's pioneers. Yet how can you believe all this about these people in the face of what one hears about them? There are people within these United States who honestly believe that the "Mormons" are wild, immoral, and ignorant. Only last Summer, as I was walking down one of the main streets of Salt Lake City, a certain gentleman with his wife and daughter approached me and asked: "Do you live in this city?" "I do," I answered. "Will you tell me, then," he asked seriously, "whether a man is perfectly safe on the streets of this city unarmed." "And why not?" I inquired. "Isn't one of these 'Mormons' likely to break out and pounce upon him?" Then I saw the humor of the situation and said, seriously. "Do you mean to tell me that you are not carrying a "revolver now? Don't you realize that you are talking to a 'Mormon' at the present time — that half of the people) on this street are 'Mor- mons'?" "You are joking," he answered in confusion. "Why, you don't look like a 'Mormon'." "I don't?" I asked, "then- what do they look like?' "Why, I have always understood that they have horns." "We do," I answered, "But we are like reindeers, we shed them once a year." (Great laughter.) You laugh at that, yet isn't it true that you have entertained some ideas about these people which are almost as ridiculous? Have you not heard, for instance, impossible tales about the polygamy of the "Mormons," and believed them without ever giving a thought towards investigating the truth or falsity of them?" Two or three weeks ago I read a speech that had been delivered in England a few years ago. The speaker told his audience that Brigham Young had two hundred wives, and his listeners believed him. Imagine, if you can, a man with two hundred wives and living (laughter). Now I do not know how many wives Brigham Young had. I have never inquired. But I do know a few pertinent facts. I know that he took care of all of them. I know that he .reared, educated his children, and taught them a reverence for God. I do know that his descendants today are presidents and cashiers of banks, professors in universities, lawyers, physicians, heads of prosperous busi-

THE "MORMON" PIONEERS 833 nesses, preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that they are among the highest types of American citizens; and that they honor their great progenitor. I know that he, as well as the other one or two per cent of men in the Church who entered into the vows of plural marriage, were prompted by the highest and most noble motives, and that many of them gave up the luxuries of life to provide for large families. 1 know that the women who were willing to share their husbands with others were far more unselfish and noble than most women of today. I ask you, as you listen to the unfolding of the story of their activities that you look upon these people as normal human beings, v/ho put their worship of God ahead of money, and everything else in life; and who were willing to suffer anything or everything for their religion. I shall first tell you something about the Church, then relate the account of their achievements. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the "Mormon" Church, was organized April 6, 1830, in New York state. There was then a membership of six souls. Since that time it has grown until today there are more than five hundred thousand members. From its organization until the present time it and its people have been objects of endless persecutions. Why? I don't know. If you can explain why the Biblical prophets were persecuted even while they ministered to their people, why the early Christians were hunted and murdered, why the Christ himself was hated and crucified, you can perhaps explain the "Mormon" persecu- tion. Suffice it to say that they have always been colorful targets; and that they have borne it all with the same brand of courage that, has been characteristic of all people who have been endowed with the Church of Jesus Christ. People have often wondered what power could produce such loyalty, and what motivating forces could cause, for instance, thous- ands of officers in the Church to minister to the sick, conduct religious services, and spend many hours each week in performing their religious duties, without remuneration. They wonder, more- over, why more than one thousand men in the Church, voluntarily leave their homes and give up their schooling, businesses and pro- fessions every year to serve as missionaries in every part of the civilized world, — suffering abuses, having doors shut in their faces, being sneered at because they are "Mormons" — when they not only receive no pay for their services, but bear every cent of their own expense from the time they leave their homes until they are released, two or three years later. What power could make a people so earnest in their convictions that they would willingly sacrifice every-

834 IMPROVEMENT ERA thing on earth for it? The answer is simple. It is because we believe that God has spoken from the heavensi in these latter days and restored the go-spel, in all of its simplicity and beauty, that was preached in Jiidea. We believe that during the early Christian Era the priesthood of God was taken from the earth and that it has been restored again, having been conferred upon our prophet, Joseph Smith, by divine beings; and that through that priesthood God reveals his will to his Church today as he did to his Church in ancient days. "We believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God," is an article of our faith. Every "Mormon" accepts the fact, without question, that Christ lived and that he is the Son of God and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, endowed with power to open up the last dispensation. So firmly have they always believed it, that whenever it has become necessary to choose between comfortable homes and their testimony of the divinity of their Church, they have clung to, the latter and become outcasts, and objects of persecution. When their enemies have demanded denouncement of their religion, they have borne their testimonies to the truth of it and in return have been driven from city to city and state to state, robbed, beaten, abused, and many murdered. They have seen their homes plundered, their crops destroyed, their women wronged, and their men whipped by fiendish mobs. They have suffered it all with a prayer in their hearts that they might endure faithfully to the end. Even wh3n their prophet was taken by painted men who posed as Indians and negroes and was shot to death in Carthage, Illinois, sealing with his life's blood his testimony of the divinity of his mission, they did not falter. I have two children whom I love with all my heart. If I can plant in their souls a spark of the courage of their grandparents, and rear them with the faith in God, and the love for fellow men that their pioneer fathers had, I shall want no more. My efforts shall have been rewarded. Let us now go back to the year 1846, in the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, located on the banks of the Mississippi river. It was, at that time, the largest city in Illinois, having been built by the "Mormons" on filled-in swamp lands. Persecution, which had driven the Saints from New York to Ohio, then to Mississippi, now broke in upon them in all its fury, until, in the year 1846, it became clear that they must move again. So brutal was this opposition, that men, women, and little children were forced to leave their homes and all they possessed, except what could be placed in wagons, in the middle of the Winter, and to cross on the ice of the Mississippi in sub-zero weather. One of their women wrote in her diary, "We are now fixing to leave our homes and all we have except what two wagons will hold. Our place of destination we know not." Another said, "We are leaving our homes

THE "MORMON" PIONEERS 83 5 to cross the frozen river. We must not look back; but placing our faith in God, we must leave our destiny in his hands." That was the spirit of the movement — "placing our faith in God; we must leave our destiny in his hands." It was that spirit which enabled nine mothers to bring into the world nine little babies in a single night on Sugar Creek on the Iowa side of the ice-covered river, without shelter to protect them from the cutting blasts of wintry blizzards. Though they left a trail of blood, from cut and bruised feet, behind them, it was that spirit that pushed them on through the storms of snow and wind and rain. It wasi their trust in their •heavenly Father which enabled them to smile on their sufferings from poverty, sickness, and death and to cling hopefully to their religion. Where most people would have faltered, this spirit impelled them on. Where others would have sunk in despair they gathered around their camp fires, making the wintry nightsi ring with such songs as "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet," [L. D. S. Hymn Book. p. 166. The speaker read the whole hymn.] Such was the beginning of their westward migration. I shall not tell you of the suffering of these people. How they waded through the muds of Iowa and built a town they called Winter Quarters — an outpost and supply station for those who were to follow; how they, who were used to beautiful and comfortable homes, now lived in tents, huts, and dugouts; how a plague broke out among them, killing many before Winter passed; how little children, women and men all suffered for want of food and from exposure. All of this is too distressing to talk about, so let us pass to April 7, 1847, when the first train left Winter Quarters to break the trail to the mountains. The "Mormons" were the first home-seekers to go into the West. A few trappers, and missionaries and explorers had preceded them; but they were the first colonizers. There were no roads to follow, no bridges over* streams. They must blaze the trail and ford the rivers. There were no laws nor government authority to tame the fierce savages. They must cope with them as best they could. So putting their fate in the hands of Providence, they followed their prophet leader, Brigham Young, and set their facesawestward. The first company was made up of one hundred and forty-three people. With their oxen-drawn wagons, the movement was of necessity slow. Sometimes accidents, storms, or topographic con- ditions limited their progress to a mile ot two in a day. Then when conditions were favorable they covered twenty or twenty-five miles a day. Perfect order was maintained throughout the march. They were divided into companies, each having its captain. All followed instructions. They arose at five a. m. and attended prayers. Then they fed their stock, ate breakfast, and made ready to move by seven o'clock. The wagons traveled single file, each teamster walking beside his team, carrying a loaded gun. In case of an attack from Indians,

836 IMPROVEMENT ERA the wagons traveled in double file. Camp9 were made at night by placing the wagons in a circle with their tongues to the outside. Horses and stock were tied inside the circle. At 8:30 p. m. all went to their wagons, enjoyed family prayers, and retired by nine o'clock. On Sunday they rested, spending the day in worship. So day after day they moved farther and farther into the wilderness. As one poet has written, 'We came to deep rivers — ■ They wouldn't turn back. We met the Philistine — God let them attack. We suffered famine — But no manna came; Yet over the plains Moved our pillar of flame; 'Twas Prophet Joseph Smith- His flesh they might slay, But his spirit blazed Our wilderness way." They crossed the plains of Nebraska, climbed to the high plateau of Wyoming, and moved through the sun-tortured sage brush and salt grass of that state to the edge of the mountains. There, they came upon the fort of Jim Bridger, the great western trapper. He told them what he knew of the country ahead. He referred to the Salt Lake Valley as a land of great desolation, and devoid of vegetation. He said that the Indians around the lake were poverty stricken and bad, living on grass hoppers and grass, and is said to have stated that he would pay one thousand dollars for the first ear of corn that could be raised in the Salt Lake Valley. Yet this did not hinder them. They knew that their God was directing them; and so, putting their faith in him, they moved on through the then barren Echo canyon, down the beautiful Emigration canyon until, on the 24th of July, 1847, the company halted at tfte edge of the valley and looked over the landscape. Then it was when Brigham Young, sick from mountain fever, arose from his bed, surveyed with his eyes the valley and uttered the memorable words — "This is the place." This was the place where there would be no more warfare, no more abuses, no more woes. Here they could build their Zion and find peace. Yet, as they, gazed at the desolate scene befojf£ them, their hearts sank. One of the women writes that she wept as she looked. The hills' to the north were burned to a yellow. Not a single tree except one lone cedar greeted their gaze. Except for a few willows along the banks of the canyon streams, everything was barren and uninviting. It was truly a land of desola- tion. But their leader, whom they recognized as a prophet of God, had said, "This is the place," so they moved on into the valley, and before the gorgeous color of sunset had faded out of the great Salt Lake, their plows were in the soil and the gigantic process of western colonization had begun. From that date on for years to follow thousands of emigrants moved across those plains, and settled in the valleys of the* mountains.

THE "MORMON1' PIONEERS 83 7 For years their trains consisted of oxen-drawn wagons — and every pioneer endured similar hardships and privations. Then the day came when hundreds of "Mormons" found themselves in Winter Quarters, Iowa, without enough money to buy wagons and oxen and horses; so, rather than give up their hope of reaching Zion, they and others built two-wheeled carts, put all their earthly belong- ings in them and pushed them across the plains. Men, women and children joined these processions — never faltering, ever sacrificing until they finally reached the valley, singing as they went: "Some must push and some must pull, As we go marching up the hill; As merrily on the way we go Until we reach the valley, O." All of the tales of hardships which accompanied these journeys will never be told. The unhappiness which came to thosie who must bury their loved ones on the plains; the hours of fear of Indian attacks, the tortures from the heat, and sufferings from cold; the long, tedious tramps, the heavy hearts and bruised feet of those courageous pilgrims would fill hundreds of volumes. Yet, they endured it all to reach the West. I remember, on one occasion, listening to an aged member of one of these hand cart companies relate the story of her hardships on the plains. She told how she suffered; how her shoes wore out and she was forced to go barefooted; how the sands burned her feet, the thorns pierced them, the stones bruised them; how she wrapped them in sacks and skins — anything to get relief; how tired and homesick she would get, and how the Indians terrified her. When she had finished, I asked her: 'Was it all worth while?" I shall never forget her answer. She rose to her feet and was exalting in her bearing as she said: 'Worth while? I would go through it all again, for my religion." And as she spoke she wept; but why shouldn't she weep? Somewhere on those plains she had buried her babe. Hers is the story of thousands of others who overcame resistance to reach their objective. And she was but one of all who took the journey, who at night, when hearts were heavy and bodies weary, would gather around their camp fires and stir up their spirits with their song of hope: Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, But with joy wend your way; Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day. 'Tis better far for us to strive Our useless cares from us to drive. Do this, and joy your hearts will swell — All is well, all is well!

838 IMPROVEMENT ERA Why should we mourn, or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so; all is right! Why should we think to earn a great reward If we now shun the fight. Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, Our God will never us forsake; And soon we'll have this tale to tell. All is well, all is well! We'll find the place which God for us prepared Far away in the West; Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid; There the Saints will be blest. We'll make the air with music ring. Shout praises to our God and King; Above the rest these words we'll tell — All is well, all is well! And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! all is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow, too; With the just we shall dwell. But if our lives are spared again To see the Saints, their rest obtain, Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell — All is well, all is well! It is my contention that the "Mormon" pioneer is the greatest example of the American pioneer, because throughout all of his history he remained loyal to the government of the United States. While they were quartered in their hovels at Winter Quarters, a recruiting officer of the government rode into their camp and stated that the United States was in war with Mexico and called for volunteers. Brigham Young asked him how many he wanted. He answered, "five hundred men," a very large number to ask of people in their circumstances. Now mark you; less than a year before Brigham Young had appealed to the governor of Illinois for help to save their homes, but instead they were driven from them. Not many years had passed since their leader had petitioned the govern- ment of the United States for protection only to receive the answer, "Gentlemen, your cause is just, but we can do nothing for you." Yet when a representative of that government called on the "Mormons" for help, Brigham Young answered, "We may not have five hundred men who can go, but if there are not enough men, our women will fight." And so five hundred young men joined the army and marched to war, while their wives and mothers crossed the plains. The pioneers reached their destination on Saturday, July 24, 1847. On Sunday they worshipped God, and on Monday morning, July 26, in the then Mexican territory, they planted the Stars and Stripes. And that flag has waved over that valley ever since. The first telegraphic message which passed from Salt Lake City east, after the wires were strung, was sent by Brigham Young to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States. It stated that the "Mormons" had not secedec].

THE "MORMON" PIONEERS 83 9 I say that the "Mormons" are America's greatest pioneers, be- cause they went West to make homes and not to seeK wealth. Like their pilgrim forefathers, they entered a wilderness, overcame the elements, and founded a state. On the day they arrived they com- menced to build homes and they have never stopped building them. On the same day they began tilling the soil and have been tilling it ever since. By their efforts they have changed that forbidding desert into one of the most productive districts in the land. I say that they are the greatest pioneers of oun country, because they at all times maintained their faith in God. They went West to find a place where they could worship as they wanted, and their religious convictions were the motivating forces that impelled them on. They sacrificed much for their beliefs. When they arrived in the valley they built places of worship. Though they had no nails, they constructed the great "Mormon" tabernacle, binding the rafters together with cow-hide and wooden pegs. Their labors resulted in one of the; largest unsupported arched roofs in the world. For forty years they labored to build a temple to their God. For forty years they brought stones out of the mountains and slowly raised an edifice which is a credit to their name, and wherein they can perform the sacred ordinances of the Church, for the living and for the dead.' Most of what they did was with the view of advancing the work of God upon the earth. And God did not forget them in their trials. Thousands of testimonies have been spoken of his blessings. Many instances of his goodness could be related. I shall close by telling just one of them. Because of the lateness of their arrival in the valley, in 1847, they were able to raise only enough wheat for seed for the next season. In the Spring of 1848, they planted their fields and watched their crops grow until their wheat stood six or eight inches high. One day when their hopes were highest, they saw black crickets come from the hills in droves — closer and blacker and larger until, to their distress, they saw millions of them ready to destroy their crops. They fought the pest with all their strength to no avail. Their lives depended upon their crops. They must have a harvest. Many of them were living on sego roots and wild plants until their crops should mature — they must have help. Then it was that they fasted and prayed for help. They told the Lord of their suffering, how they had given up all that was dear to them, how they were willing to sacrifice more for his cause, but now they were praying for their livcs — they were calling on him for food. They had hardly finished their prayers when, looking to the west, they saw a cloud forming and coming) toward them. To their joy thousands of sea gulls settled down on the crickets and devoured them, and flew to the streams and lake and disgorged them only to fly back for more. Before that evening came, the pest was destroyed and the crops saved. God had

840 IMPROVEMENT ERA answered their prayers with a miracle. It was a marvelous manifesta- tion and relief. On the temple square in Salt Lake City, a monument has been raised to the sea gull, and on that monument is written the story of their service to the pioneers. This and other miracles quite as wonderful, just as convincing, strengthened their faith and they went on praising the Lord as they had done before, and as their children and children's children have continued to do ever since, with word of mouth, and. with songs of the heart. Chicago, III. The Wagon Train The train moves on from day to day, Unharmed pursues its destined way. The Scout is there strict watch to keep, As one who never seems to sleep. Fair Elsie journeyed with the train And daily rode upon the plain. I cannot tell how cupid's dart, Had pierced this gentle maiden's heart, Save that her youth's untaught romance Was kindled by his eagle glance. The look of/ sadness that he wore Endeared him to her heart the more. Sweet love a native language speaks In conscious look and blushing cheeks, And what she thought by art concealed, Was by her artlessness revealed. When by her horse he drew his rein, They rode together o'er the plain. He told her many thrilling tales Of buffalo hunt and Indian trails, Of hunters lost amidst the wood, Of prairie fires, of storm and flood, Of Indian bride in battle won, Of daring deed by Red man done, — And marked with thrill, all new and strange, Her red cheek's glowing color change. 'Twas thus, as o'er the plain they ride, The border hero wooed a bride. No other love his life had known, His soul as virgin as her own.