Our Pioneer Heritage & Us
- Justin R. LaBar
- Feb 10, 2019
- 9 min read
During a Sunday School class in Cedar City, UT - in what is estimated to have been the year 1904 - an elderly man rose in defense of the pioneers who traveled with the Martin Handcart Company of 1856. As the story goes, some derogatory remarks had been...
An Address Given in
Stanley Ward Sacrament Meeting
July 23, 2018
“The Old Man in the Corner of the Sunday School Class”
During a Sunday School class in Cedar City, UT - in what is estimated to have been the year 1904 - an elderly man rose in defense of the pioneers who traveled with the Martin Handcart Company of 1856. As the story goes, some derogatory remarks had been made regarding these faithful saints who suffered and sacrificed so much in their effort to reach “Zion”-- many, as you know, even suffered death. This man stood and is reported to have said something like this-- I’m sure most of you are familiar with it:
“I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes! But I was in that company and my wife was in it, and Sister Nellie Unthank whom you have cited here was there, too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities!
“I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels of God were there.
‘Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.”
For many, this man is now simply known as “The Old Man in the Corner of the Sunday School Class”. But who was this “old man”? His name is Francis Webster and history shows that he died just two years after making those comments, at the age of 76. But, as radio personality Paul Harvey used to say, I want to tell you the rest of the story.
As Francis and his wife, Ann, made arrangements to leave London, England, they did so with financial resources that many other saints did not enjoy. They had $1,600 in cash. Let me put that in a more modern perspective. In today’s economy, that would be the equivalent of $44,339.42. Francis gave $500 to an agent of the Church to purchase the following:
1. A good wagon.
2. Full camp equipment.
3. And two yoke of good cattle.
In short, and by the standards of their day, Francis and Ann planned to make their trip from London to Salt Lake City in luxury. Upon arrival in America - and at the point where the Mormons started across the plains - they would pick up everything they had arranged to purchase.
As it turned out in the days that followed, there was just one thing standing between them and carrying out the plans they had made-- a prophet of God. Not long after Francis and Ann had made their arrangements, Brigham Young sent word to the more wealthy saints in England recommending that they provide assistance to the poor members of the church there, so that they too could come to Zion.
As far as we know, Francis didn’t hesitate, but was quick to obey the prophet’s counsel. For the price of his own luxury - and the luxury of his beloved Ann - he could pay the passage of nine additional people to travel to Zion. There’s another element to this story that many don’t know about though. Francis and Ann made the decision to sacrifice their own comfort, in an effort to help the less fortunate get the Zion, while knowing that Ann would give birth to a baby on the plains.
Francis and Ann did indeed suffer. One example, from Francis’ journal, says:
“I had the diarrhea all the way from Iowa City to Florence so bad that I have sat down on the road and been administered to by the Elders and got up and pulled my hand cart with renewed vigor… At Wolf Creek on the Platt my Daughter Amy Elizabeth was born on the 27 of September.”
Francis and Ann arrived in Salt Lake City on the 30th day of November 1856. Shortly after arriving, Francis’ journal says, “I paid my Tithing on the little clothing I brought with me”. He also makes note that, “My own feet were badly frozen on the journey.”
Ann was every bit as determined, faithful, and independent as her husband. Her daughter later wrote:
A few days after [arriving], representatives of the Benevolent Society called to see if they could not help them, but mother’s independence prompted her to say, “No”, unless they had some soap they would lend her. They sent the soap and mother paid them back, the first time she made soap. It was not charity, but work that she wanted.”
So, why am I telling you all of this? It is quite simple. Whether we have Mormon pioneer ancestry or not is irrelevant. By virtue of the fact that we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we all have a pioneer heritage. The stories of sacrifices made like those of Francis and Ann Webster are our stories-- it is indeed our pioneer heritage.
What can we learn from the brief stories of Francis and Ann? As author Chad M. Orton put it:
“... these pioneers were blessed for what they endured as a group when tragedy overtook them in October 1856, [Francis’] moving testimony is also an acknowledgment that he and his wife were further blessed because of individual choices they made to follow counsel and to sacrifice for their fellow Saints during the journey.
“... By attempting to make his testimony the universal sentiment of each member of these companies, a valuable and inspiring lesson has been lost. In its place has arisen a common perception that the price he paid to gain his powerful testimony simply involved pulling a handcart and enduring the hardships of an early winter. The lesson at the heart of his statement, however, goes beyond having to endure the cold and snow that all in the company experienced. This lesson involves his willingness to travel a harder path than simply pulling a handcart. It speaks to the fact that at several points along the journey that took him from England to Utah he made choices that led him onto the road less traveled. His testimony is evidence that, in the final analysis, these choices indeed made a great difference in his life.
“If Francis and Ann Elizabeth Webster (better known as Betsy) did not pay a greater price to emigrate to Zion than most in the Willie and Martin companies, they at least paid a different one… While they may have had as much or more reason to feel sorry for themselves as any other member of the company, they instead looked for ways to better the situation rather than dwelling upon the negative. Through it all, they were a prime example of President Spencer W. Kimball’s observation that ‘God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another mortal that he meets our needs.’”
“The Refiner’s Fire”
Our pioneer heritage shows us a pattern that couldn’t be more clear of what it takes to become acquainted with God. You see, it’s not as much about handcarts, plains, blistery cold days and nights, or lack of sustenance, is it? While all of that admittedly makes it impressive to me, it was for them as it is for us… Prophetic counsel, individual choices, faith, obedience, sacrifice, and blessings… not a whole lot has really changed from 1856 to 2018, has it?
It is, as Elder James E. Faust reminded us, the “refiner’s fire”. In his words:
“Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd.
“Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. The thorns that prick, that stick in the flesh, that hurt, often change lives which seem robbed of significance and hope. This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master in building lives of faith, usefulness, beauty, and strength. For some, the refiner’s fire causes a loss of belief and faith in God, but those with eternal perspective understand that such refining is part of the perfection process.”
The causes of your pains, agonies, and heroic endeavors of life might be quite different than mine. Ours are obviously not the challenges associated with handcarts and lack of provisions on the brutally cold plains of Wyoming. Maybe yours have something to do with Ford’s, Chevy’s, and the like on the brutally cold plains of North Dakota-- wondering how in the world you got here and what you did to deserve such a fate. Whatever they may be, they are yours. And they are yours for a reason.
Like the pioneers of old, it is not so much the circumstances that we find ourselves in as it is how we choose to respond to them. Will we let them refine us? Or will we allow them to destroy us? Faith is a choice, and the God of Heaven constantly encourages us - no, he pleads with us - to choose wisely.
“Modern Day Pioneers”
You see, my brothers and sisters, we are modern day pioneers. No, the stories of our lives are unlikely to be printed in history books or Ensign magazines. But to our children - and the posterity that follows them - the pioneer heritage we choose to leave for them may just be the difference between their happiness and misery; and between their exaltation or something less. As we’ve been reminded by Brother Brown on many occasions-- we can’t afford to be a weak link in the chain of our families.
In October of 1989, my parents made the life-changing decision to enter into the covenant of baptism and to become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Interestingly enough, earlier in that same month, and while speaking of “Modern Day Pioneers”, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said this in a conference address:
“They do as the Savior taught: They deny themselves; they take up their crosses daily; they follow Him. (See Luke 9:23.) These are those the Savior likened to the seed that fell on good ground: ‘in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, [they] keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.’ (Luke 8:15.)
…
“As modern pioneers press forward, they suffer hardships and make sacrifices. But they are sustained by an assurance given by the Lord Himself. These words, first spoken to the struggling Saints in Ohio, apply also to the faithful of our day:
“Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;
“Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.
“Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.” (D&C 98:1–3.)
Closing
As many Latter-Day Saints honor the pioneers in anticipation of Pioneer Day this week, I express my gratitude for all the faithful who went before us. I am grateful to have parents who chose the road less traveled. May we honor our pioneer heritage by leaving our own for those who will follow us. Let us not be weak links in the family chain is my prayer.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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