Pioneers!

For the Pioneer Spirit that lives in our family

Donna and I have thought for several years that we would like to have a nice big picture to adorn our house.  I can't remember how long ago, but I remember seeing an Ensign picture of Winter Quarters that really made an impression on me.  I believe I had been reading B. H. Roberts history of the church and was blown away by how much could get done in such a short time when there were a lot of people working together.  I have not been able to find or remember the details of that picture in the Ensign and we actually saw something close to it in a frame shop in Flower Mound, but it was not for sale.  So, the search still goes on slowly but surely for the nice big picture and if I'm lucky I will find the pioneer picture I'm looking for.  :)

Here is a picture from January 2015 (just to throw one in here for this post):

Thought of selling this mixer, but thought better of it.

So the real reason for this post is to share a few more, maybe unknown to the reader, details of a pioneer experience.

"By the end of the first winter in the valley, the Saints’ supplies were low. Many people did not have shoes or clothing in good condition, so they used animal skins to make new ones. Most of the food had run out except the wheat and corn the pioneers needed to use as seeds in the spring. One boy said: “For several months we had no bread. Beef, milk, pig-weeds, segoes [wildflower bulbs], and thistles [weeds] formed our diet. I was the herd-boy, and while out watching the [animals], I used to eat thistle stalks until my stomach would be as full as a cow’s.” This boy’s family finally took an old, dried-out oxhide and made it into soup (quoted in Grant, pp. 443–44). When spring came and crops began to grow again, the pioneers were grateful that they had survived their first winter in the valley.

The Crickets and the Seagulls

The pioneers were eager to harvest their spring crops, but late spring frosts killed some of the crops, and a drought killed more of them. Then crickets came and began eating everything that was left. The pioneers did everything they could think of to fight these insects. Some people tried to frighten the crickets away by making loud noises; others tried to shake them off the plants. Some chased the crickets into piles of straw and set fire to them, and some chased the crickets into ditches filled with water to drown them. No matter what the pioneers did, however, the crickets kept coming. They were everywhere—on the trees and fences and in the houses, beds, and clothing.

 

The pioneers were very worried. If the crickets ate all the crops, the people would have nothing to eat and would die from starvation. For two weeks the people fought the crickets and prayed for Heavenly Father to help them. The stake president finally asked the Saints to hold a special day of fasting and prayer. Susan Noble Grant, who was sixteen years old at the time, described what then happened:

 

“The answer to our fasting and prayers came on a clear summer afternoon.

“We were fearfully alarmed, for all of a sudden, circling above our … fields, appeared great flocks of screaming gulls. ‘A new plague is descending upon us,’ was our first thought. Down the gray and white birds swooped in hundreds, then in thousands, uttering shrill … cries as they pounced upon [the crickets]. … Then a strange thing happened. As soon as they had gorged themselves, they sailed over to a nearby stream, took a few sips of water, disgorged [vomited] and returned to join their screaming companions. All our people stood in wonderment! Our prayers were answered” (quoted in Grant, p. 446).

 

The seagulls came back day after day for about three weeks. They ate crickets until all the crickets were gone. The Saints knew their prayers had been answered in a miraculous way. They were grateful that their crops and their lives had been spared.

 

In August 1848 the Saints had a feast to celebrate the harvest. They displayed their crops and had speeches, music, and dancing. They were grateful to Heavenly Father for helping them harvest a good crop.

 

By the end of 1848 nearly three thousand people were living in the Salt Lake Valley. This was about one-fourth of all the people who had lived in Nauvoo. Brigham Young wrote to the Saints who were still in Iowa and told them that the Church had finally found a place where they could live in peace and safety.

 

Although the first year in the valley had been filled with many hardships, the Saints felt very blessed. They had endured their challenges and turned a desert into a comfortable settlement where they could live in peace and worship Heavenly Father. They continued to keep the Sabbath day holy to show their gratitude to Heavenly Father and Jesus for their many blessings." (Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History, (1997), 238–44)