I
take you back to the general conference of October 1856. On Saturday of
that conference Franklin D. Richards and a handful of associates
arrived in the valley. They had traveled from Winter Quarters with
strong teams and light wagons and had been able to make good time.
Brother Richards immediately sought out President Young. He reported
that there were hundreds of men, women, and children scattered over the
long trail from Scottsbluff to this valley. Most of them were pulling
handcarts. They were accompanied by two wagon trains which had been
assigned to assist them. They had reached the area of the last crossing
of the North Platte River. Ahead of them lay a trail that was uphill all
the way to the Continental Divide with many, many miles beyond that.
They were in desperate trouble. Winter had come early. Snow-laden winds
were howling across the highlands of what is now western Nebraska and
Wyoming. Our people were hungry, their carts and their wagons were
breaking down, their oxen dying. The people themselves were dying. All
of them would perish unless they were rescued. I
think President Young did not sleep that night. I think visions of
those destitute, freezing, dying people paraded through his mind. The next morning he came to the old Tabernacle which stood on this square. He said to the people: “I
will now give this people the subject and the text for the Elders who
may speak. … It is this. … Many of our brethren and sisters are on the
plains with handcarts, and probably many are now seven hundred miles
from this place, and they must be brought here, we must send assistance
to them. The text will be, ‘to get them here.’ “That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people. “I
shall call upon the Bishops this day. I shall not wait until tomorrow,
nor until the next day, for 60 good mule teams and 12 or 15 wagons. I do
not want to send oxen. I want good horses and mules. They are in this
Territory, and we must have them. Also 12 tons of flour and 40 good
teamsters, besides those that drive the teams. “I
will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of
religion, will never save one soul of you in the Celestial Kingdom of
our God, unless you carry out just such principles as I am now teaching
you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains” (in LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion [1960], 120–21). That afternoon food, bedding, and clothing in great quantities were assembled by the women. The next morning, horses were shod and wagons were repaired and loaded. The
following morning, Tuesday, 16 mule teams pulled out and headed
eastward. By the end of October there were 250 teams on the road to give
relief. Wonderful
sermons have been preached from this pulpit, my brethren and sisters.
But none has been more eloquent than that spoken by President Young in
those circumstances. Stories
of the beleaguered Saints and of their suffering and death will be
repeated again and again next year. Stories of their rescue need to be
repeated again and again. They speak of the very essence of the gospel
of Jesus Christ. I
am grateful that those days of pioneering are behind us. I am thankful
that we do not have brethren and sisters stranded in the snow, freezing
and dying, while trying to get to this, their Zion in the mountains. But
there are people, not a few, whose circumstances are desperate and who
cry out for help and relief. There
are so many who are hungry and destitute across this world who need
help. I am grateful to be able to say that we are assisting many who are
not of our faith but whose needs are serious and whom we have the
resources to help. But we need not go so far afield. We have some of our
own who cry out in pain and suffering and loneliness and fear. Ours is a
great and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed
them if they are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for
truth and righteousness. There
are so many young people who wander aimlessly and walk the tragic trail
of drugs, gangs, immorality, and the whole brood of ills that accompany
these things. There are widows who long for friendly voices and that
spirit of anxious concern which speaks of love. There are those who were
once warm in the faith, but whose faith has grown cold. Many of them
wish to come back but do not know quite how to do it. They need friendly
hands reaching out to them. With a little effort, many of them can be
brought back to feast again at the table of the Lord. My
brethren and sisters, I would hope, I would pray, that each of us,
having participated in this great conference, would resolve to seek
those who need help, who are in desperate and difficult circumstances,
and lift them in the spirit of love into the embrace of the Church,
where strong hands and loving hearts will warm them, comfort them,
sustain them, and put them on the way of happy and productive lives.
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