Pioneer Story Quilt- Unwavering Committment

Children,

Stars are a common theme in quilts.  I love this pattern called the "Ohio Star".  Stars represent something in our life that is so constant and unchanging that it can be used as a guide.

There is so much chaos and confusion in life.  You will need something to guide you.  The pioneers had their faith to guide them.  It helped them ignore or look past the day-to-day distractions.  Here's a story that's a good example:

George Cunningham was 15 years old when he left his native
Scotland with his parents and three sisters to gather to Zion.
George had begun working in a coal pit when he was only 7
years old to help support his family. He worked there for 6
years, sometimes for 12 to 14 hours a day. The air was bad in
the coal pit, and he sometimes wouldn’t see the sun except
on Sunday, his only day off. His family, who had joined the
Church shortly after George’s birth, was grateful when the
way opened for them to emigrate. George thanked God for
his blessings when he arrived in America, a country he had
been taught to believe was a “land of promise.”  

Twenty years after arriving in America, George wrote a detailed
reminiscence that included memories of his experiences
with the Willie company. He recorded that while the
company was crossing Iowa, “people would mock, sneer,
and deride us on every occasion for being such fools as
they termed us, and would often throw out inducements
to get us to stop. But we told them we were going to Zion
and would not stop on any account.” George, who was a
teenager at the time, didn’t allow the mockery to deter him.
“People would turn out in crowds to laugh at us, crying ‘gee’
and ‘haw’ as if we were oxen. But this did not discourage
us in the least, for we knew that we were on the right track.
That was enough.” 

Darling children, life will have it's challenges.  There will be times when others don't see what you see with your eyes of faith.  They might make fun or tease you for the choices you will make.  Mockery seems to be a favorite tool of our adversary.   Focus on your covenants and your faith, during the easy times and the hard times.  Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and move forward with courage and determination.

I love you,

Mom

Pioneer Story Quilt- Patriotism

 

Children,

So many difficult things happened to the early saints after they joined the church.  They were persecuted, driven from their homes, beaten and threatened.  Elder Packer reminds us what happened next:

"the Lord told the Saints to seek redress from the judges, the governor, and then the president. 

Their appeals to the judges failed. During his life, Joseph Smith was summoned to court over 200 times on all kinds of trumped-up charges. He was never convicted. 

When they sought redress from Governor Boggs of Missouri, he issued a proclamation: 'The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state, if necessary for the public good.' That unleashed untold brutality and wickedness. 

They appealed to President Martin Van Buren of the United States, who told them, 'Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you.'"

The situation became so bad that the Lord led the saints across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley.  On the second anniversary of their arrival they celebrated their freedom.  Elder Packer continues telling their story:

"And so on that day of celebration in 1849, Elder Phineas Richards came forward... He spoke of the need for them to teach patriotism to their children and to love and honor freedom. After he briefly recited the perils that they had come through, he said:
'Brethren and friends, we who have lived to three-score years, have beheld the government of the United States in its glory, and know that the outrageous cruelties we have suffered proceeded from a corrupted and degenerate administration, while the pure principles of our boasted Constitution remain unchanged…As we have inherited the spirit of liberty and the fire of patriotism from our fathers, so let them descend unchanged to our posterity.”

May the "spirit of liberty and the fire of patriotism" burn brightly in your hearts.  There will be politics you won't agree with, candidates you didn't vote for, and even corruption in government.  Neal A. Maxwell said, "Patriotism is not just paying taxes or serving in the military. It is living so that we create a better country for future generations."

Vaughn J. Featherstone said: "We are the nation's watchmen, no other people collectively love the Constitution and honor it and hold it as a divinely inspired document as do the Latter-day Saints."

I hope when you see this quilt square you will remember the early pioneers who worked to create a better country for us.  It is now our responsibility to do the same for those who will come after us.  We must work, first in our homes, next in our communities, and then in our country to create an atmosphere where freedom and peace can flourish.

Love you forever,

Mom

Pioneer Story Quilt- Still Moving

Kids,

When you look at this quilt square can you see the white blocks like steps through the darker squares?  I hope it will remind you of footsteps, placed one in front of another. 

The story I hope you'll remember when you see this quilt square was shared during General Conference by Gayle M. Clegg.  

My husband’s great-grandfather Henry Clegg Jr. was a finisher. He joined the Church with his family when the first LDS missionaries went to Preston, England. Henry had a view of his destination in his mind as he and his wife, Hannah, and their two young boys immigrated to Utah. Henry left his older parents, who were too feeble to make such a long and arduous journey, knowing he would never see them again.  

While crossing the plains, Hannah contracted cholera and died. She was laid to rest in an unmarked grave. The company then moved on, and at six in the evening, Henry’s youngest son also died. Henry retraced his steps to Hannah’s grave, placed his young son in his wife’s arms, and reburied the two of them together. Henry then had to return to the wagon train, now five miles away. Suffering from cholera himself, Henry described his condition as being at death’s door while realizing he still had a thousand miles to walk. Amazingly he continued forward, putting one foot in front of the other. He stopped writing in his journal for several weeks after losing his dear Hannah and little son. I was struck with the words he used when he did start writing again: “Still moving.”

There will be days in your lives when you will feel like you can't keep going.  As a mom I wish I could protect you from those days.  When you come to one of those days I hope you'll remember to keep moving forward. 

Buy this poster here

In scripture words always moving forward is described as "enduring" or "enduring to the end".  

But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, 

whether in life or in death, 

for they shall inherit eternal life.

D&C 50:5

I love you,

Mom