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