Sunday, April 26, 2015

Martin/Willey Handcart Companies

From 1856-1860,  3,000 Pioneers traveled to Zion in handcarts. Of the ten handcart companies only two met with disaster. On May 4, 1856, the Willey Handcart Company left Liverpool, England on a large ship. Their company of 590 people  had 88 immigrants from Scotland. The Martin Hand Cart Company had 665 people and left 3 weeks later.


Image result for rescue wagons to Martin/Willey handcart company

Image result for handcarts
They arrived in New York and then traveled by railroad to Iowa City, Iowa to be outfitted with handcarts, and supplies, but they were not expecting them so everything had to be gathered and made quickly. The green wood  used for the handcarts was not suitable for the long, hard travel.
The wheels were five feet in diameter. They had a single axle 4 1/2 feet wide and  the carts weighed approximately 60 lbs empty. The shafts were 7 feet long with a cross bar in front. Two hundred and fifty pounds of supplies were put inside, plus luggage. Many handcarts weighed 500 pounds as five persons were assigned to a handcart and each individual could put 17 pounds of clothing and bedding inside. There were 100 handcarts in the Willey handcart company with 5 wagons carrying food and tents that housed 20 people each.

They traveled to Florence, Nebraska where 100 people decided to winter there. There were not sufficient supplies or room for all of the company to stay. And so they traveled on.

The company continued on to  Ft. Laramie where normally there would have been  food and supplies for them to restock, but because no one knew they were coming there was nothing for them. The date was August 16. Rations were cut to 4 ounces of flour for each person per day which equaled 6.4 tablespoons.

Franklin D. Richards, European Mission President and twelve returning missionaries passed the hand cart companies and were surprised that they were on the trail. He was even more concerned with their poor conditions.  He told them that when he got to Salt Lake he would send wagons back to help them.

When he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley October 4, he told Brigham Young abut their plight. Brigham Young did not know that they were on the trail and immediately organized people that night to rescue the pioneers. "Go and bring in those people now on the plains, and attend strictly to those things which we call temporal...otherwise our faith will be in vain."


Image result for Rock Ridge WyomingRocky Ridge rises 700 feet over  2 miles.


When the company reached Rocky Ridge they had been without food for 3 days. The night before the rescue wagons arrived, George Cunningham saw them in a dream. They had 18 wagons filled with food, fuel, and clothing. When the wagons arrived the next day the company had voted to only keep two wagons and send the other 16 on to the Martin Handcart Company that was 76 miles behind them.

Image result for handcartsWinter had come early that year and the pioneers were not prepared physically or emotionally for the -11F weather. The snow measured 1-2 feet.

Now comes the Scottish Story of the Kirkwood Family: Margaret, age 46 widowed, Robert 21, Thomas 19, who is a cripple. He had been run over by a cart when he was 6 years old and his wounds never healed leaving him with ulcers on his legs. Then came James age 11, and Joseph age 4. Their father and two sisters had died prior to 1852. They were one of the first families of  converts in Scotland.

When the team of wagons saw Sister Kirkwood and that she had pulled/pushed Thomas in the cart with Robert's help, they told her she would never make it up Rocky Ridge and she would have to wait. She told them, "NO."

She had made it this far with Thomas in the cart and she was not stopping now. She called for James to come. She asked him if he would be responsible for Joseph and make sure he made it over Rocky Ridge. Would he promise her that? James said,  "YES." So for the next 27 hours, James carried Joseph on his back, on his shoulders and in his arms. When he reached the top of Rocky Ridge he could see the lights of the camp fires and carried Joseph there. He lovingly laid him down, collapsed from the exertion of the 27 hours and died. The next morning he was buried in a common grave with 12 others.

The Willey Handcart Company arrived in SLC November 3, 2015.

"Everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities."  Francis Webster, a member of the Martin Company.

RESCUE is an action verb. To free from confinement, danger or evil, to save, to deliver, to recover. You are called to RESCUE your relatives, to find them one by one, their names, dates and stories. Will YOU do it?

Sunday, April 12, 2015

STAY BY THE TREE

Image result for tree of life in Book of Mormon
What a wonderful Easter Sunday weekend it was to listen to General Conference where we could again hear the words of prophets and apostles. Perhaps it was because of serving a mission that I was touched especially by Brother  Pearson's talk. I invite each of you to revisit the talk and recommit to being a disciple of the Savior.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/stay-by-the-tree?lang=eng 

Sunday, April 5, 2015

New Monkland Church



 July 18, 1851 was a special day for Agnes Jamison and Walter Hoggan. They were getting married in the New Monkland church in Glen Mavis, Airdrie, Scotland. It is 30 minutes from Falkirk. We aren't sure how much has changed since then, but many things are the same.



After three previous unsuccessful tries to get inside this beautiful church, it was a marvelous experience.
I was overcome by being where Doug's great-grandmother and great grand-father were married.

The stained glass windows were exquisite. I only with the sun had been shining from outside for
you to see their beauty.


We enjoyed a wonderful Easter Service from the Church of Scotland. It consisted of singing out of a
hymn book without music. Luckily many of the tunes were familiar and we just
put in the new words.

We read scriptures from Isaiah and Mark, but from a  Bible that was not the King James Version. It was a wonderful service. We were glad we had gone.







These messages were listed on each pew. And it was true. We were welcomed very warmly even with missionary name tags from another church.


Thursday, April 2, 2015

Palace of Holyroodhouse-Edinburgh


The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence in Scotland of her Majesty the Queen.  It stands at the end of Edinburgh's Royal Mile against the spectacular backdrop of Arthur's Seat.
This is Hollyrood as it appears today.

When Edinburgh became the capital of Scotland in the 15th Century the Kings chose to live in Holyrood Abbey.

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The abbey was first built by David ! in 1128 as an Augustinian Abbey. He had a vision of a stag with a cross between his antlers and this abbey was built on the spot.It was a simple first church for Edinburgh that was too small. Extensive monastic buildings were added 1195-1230 The Abbey which was the sanctuary for those who could not pay their debts, including members of the aristocracy. At one time there were 6,500 debtors residing there. They were only allowed out on Sunday.

The dining room table is always set for 30 and will expand to more with an additional leaf or two.
This was the king's bedroom, but he did not sleep here, just met with visitors. Notice the beautiful plaster ceiling.

Kin
1561-1564 Mary Queen of Scots outer chamber. Mary witnessed the brutal murder of her secretary, Rizzio, by her jealous husband Lord Darnley in her private apartments. Her needlework and perfume pomander are housed in these glass cases.
Long ago, unicorns were fierce and hard to capture. In the Palace unicorns are sometimes shown wearing crowns around their necks, chained up. This suggests Scottish royal power. Typical of the times, the palace sported a menagerie including tigers, lynx, bears, gamecocks, an ape, camel, and a lion yard.

Beautiful tapestries adorn the walls of the palace.

The royal gardens are provided flowers by the 7 greenhouses. When the UK celebrated her Golden Jubilee all the flowers were yellow. If you are lucky enough to be invited to a Garden Party given once a year at Holyrood Palace you will be among 8-10,000 people who will be recognized for their service. This holiday lasts one week.



The last week of the Savior's Life

Have you ever wondered what happened each day of the EASTER WEEK. Click on this link and then click on Easter Week. It is beautifully done and will add to your enjoyment of Easter..

http://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_FR_3-27-2015_dMIS_fMRMN_xLIDyL1-A_

Image result for Jesus Christ