Miracles on the Trek

We all know about the tragedies that happened while the Saints were making their way to Zion, but there were many miracles that occurred, reminding those early Saints that the Lord was never far away.

Michael Jensen
Eleven year old Michael Jensen traveled with his family from Denmark. He spoke of the protection the Willie Company had when a large band of about 1,000 Indians, covered in war paint, surrounded the Saints, demanding food and silver. The scared saints had no place to hide. Captain Willie spoke to the leader through an interpreter, telling him that they were nearly starving and did not want to do the Indians any harm. They were only going to Utah where Brigham Young was. "Brigham good friend," said the chief, and after looking over the people and seeing they spoke the truth, rode away with his people and did not take a thing or harm anyone.

Michael said, "We were all very glad and fell to our knees and thanked the Lord for His protection. We had never been molested and we felt it was because we always went to the tent of our Captain each morning and evening for prayer and we would sing and pray and talk."

Jolene S. Allphin; Tell My Story, Too; pp.62-63

Thomas Dobson
Thomas Dobson celebrated his 19th birthday on the ship Horizon, when he emigrated with his mother and siblings. Traveling with the Martin Handcart Company, he reportedly "walked barefooted" a great distance. From the Sweetwater River to the end of his journey to the Salt Lake Valley, he was entirely without shoes.

"Both his big toes were so badly frozen that it was thought he would lose the members." Elder Ephraim K. Hanks administered to the youth and promised him that his toes would be saved. He was immediately healed. Elder Hanks said, "He [Thomas] got up, dressed himself and danced the hornpipe on the inboard of a wagon." Thomas said that after the priesthood blessing his toes never bothered him again.

Tell My Story, Too; p. 199

Elizabeth Green
Orphaned at the age of ten, Elizabeth Green went to live with an aunt in Liverpool, England. She joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when she was eighteen. While in Liverpool she contracted the disease of tuberculosis. She asked for a blessing and was promised the disease would leave her if she went to Zion.

She sailed on the ship Horizon in faith. She was paired to travel with an older woman named Mary Harper, known as "Aunt Mary." Mary had enough money to travel with a wagon company, but instead chose to walk, when she found that her money could be used to help five other people go to Zion. Soon Mary was too weak to walk. Elizabeth, age 23, pulled Mary on the handcart for several days. In the extreme heat, Elizabeth developed a craving for salt. She knelt down, telling the Lord that she could not go on without salt. She saw a wagon train camped nearby and felt impressed to go to the wagonmaster. She asked him for some salt, and he refused to give her any. "Then, as an afterthought, he told her that one of the wagons in the train had, on a previous trip, carried salt. He told her it was loaded with 100 pound sacks of wheat, but, if she would care to unload and reload it she might find some salt on the floor. Well, this she did, and in the cracks of the floor of the wagon box she was able to find almost a cupful of salt which she carefully rationed."

"Aunt Mary" died on the plains. In the Salt Lake Valley, Elizabeth was nursed back to health by "Aunt Mary's" nephew and married him a short while later. She never suffered anymore from her tuberculosis.

Tell My Story, Too; p. 209

Miracles

T.C. Christensen, (writer, director, and producer of the movie, "17 Miracles"), recalled the story of the Mellor family and what he called the "miracle of the pie." Mrs. Mellor had given up and would not go on. The company could not wait so the family continued to walk while daughter Louisa tried to talk her mother into continuing. Louisa said a prayer and asked God to help them. When she finished her prayer she walked back to her mother. Along the way Louisa noticed a pie in the road.

Brother Christensen explained that in England a pie is potatoes and possibly meat and vegetables. That would have been comfort food for them. He called it a sustaining miracle.

"This miracle does not get them out but it allows them to know that the Lord is with them," Brother Christensen said. "The Lord is in their lives. And after that they can think back on that and know they are not alone."

He said that people often ask him why the Lord allowed the pioneers to suffer. Why weren't they given manna? Why didn't He change the weather?

"Will anyone that is a descendant of the Willie, Martin, Hodges's companies or the rescuers stand up?" Brother Christian asked the class members at BYU Education Week. About one fourth of the class stood up.

"There was something that happened within those people that drove testimony into their hearts," he said. "They were able to pass that on to their children and their descendants."

By Caresa Alexander, Church News staff writer, Published: Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011