In this Latter Day Radio podcast, Martin Tanner and GM Jarrard look back at the sweep of Church history from 1844 to 1847 and examine the events that led up to the great western flight of the Saints of the Latter-days to the Great Basin. As we study Church history, the challenge is to walk in the worn-out boots of our pioneer ancestors…to somehow put their challenges, their pain and their triumphs into perspective. It is all too easy to be guilty of the bias of “presentism,” which Webster defines as “an attitude toward the past dominated by present-day attitudes and experiences.” Yet on the other hand, we also can overly romanticize their experiences– sometimes it’s difficult to pick which path to follow. But, on occasion, we get a glimpse of how they viewed their situation, as illustrated by this colorful quote from Brigham Young:
“We have been thrown like a stone from a sling, and we have lodged in the godly place where He wants His people to gather…If the Lord should say by His revelation this is the spot, the Saints would be satisfied even if it was a barren rock.”
To some Europeans and Easterners accustomed to verdant hills, wooded coves and fruited plains, the Great Basin did appear as a barren rock. But, in fulfillment of prophecy, within 10 years or so, the desert had blossomed as a rose. What a trip it would be!
Since we don’t have a time-traveling Delorean, you’ll have to settle for Martin and Greg regaling their childhoods walking across the Plains…or at least pretending that they did.
Got a comment or question? Drop us an e-mail at studio@latterdayradio.com. We’ll respond.
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