A burning faith was the force that fueled the Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley, despite severe hardship and trials.
That was the message Elder Merrill J. Bateman of the Presidency of the Seventy shared with hundreds gathered in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square July 24 for the Days of '47 Sunrise Service.
"It was not only a strong belief that propelled (the pioneers) forward, but a burning within that taught them the importance of gathering to Zion to be with the saints and build a 'House of the Lord'," Elder Bateman said at the annual event. "As the missionaries taught them the gospel in various parts of the world, their belief in God was kindled and rekindled by the Holy Spirit."
The pioneer history is rich with examples of fire, power and courage, Elder Bateman said. He shared the experience of James and Mary Ann Burnham, a southern Illinois family who heard, accepted and embraced the restored gospel's message and moved to Nauvoo following their baptism in 1843.
The Burnhams knew hard times. One of their daughters died at Nauvoo and Brother James suffered from a lung disease likely exacerbated by his work in a quarry cutting rock for the Nauvoo Temple. "Nevertheless, he and Mary Ann could hardly wait for the temple to be completed so they could be endowed and sealed for eternity," Elder Bateman said.
James Burnham's health deteriorated and he died Oct. 8, 1845 — four days before the birth of the Burnhams' youngest daughter. Still, the faithful family persisted, choosing to live in poverty among fellow Church members rather than relocate among relatives who did not share their beliefs. Early the next year, Mary Ann Burnham was sealed to her deceased husband in the completed and dedicated temple.
"In spite of his death, she was now his for time and all eternity," Elder Bateman said. "Their dream of being sealed forever became a reality."
The impoverished Burnhams remained in Nauvoo even as the saints were beginning their exodus. In 1846, a mob demanded that all remaining Church members leave the city. Mary Ann and her four children were forced out at gunpoint, Elder Bateman said.
President Brigham Young learned of the final expulsion of the poverty-stricken saints and dispatched wagons and willing men to the rescue, saying, "Now is the time for labor. Let the fire of the covenant, which you made in the house of the Lord, burn in your hearts like flame unquenchable."
The fire of the covenant spoken of by President Young "is not an imaginary but a real force in the lives of all faithful saints," Elder Bateman said. "The rescuers, as well as the last remnants on the banks of the Mississippi, were strengthened by it. Most, if not all of us, have felt the burning as well. A personal witness received at baptism lights the fire. The intensity of the flame increases as we face adversity and the furnace of affliction tempers our soul. The flame bursts into a full-fledged fire as we enter into and live special covenants with the Lord Jesus Christ."
The Burnhams would endure additional trials and separation before finally being joyously reunited in the Salt Lake Valley.
Elder Bateman also spoke of the 150th anniversary being observed this month of the departure of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies from the railroad terminus at Iowa City. Included in the 604-member Martin Handcart Company was a branch president from England who exhausted all his funds so his family and other members from his branch could immigrate to Utah. Of the 604 who began, some 450 from the company would reach the Salt Lake Valley. The remaining members were buried along the way — lost to extreme weather conditions.
One morning along the trail, after a bitter cold night, the branch president awoke to find his 4-year-old son was dead. The father — who had received an inspired promise prior to leaving England that no one from his family would be lost — faithfully administered to the child. By God's power and blessing, the child opened his eyes and life returned, Elder Bateman said.
"Through the rest of his life, the father was convinced that the boy would have been given up for dead and laid to rest with hundreds of others along the trail had it not been for the gift of the Spirit which inspired a faith and assurance that God would answer his prayers as he administered to a little boy who was looked upon as dead."
Today's trials are different than those that faced the Mormon pioneers, Elder Bateman said. Excess wealth, selfishness and the pervasiveness of pornography and moral decay and dangers are among present-day trials.
"It is my prayer," he said, "that the fire of the covenant will continue to burn," — providing a compass to make courageous decisions and honoring the pioneer heritage.
The sunrise service also included several musical numbers, including performances by the Choral Arts Society of Utah Master Chorale, the Golden Voices Gospel Ensemble and tenor soloist George Dyer.
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com
