Everyone has pioneer ancestry. No matter who you are or where you came from, someone somewhere came before you. Their steps of faith have paved the way for a better life for us and have given us solid ground on which to take our own steps of faith.
During the spring of 1864, a small band of pioneers settled a place they called Panguitch along the Spanish Trail in southern Utah. They planted crops as soon as they arrived, but the season was short, and the crops did not mature as they had hoped. The ensuing winter was extremely harsh, and their supplies ran short. The pioneers decided they would have to go to the closest settlement, 40 miles away along a rugged trail, to secure some supplies.
They sent seven of their strongest men with two yoke of oxen and a light wagon. The snow was so deep, though, that the men had to abandon the wagon and proceed on foot. Even then they found it nearly impossible to walk on the crusted snow. The only way they could walk without sinking in the snow was to lay down a quilt, walk to the end of it, pick it up and lay it back down in front of them, and then walk some more. In this slow and methodical way, they reached the neighboring settlement, bought some supplies, and began walking home. One of these pioneers, Alexander Matheson, recorded: “The return trip was harder with the weight of the flour, but we finally made it to our wagon and oxen and on home with thankfulness to the Lord [for] His goodness.”1
The steps of faith that we are called on to take today may look very different from those taken by our pioneer ancestors, but they often require just as much courage. Learning about their faith and valor helps us find our own. Slowly and surely, one quilt length at a time, we too can meet our challenges with faith in every footstep.
1. In “The Panguitch Quilt Walk,” The Historical Marker Database, http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=27046.
Program #4218
Musical Selections:
1. They, the Builders of the Nation
Alfred M Durham; arr. Mack Wilberg; Jackman Music
2. His Voice As the Sound
American folk hymn; arr. Mack Wilberg; Oxford University Press
3. Prelude on “Middlebury” (Organ solo)
Traditional; arr. Dale Wood; Sacred Music Press
4. Bound for the Promised Land
American folk hymn; arr. Mack Wilberg; Oxford University Press
5. Spoken Word
6. Faith in Every Footstep
K. Newell Dayley; Jackman Music
7. Come, Come, Ye Saints
Early Latter-day Saint hymn; arr. Mack Wilberg; Oxford University Press