I have wanted to do this for a while but it has taken me some time. My friend Jenna and her sister did the vinal for it she is amazing (see pictures below)!!!
My mom gave us these pictures (below) of pioneers for Christmas and so I wanted to put a very meaningful wall together to share with others this love I have for the pioneers. I do have to say since I went on the trek and have learned so much and heard stories from my parents about these pioneers my love and respect for these people has become so huge. What they suffered for the gospels sake was amazing. What the wall says is Remember... on the top and then the quote underneath which was said by a pioneer was " we suffered beyond anything we could imagine, and many died of exposure and starvation... But we came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became aquainted with him in our extremeties."
I love that quote and each of these pictures has a story.
The one on the left is of James and Joseph Kirkwood, they were brothers traveling in the Willie company James (11) had a great responsibility to look after his younger brother, Joseph (5) in their immigration with the Willie Handcart Company in 1856. James' mother, Margaret, a widow of four years and her son Robert (21) tugged the handcart which carried their crippled son and brother, Thomas (19) along with their meager belongings. In the blizzard crossing Rocky Ridge on Oct. 23, 1856, James and Joseph became separated from the family and did not arrive in camp until very late.
Robert and Margaret had struggled through the blissard with Thomas in the hancart and were able to arrive safely at Rock Creek, although Margaret had one eye freeze and would be blind the rest of her life in that eye. Margaret kept her small fire going, watching and waiting faithfully for her young sons. James' strength in saving his younger brother was spent upon arrival at Rock Creek. James had carried Joseph the whole way up rocky ridge and when he arrived set him down softly and then went a ways off and died of starvation, exaustion and cold. An act of pure charity and true love, true Brotherly love... What a hard hard thing though and what a true sacrifice for an 11 year old to make. Joseph made it to Salt lake and praised his brother all of his life for his sacrifice, he did not die till the age of 77 so he lived a long fulfilled life because of his brothers sacrifice. Even though that story is so tear wrenching I love what strength it gives me in seeing what these people even young children were willing to suffer for the gospels sake and for their loved ones. I hope I can raise kids as strong as these ones who were to withstand the harsh cold and rocky ridges. I believe our own kids will face their own rocky ridges and harsh cold in a differnt way being all the temptations they have to withstand in our day I just hope they can be as strong as these pioneers were and endure for the gospels sake.
Why Elizabeth as our babys middle name???
The second picture(see below) is of Elizabeth Horracks Jackson and her three small children, this is who we are naming our little girl after and after you read it you will know why I would want to name a child after this remarkable women, I have such admiration for her. She was amazing.
Elizabeth's husband, Aaron, Died the week after the first storms came. Of that night she wrote: "the night was enveloped in almost Egyptian darkness. There was nothing with which to produce a light or kindle a fire. Of course I could not sleep. I could only watch, wait and pray for the dawn. But oh, how these dreary hours drew their tedious lenth along. when daylight came, some of the male part of the company prepared the body for burial.... They wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a pile with thirteen others who had died, and then covered him up in the snow. The ground was frozen so hard that they could not dig a grave."
One night there were not enough men with strength to raise the poles and pitch tents. Elizabeth recorded: "The result was that we camped out with nothing but the vault of Heaven for a roof. and the stars for companions. The snow lay several inches deep upon the ground. The night was bitterly cold. I sat down on a rock with one child in my lap and one on each side of me. In that condition I remained until morning... I was six or seven thousand miles from my native land, in a wild, rocky, mountain country, in a destitute condition, the ground covered with snow, the waters covered with ice, and I with three fatehrless children with scarcely nothing to protect them from the merciless storms. When I retiered to bed that night being 27th of Oct., I had a stunning revelation, In my dream, my husband stood by me and said, 'Cheer up, Elizabeth, deliverance is at hand,'" The next day the advance rescue team found the stranded Saints.
I think this experience of seeing her husband really helped her make it through, one of God's real tender mercies for her.
Elizabeth later wrote: "I will not attempt to describe my feelings at finding myself thus left a widow with three children, under such excruciating circumstances. I cannot do it. But I believe the Recording Angel has insribed in the archives above, and that my sufferings for th eGospel's sake will be sanctified unto me for my good... I [appealed] to the Lord... He who had promised to be a husband to the widow, [see Isaiah 54:4-5] and a father to the fatherless. I appealed to him and he came to my aid... Aaron was left there to sleep in peace until the trump of the Lord shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall awake and come forth in the morning of the first resurrection. We shall then again unite our hearts and lives, and eternity will furnish us with life forever more.
"I have a desire to leave a record of those scenes and event, thru which I have passed, that my children, down to my latest posterity may read what their ancestors were willing to suffer, and did suffer, patiently for the Gospel's sake. And I wish them to understand, too that what I now word is the history of hundreds of others, both men, women and children, who have passed thru many like scenes for a similar cause, at the same time we did. I also desire them to know that it was in obedience to the commandments of the true and living God, and with the assurance of an eternal reward - an exaltation to eternal life in His kingdom - that we suffered these things. I hope, too, that it will inspire my posterity with fortitude to stand firm and faithful to the truth, and be willing to suffer, and sacrifice all things that they may be required to pass thru for the Kingdom of God's sake."
One other thing I find so neat was that when she got to Utah she ended up settling in Ogden and met a man William Kingsford who was a widower and they married. When the Logan temple was finished, Elizabeth was sealed to her first husband, Aaron, with William acting as proxy. Elizabeth felt that the blessings of the temple-- the ultimate blessing of coming to Zion--more than compensated for all the suffffering and despair she had endured on the hancart trek. Toward the end of her life she wrote, " The Lord has blessed me... with the highest blessings of a spiritual nature that can be conferred upon man or woman, in His Holy Temple, in mortality."
She truly was amazing!! I love that she was sealed to her first Husband I just love that she stood true to him for the rest of her life.
What a testimony she had she stood for all that was good and was so so strong, with determination and faith that what she was doing was right, being ever so grateful for the blessings of eternity through the temple. Hoping to pass that down to her posterity her strength, determination and faith. I am not one of her posterity but I have been truly touched by the person she was.
On the handcart trek this summer we had to pick someome to be... after learning her story I chose her I thought I could relate with her with being a young mother with small children. Little did I know her stroy would touch me as it did. As we had a very special amazing meeting just before walking through Martians Cove the spirit was with me so strong and as I walked on that sacred ground I could not hold back the tears for these precious people who gave their life and suffered so for the Gosepl's sake. The revelation came to me then that I had an Elizabeth up there and that I needed to name my next girl after this amazing women. It was very distinct and real and at the time I was not even pregnant. I got pregnant less than a month later and of course we are having a little girl, are you suprised after an experience like that, I knew after that there was at least another girl up there for us, even though I didn't know she would be next. When the ultra sound results were in I was a bit suprised because I think Kyle had convinced me it was going to be a boy but then weeks later I had the feeling again about the importance of this special little girl spirit that needed to come to my home. She is coming soon and I can't wait to meet her and name her after this amazing woman.
This is another vinal board (the chore board) that my friend Jenna and her sister did for me, we just hung it up and I love how it turned out and goes so well with our Family Home Evening board.
The second picture(see below) is of Elizabeth Horracks Jackson and her three small children, this is who we are naming our little girl after and after you read it you will know why I would want to name a child after this remarkable women, I have such admiration for her. She was amazing.
Elizabeth's husband, Aaron, Died the week after the first storms came. Of that night she wrote: "the night was enveloped in almost Egyptian darkness. There was nothing with which to produce a light or kindle a fire. Of course I could not sleep. I could only watch, wait and pray for the dawn. But oh, how these dreary hours drew their tedious lenth along. when daylight came, some of the male part of the company prepared the body for burial.... They wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a pile with thirteen others who had died, and then covered him up in the snow. The ground was frozen so hard that they could not dig a grave."
One night there were not enough men with strength to raise the poles and pitch tents. Elizabeth recorded: "The result was that we camped out with nothing but the vault of Heaven for a roof. and the stars for companions. The snow lay several inches deep upon the ground. The night was bitterly cold. I sat down on a rock with one child in my lap and one on each side of me. In that condition I remained until morning... I was six or seven thousand miles from my native land, in a wild, rocky, mountain country, in a destitute condition, the ground covered with snow, the waters covered with ice, and I with three fatehrless children with scarcely nothing to protect them from the merciless storms. When I retiered to bed that night being 27th of Oct., I had a stunning revelation, In my dream, my husband stood by me and said, 'Cheer up, Elizabeth, deliverance is at hand,'" The next day the advance rescue team found the stranded Saints.
I think this experience of seeing her husband really helped her make it through, one of God's real tender mercies for her.
Elizabeth later wrote: "I will not attempt to describe my feelings at finding myself thus left a widow with three children, under such excruciating circumstances. I cannot do it. But I believe the Recording Angel has insribed in the archives above, and that my sufferings for th eGospel's sake will be sanctified unto me for my good... I [appealed] to the Lord... He who had promised to be a husband to the widow, [see Isaiah 54:4-5] and a father to the fatherless. I appealed to him and he came to my aid... Aaron was left there to sleep in peace until the trump of the Lord shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall awake and come forth in the morning of the first resurrection. We shall then again unite our hearts and lives, and eternity will furnish us with life forever more.
"I have a desire to leave a record of those scenes and event, thru which I have passed, that my children, down to my latest posterity may read what their ancestors were willing to suffer, and did suffer, patiently for the Gospel's sake. And I wish them to understand, too that what I now word is the history of hundreds of others, both men, women and children, who have passed thru many like scenes for a similar cause, at the same time we did. I also desire them to know that it was in obedience to the commandments of the true and living God, and with the assurance of an eternal reward - an exaltation to eternal life in His kingdom - that we suffered these things. I hope, too, that it will inspire my posterity with fortitude to stand firm and faithful to the truth, and be willing to suffer, and sacrifice all things that they may be required to pass thru for the Kingdom of God's sake."
One other thing I find so neat was that when she got to Utah she ended up settling in Ogden and met a man William Kingsford who was a widower and they married. When the Logan temple was finished, Elizabeth was sealed to her first husband, Aaron, with William acting as proxy. Elizabeth felt that the blessings of the temple-- the ultimate blessing of coming to Zion--more than compensated for all the suffffering and despair she had endured on the hancart trek. Toward the end of her life she wrote, " The Lord has blessed me... with the highest blessings of a spiritual nature that can be conferred upon man or woman, in His Holy Temple, in mortality."
She truly was amazing!! I love that she was sealed to her first Husband I just love that she stood true to him for the rest of her life.
What a testimony she had she stood for all that was good and was so so strong, with determination and faith that what she was doing was right, being ever so grateful for the blessings of eternity through the temple. Hoping to pass that down to her posterity her strength, determination and faith. I am not one of her posterity but I have been truly touched by the person she was.
On the handcart trek this summer we had to pick someome to be... after learning her story I chose her I thought I could relate with her with being a young mother with small children. Little did I know her stroy would touch me as it did. As we had a very special amazing meeting just before walking through Martians Cove the spirit was with me so strong and as I walked on that sacred ground I could not hold back the tears for these precious people who gave their life and suffered so for the Gosepl's sake. The revelation came to me then that I had an Elizabeth up there and that I needed to name my next girl after this amazing women. It was very distinct and real and at the time I was not even pregnant. I got pregnant less than a month later and of course we are having a little girl, are you suprised after an experience like that, I knew after that there was at least another girl up there for us, even though I didn't know she would be next. When the ultra sound results were in I was a bit suprised because I think Kyle had convinced me it was going to be a boy but then weeks later I had the feeling again about the importance of this special little girl spirit that needed to come to my home. She is coming soon and I can't wait to meet her and name her after this amazing woman.
This is another vinal board (the chore board) that my friend Jenna and her sister did for me, we just hung it up and I love how it turned out and goes so well with our Family Home Evening board.
7 comments:
The stories of those pioneers are so inspiring! It just gives me the chills thinking of all they went through and did for the gospels sake. And I just think it is so neat that ya'll are naming your baby after her. That will be so special for her- what a great example and person to be named after!
Well I am so glad you like the way all your vinyl and boards turned out! Thanks for the business!!! :)
I love pioneer stories. They are SO INSPIRING and really just remarkable people! I always cry when I read about the stories of the great sacrifices they did for the gospel. I really like your wall that you did. So awesome to have pictures like that in your home to inspire you every day!
Deborah, I'm so glad you found my blog! I can't believe you have four kids...almost five, and we graduated the same year. I guess you did have a headstart on me. Way to go...you've been busy!
Your family is beautiful! I feel like it was just yesterday that we were at girl's camp. Time flies...
I love those stories, even though I hate to cry. They bring me to tears each time I hear them. And I think it's so wonderful you're going to name your little one after Elizabeth--even better that you had that cool experience to go with it. Courtney's middle name is Elizabeth. I'm going to have to tell her that story. Thanks for sharing all of that. I'm sure it took awhile to type and stuff.
I think that Elizabeth shouldn't just be her middle name, I think it should be her first name! That would be so awesome to know you were named after somebody so devout and incredible. It's pretty as a middle name, too, but by how impressed you were by her I think you should use it as a first. :)
I finally found time to read her account and it is AMAZING....I LOVE the pictures and quote, too. Wow! You get chills just hearing those stories....
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