Walk On
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell
The sometimes tragic experiences of the early American
pioneers are more than just interesting history lessons. Though they
took place over a century and a half ago, they can serve as an
inspiration to us today. Such is the case with the story of James and
Sarah Ferguson McDonald.
James and Sarah were Irish immigrants with dreams of
making a new home and building a better life for their family in the
American West. In the spring of 1850, they started across the vast
American plains as members of a large wagon train of pioneers with
similar dreams.
Tragedy struck the family soon after they began. James
contracted the dreaded disease cholera and died within 24 hours. He was
buried in the trackless prairie on the banks of the Platte River. That
evening, Sarah settled the children into their beds and then, with an
aching heart and tired feet, went down to the river to wash off the dust
of a terrible day. As she put her bare feet into the cool water, Sarah
felt “the strong current of the river, and the thought came to her, in
her grief, of how easy it would be to slide into the water,” sink into
the depths, and join her dear husband in death.1 But just then one of her young children called out to her, and she knew
she had to carry on for them. She dried her feet, put on her shoes, and
went back to the wagon.
The next day, Sarah paused one last time at the grave of her husband. Then, looking west, she and her children walked on.
Sarah eventually established her family in the Rocky
Mountains. She lived a long and productive life, and her posterity—which
now number in the thousands—are grateful for the faith, hope, and
perseverance of their pioneer grandmother.
The courageous example of Sarah Ferguson McDonald and
many, many others like her inspires us all, especially when our hearts
ache, our feet are tired, or we face a fearful future. Even then, we can
remember inspiring examples from the past and walk on.
1 “Important Events in the History of the James McDonald Family,
1841–1850,” Church History Library,
history.lds.org/overlandtravels/trailExcerptMulti?lang=eng&pioneerId=5348&sourceId=42089.
No comments:
Post a Comment