Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference,
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent General
Conference talks. This is Abby. And Amy. Let's
jump into it. Today we're talking about The Atonement
of Jesus Christ Provides the Ultimate Rescue.
This is by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum
of the Twelve. So let's jump right into it. In
late 2024, President Russell M. Nelson assigned
Elder Cook to dedicate the Casper Wyoming Temple,
which, yes, when I heard Wyoming, my ears perked
up. A portion of the land in the states that
compromise the Casper Wyoming Temple District
include a portion of the overland trail used
by roughly 60 ,000 I didn't know that number,
Latter -day Pioneers from 1847 to 1868, and hundreds
of thousands of Western -seeking immigrants.
Most of our pioneers came by wagon, but there
were about 3 ,000 that crossed in 10 handcart
companies. In preparation for this dedication,
he reread some of the history of the trail, and
it was a profound emotional and spiritual experience.
I am sure that was. Eight of those 10 handcart
companies made that monumental trek with remarkable
success and very few deaths. But the ones that
stand out and are referenced in this talk are
the Willie and Martin handcart companies of the
1856. They were the exception. So sad. They experienced
starvation, exposure to freezing weather, and
many deaths. The story takes a sharp turn as
weather conditions deteriorate quickly. And the
saints suffered greatly as they crossed the Wyoming
plains. I'm emotional just thinking about it
because I've had some experiences with books
that I've read on it. Chapters and saints, being
there physically. My parents served a mission
there. Their stories are remembered and reflected
often. We talk about the places and the events
like the crossing of the Sweetwater, Martin's
Cove, Rocky Ridge, and Rock Creek Hollow. They're
often recalled by saints because of the power
that comes as we remember them and retell them
to saints in our day. So it's interesting, Abby,
because I have a fourth great -grandma, and her
name was Wee Granny, and she was one who died
in Martin's Cove. So she almost... Well, not
in Martin's Cove, but she died in the Martin
Handcart Company and actually died at Chimney
Rock. Okay. And she, if you ever look at 17 Miracles,
she is... Her name was Mary Marie Murdoch, but
we called her Wee Granny because she was like
5 '9". 4 '9". Sorry. I'm like, I'm 5 '9". She
was 4 '9". I shrunk, no, I'm 5 '9". I was wrong
there. Anyway, if you watch 17 Miracles, they
just did a tiny little blip of her, but she's
in there. She's the one who in a Scottish accent
said, tell me boy that I died with my face towards
Zion. I know, right? So like you said, it's like,
yes, there's stories like leave. I'm her fourth
great granddaughter. How many descendants does
she have now? So many. And we are all inspired
by that story. And like, we want to live with
our face towards Zion and we want to die in Zion,
right? Today's talk, we get to reflect on our
shared pioneer history and see what modern day
applications the rescue has for each of us. This
talk is going to bring into clear focus the roles
of temples, that temples play in rescuing God's
children through the Savior's atonement. And
the comparison and lessons here touches so deeply.
The rescue of those forlorn saints is a touching
part of the history and it has a significance.
The elder Cook talked about as the great grandson
of David Patton Kimball. I always forget that
connection. Then he says it and I'm like, oh
yes, I remember that. Who was a member of the
rescue team sent by Brigham Young. I was researching
for this talk, and I came upon another talk given
by Elder Cook. It was called The Eternal Importance
of Righteous Choices, and in that he talked about
the rescue effort, how it was called upon by
the prophet of the time, Brigham Young, to those
already living in and around Salt Lake City.
He said in this talk, the lesson that he learned
from this was that it sounded like the kind of
consecration for which I was looking. He said,
later as I visited with my grandfather, whose
name is Crozier Kimball, son of David Patton
Kimball, he explained that when President Brigham
Young sent the men to the rescue mission, he
instructed them to do everything they possibly
could to save the Cancart Company. So that consecration...
was specifically to follow the prophet. It wasn't
exactly what to do once they got to the saints,
but to do everything in their power. My faithful
grandfather told me that consistent, faithful,
righteous dedication is one's duty or to a principle
is to be much admired. So I'm remembering this.
We talked about this. He brought this. Remember
how we talked about a couple of sessions back?
Sometimes we have these pioneer stories that
we can delve back on, but it's... We were talking
about the lesson. Those stories are great, but
we can be pioneers in our own day and it doesn't
require those stories to like write our own history
and do good things. But it's a fine balance between
the two because you can tell that many lessons
have been taught from that rescue mission. Oh,
yeah. And it's been a strong family heritage.
And he does reference the lessons that he's learned
because of that pioneer heritage. Love that.
Many times. And I totally agree. Like we can't
ride on the coattails of our ancestors. It's
kind of like when you start doing family history,
you get a really good view of. how there's a
flow and how, yes, we honor and cherish our pioneers
and their stories, their perseverance, their
faith, and a way that we honor them and honor
God is to continue that legacy on through us
and then through our children and our posterity.
Elder Cook suggested in the talk that of us.
It would be equally heroic today to follow the
prophet by adhering to his counsel in the things
he invites us to do. Some of those things being
reducing social media use, studying the Book
of Mormon, and particularly helping to gather
Israel on both sides of the veil. If we help
gather scattered Israel, we'll be rescuing the
souls of mankind. I love that. Just as his great
-grandfather helped to rescue the lives of the
Hancock Company. President Brigham Young became
aware of the perilous situations of those companies
on October 4th, 1856. The very next day, he stood
before the saints in Salt Lake City and said
this. He said, many of our brethren and sisters
are on the plains with hand carts, and they must
be brought here. We must send assistance to them
before the winter sets in. And it's important
to remember, we're not talking to well -off saints.
They've just gotten into the valley themselves,
and they're dealing with... You know, preparing
for a harsh winter themselves. Yeah, and recouping.
He asked bishops to provide 60 mule teams, 12
or more wagons, and 12 tons of flour and proclaimed,
go and bring in those people now on the plains.
Nobody knew exactly where they would actually
find them. It's going to be... Yeah, somewhere
between here and here. Yeah, it's this direction.
They just had a desire to help and do as the
prophet had asked them. um some miraculous circumstances
ensued and they were led to the two different
groups of people the combined number of pioneers
in the willie and martin hankart companies was
approximately 1100. i liked having that number
i've probably heard it before but it helped me
to put into um Into perspective, but it's not
that many people. When you think of how many,
you know, crossed and... Not a lot of people
are going to get to, like, go over to Martin's
Cove, but Sixth Crossing, we have a pretty great...
Yeah, like a cool little building. And this is
the story that they tell. They really, they emphasize
there were so many successful crossings and the
hand carts was a small portion of the bigger
wagon train. And of the hand carts, eight of
the 10 were very successful. This one instance
is, you know, what we're isolating down to. Some
200 of these precious saints died along the trail.
Without the timely rescue, many more would have
perished. Oh, for sure. The winter storms had
begun nearly two weeks after the first rescuers
left Salt Lake City. The accounts of members
of the Willie and Martin companies describe devastating
challenges after the storms began. These accounts
also depict the great joy when the rescuers arrived.
I can't even imagine. Describing the arrival
scene, Mary Herron said, tears streamed down
the cheeks of the men and the children. Sheesh,
this is hard. Danced for joy. As soon as the
people could control their feelings, they all
knelt down in the snow and gave thanks to God.
Two days later, the Willie Company had to travel
the most difficult part of the trail going over
Rocky Ridge in a freezing storm. The last of
them did not reach camp until 5 a .m. The next
morning, 13 people died and were buried in a
common grave. So yeah, when he said if they hadn't
arrived right when they did, more would die,
for sure, because the winter was setting in and
it was getting worse. We know Wyoming winters
and they are unforgiving. It was October 7th
when the Willie Company was nearing the Salt
Lake Valley, but that morning there were still
three deaths. Two days later, the Willie Company
finally reached Salt Lake, where they had a marvelous
greeting and were welcomed into the homes of
the saints. That same day, Still back on the
plains, the Martin Company were 325 miles back
on the trail, continuing to suffer from cold
and inadequate food. A safe shelter from the
weather could be found at Martin's Cove, but
it would require another river crossing. The
last one was still fresh on their minds, and
the thought of doing it again was terrifying
to many. One of the pioneers said it was the
worst river crossing of the expedition. Again.
Elder Cook's great -grandfather, David Patton
Kimball, just 17 -year -olds at the time, along
with his young friends George W. Grant, Alan
Huntington, Stephen Taylor, and Ira Neveker,
spent hours in the frigid water, heroically helping
the company make the Sweetwater Crossing. This
event has received much attention over the years
by Elder Cook, because we realize that the lessons
of these men, rescuers and immigrants, were simply
trying to follow the prophets. I will say right
here, I got emotional when I was reading that
the lesson that Crozier Kimball was trying to
teach to his grandson was adherence to following
the prophet. And the lesson that Elder Cook was
hearing was about consecration. Like, I want
to live that type of consecrated life. What he
was referencing is that these young men with
little thought of their own lives because they
consecrated. They made that trip multiple times.
When you look into their histories, a lot of
them had, they suffered physical damage. They
suffered with the effects of that exposure for
years after. And didn't each of them pass away
at an earlier age? Yeah. I was just reading a
simple line about consecrate, wanted to consecrate
their lives. But that's, I know that's the reason
that these pioneer stories come up is because
it's to say. He didn't say, hey, when you get
the opportunity to either, you know, live yourself
and get back here safe and healthy or walk across
that river multiple times carrying these souls
across one by one and being exposed, that's going
to shorten your life, that they hesitated. They
didn't. They just kept going in and doing this
time and time again. For sure, Abby. You know,
at their own peril, but it mattered little to
them because they... Heard what the prophet asked
them to do, and they did. They felt in their
hearts what that would be. And I mean, it wouldn't
be a hard decision for me to see like these little
children that have made it, these women that
have tried their hardest to make it across. I'm
sure that they did it with joy. Yeah. And consecration,
right? People sometimes question or criticize
in the Martin and Willingham companies because
they were told that getting such a late start
in the season could be very dangerous. You know,
it's interesting here because I think of my fourth
great grandma who, you know, probably had the
same. She was in the Martin Handcart Company.
So she probably had the same things told to her.
And she was 72. So that is an advanced age at
that time, right? So I just, I don't know what
she thought and what her feelings were when she
heard the counsel come. I just have to believe
I've done in my life. I've heard the best counsel
from like doctors and other things. I always,
though, I take the great advice from professionals,
people who know, and then I hold that up and
I say, Heavenly Father, but what do you want
from me? And many times it's been something different
than that. So I got to believe that she did listen
to and believe like, you know what? You're right.
Logically, that makes sense. However, the spirit
is urging me forward. I don't know why, but I
would imagine. They had heard the call to gather
and they wanted to. Totally. Clear back from
when a lot of these ones came from England, Liverpool
or something. Yes. He came from Scotland. And
so I just got to believe it in my heart. She
was like, you know what? That is sound advice.
However, the Lord is telling me move forward
because it's going to be a blessing in my life.
And I'm sure it was. And I'm sure a lot of people
know they were at winter quarters and they had
to make this decision. And it was like by common
consent that they had to face. There was really
not enough supplies for them to stay where they
were either. They were stuck between a rock and
a hard place. Right. Yeah. And so I have to assume
that these faithful saints. prayed about it yeah
good about their decision and that would um that
would buoy them up that would push them forward
when the days got really really hard that they
would say this is terrible but it was what we
were supposed to do it's always helpful because
don't we all get into situations when we feel
like something is right and we proceed then it's
not the easiest thing in the world and then you're
like But he told me to do this and he said, I
didn't say it was going to be easy. That's not
really the way it works. Yeah, I agree that it
was the right thing to do. So Abby, when reflecting
on the idea that the rescuers were following
the counsel of the prophet, we know from recent
Come Follow Me discussions about being instructed
at different times to gather. And we're talking
about that. We just talked about that in... in
the scriptures where it was gathered to the ohio
we know that these saints knew that there were
possible dangers of coming but they weighed that
against like like I was talking about, the decision
to stay in winter quarters. And for whatever
reason, it still felt like the right decision
to head out. Yes, lives were lost, but hard won
lessons and testimonies of steel were formed.
And the posterity that has come from those handcart
saints and the rescuers to me is still teaching
the lesson of the power that we find when we
do what we are asked, even when it is not easy.
And sometimes we are just asked by the Lord.
Yeah. It's as simple as that. You heard the call
and you did what you were asked to do. He was
sharing this stuff because like at the beginning
we were talking about, let's get back to what
we were talking about, the Casper Wyoming Temple
dedication. So he hadn't been to it previous
to this dedication date. He goes in there and
he sees. the artwork that's on the walls, and
says, like all temples, the artwork tells a story
of our Savior Jesus Christ and the history of
the area. So cool. Elder Cook notices one such
painting in the foyer. It was titled Between
Storms. Painting was clearly not intended to
depict the tragedies that occurred, but instead
reflect the experience of a vast majority of
handcart pioneers who did not experience the
tragedies. I love that. What life lesson did
the Between Storms painting bring to mind for
Elder Cook? I think he said it really points
out in life, sometimes we're between storms,
sometimes between clouds and sunshine, and sometimes
we're just looking around and experiencing the
joy of God's creations. And the next thing, you're
maybe hunkered down in a basement waiting for
a tornado to pass. Amen. It's full of challenges,
but also plenty of moments of joy. And there
can be joy in the hardest and darkest times as
we choose to turn to our Savior Jesus Christ,
the Savior of the world who rescues us from the
storms of life through His atonement in accordance
with the Father's plan. Amen to that, Abby. It
is inside the temple that we are able to receive
the ordinances of exaltation and make sacred
covenants and more fully accept the blessings
of the Savior's atonement. Without Him, these
blessings would not be available to us. It's
so good to remember that. Central to the Father's
plan of happiness is our Savior, the ultimate
atoning rescuer. Some people have direct family
ties to these pioneers, like you mentioned, Wee
Granny. Some of us don't. I think I do have some
relatives that were, but my husband does. So
by marriage, I'm claiming his line that I know
for sure of. Their experience provides Latter
-day Saints across the world with this unique
historical tradition and a powerful collective
spiritual legacy. I came across the coolest story
about a modern day rescue in South Africa in
2021. An FSY gathering had been planned and there
were 550 youth that were supposed to attend.
And bear in mind, the previous year they were
supposed to have an FSY conference, but COVID
pandemic, pandemic, whatever, shut that down.
So they had already done a reschedule. Everybody
had been excited about it. So the first day of
the program is when the counselors arrive. That's
on a Sunday. They have their opening devotional.
They go to bed. just torrential rains kick up
through the night. It caused flooding around
the facility. There was a river that separated
the road in from the facility. Oh, my gosh. And
so people were calling in and questioning, should
we be holding this? Should we be canceling the
conference? And because of the experience from
the previous year and a strong desire to carry
forward with the plans to provide these youth
with what you know is going to come of FSY, it
was decided that they would, in fact, carry on
the session. The counselors, the session directors
gave a little devotional and they talked about
the rescuers. And they invited these counselors
to be modern day rescuers. And so the bus get
as close to the facility as possible. They string
a rope from one side of the river to the other.
And the counselors started getting. You're kidding
me, Abby. Isn't that so great? And all week.
They were inspired. They were all week that message.
It was an amazing week of spiritual highs and
testimony building. And often people reflected
on the analogy of what it can look like to be
a rescuer in somebody's life. Fantastic. Sometimes
the prophet invites us to do something and the
desire is in our heart, but the ability to accomplish
what he's asked is an impossibility, or at least
in our mind. Keep that in mind as we talk about
the next part of Elder Cook's talk. Millen Atwood
was a missionary in England and said that when
the handcart plan was announced, it ran like
fire in dry stubble, and the hearts of the poor
saints leapt with joy and gladness. Wow. Many
had prayed and fasted day after day and night
after night that they might have the privilege
of uniting with their brethren and sisters in
the mountains. It's so true, Abby, that I can
only imagine they're like, I didn't come this
far to die in winter quarters. I'm going to do
my best and keep moving. Like, we're not stopping.
I need to keep going towards Zion. So I can understand
that. This is the part of the talk. But whatever
their last step was, whether they made it into
the Salt Lake Valley or just to the other side
of Rocky Ridge, our Father in heaven got to see
that every step, to their dying breath, they
were headed to Zion. Yes, with every resource
they had. Yes. Love it. This is the part of the
talk you might spend some time talking with your
class, release aside your elders quorum about
the Lord, the things the Lord has instructed
them to do. And a way wasn't made possible, but
they kept hoping and preparing, and then the
way was opened up for them. That is a great idea
for lessons. Because I bet each one of us has
this in our lives if we just stop and reflect
on that. It makes me think, you know, you bring
that up, you might have somebody talk about wanting
to grow their family, face roadblock after roadblock,
infertility issues or whatever. Maybe another
one. Maybe there's people out there that really
desire to go to the temple, but proximity is
making it difficult financially or geographically.
You just can't get there. Some of our brothers
and sisters maybe only have the chance to attend
once in a lifetime. I think that... These saints
teach us a powerful lesson. They have just the
right idea. We can learn a lot from them if we
think that if there's something that we want
to be doing in our life and it isn't happening
yet, we take steps, we act on it as though it
is or will be happening. Love it. Desire and
effort matter. Like if you're a Latter -day Saint
who doesn't have a temple close by, you can still
become recommended. You can still hold the temple
recommend. Because really what it is, is it's
a relationship between you and God. And as long
as you maintain that, regardless of how close
you are. Because I think, and you probably agreed,
the Lord in your circumstances looks at that.
And like, it's as good as, it's the best given
the circumstances that can exist. We talked about
the death toll being high for the Martin and
Willie companies. But like we had said, even
though their goal was to gather with the saints.
And their destination was Salt Lake City. I do
think that those that died actively pursuing
following the prophet have no doubt that in death
they were actively gathering with other saints.
They're still doing that work of gathering there.
Absolutely. So that was their Zion. Yes. That's
a really good point. I love that. Sometimes life
is between storms and sometimes we are right
in the thick of the storms. But what we have
probably all learned in our own lives and from
the handcart pioneers as well is that the storms
have a distinct ability to shape our testimonies.
Amen. And to chisel out the men and women that
we are. Studying their story, I appreciate the
precious relationships and the long -term eternal
vision among the emigrants. John and Maria Linford
and their three sons, which... were members of
the Willie Company. I was just going to say,
we heard this story today, and Abby's going to
talk about that. John died hours before the first
rescuers arrived. He had told Maria that he was
glad they had made the journey. I shall not live
to reach Salt Lake, he said, but you and the
boys will. And I do not regret all we have gone
through if our boys can grow up and raise their
families. in zion wasn't it so good abby so good
we had um two friends spoke in sacrament meeting
today and they were asked to reflect on conference
and then share some of their favorite pieces
of it and our friend tiffany she was the second
speaker she didn't reference this talk but this
is the one we were preparing to talk about but
um she started by talking about the value of
general conference and then she got to share
that through marriage, she is now one of the
descendants of John and Maria Linford. And I
mean, we were sitting in the row right behind
her children's day to get to see that this name
is carrying on. And yes, he didn't make it to
the Salt Lake Valley, but the lesson that he
wanted to pass to his posterity is living on.
And it's fun to see that in real time, what an
impact that these faithful pioneers have. It
also gives a little more credence to... Walk
the walk, don't just talk the talk. I agree.
His kids did not have to question what his focus
was in life. That was instilled in their heart
with every footstep. Very impressive. President
James E. Faust provided this marvelous summary.
In the heroic effort of the Hancock pioneers,
we learn a great truth. All must pass through
a refiner's fire, and the insignificant and unimportant
in our lives can melt away like dross and make
our faith bright, intact, and strong. This seems
to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and
often heartbreak for everyone, including those
who earnestly seek. to do right and be faithful.
Yet this is part of the purging to become acquainted
with God. We know this earth life is going to
be full of challenges. How can we find courage
to set out on our own spiritual journey knowing
it is going to be difficult? That's my question
to you, Amy. I would say that we would be, because
the Savior did it before us to mark the path
and show the way. and also so many of our ancestors.
And in his eternity -shaping atonement and resurrection,
the Savior broke the bands of death, having gained
the victory over death for everyone. For those
who have repented of sins, he has taken upon
himself their iniquity. their transgressions,
having redeemed them and satisfying the demands
of justice. Without the atonement, we cannot
save ourselves from sin and death or grief or
hardness, hardship. While sin can play a significant
role in our trials, life's adversities are compounded
by mistakes, bad decisions, evil actions by others,
and many things that are outside of our control.
I like this part where he talked about Preach
My Gospel. He says it teaches as we rely on Jesus
Christ and his atonement, we can help to endure
our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled
with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is
unfair about life can be made right through the
atonement of Jesus Christ. We can pack that handcart
with any number of tools that we deem necessary
by traveling with both. Being a travel buddy
with our Savior is key to our survival for anything
we encounter along the way. Very good point,
Abby. Pick him as your travel buddy. Serious.
One reason I love April Conference is all of
the references that we have to Easter. And this
is Elder Cooks. He says, during this Easter season,
our focus is on the Savior and His atoning sacrifice.
The atonement provides hope and light at a time
that... for many seem very dark and dreary. President
Gordon B. Hinckley declared, when all of history
is examined, there is nothing so wonderful, so
majestic, so tremendous as this act of grace.
You know, I really have loved this Easter this
year. And one of the big reasons that I loved
it even more is because I feel like we got to
savor it because everything was, it was later.
We had conference and then we had Palm Sunday
and then we had Easter. And I just like so many
times when Easter happens right at conference,
my heart's so sad because I'm like, I... I can't
like suck the marrow out of all of this because
it's all happening at once. I love that. So I
just really appreciate it. And thank Heavenly
Father that the calendar landed how it did this
year. In this world that feels so hasty. Right.
I got to just feel full. Yes. It's like rush,
rush, rush, go, go, go. I was like, thank you.
This is more my pace. I like to go slow. I like
to pray. I like to feel how it feels along the
way. And I got to actually enjoy every one of
these beautiful and wonderful milestones with
my family. It was a wonderful Easter season.
All right. He goes next into, he's a little sweetie.
He provided the action items for us. He did it
for us. Yes. So I'm going to read them to you.
You might consider one or all of these suggestions
to be incorporated into your journey back to
Father. First, he said, do not underestimate
the importance of doing what we can to rescue
others from physical and especially spiritual
challenges. Is there somebody in your life that
you know you were key to being in their life
so that you could help them in their time of
need. Good. Probably all the time there's somebody
that we would have the most impact on if we were
to speak up or say something. Second, gratefully
accept the Savior's atonement. We all should
strive to exhibit joy and happiness even as we
face the challenges of life. Our goal should
be to live optimistically on the sunny side of
the street, even when it's not the sunny side
of the street. Walk over to the sunny side. Third
counsel, set aside consistent time to faithfully
contemplate the Savior's atonement. We've been
encouraged to do that, make a lifetime pursuit
of that. This is not a checklist thing, and it's
not something you'll ever get done often. We
should set that time aside. During the sacrament
is a great one. Partaking of the sacrament, those
are especially significant times, but there are
many other ways in your personal religious observance
that you might decide for yourself that are a
great time for you to do that. And then fourth,
regular attendance in the temple where possible.
The temple provides a continuing remembrance
of the Savior's atonement and what it overcomes.
And even more important, temple attendance allows
us to provide a spiritual rescue for our deceased
loved ones and more distant ancestors. Love that.
He did so great giving us those four. President
Russell M. Nelson at our last conference emphasized
the principles and added, temple blessings help
to prepare a people who will help prepare the
world for the second coming of the Lord. I want
to be a part of that work. I am a part of that
work. And like was said earlier, when we do work
in the temple, we are helping ourselves learn.
more about our Savior, but also blessing and
rescuing our deceased ancestors. I just, I also
want to add that in these past months, I've been
in bed and not able to physically go. I've been
one time to the temple, which makes my heart
so sad. But also like from your bed with your
phone, you can work at redeeming the dead by
helping your ancestors to, you can do tasks.
You can help to get them like. build the file
of who this person is, the death certificates,
all of those types of things. There is a way,
like we talked about, if you have a desire in
your heart, there is a way for the Lord to bring
temple blessings to you. Do you know what I mean?
So I felt blessed. Absolutely. If I'm trying
to make excuses about my temple attendance, it's
because I know in good faith I could get there.
There are seasons of life. There sure are. Young
mothers, physical, like when you're trying to
do some physical healing. proximity, cost. There's
just a lot of things. There is. And if they're
legit and valid, like He can bless you the most
if you can get there. Absolutely. But if you
really can't and the desire's there, He can definitely
make those blessings available to you. Yes, the
blessings of the temple can flow to you if that's
your desire. Remembering our ancestors and also
their sacrifice is always a wonderful way to
strengthen our own testimonies and appreciate
what they did. But our worship should always
be centered on the Savior of the world and His
atoning sacrifices. Abby, do you have any final
thoughts? Finding that balance of these awesome
pioneer stories. What we focused on today happened
to be Martin and Willie Hancock. But as we're
watching the war case and church membership grow
and where we're reaching those missionary efforts,
there's a chance that some people hearing our
voice are the pioneers in their countries. Absolutely.
They are creating the stories and the dialogue
for... Like what's going to go forward in that
country? You know, 20 years from now, people
will look back and remember them as the pioneers.
So recording these stories and sharing these
stories and if you don't have any of your own,
diving into what your pioneer ancestors did.
Who came first? If it's you, be recording. And
if it's not, delve into the things that you have
because there are lessons to be learned and enjoyed.
And like, I felt like our emotions were high
as we were discussing. Oh man, so close to the
surface. So that's just us testifying that they
can have power as we incorporate those stories.
Any final thoughts from you? You know, I was
just going to say, I had this part ready for
our primary lesson today, but I didn't get to
this part that was in Come Follow Me. So it was
meant for this. And it just talked about pioneer
stories and those who crossed the plains, you
know, those who went to the Ohio. And I know
we giggled about that a little bit, but what
I wanted to say to each of our nine turning 10
year olds is that you may not have a story of
a pioneer who crossed the plains. However, In
your story, in your line, someone was a pioneer
because you are a member of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter -day Saints right now. And so
someone needed to. And I was just going to ask
them, like, find out who that person is. Maybe
it's your mom or dad. Maybe it's a grandma. And
talk to them about their conversion story. When
did the Holy Ghost tell their heart that? This
was something that they wanted to change their
whole life and do, you know, and maybe for that
person that was as big as, you know, crossing
the plains or doing whatever, like we have pioneers
all around us. So that's what I was going to
share. That story that really identifies the
time in their life when they turned to the Savior
and let him make their lives what it is now.
Into uncharted territory. That's beautiful. I'm
glad you got to share it. I will close with his
testimony. He said, I testify that the key of
the Father's plan of happiness is the atonement
wrought by our Savior, Jesus Christ. He lives
and guides his church. The atonement of Jesus
Christ provides the ultimate rescue from the
trials we face in this life. And this he said
in the name of Jesus Christ. So we'll catch you
on the next one. Thanks for being here. See you
next time.