humble people across Europe,
and throughout the United States
began hearing the message
of the Mormon missionaries--
of the Book of Mormon,
and that the Church of Jesus Christ
had been restored.
Many of my ancestors
in England and Wales and Denmark
heard and believed this message.
My great-aunt wrote this
about her grandmother in Denmark.
"At approximately the age of sixteen, my grandmother first heard the gospel from two Mormon Elders who visited the home of her father at Kanehavehus.
"A most glorious feeling filled her breast as she listened to those strangers. However, the Mormon missionaries did not remain long on the island. Many years later after she was married and had her family, there came three more missionaries to Samso and knocked on her door.
"As she listened to these men, the same sublime feeling of joy surged within her that she had experienced years before, and she knew of the truthfulness of the message they brought. Grandfather was deeply impressed and after prayer and investigation, he and grandma and Marie were baptized in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea.
"A most glorious feeling filled her breast as she listened to those strangers. However, the Mormon missionaries did not remain long on the island. Many years later after she was married and had her family, there came three more missionaries to Samso and knocked on her door.
"As she listened to these men, the same sublime feeling of joy surged within her that she had experienced years before, and she knew of the truthfulness of the message they brought. Grandfather was deeply impressed and after prayer and investigation, he and grandma and Marie were baptized in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea.
"They suffered from the rebukes and scorn of their friends and relatives, as did all of the early converts. This was willingly endured because they were so happy in the truths of the gospel.
"The early saints had such faith in God's servants and a love of the gospel so strong that they were willing to endure anything to fulfill their hearts desire. This great desire in the hearts of the early converts was to gather with those who believed the same way they did--to go to Zion, to America."
"The early saints had such faith in God's servants and a love of the gospel so strong that they were willing to endure anything to fulfill their hearts desire. This great desire in the hearts of the early converts was to gather with those who believed the same way they did--to go to Zion, to America."
_______
These early members
of the LDS Church,
like my ancestors,
were often persecuted
for their beliefs.
For a time they gathered
in Nauvoo, Illinois,
but were eventually
forced from their homes
and had to go west
to find a place far away
where they could
live their religion in peace.
They loaded their wagons
and their handcarts,
and traveled at great hardship
across the country
to their new home,
the mountain valleys of Utah.
Tradition has it that
one of these early pioneers,
William Clayton,
composed a new hymn
that quickly became
a Mormon pioneer favorite.
They say it was sung
when they were coming
across the plains
and around their campfires
when they stopped for the night.
As members of
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints,
or the Mormons,
we still sing it,
and it is still one of our favorites.
I like to think
of my ancestors singing it,
whether it was
by their wagons and handcarts,
or in their church meetings,
or in their homes.
It makes me feel closer to them,
like I have carried on
where they left off.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
is requested to sing it often,
and on this
beautiful Sunday morning,
I thought you might like
to hear this hymn,
called, "Come, Come Ye Saints."
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