Sunday, March 23, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
EIGHTEEN YEARS HAVE passed since LDS historian Leonard J. Arrington wrote a 12-part series, "The Mormons in Nevada," for the Las Vegas SUN. Later, the series was published in a book for which I wrote the foreword.
As a former history teacher, I have always been intrigued by Arrington's historical knowledge and scholarly research. Early in my teaching career, I had learned the value of Mormon history when relating the development of the West.
This year, we will be recalling the 150 years of Mormon pioneering, which started in Nauvoo, Ill., on the banks of the Mississippi River and ended on July 24, 1847, in the Salt Lake Valley when Brigham Young declared, "This is the right place." That was the beginning of our nation's most exciting westward movement. During the next 22 years, perhaps 70,000 Mormons made the trek with at least 6,000 more buried along the route.
The entire trip will be re-enacted this year, starting April 19 when the first company pulls out from Council Bluffs, Iowa, and ending 1,030 miles later on July 22 in Salt Lake City. This will be the time for thousands of Americans to participate in, and experience, a piece of their nation's history. For the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it will also be the reliving of a religious experience.
Bits and pieces of this history will be recounted and even experienced along the way. Two recollections that caught my eye were: "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 fatherless children with scarcely nothing to protect them from the merciless storms. 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 inscribed in the archives above, and that my sufferings for the gospel's sake will be sanctified unto me for my good." (From "Leaves from the Life of Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson Kingsford" Archives, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Time for Fly Fishing: As an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Wilford Woodruff served a mission to England, baptizing 1,800 people within six months, including 200 ministers of other faiths. Among the items he brought back from England were some artificial flies intended for salmon fishing. On the trail in far western Wyoming, he could wait no longer: "When the water of the creek (Black's Fork of the Green River) took his fancy as looking trouty, Wilford Woodruff got out the artificial flies he had brought from his last mission in England and tried a little casting. 'I watched it as it floated upon the water with as much intent as Franklin did his kite.'" Thus Woodruff became "Perhaps the first fly-fisherman in the history of the Rocky Mountains." (Wallace Stegner, "The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail," New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965, p. 159.)
Several activities will also take place in the Las Vegas Valley during June and July. In addition to displays and concerts at UNLV and sunrise service at the Anthony Ray Stevenson Memorial Park, there will be community-service work projects for the local LDS members. This will all be done in conjunction with a plaque ceremony at Mormon Fort and the stressing of the pioneer legacy of their forefathers in church and auxiliary meetings. It will be an opportunity for all Nevadans to learn more about the history of their state and the West.
Arrington's book reminds readers of the strong bond the Mormon pioneers kept with their country, despite being persecuted for their religious beliefs prior to coming West. The author recalled the 1855 Fourth of July celebration in Las Vegas:
"Following typical patriotic American tradition, the missionary-colonists took a day out to celebrate the Fourth of July. 'At the dawn of the day,' wrote John Steele, 'the blacksmith's anvil answered for a cannon, and made a volley of musketry that gave the sleeping natives to know that something was up. Next was to hoist the Stars and Stripes which, by the by, we had to manufacture. I went to work, took a piece of cloth, tore it in strips, got some red flannel, tore it in strips, took some blue and made stars, and by the assistance of Brothers Foster and Hulet, I had a very nice little flag ready for flying by 2 o'clock in the afternoon, while others were preparing a mast. As we had no timber, we got a mesquite stump, a false wagon tongue and a tall willow, and made a pole 30 feet high, shook out our flag at the sound of the guns, gave three cheers, and retired to the bowery. After many spirited speeches, songs and toasts, we were dismissed by prayer.' "
The celebrations to be held this year will be of great interest to teachers and scholars of American history. They should be of special interest to all of us living in the states of Nevada, Idaho, California, Utah and Arizona. This will be a reminder that it's also our history, that we should all be familiar with and appreciate.
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