'Small means' changed destinies
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Like the Liahona that guided Lehi's colony in the wilderness and functioned according to their faith and diligence, the Mormon Battalion demonstrates how the Lord works miracles by small means, Elder Robert S. Wood said June 14.
"In a remarkable way, the lives of the men and women who were part of the Mormon Battalion demonstrate how, in small ways, the Lord brought about marvelous change," he declared. "That small band, even as had the Liahona, worked by faith, and by faith it changed the destinies not only of their families, but the destiny of a nation and of the Lord's kingdom."
Elder Wood of the Seventy, who holds master's and doctoral degrees in political science from Harvard University and is the former Chester W. Nimitz Chair of National Security at the U.S. Naval War College, spoke on Flag Day at the annual Mormon Battalion Heritage Day Program in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square.
Also featured as a speaker was Ellis Ivory, chairman of the board of This Is The Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, where a Mormon Battalion Visitors Center is under construction.
Music was performed by the Southern Utah Heritage Choir under the direction of Keith Bradshaw.
Elder Wood said he has lived in areas away from Church headquarters where some Church members regarded July 24, the anniversary of the entrance of Brigham Young and the pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, as "a Utah holiday." He said that is like saying that the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt is a Canaan holiday.
"The events of the Mormon Battalion, the events we celebrate on the 24th of July, define us as a people whether we indeed are members of the Church whose ancestors joined the Church, or are members who joined last Saturday," he said. "We become heirs to a magnificent heritage that literally shaped who we are."
Elder Wood said the battalion "changed the course not only of the destiny of the Church and kingdom ... but of the American West and of the country as a whole."
"Only 335 men, plus four women, half-starved, many barefoot and in rags, straggled into the mission of San Diego in January of 1847. And yet, this remarkable band... had a disproportionate impact on the history of the Church and of the nation."
Noting that the battalion did not see combat during the course of their journey, he said "a number died. Many were ill, and all in one form or another knew the extremity of pain."
The efforts of battalion soldiers "collectively added up to a remarkable set of achievements, both within the Church and beyond," Elder Wood said. "Within the Church, in a real sense as Brigham Young perceived, the contribution of the Latter-day Saints to the Mormon Battalion and the Mexican War, provided a proof of loyalty to the nation that had so ill-treated them, as well as material succor for the Saints, that otherwise may not have been available."
He noted that as U.S. President James Polk considered calling upon the Mormons to participate in the war, some, such as Sen. Thomas A. Benton of Missouri, hoped they would refuse so that the Church's enemies could use the refusal as an excuse to further harass the beleaguered exiles.
As to the broader contribution, he said, though the battalion never entered into direct combat, "it is a fact that wherever they went in their journey and into Southern California, the battalion provided law and order. They set up institutions and provided the elements of civilization wherever they went. Indeed, they provided the garrison duty in the San Diego area, and when their term of duty was about completed, all of the citizens of that area petitioned Gov. Mason and Gen. Kearney, the commanding general, that the Latter-day Saints be importuned to stay and maintain the elements of order and of law and of civilization that they had established."
In the process of its trek, Brother Wood said, the battalion opened up three major routes as well as the route that later served the Southern Pacific Railroad.
In his talk, Brother Ivory said the battalion soldiers were the first Americans to raise the Stars and Stripes over what was to become California and Arizona.
Noting that in some instances recently, the loyalty of Mormons to the United States has been questioned, Brother Ivory, who presides over the Sandy Utah Big Cottonwood Stake, said, "Of course, we can always point to our Twelfth Article of Faith, but it's significant that we can also point to our history. And there's no chapter more poignant to illustrate the support that we as members of this Church give to our country than the story of the Mormon Battalion as they were called to duty in a very difficult time."
E-mail to: rscott@desnews.com
