SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY FOR THE FHE LESSON.
(The following is his story. I have included this for my children. You may want to join Family Search and find your own ancestor's story!)
FROM FAMILY SEARCH:
Alonzo LaFayette Farnsworth, son of Stephen Martindale Farnsworth and Julia Ann Clark, was born October 22, 1841, in South Bend, Indiana . He came to Utah in 1852 with the Higby Company of which his Father was captain. [See LDS Church On-line Archives for additional information. Although noone in the Farnsworth family kept a journal of this journey, others in the company did. Some of these journals are available on the website.] They settled in Pleasant Grove, Utah . Alonzo married Mary Ann Staker in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on September 8, 1866. Mary Ann was a beautiful woman who taught school in the early days of Utah and wrote beautiful poetry. To her dismay, she didn't have any children, which in those days was a real tragedy.
After ten years of marriage and no children, Alonzo was advised by Brigham Young to consider plural marriage. In 1874 he married Christanna Bertelson of Mount Pleasant, and one year later he married Ida Tietjen, from Santa Quinn, Utah. In the next twenty years they had seventeen children, twelve sons and five daughters, of which they were very proud. Alonzo was a Lieutenant in the Black Hawk Indian War. After the war he was called to settle Richfield, Utah and was a member of the High Council there about 1871. Later he was called to settle Joseph City and live the United Order. He was also the Bishop of Joseph City while he lived there.
Dancing was one of the recreational activities enjoyed in Joseph City. Sometimes, especially on holidays, two dances would be going on at once, one in the school house, and the overflow crowd dancing in the big room of the Alonzo Farnsworth adobe home across the street. In 1877 Alonzo was called into President Brigham Young's office. President Young said, "Lon, I want someone to go to Arizona ( Tuba City ) to make peace with the Indians there. Do you want to go?" Alonzo replied, "I'll go where I'm told to go." President Young, in a loud voice said, "Do you want to go?" Father, in a louder voice replied, "I'll go where I'm told to go." President Young said, "You're the man I want to go to Arizona and make friends with the Indians. I promise you and your family will not lose by your going there. I also promise you and your family health and strength." The family went and did indeed make friends with the Indians. They took care of sick Indians in their home and gained the love and confidence of the Indian people. Not one of the family died from sickness or disease. One child was lost through an accident and one baby did not live. The other family members lived a long life.
On one occasion, before they had time to raise a crop, they were waiting for supplies to come from Salt Lake City and they ran out of food. All they had was some corn that was so rotten they could not wash it because it would have just floated away. They cooked the corn and asked God to bless it that it would nourish and strengthen their bodies. Not one of them got sick.
Alonzo ran a general store at Tuba City . One day when he was not there, some Indians came into the store. The clerk saw one of them stealing wool and shot at him, thinking to frighten them. Instead, he hit the Indian in the hand, which made he and the others very mad. The Indians said they would get their friends, come back later that night and kill everyone in town. The whole town was scared stiff as there was no one close enough to help them and there were thousands of Indians. The town people waited in their homes all night long for the Indians to come, but they didn't show tip that night or the next night. The following day Alonzo was riding just outside of town when an Indian rode up beside him and handed him a beautiful blanket and said, "I don't want this," which was his way of saying, "I want you to have this." The Indian told Alonzo that a council of war had been held and many Indians wanted to kill the town people. But, because Alonzo and his families had been very kind to the Indians and had so many friends among them, the Indian Chief was persuaded not to attack the village. Alonzo and his families lived in Tuba City until the government bought all the land and made it into an Indian Reservation. At that point in time government officials were bothering the saints because of polygamy and so Alonzo took his families and went to Mexico . Alonzo was a carpenter and saw mill man. He could build the nicest double fireplaces. One side was in the living room, which was also the parent's bedroom. The other side of the fireplace was the children's bedroom. The family made big fires with logs, which were plentiful, and parched corn. This corn was served with thinly sliced dried venison and ground cherries, which grew all over the valley. There was a large kitchen with a big majestic range in it. All the wives had this same type of home a bock or two apart.
In 1910 they went to Salt Lake City for June Conference and to visit all the relatives in Utah and Idaho. They liked the country and decided to move to Moreland, Idaho, where they lived until 1920. They then decided to go back to Mexico to spend their remaining years with their boys, some of whom had stayed there. Alonzo passed away in his sleep at the age of ninety years, in Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua, Mexico in the year 1931.
FHE - July 24th PIONEER DAY
OPENING SONG: "Pioneer Children Sang As They Walked" Children's Songbook, page 214
OPENING PRAYER: (to be assigned)
SCRIPTURE: D&C 136: 1-11
2 Let all the people of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and those who journey with
them, be organized into companies, with a covenant and promise to keep all the commandments and statutes of the Lord our God.
3 Let the companies be organized with captains of hundreds,
captains of fifties, and captains of tens, with a president and his two
counselors at their head, under the direction of the Twelve Apostles.
5 Let
each company provide themselves with all the teams, wagons, provisions,
clothing, and other necessaries for the journey, that they can.
6 When the companies are organized let them go to with their might, to prepare for those who are to tarry.
7 Let
each company, with their captains and presidents, decide how many can
go next spring; then choose out a sufficient number of able-bodied and
expert men, to take teams, seeds, and farming utensils, to go as
pioneers to prepare for putting in spring crops.
8 Let each company bear an equal proportion, according to the dividend of their property, in taking the poor, the widows, the fatherless, and the families of those who have gone into the army, that the cries of the widow and the fatherless come not up into the ears of the Lord against this people.
9 Let each company prepare houses, and fields for raising grain, for those who are to remain behind this season; and this is the will of the Lord concerning his people.
10 Let every man use all his influence and property to remove this people to the place where the Lord shall locate a stake of Zion.
11 And if ye do this with a pure heart, in all faithfulness, ye shall be blessed; you shall be blessed in your flocks, and in your herds, and in your fields, and in your houses, and in your families.
What do you think it was like for the pioneers crossing the plains?
What hardships did they face?
How would you have handled the journey?
3 minutes
QUESTIONS:
How do you think our ancestors would feel about living in our day?
How can we be modern day pioneers?
VIDEO: Modern Day Pioneers
2 minutes, 27 seconds
LESSON:
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "All is Well"
"On a day such as this when our hearts and minds are turned to the great
sacrifices of those pioneers, our praise for them is empty if it does
not cause inner reflection on our part. Today I would like to talk about
a few of the attributes that inspire me as I contemplate the sacrifice
and commitment of those great souls.
The pioneers looked out for one another. They cared for each other irrespective of their social, economic, or political background. Even when it slowed their progress, even when it caused inconvenience, even when it meant personal sacrifice and toil, they helped each other.
n our goal-driven and partisan world, individual or party objectives can sometimes take precedence over taking care of fellowmen or strengthening the kingdom of God. In today’s society, reaching certain ideological goals can appear to be a measure of our worth. Setting and achieving goals can be a wonderful thing. But when success in reaching goals comes at the expense of disregarding, ignoring, or hurting others, the cost of that success may be too precious. The pioneers not only looked after those in their company, but they considered those who came after them—they planted crops for the wagon trains that followed to harvest, whoever those harvesters might be. They included people of all walks of life. They learned the practical benefits of helping others. It must have given them comfort to know that just as they reached out to others, when the time came that they needed help, others would reach out to them.
In our day, it is easy to isolate ourselves, look only to our own desires, and discount the interests of others. The pioneers knew the strength of family and friends. And because they depended on each other they became strong. Friends became family. They knew that becoming insulated and thinking primarily of themselves was a road that would lead to almost certain disaster. In our world, examples of self-interest and self-indulgence are so abundant. It is very easy to slip into that mindset. The pioneers serve as a good reminder of why we must break away from the temptation to isolate ourselves and, instead, reach out to help each other.
Number 2: Work
Today we sometimes struggle in the morning to get out of our soft beds and into the bathroom for a hot shower. We eat a nutritious breakfast and drive in comfortable cars to air-conditioned offices.
We can learn something from the pioneers. They woke up each morning with clearly defined purposes and goals that everyone understood—to serve God and fellowmen and to arrive in the Salt Lake Valley. Every day those purposes and goals were clear to them; they knew what they needed to do and that each day’s progress mattered. They knew they couldn’t simply take a day off. Each day they literally put their shoulders to the wheel in order to get closer to their new place of refuge. Some days they made good progress. Some days they made little. But they didn’t have the option to give up. In spite of feeling overwhelmed, in spite of many good reasons to become discouraged and disheartened, they did not give up. They could not give up. No matter how difficult, no matter how much they wanted to do something else, they kept their eyes on their goal and on their purpose. Each day and with every step they edged relentlessly closer to their destination. In our time—when so much of what we desire is so easily within our reach—it is tempting to turn aside or give up whenever the road ahead seems a little bumpy or when the slope tends to rise so steeply before us. In those moments, it might inspire us to reflect on those men, women, and children who did not allow sickness, hardship, pain, and even death to deter them from their chosen path.
But the pioneers did not work only because they had to. In the process, their labors enlarged their character and broadened their understanding. Work diminished their natural tendencies toward self-love and magnified their understanding of their divine nature. It heightened their compassion for others. In the labors of each day they discovered and solidified an inner strength and profound spiritual depth.
They learned that doing the hard things—even applying themselves to the tasks they really did not want to do—deepened and strengthened body, mind, and spirit. This habit firmed their souls and became a blessing to them long after their trek across the plains and mountains had ended.
Number 3: Optimism
When the pioneers sang “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” they voiced a third lesson: “But with joy wend your way.”
It is one of the great ironies of our age that we are blessed with so much and yet we can be so unhappy. The wonders of prosperity and technology overwhelm us and shower us with security, entertainment, instant gratification, and convenience. And yet all around us we see so much unhappiness.
How many people do you know who are truly happy? Can you say the same for yourself?
The pioneers, those wonderful souls who sacrificed so much, went without and hungered for even the most basic of necessities to survive. The pioneers understood something about happiness. They understood that happiness doesn’t come as a result of luck or accident. It most certainly doesn’t come from having all of our wishes come true. Happiness doesn’t come from external circumstance. It comes from the inside—regardless of what is happening around us.
If they were here with us today there is no doubt in my mind that they would tell us we can be gloriously happy even if our favorite TV show is cancelled, traffic comes to a crawl, the rain spoils our picnic, or the fast food worker forgot to include straws or packets of ketchup at the drive-through window.
I do not need to tell you stories of pioneer tribulations or the deprivations they faced. I do not need to tell you of how they went without food, how they suffered in sickness, endured heat and cold, and how they tearfully buried their loved ones in shallow graves.
And yet, listen! Can you hear them? Can you hear their voices singing? “We’ll make the air with music ring, shout praises to our God and King.”
Oh, what inspiration we can take from this.
When we complain about a Church meeting that has gone four minutes over its allotted time, perhaps we can hear the voices of those blessed pioneers: “Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so; all is right.”
When we cover our face with our hands and complain that someone else got the promotion, someone else got the part, someone else got the biggest slice of pizza, it might be helpful to remind ourselves that there is a difference between the profound and trivial.
The pioneers sang, “But if our lives are spared again to see the Saints their rest obtain, oh, how we’ll make this chorus swell—all is well! All is well!”
So often our excuses for not being happy are in reality trivial and vain, as though we are looking for a reason to be at odds with the world—as though we want to prove somehow that we cannot experience joy.
The pioneers knew that the things around them did not determine their happiness, but the things within most certainly did. And with that spirit they found happiness in every circumstance and in every trial—even in those trials that reached down and troubled the deep waters of their very souls.
The pioneers were not supermen and superwomen. They were just like you and me. How often did they wonder if they could go on? They must have asked themselves over and again, “Can I do what I have been asked to do?” But they pressed on. In faith, one step at a time, they pressed on. They trusted in God and His divine and merciful plan. And they left a legacy that will inspire and strengthen generations to come.
In the end, the best way we can honor the pioneers—the best way for us to repay our debt of gratitude to them—goes beyond making and hearing speeches, marching in parades, or attending fireworks celebrations.
The best way we can show our gratitude is by incorporating into our own lives the faithfulness to God’s commandments, the compassion and love for our fellowmen, the industry, optimism, and joy the pioneers demonstrated so well in their own lives.
CLOSING SONG: "Come, Come Ye Saints" Hymn #30
CLOSING PRAYER: (to be assigned)
REFRESHMENTS: Strawberry White Chocolate Pie
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