One Day at a Time (Continued Lockdowns)

 In1846 President James K. Polk called for 500 to 1,000 Mormon volunteers to march to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and then to California on a one-year U.S. Army enlistment. The U.S. was involved in the Mexican-American War. The Mormon recruits were called together Saturday, 18 July 1846 and on Monday, 20 July 1846, the Mormon Battalion marched off. Their trek was 2,000 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California. Brigham Young prophesied that not a single battalion member would be lost to hostile action. The battalion arrived in San Diego on 29 January 1847, making the journey the longest religious march in U.S. history. Their commanding officer, Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke, (who was not a member of the church) said in the end, "History may be searched in vain for an equal march of infantry. Half of it has been through a wilderness where nothing but savages and wild beasts are found, or deserts where, for lack of water, there is no living creature."

Brigham Young’s prophesy proved true, none in the battalion were lost to hostile action although 20 died from hardship or sickness. Why did no one die to hostile action? Because they never fired a single shot in battle! By the time that they got to San Diego, the Mexican-American war was over.

So my question for you to ponder is, “Why would the Lord send an army to fight in a war that He, in his infinite wisdom, knew would be over by the time that they arrived?” My answer is that he did that for the same reason that he send out 18 and 19 year old boys and girls to share the gospel to the far reaches of the world. Are they the best teachers? NO. Are they the most spiritual? NO. Are they the most disciple or do they have the most influence? NO. Most members of the church are better equipped in all of those areas compared to you missionaries. When you look at the Mormon Battalion, did the Lord need an army that was really good at marching? NO. Did he need soldiers to build his settlements in the west? NO. So why did God send them, through his prophet, on a 2000-mile journey for what seems like no reason? I think that he did it for the same reason that he sends young missionaries to lands that are so foreign to them. HE WANTS TO KNOW WHO HIS LEADERS ARE! And even more importantly, HE WANTS HIS LEADERS TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE!

Many of the members of the Mormon Battalion went on to be leaders in the church all throughout the west. During the remainder of their enlistment, some members of the battalion were assigned to garrison duty at either San Diego, San Luis Rey, or Ciudad de los Angeles. Other soldiers were assigned to accompany General Kearny back to Fort Leavenworth. All soldiers, whether en route to the Salt Lake Valley via Pueblo or still in Los Angeles, were mustered out of the United States Army on 16 July 1847. Eighty-one men chose to reenlist and serve an additional eight months of military duty under Captain Daniel C. Davis in Company A of the Mormon Volunteers. The majority of the soldiers migrated to the Salt Lake Valley and were reunited with their pioneering families.

The men of the Mormon Battalion are honored for their willingness to fight for the United States as loyal American citizens. Their march of some 2,000 miles from Council Bluffs to California is one of the longest military marches in history. Their participation in the early development of California by building Fort Moore in Los Angeles, building a courthouse in San Diego, and making bricks and building houses in southern California contributed to the growth of the West.

Following their discharge, many men helped build flour mills and sawmills in northern California. Some of them were among the first to discover gold at Sutter's Mill. Men from Captain Davis's Company A were responsible for opening the first wagon road over the southern route from California to Utah in 1848.

You are like one of those soldiers in that Mormon Battalion. You are on a march that will, at times, seem almost unbearable. There will be spiritual, physical, and emotional wilderness to march through. There will be times where it will seem “where nothing but savages and wild beasts are found”. Everything will be okay. You are there for a reason.

“And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”

This week in Germany

1) Lockdowns Continue though some stores are opening up.

2)Back on the bike

3)Loads of service/working with a bee farm

4)Stitches are out and wearing a removable cast

5)Attending church in person

6)Summer is on its way with warmer weather unfortunately no sunshine.  Lots of rain!!!!!