I agree that there are many truths to be found in all scriptural stories, and that sincere study and prayer are the keys that open the door to all kinds of inspired insights. I believe it is an entirely different practice to add one’s own “subsequent embellishments” so that the story agrees with a personal opinion.

Mark IV,
I’m not saying that leaving that late in the season WAS the right thing to do either. The company heard what Elder Savage had to say and some chose to go and others chose to stay behind. They made an informed decision based on what they knew at the time. What NONE of them knew was that those in Salt Lake City had no idea that two parties were en route that late in the season and therefore no provisions had been stockpiled for them along the way, and no “help” would find them until it was almost too late. Had the expected supplies and aid been available at anticipated points the party probably would have not lost so many lives.

Many other pioneers died during the trek west that did not leave late in the season. The journey was rough. It was physically taxing for the healthy and young, much more so for the elderly, frail, or otherwise. They still chose to go. They had faith in something beyond the Salt Lake Valley. They saw the bigger picture. More than 100 miles from Nauvoo, William Clayton received word that the pregnant (and sick with ague and the mumps) wife he left behind had given birth to a healthy baby boy. In his gratitude to God, he penned the words to what we know as “Come, Come, Ye Saints”. That song includes the sentiment “And should we die, before our journey’s through-Happy Day! All is well! We then are free, from toil and sorrow too; with the just, we shall dwell!”

These people were not ark steadiers, they were ark believers. They put their trust in God and His ark and went where it went. If following meant hardship and pain, they endured it. If the price was hunger and thirst, they did without. If the Lord requested their lives-they consecrated them to Him. They buried their dead in shallow graves knowing the wolves were waiting in the darkness and followed the ark.

The question always in my mind is “Am I that willing? Am I that faithful?” And whether I am or not yet, I truly want to be.

This is a question for NoCoolName_Tom. Of course, any other answers would also be welcome.

During the year 2000, in a Temple recommend interview, I told my Stake President that my wife and I had refused a calling in the Ward (which was in Utah County). He asked me to explain why. I told him we had refused the calling because the Bishop had asked us to do something that we felt was against the budget guidelines regarding the Scouting program. The Bishop became very upset and had us meet with him and his counselors. He told us during that meeting with his counselors that our refusal to accept his call was wrong. He further explained that the Church had no business telling the Scouting program how to operate and that he had the right to receive inspiration on how his ward should operate. He said the Church was wrong for not allowing scouts to raise as much money as they wanted, that the youth today needed more money than what the budget guidelines allowed, and that the First Presidency were out of touch with reality of what the youth of today were facing. I told him he could run his ward however he wanted, but that he would have to find someone else besides us to help him do it. Fortunately, one of his counselors was very concerned and was able to calm the Bishop down and convinced him to let us leave. Thank goodness, he was also the counselor that interviewed us for a Temple recommend.

When the Stake President heard all this he told me I was absolutely correct to refuse the calling and that he would stop the practice of Scout fund raising in that ward. Then he asked me to report to him on a periodic basis about anything else I noticed to be incorrect in the ward operations. I refused and said, “I’m not an ark-steadier.” I wanted to tell him that the Lord has ways of steadying his own ark and that I wasn’t in a position to receive inspiration as to how that was to be accomplished. But since I wasn’t in a position to counsel him, I just kept my mouth shut.

He wasn’t very pleased with my response, but signed my Temple Recommend anyway. I got a job transfer to another state just a few weeks after this incident. I don’t know what happened to the scouting program in that area after we moved.

My question: Should I have accepted the Bishop’s call, knowing that my personal integrity would have died, so that I could learn to have love and humility? Should I have accepted my Stake President’s request to be his informant?

I really like that, Steven.