Show THE LAND OF ZION A lecture delivered in logan lagan temple july 1887 BY ELDER LYMAN OMER littlewind LITTLE FIND at the close of my first lecture on the laud land of zion it was announced that your humble friend would continue the subject before this intelligent body commencing with the discovery ol of the american continent by christopher columbus he now asks your beur kind attention aad hopes to b be success successful fal in carrying out his promise to in in an acceptable manner very much more might be said upon this interesting subject than the usual limits of a few lectures will admit of it grasps a scope so far as territory is concerned almost without limit and as to people it embraces many indian tribes concerning which we shall have something to say en cn some future occasion and at least three civilized and enlightened nations two of the latter class were treated in our first lecture the jaredine Jar edite and nations and the third claims our present attention no more than a cursory stance at a history so vast alid events so numerous can reasonably be expected in an effort of this kind to make such a history complete the speaker would be required to continue his labors until volume were piled upon volume and his incompetency for such a task is here confessed please good friends be to my faults a little blind but to my virtues very kind it la is claimed no doubt correctly that the northern portion of 0 this continent was discovered in the year by toe the norsemen norseman Nor semen but this discovery bf d did d not attain to notoriety and was almost forgotten until columbus himself just ast at sunrise on the morning of october 1492 step stepped me ashore shook out the royal banner banne i A 91 bastile in the presence of the wondering natives and named the island san salvador 11 but he did not succeed in discovering the continent proper until his third voyage was made when he be was successful success lul in finding the mainland of south america near the mouth of orinoco soon after like many other men of enterprise genius and destiny who have been the worlds belef benefactors columbus became a victim to t ane plot tings of aspiring aspiri ug men and when he returned to spain in 1496 instead of being greeted with the plaudits pl audits so lavish after his first voyage he was doomed to stem the tide oi of bitter jealousies and suspicions auspicious the remainder of his bis days were passed assed under a cloud he was even pim imprisoned the good isabella was dead and the great discoverer found himself at last a friendless and despised old man tottering into the arave rave death came and fame after afterward warO but the greatest wrong done to columbus was by amerigo vespucci who reached the eastern coast of south america in 1409 1499 and by his subsequent subtle diplomacy plo macy rolled columbus off the name of the new continent columbus was born at genoa in western italy in A D 1435 he was educated and turned his attention to the sea A desire tp p reach the indies by crossing the atlantic became the ruling passion and motive that shaped all his bid actions he met with no encouragement coura gement from the reigning monarchs until the noble and sympathetic isabella queen of castile came nobly to his bis aid and furnished the necessary means and fleets for the execution ot 01 his plans the historic page says I 1 be it never tor forgotten gotten that to the faiths faith and insight and decision of a woman the final anal success of columbus must be attributed and we all may say first to god then to the man columbus and the woman isabella fifty live million of freemen upon MIS this broad continent are today indebted for a knowledge of the land where their glorious nationality is built and he who wb ever knows the end from the beginning has already revealed some of M asa grand designs la in bringing this blaud of zion once more to tae knowledge ot of the nations the inspired saint who by the revelations of the Gospel has been made acquainted with a few of the purposes which jehovah in his hi great and wise acono economy my has decreed to bring to pass upon this western hemisphere cannot fall fail to comprehend a few of the reasons why columbus was inspired with such intense premonitions with regard to the indies and the rich islands to be discovered by sailing westward so it was that at the proper age of the world and when the nations of the earth were in a suitable condition I 1 he raised up this man to bring about t this his result that the precious inheritance of th the house of israel might once ence more be rescued from its seclusion and the loneliness of ages and the promised aeed of the patriarchal fathers be gath emed upon it in fulfillment of prophetic yet columbus was isio igno arut of the source of his inspirations ae H 41 44 not comprehend that the lord was baing him as an aa instrument to ae cimpl events ot such vast magnitude to we nations and destined to eventuate the abe culminating glories of the children of promise whose abodes ahad been scattered upon the face of the earth where they had dwelt as strangers and pilgrims ade lord made imade use of him lie be was in the hands of his heavenly father and knew it not but in that peaceful realm where i i his spirit his has gathered and found rest be has doub doubtless long since learned learne ct concerning his earthly mission and the reasons why he be was led to importune at the courts of monarchs for aid and protection to prosecute the projects which appeared so fea sable and consistent to his understanding while almost all who had bad influence and wealth except the generous queen of castile s looked upon his bis propositions proportions as sion ary and presumptuous columbus like others of earths benefactors who have ave s stemmed e e the tide of opposition to bring benefits to mankind mankin will ill have his bis full reward where his bis spirit now is the gospel is being preached for the th deorto door to that mig mighty h ty missionary field was unlocked by t the h e redeemer of the living and th the dead eal d who between the hours of his crucifixion net fix ion and resurrection entered there and preached the gospel to the spirits in prison that they might have the privilege of accepting it and being judged according to men in the flesh and live according according to god in the spirit 11 it if we go back to the days of adam and trace toe the page of history down to the pr present ebent we will find that there has been almost everywhere in some form such a thing as religion it was with the patriarchs and prophets down to the meridian of time when christ and his fits apostles preached it I 1 ia purity and although after their day the purity of the gospel was corrupted yet some of the forms of religion have descended through the ages with the christians I 1 in the vaudois valleys many of the apostolic principles of the gospel were entertained catholic rome had a form of godliness godl icess that they called religion but their energies were absorbed in contest and the extension of political dominion the pope was called the lord vicegerent but pie he was a and the habiliments of his bis church were dyed in the blood of thousands who believed the bible to be the word of god christianity was professed in prance france but there the hugue nots bots counted their victims by the thousands because they also believed the bible and in dear old england many noble men and women were tied upon the rack and perished at the stake because they also believed in the inspired scriptures these mar continued there at least to the middle of the fifteenth century As late as the forepart of the sixteenth century a small religious body of people dwelt la in the north of england it is important that for a short time we give to them our special attention as their history aa and career is closely identified with our subject ridpath the historian says politically cal they were patriotic subjects of the lullan english king religiously they were rebels against the authority of the english church their religion however only extended to the declaration that every man has a right to discover and apply the truth as revealed in the scriptures without the interposition of any power other than his own reason and conscience such a doctrine WM was very repugnant to the church of england queen Elizabeth he ra ade blared sueh teachings to be subversive s u be rl ve of the principle pW ji on which her monarchy was founded king james was not m more ore tolerant and irom time to time violent persecutions broke out ont against the feeble and dispersed chris fians the unwilling longer to endure these persecutions from froin the hands of their countrymen these puritans went into exile and took upon themselves the name of at pilgrims unable to content themselves in holland they would gladly have returned to england had bad they a warrant that they could have lived their religion in peace it is but natural that they loved their own country but as religious religions freedom was denied tam them were there they chose to deprive themselves of the endearments the land ot their nativity naturally afforded them and preferred instead no borne bome or resting place so that they could but worship their creator outside of prison walls in that way that seemed right to them no such assy lum bein being gaffor afforded ded them at that time in that land they turned their faces westward in the direction of the new world as aa it was sometimes called no doubt in consequence of the vastness of its territory they sent seat agents to england to ask permission to settle in america gerica Ai the powers that were could not be induced to negotiate terms with heretics except that king james made sa aa informal promise to let the align pilgrims ms alone in america to be let alone was what taff sighed torand forand preparations tor for removal were made as rapidly as possible on the ath of november aka mayflower was anchored in ii a bay bay on OB the american shore then a meeting was held on board and the colony organized under a solemn compact in the charter which they there made fur for themselves the emigrants declared their loyalty to the english crown and covenanted covena ted together to live in peace and harmony with equal rights to all obedient to just laws made lor for the common good such was the simple and sublime constitution of the oldest new england state A nobler document is not to te be found among the records of the world to this instrument all the heads of families forty one in number solemnly set their names an election was beldin which all had bad an equal voice and john carver was unanimously chosen governor of the colony the next day being the sabbath continues mr ridpath was spent in religious devotions and on monday the alth of december old style 1620 1020 the pilgrim fathers father landed on the bock of plymouth the election that was held on board the mayflower May dower was the first held upon these shores characterized by any of the elements of freedom or republican principles all the companies previously sent by authority of king james had their officers appointed by that monarch who were to hold bold office or be dismissed at his bis royal pleasure not a single principle of self government was tolerated by him he seemed determined that nothing but monarch ical principles and forms of government should gala gain a foothold here in fact about all the companies that landed upon these shores previous to the puritans came as fortune hunters or land monopolists and all the settlements founded by them were governed by the might of absolute rule the authority being derived from some of the thrones of europe it was a blessing to the pilgrim fathers that they could obtain no grants or concessions from the english king for in that event they would have been in honor bound to be governeau go vernea ov ernect by his dictation while erea eav vorin oring to build for themselves hap bap py homes and found 0 government gove with liberal principles to the sceptre of liberty over this boundless domain these noble fathers were not tor for conquest their desires were simple and unostentatious their most ad ardent eat hopes were the privilege of living in pee peace and worshiping at the sn shrine b rine of re religion igdon according to the romp tings of unsullied consciences this b is begat within them longing desires for pure and tolerant government to achieve which they and their descendants nobly battled for a time in the political arenado lodge the governmental authority in the representative action of the people and eliminate all rule from the despotic exercise of foreign kings more than this when the came were to down from the forums of logical dis cassion and brave the dangers of war to strike away the chalus chains of bondage from freemen which despots beyond the ruthless atlantic waves were forging for them to convey a perfect of the hardships and exposures to te which this ia la trepid infant colony was subjected during their first winter we will give one more brief extract it was now the dead of winter there was an incessant storm of sleet and snow and the houseless grants already enfeebled by their sufferings fe fell a dying of hunger cold and exposure after a few days sapient in explorations about the coast a site was near the first landing some trees were felled the snow drifts cleared on the ath of janu january ary the heroic began to build new plymouth every man took upon himself the work woric of making djs own house bouse but bat the ravages of disease grew daily worse strong arms fell powerless lang fevers and consumption wasted every bamily at one time only seven men were able to work on the sheda which were building for shelter from the storms and if an early spring had bad not brou brought t r relief e cef the h e e colony 01 ony must have pel perished ed to a m man such were the pr privations IV ion and tid g rie t of that terrible wl winter nt wh when e lie new w england gland b bagan jugan to ne 10 imagine yourselves my friends in their condition and then you may mav un der stand how bow feeble is the pen to depict the sufferings to which that noble little band of patient men women and children were subjected during those terrible winter months boutt s if any of you have passed a wlater winter in the new england stes such will nave a more complete conception than those who have spent their days in milder latitudes they had bad one oae source of comfort howater a consoling boon that Dey hao had tecora en enned loyed oed there were no 49 prisons ox of clidus phere nor drewy 8 to ito afaf bat put tae pure air tha ba ww py 7 e epners p a rs they knew the d ier r tf ip would bring them thein their nd mom or ing prisons orisons could ascend with foll yoe to the throne of divine arace and no bigoted tyrants were near itz to send them to the scaffold or t tb h a burning stake because they believed in the existence of the true and living god tae holy scriptures tor for the vending of which such vast numbers in the old world had lost their lives could lay securely in their rude cabins and their growing offspring could be taught the sublime truths which they ever inculcate though the storms were bitter without and the snow drifted deep yet inside iusa of their rude habitations with the tag parents and the prattling children a rest real 4 on earth was enjoyed d for the s of ambitious and misguided men to in power could not break the peace so ayer sacr ira there as it is everywhere in the retirements of domestic life this baud of humble bumble pilgrims was realty the first that had bad fled because of reli glog persecution had they been wicked r st bego bad I 1 they entertained no s r 1 es concerning colic eining the worship of khelu abe supreme pre feinn had they made no profession a FO a 13 ig M W ligion they need not have fled aed from the land of their nativity ityl then they |