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Summarized by Deseret Book Press Release
Braving the Elements for Their Faith
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Between 1840 and 1890, more than 40,000
Europeans under the age of 21, all converts to The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, left their homelands and traveled across
the Atlantic Ocean to America, sailing to Zion. Their journeys
ranged from seven weeks long to just over three weeks, as ships
became faster and more efficient. Many children left their parents
behind, traveling instead with trusted neighbors or missionaries
until the rest of their families could afford to join them.
The accounts of many of these young pioneers are told in I Sailed to
Zion : True Stories of Young Pioneers who Crossed the Ocean (Deseret
Book, $17.95), a wonderful collection of stories kept for generations
in journals or through personal writings. Collaborating on this
collection, authors Susan Arrington Madsen and Fred E. Woods let
these stories unfold through the very words of those who experienced
them.
"I remember standing still, holding on to the railing as the boat
glided out into the wide, soft darkness," one young Danish emigrant
recorded. "I stood my ground without a tear until I saw a sweet,
tear-stained face come into view. It was my mother. As she squeezed
through the crowds, the heat and confusion almost overcame me."
Despite seasickness, dehydration, and a myriad of diseases such as
smallpox, these faithful Latter-day Saints continued their pilgrimage
to America. Of the over 40,000 Saints who braved the elements, nearly
700 died and were buried at sea. Yet in an era when many ocean-going
vessels were shipwrecked, only one LDS immigrant ship was lost at
sea; that in the Pacific. By contrast, in the seven-year period
between 1847 and1853, 59 non-LDS immigrant ships were lost in the
Atlantic.
I Sailed to Zion captures the emotions these young pioneers felt and
shared as they endured their journeys, the endless days made bearable
by playing checkers or tag, or by dancing or singing; and the
restless nights made difficult by the volatility of the seas. Even
once the ships reached America and the Saints came ashore in New
York, Philadelphia, Boston, or New Orleans, their journeys were only
half-completed, as they headed West to Utah or to other Mormon
settlements in the Midwest.
Before each chapter, commentary by Madsen and Woods helps to
illustrate the sacrifices these young people and their families made
as they exercised their great faith. Whether alone or with family,
these pioneers were motivated by the quiet burnings of the Spirit
whispering that their beliefs, and their goals to join fellow
Latter-day Saints, would be sustained.
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About the Authors:
Susan Arrington Madsen is the author of several books, including the
best selling I Walked to Zion: True Stories of Young Pioneers on the
Mormon Trail and Growing Up in Zion: True Stories of Young Pioneers
Building the Kingdom. She and her husband, Dean, are parents of four
daughters and live in Hyde Park, Utah.
Fred E. Woods is an associate professor of LDS Church history and
doctrine at Brigham Young University. He has done extensive research
on early Mormon maritime immigration. He and his wife, JoAnna, have
five children and live in Provo, Utah.
Source:
Braving the Elements for Their Faith
Deseret Book Press Release 30Aug00 A4
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