“You Have Nothing to Fear from the Journey,” Friend, July 1998, inside front cover
“You Have Nothing to Fear from the Journey”
(Adapted from an April 1997 general conference address. See Ensign, May 1997, pages 59–61.)
Fear not, for I am with thee (Gen. 26:24).
The Mormon pioneers never set out to be heroes, and yet they accomplished heroic things. That is what makes them Saints. They tried to do the right thing for the right reasons.
Nearly seven years before the pioneers left for the mountains of Utah, William Clayton wrote to his fellow Saints in England, urging them to come to Zion. He wrote: “Although we are … distant from each other I do not forget you. … All I have endured has never hurt or discouraged me, but done me good. … We have sometimes been almost suffocated with heat … , sometimes almost froze with cold. We have had to sleep on boards, instead of feathers. … We have had our clothes wet through with no privilege of drying them or changing them, … had to sleep … out of doors, in very severe weather, and many such things which you [have] no idea of. … [Yet] we have been … healthy & cheerful. … If you will be faithful, you have nothing to fear from the journey. The Lord will take care of his saints.”
The road we travel today is filled with difficulties and dangers. But our reward will be the same as that which awaits worthy pioneers of all ages who live faithfully the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, make right choices, and give their all to build the kingdom of God on earth.
Let us remember that the Savior is always there to give encouragement, to forgive, and to rescue. Therefore, as we exercise faith and are diligent in keeping the commandments, we have nothing to fear from the journey.
William Clayton
Savior painting by Del Parson