Chapter 5: Surviving Hard Times

            Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had a dream that Joseph, who had been sold into Egypt by his brothers, interpreted. Joseph explained to Pharaoh: “There come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall… be very grievous.” (See Genesis 41:25-37.) Trusting the dream and the interpretation were from God, Pharaoh gave Joseph responsibility to prepare Egypt for the prophesied years of famine. History shows Joseph’s family who lived in Canaan, the twelve tribes of Israel, were saved because they left their home and relocated to Egypt where there was food. It was an 11-day journey of about 250 miles.
            Brigham Young counseled the Mormon pioneers, when they were preparing to relocate because of intense persecution, to prepare for the future, frugally and diligently. "My faith does not lead me to think the Lord will provide us with roast pigs, bread already buttered, etc.; he will give us the ability to raise the grain, to obtain the fruits of the earth, to make habitations, to procure a few boards to make a box, and when harvest comes, giving us the grain, it is for us to preserve it—to save the wheat until we have one, two, five, or seven years’ provisions on hand, until there is enough of the staff of life saved by the people to [provide] bread [for] themselves and those who will come here seeking for safety (DBY, 291–92). The continuation of the Church depended on providing for not only those already in the Valley but also for the nearly 100,000 who came before 1900. History shows the Mormons were saved because they moved to where they were free of violent persecution and to where food could be grown and stored. (It is interesting to note that following the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, 32,000 bushels of Mormon wheat was sent to the victims. Mormon wheat was also sent to Europe after World War I. Today the Church's humanitarian efforts reach around the world)
            In 3 Nephi 3-4, the Nephites were being persecuted by a secret organization whose purpose was to destroy the Church and overthrow the government. These “robbers” infiltrated the government to the extent that the Nephites were close to being taken over. The situation became so dire that Governor Lachoneus issued a proclamation that all who desired to escape this tyranny “should gather together their women, and their children, their flocks and their herds, and all their substance… unto one place” (3 Nephi 3:13).
            During the next year, “a great many thousand” relocated to the area between Zarahemla and Bountiful. Under the direction of Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni—who was prophet and military leader—the people built great fortifications, towers, walls, and fences and organized a system of guards. Thus they were prepared physically in their place of relocation. Lachoneous also admonished them to prepare spiritually, saying: “As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye will in nowise be delivered out of the hands of those Gadianton robbers” (3 Nephi3:15).
            The Nephites moved to the appointed place of refuge and “dwell[ed] in one land, and in one body” (3 Nephi 3:25). The result of this physical and spiritual gathering was that the Nephites were able to outlast all efforts of their enemy. By relocating, the robbers’ revenue source of plundering the Nephites was gone, and they had to start hunting for their own food. “But behold, there were no wild beasts nor game in those lands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and there was no game for the robbers save it were in the wilderness” (3 Nephi 4:2).
            The next year the robbers’ situation was so desperate that they began preparing for war. They took possession of the lands “deserted by the Nephites . . . which had been left desolate” (Ibid) and laid “siege round about the people of Nephi” (3 Nephi 4:16), thinking they could cut them off from food and water. But “This was an advantage to the Nephites; for it was impossible for the robbers to lay siege sufficiently long to have any effect upon the Nephites, because of their much provision which they had laid up in store” (3 Nephi 4:18).
            “Much provision” is an understatement because when the robbers were defeated and it was safe for the Nephites to return to their homes, “they had not eaten up all their provisions; therefore they did take with them all that they had not devoured, of all their grain of every kind, and their gold, and their silver, and all their precious things, and they did return to their own lands” (3 Nephi 6:2). It had been eight years!
            Throughout history, God has raised up leaders to preserve His people in times of famine, persecution, war, and natural disaster. When God’s people follow their inspired leaders, they survive whatever hardships come upon them. In the three illustrations above, these societies survived because the people willingly obeyed their living prophets’ counsel.

(c) Marilynne Todd Linford, 2018