3 'MIRACLE' Handcart Pioneer Stories

One young woman, aged 13, by the name of Betsey was waiting with her family in Iowa for the handcarts to be completed.  She was so sick with scarlet fever that she could not open her eyes.  She heard some women speaking of her dying soon.  When her mother came in she said, “I want to live and go to the Valley.”  Her mother brought the elders, who administered to her and rebuked the disease.  Her recovery was rapid, she made it to the valley and lived to be 87.

One night in the James Willie Company, a terrible thunder and lightning storm came up.  Even the ox teams refused to face the storm.  “Our captain dismounted and stepped into the middle of the road, bared his head to the storm and every man as he came up, stood by him…..looking to their captain for counsel.  The captain said, ‘Let us pray.”  And there was offered such a prayer!”  The storm parted on the right and on the left, and they hurried on to camp.  They managed to get their tents pitched and fires built when the storm burst around them.

Langley was a young man of 18.  He began to bleed internally and was unable to walk.  When they reached Florence a doctor was consulted and said that he must not go any further or he would die.  His mother heard that 2 apostles had arrived in camp.  She had them administer to him and they promised he would live to reach the valley.  The put him on the cart and they did well until they reached the mountains.  Langley felt it was too much for them to continue to pull him on the cart, so he tried to find a place that he could hide from them and just lay down and die.  His mother found him, however, and wanted to know what was wrong.  She scolded him and reminded him that apostle F.D. Richard promised he would live to see the valley.  He then rode on the cart until they reached the end of the journey.