Hannah's Talk

My feelings for my talk that me and Dad wrote is that I think that it is very good, and when they were doing opening announcements, Br. Duncan, 1st consler, said that the menu of the order of the people to speak was to change and he forgot about me!!! The first thing that popped into my head was that, " Oh, great, so I'm just sitting up here to look pretty." As Br. Duncan sat down a low murmer went over the crowd. When the 1st person was talking, br. Duncan leand over and mouthed, "Sorry, your next." As I went up it felt as if I was at the bottom of the ocean and my body was being crushed. After a while I was not so shakey and scared, in fact, I felt as if I was talking to myself in the mirror...it was very uplifting for me.

Here is the talk that Hannah gave:
I was asked to share my feelings and speak about "What do I have to say about my ancestors and their faith."

I assume I was asked to speak on this subject because it is close to July 24th, the local celebration of Pioneer Day. When many of our ancestors entered the Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young to escape the religious persecution in the east and extablish a settlement. The celebration is more than a rodeo and parade through downtown. It is to commemorate the new beginning the Saints found in this area.

A number of my ancestors traveled with the early Saints from Illinois across Iowa and the undeveloped lands to settle in Salt Lake in 1847. At that time there was very little in this valley except sage brush, wildlife and a large salty lake.

The Saints had to have a tremendous amount of courage and faith to have been willing to travel on foot, cart or wagon to get here. They did not have th convenience of today's comforts like cool air conditioning, grocery stores, cars, nice comfortable shoes, paved roads, GPS, or Home Depot to make their lives comfortable and safe.


We get to enjoy these comforts because of the sacrifice, courage and faith of the early pioneers. They followed the guidance of Brigham Young and believed they were entering a promised land.

Once the pioneers were extablished in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young asked certain families to leave Salt Lake and establis new areas. My great, great, great grandfather, Joseph P. Hacking, was asked to move his family to North Easetern Utah and help build a settlement to provide food and other supplies for the Saints in Salt Lake.

My ancestor, Joseph Hacking, along with others, was a very faithful and industrious man. He left and willingly followed Brigham Young's counsel:
"Keep your valley's pure, keep your towns pure, keep your hearts pure, and labor as hard as you can without injuring yourselves... Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure and angels may delight to come and visit your beaufiful locations... Your work is to beautify the face of the earth until it shall become like the Garden of Eden." (June 1860, Journal of Discourse 1:14)

Now Vernal Utah may not look like the Garden of Eden to many people today but because Joseph Hacking believed in following Brigham Young's counsel he was blessed by the Lord and because of his faith and hard work he acquired large tracks of land to increase and graze his herds of sheep. The sheep were used to make wool cloth and provide meat for the saints in Salt Lake at the time.

Today, much of my ancestor's original property is still owned by Joseph Hacking's decendants and is used to produce hay, corn, and cattle. The land continues to bless our family and provide a livelihood for many.

I love to make the long drive to the farm in Vernal. We can get there in 3 hours when it took Joseph Hacking about 2 weeks to make the same journey on horse back.

Our current methods of growing crops are much more productive and easier because of modern machines and practices. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for my ancestors to grow crops without ready access to water for irrigation and fertilizer for the crops. They were totatlly dependant upon the Lord to send the rains to water the grasses and croops in the early years. My ancestors helps build the current irrigation canals in the Ashley Valley and used today to bring water from the mountain reservoirs and water the fields. I also enjoy swimming in them on the hot summer days.

My ancestors truly believed the Lord would bless them if they kept His commandments and followed the direction of the prophet.

We all enjoy the modern day comforts provided us through the sacrifices of our ancestors. I am greatful for my pioneer heritage, for the examples of sacrifices and faith taught to me by my ancestors. They remind me to continue to work hard and follow the counsel of the Lord.

They knew, not just believed, that the Lord would bour out His blessings on them if them if they were obedient. I want to live my life believing and knowing that the Lord keeps His promises as my ancestors did.

I know this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I felt it in my heart when I was baptized. My ancestors were a few of the pioneers that have contributed to making our lives full, comfortable and safe. I am greatful for their courage and faith.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Hannah's Grandma Smith also shared two great experiences to help her with her talk. Here they are:

Hannah, here are two experiences. Choose the one that fits your talk the best.
Thanks for asking me to think about faith. Faith is exciting to me.

Experience #1:
When I was growing up I lived in a town where many people wondered whether Joseph Smith was really a prophet of God and saw Jesus and Heavenly Father
I believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet. But I felt nervous when I heard the criticism and the doubt.
I went to a college where I was the only member of the church. My classmates were respectful and nice to me but they did not believe in Joseph Smith. They thought it was just a nice idea for people in Utah and Idaho.
I still had faith and so I lived the gospel and went to church even though I was alone in my belief.
Later, after I was married I was leading the hymn “Joseph Smith’s First Prayer.” in Sacrament meeting. As we were singing I had a feeling that was very different. At that moment my faith changed and I realized that I actually knew the First Vision really happened. My belief and hope changed to strong powerful knowledge. I was surprised because I had not been praying about Joseph Smith’s first vision. I learned that when we keep living in faith and go forward, sometimes our prayers are answered when we do not expect an answer.

Experience #2:
When I was about your age my mother was seriously sick. She was bleeding internally and was losing lots of blood. She was given a Priesthood blessing. I remember that she asked my dad to call her mother on the phone and ask her to pray for her. She said, “My mother’s faith is so strong that I know if she prays for me I will be all right.” My mother’s heart stopped while they were operating but it started again, and the doctors were able to stop the bleeding. She came home weak, but OK, to her seven little children --- partly because of her faith in my grandmother’s faith and partly because of my grandmother’s faith in the power of prayer. Later my mother had two more children.

I, as Hannah's mother am greatful for so many good people that touch her life and want to help her. I am very proud of my kids and their lives. I feel privillaged to be a part of their lives and to have them love me.