During the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the call to come to Zion was so strong that some families came in waves, not able to pay for the journey together. Rachel Pass traveled to America without her family, having faith that she would see them again in Zion.
Glenn
~~~~~~~~~~~Story Transcript~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Little Rachel
In the early days of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was not uncommon for families abroad to join the Church in the British Isles, Scandinavia, and elsewhere, and then be immediately filled with the fire and the spirit of the gathering.
That fire within compelled whole families of the Saints to leave everything, to leave their home, their family, their country, their heritage, and come to Zion for the blessings of the temple and the word of the Lord through a prophet.
In 1840, Thomas and Marianne Pass were just such Saints. They lived in Stockport, England with their children. Missionaries brought the restored gospel to them in that year, and they were baptized. The Pass family loved the missionaries and helped them all they could. In 1862, Elder William Horn Dame from Paragona, Utah was serving in and around Stockport and living with the Pass family. As his mission neared completion, he asked Mother Marianne if he could take one of her children to Zion with him when he returned home, believing that if he did, it would help the rest of the family to immigrate later. Well, the decision was made to send eight-year-old Rachel. The record states in the family that “with many tears shed, little Rachel bade goodbye to her family and accompanied this missionary across a great ocean to southern Utah.”
Can you imagine giving one of your own children to the Lord in such a manner, not knowing if you would ever see that precious one again? Such a sacrifice is worthy and comparable to that of Hannah in the Bible, when she gave her only son Samuel to the Lord. The family records continue:
“Elder Dame took Rachel into his home to care for her as if she were his own daughter. His two wives, there in Paragona, who had yearned for children, accepted her as their own. They doted on her, showering her with love, and there, little Rachel grew to womanhood.”
As the years passed, indeed, the rest of Rachel's family did come to Utah, and they settled up north in Nephi. The sacrifice of Marianne Pass for her daughter was fulfilled in righteousness.
In 1872, Rachel accepted the marriage proposal of James B. Davenport and they set out for the endowment house in Salt Lake City. Along the way, the betrothed couple stopped in Nephi where Rachel finally embraced her parents again after so many years apart. Imagine the joy they experienced that day by this family.
Rachel and James were sealed in the endowment house on October 7th, 1872. That ceiling sanctified for eternity the sacrifices of both families to the end of her days. Rachel honored and loved both of her families.
Today, are we willing to make such sacrifices to hear the word of the Lord?
Sources:
FamilySearch.org. (n.d.). www.familysearch.org/tree/per...
FamilySearch.org. (n.d.-b). www.familysearch.org/tree/per...
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