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| My father on the right & his siblings |
My dad was only three when his father died of typhoid fever,
leaving my grandmother with four children, the oldest was 6-years of age. My grandmother would bravely carry on,
preserving the memory of her husband while providing for her family and
striving to raise them with testimonies of the restored gospel and to trust in
a loving Heavenly Father. My father was 16 when she died in the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1919-20. I
remember my father at age 96 crying as he told me how sick he was at that time,
and how he prayed that he would die and his mother would be spared so she could
continue caring for his siblings. Even
after 80 years, he was overcome with grieve as he related the story and how
difficult it was as a teenager to face life without either parent.
I have wondered how it was that my father and his siblings
were able to maintain their belief and trust in a loving God after experiencing
such a loss while still in their formative years. Somehow the testimony that had been planted
by their mother was able to take root and survive. My earliest memories of my father occurred
when he was approaching 50-years of age (more than three decades after the passing
of his mother), but I knew that my father's faith was unshakable, and without
question we would kneel in family prayer morning and night to offer thanks and
implore divine assistance.
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| Clara Evans Goates and children |
I suppose, however, my father's response was expected when
considering who his mother, Clara Evans, was and how she would respond to the tribulation
in her life. Her father died when Clara
was only 6, and she helped care for her mother during a long and lingering
illness, from which she would pass away when Clara was 21. One year later, Clara would marry a handsome
return missionary named Joseph Goates.
They would be blessed with 4 children, but their happiness would be
short lived and turn to tragedy when after only seven years of marriage, Joseph
died of typhoid fever. Despite the
setbacks and heartbreak, Clara would instill a love of and trust in God that
would see her orphaned teenage children through the challenges and calamities
of their own lives. Among other things,
she made my father promise as a young boy that he would not swear, nor break
the word of wisdom, nor break the law of chastity. It is amazing what she was able to do by the
time my father was 16 and how her influence would bless my life. She was resilient and faithful in the face of
adversity, and was able to convey that to her children.
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| The Haun's Mill Massacre |
It is Clara's father, however, whose ability to carry on and
trust God after enduring possibly the worst catastrophe in Mormon history that
is almost beyond my ability to comprehend or understand. David Evans had only been a member of the
Church for five years when he settled at Haun's Mill, Missouri. He was the leader among those at Haun's Mill
who signed the truce agreement with their neighbors, stating that independent
of what would occur elsewhere, they would not resort to physical violence. Two days later, David saw a mob of 200 approach
as he was in his field and tried to wave them down with his hat as they rode by
into the settlement to shoot and kill 17 men and boys, and wound several
others. It was to David Evan's home that
many of the wounded were taken to attend to their injuries.
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| David Evans |
This was not some academic exercise or imaginary
situation. His close friends and fellow
members of their small congregation were killed, wounded, and driven
from their homes; and they looked to David Evans as their leader. I have often wondered what would I do in the
face of such a holocaust? How is one
able to maintain their faith and trust in God when the ultimate sacrifice is
being made and the Lord allows evil to prevail without intervening? How is one able to kneel before the Lord
following such a calamity? To continue
trusting God in the midst of such trials requires incredible faith, sufficient
in fact, to pulverize reason.
I do not understand how my great-grandfather, David Evans,
was able to pick himself up and keep his faith; but I believe he was the
precursor who would in large measure determine the reactions and perspectives
his daughter Clara and grandson Lorin would have when confronted with disasters. And correspondingly, their response to
tragedy would help mold and explain my own.
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| Wayne & Kristie |
I have pondered my own perspective while experiencing the heartbreak
of my wife suffering with early onset Alzheimer's. While not as momentous as the trials of my
forbearers, nevertheless I grieve for this remarkable woman whose eternal
happiness and possibilities are forever and inexorably intertwined with my
own. Her care takes a heavy toll in
terms of time, money, and emotions; but rather than making me question God's
existence or His love, this calamity is having almost the opposite effect on
me. I am struck with the concept that
our Heavenly Father loves us and would not do anything that would not be for
our development and welfare; because He desires to reward us as fully as we are
capable to receive His love and blessings.
Somehow I have a reassurance that if Kristie and I are faithful, our
love, joy, and eternal union will only be enhanced; and therefore dealing with
Alzheimer's will merely be a small price for what we will receive and become. I credit my progenitors for this perspective
- which they developed and demonstrated through the tragedies in their lives.
