The pioneer legacy
was one of inclusion. When the saints were
driven out of Missouri, many were so poor that they
lacked teams and wagons to move. Their church leaders were
adamant that none of the poor would be left behind. The response was the same
in the exodus from Nauvoo. At a conference of the
Church in October, 1845, the membership entered
into a covenant to take all the
saints with them. Thereafter, in the initial
epic struggle across Iowa, the companies that arrived
first at their stopping place on the Missouri River
sent rescue wagons back toward Nauvoo
to gather those who had been to poor
to leave earlier. The revelation that guided their
next exodus on the trip west directed each company to
bear an equal proportion in taking the poor, the
widows, the fatherless, and the families of those
who had gone into the army. When the wagons and
handcarts moved west, their movement was
always one of inclusion. And no day's journey ended
until every straggler was accounted for.