Pilgrims:

My children and I were talking about religious freedom a little bit on Sunday, and I was explaining to them that was the reason why the pilgrims came here. So they could worship God how they wanted to, without the government telling them what they had to do. We watched a Mormon message about William Tyndale who translated the Bible into English in the 1500's so that everyone could have a chance to read it, but it was against the law. The law was such at the time that only the clergy of the church were allowed to have access to the Bible. The man was imprisoned for a year and a half in an isolated cell in a dungeon, and after being found guilty, he was strangled to death and then burned at the stake.

Before he died, he uttered a prayer asking God to soften the heart of the King so that someday everyone would be allowed the chance to read the Bible.

I've been thinking alot about that this week. How lucky we are. We have the scriptures in our very homes, numerous copies. We can read them any time we please. We can worship Heavenly Father, go to church, wherever we want. And we can believe anything we want.

All because of freedom.

Freedom of religion. 

And then I think of the pilgrims. Religious freedom meant so much to them. They were willing to get on a ship, bound for a land they didn't know just so that they could have that freedom. 

When I was about nine, my family visited Massachusetts. We went to Plymouth Plantation where they reenact the daily life of the pilgrims. Their life was not easy, they endured much hardship. Many of them suffered and died. But they were determined, and with help from the Native Americans, they succeeded. They established a fair government, they built a small colony, planted crops, and celebrated with a bounteous feast of thanksgiving for all their blessings. The blessing of freedom, which became the foundation of our country. 

We are so lucky that they came before us, and that they were so righteous, brave, determined. 

I've been feeling that all this week. And I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to share it with my children. 

Oh how lucky, and indeed very blessed, we are.

I love these paintings of the First Thanksgiving:

 The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Brownscombe

The First Thanksgiving by J.L.G. Ferris