By DESIREE WHEATON Given at the Wee Granny Memorial Service June 24, 2001 at Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Many have asked me why I have chosen, at the end of my life, to begin again, to travel to a distant land, to leave all that is familiar, all of this to accept a new faith. My answer is simple. Tis the journey in life that is important and I am not yet finished with mine. For the first time in my life, I feel the love that the Lord holds for me in his heart. This love fills me with a sense of purpose, a certainty that I was meant to make this journey.
There is evidence of his love in everything that I am, in the kindness and care of James, Elizabeth and Mary Ann. This love is present in the unwavering faith of all the saints who are traveling with me and of those who so eagerly await our arrival. I see his hand in this vast, beautiful land of tall, blowing grasses and endless skies.
Yet each night I lay down, aching and exhausted and dream of Scotland, the land of my youth, the smell of heather and soft mists of spring. I dream of my beloved James and of those loved ones I have left behind. They seem so near to me, yet each new dawn brings such a yearning in my soul. A yearning not for Scotland, but for a land my eyes have yet to see, but one my heart already knows. Zion. I long to see the sunrise over Zion. So beautiful it must be. I yearn to hold my son John, sweet Ann and wee Mary in my arms. Yet even as I dream of seeing them again and my faith grows stronger, my body grows more and more weary and I realize that it may not be the Lord’s will for me to complete my journey.
Heavenly Father
If it is thy will for me to die on this prairie, I ask only that you bless and
protect my loved ones and these saints who have given so much to follow your
teachings. Please grant them contentment with their lives and the knowledge that this life is a
grand gift and should never lie wasted. Most especially for wee Mary and all the young ones I may never know, my wish is for them to share the love, the strength, and the complete trust I have
found in the gospel. I wish for them to understand that to die following one’s dreams is to
truly have lived. And for those of you gathered before me, please know
that my spirit is with you today and always.
Amen
~~Mary Murray Murdoch~~
(Wee Granny)