Funny Friday - Going West

George A. Smith June 24, 1855 At the 24th of July celebration George A. addressed a large body of saints, speaking of their experiences in Missouri and Illinois where they were driven from the country. He candidly explains:

We were quite willing to go, for the best of all reasons, we could not stay.

He then relates another "Quaker" story as he often did, as follows:

I suppose some of them felt as the pious old quaker did when he was on board a vessel which was attacked by pirates-he was too pious to fight, it was against his conscience, but when one of the pirates started to climb a rope and get upon a vessel, the old quaker pick up a hatchet and said, "Friend, if thee wants that piece of rope, thee can have it and welcome," and immediately cut the rope and let him drop into the sea, where he was drowned. So our enemies thought they would let us go into the heart of the Great American Desert and starve, as they compelled us to leave every thing that would make life desirable (Journal of Discourses 2:323).