What is My Haun's Mill?
By C.S. Bezas

It was a clear October afternoon late in 1838, just one week after the traitorous attack against a body of Mormons that was later known as the Battle of Crooked River. Missouri residents now were roiling and roaming, aiming to hurt the saints.

Joseph Smith issued an urgent plea for all saints to leave the area for safer ground in Adam-ondi-Ahman or in Far West. Yet the church members at Haun's Mill and surrounding areas chose to heed settler Jacob Haun's advice to remain. As a result, children's peals of laughter could be heard ringing through the air — late in October — as they played near the Shoal creek.

Suddenly there was bedlam. At about 4:00 p.m. a mob of men rushed the area, letting loose a volley of bullets. Women who just a short time before were happily working in their domestic pursuits were now franticly lifting their long heavy skirts and awkwardly running to find their children. Men scrambled to find their guns so they could take cover in a nearby blacksmith shop; their efforts were to return fire in the desire to protect their families and the settlement. ("Missouri Persecutions and Expulsion," Church History in the Fulness of Times: Religion 341-43, p. 183, 201-4.)

Most women and children, who weren't gunned down, found protection in the woods. The few men who survived later related the horror of the event. Seven-year-old Alma Smith witnessed his ten-year-old brother's head blown off at a rifle's point blank range. He also saw the murder of his father. Another gentleman was "hacked to death with a corn knife." (Ibid, p. 203.) Joseph Smith later sorrowed to hear of it all and commented, "At Hauns' Mill the brethren went contrary to my counsel; if they had not, their lives would have been spared." (History of the Church, 5:137.)

Hindsight: a Painful Thing.

The saddest thing about the entire Haun's Mill massacre is that if the saints living there had listened to the counsel of their prophet, they would not have been present that day. None would have lost their lives at Haun's Mill; none would have been traumatized by the event. Obedience truly brings many blessings.

Hindsight can be a painful thing. If we knew of absolute and certain consequences, we of course would avoid certain decisions. If the residents of Haun's Mill had seen what was pending in just a few short days, rather than ignore the prophet's counsel, they would have heeded him, packed quickly and left. But all they could see was the mill Jacob Haun had constructed for them, laboring diligently just a few short years prior.

All they could see was the blacksmith shop, houses, and a growing population near them. Surrounded by almost thirty families at the mill and nearly one hundred families in the vicinity (Ibid., p. 201), perhaps these people felt strong. Perhaps they felt protected. I'm not sure what they felt, but the one thing Jacob Haun did not feel was the need to hearken to his prophet. As a result, he advised the people to stay. And stay they did, surrounded by the beauty of what they'd created out of the roughness of the Missouri countryside.

For the Haun's Mill residents, Joseph's counsel to flee challenged their intellects. They couldn't see the pending sorrow, therefore they couldn't find the wherewithal to obey. For those who survived, can you imagine the hindsight they had to live with for their remaining lives?

Our Haun's Mills of Today.

How are we doing today? What are our own "Haun's Mills"? What is mine? What is yours? What spiritual or social "Haun's Mills" do we refuse to leave, even though we've been counseled to do so by modern day prophets? And by that same token, what modern day "Haun's Mills" do our youth refuse to forsake, simply because they can't see the pending sorrow that will eventually come if they don't leave them today?

One pamphlet given to the youth to warn them of today's trendy Haun's Mills is called "For the Strength of Youth." Listed below are just a few of the counsels our modern day prophets have advised our youth in this pamphlet. How are our youth doing? How are we doing? How will they learn to live these principles if no-one they know follows these standards? Are they really meant to tread this path alone? If we refuse to live these gospel standards, who is going to demonstrate the joy that comes when someone puts the Lord first in all things?

Here are some samples of "For the Strength of Youth" counsel. This first part contains counsel that may appear simple, yet perhaps still challenges:

• "You should not blame your circumstances, your family, or your friends if you choose to disobey God's commandments. You are a child of God with great strength" (p. 5).
• "The Lord wants you to have a spirit of gratitude in all you do and say" (p. 6).
• "Make sacrifices to obtain learning" (p. 9).
• "Do your part to build a happy home. Be cheerful" (p. 10).
• "Go out of your way to be a friend to those who are shy or do not feel included" (p. 12).

Some might call the initial chapters in "For the Strength of Youth" the warm-up chapters. This reminds me of my mission president. He taught the missionaries that the commitments investigators made grew line upon line, strength upon strength.

For example, one of the first commitments we were to obtain from an investigator was a willingness to read from the scriptures every day and to pray. This required only a few minutes out of each day. The next general commitment we were to obtain from the investigator was to attend church and to worship God on the Sabbath. This required an additional element of devotion from a soul new to worshipping God. Then the investigator was led to understand progressively-broadening commitments, such as the word of wisdom, law of chastity, and so on.

My mission president taught us that each of these progressing commitments took greater and greater devotion and sacrifice. If an investigator wasn't reading his or her scriptures each day in between our visits with them, this often was a sign that he wasn’t ready for the next even greater commitment.

As I look at the chapters of counsel in "For the Strength of Youth," it seems to me that they progress much along the same lines. Our youth are first taught about "Agency & Accountability." Then they are gently led to the next chapter of "Gratitude," followed by the next chapter about the wisdom of seeking an "Education." These are gentle principles that do not require (at least on the surface) super sacrifice. But the effort soon mounts into the next chapter on how to treat your "Family" (i.e. "be cheerful"), then followed by a chapter on "Friends" and not succumbing to peer pressure, and so on.

Today’s Trendy “Haun’s Mills”

It is as this point that "For the Strength of Youth" begins to greatly lengthen our youth's stride. And this is where the analogy becomes more in alignment with our youth (and us) leaving behind today's trendy "Haun's Mills."

Imagine, if you will, the forms of modern-day "Haun's Mill"s that we are required to flee if we live the following counsels (all taken from "For the Strength of Youth").

• "Immodest clothing includes short shorts and skirts, tight clothing, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and other revealing attire" (pp. 15-6).
• "Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way" (p. 17).
• "Plan and attend dances where dress, grooming, lighting, lyrics, and music contribute to a wholesome atmosphere where the Spirit of the Lord may be present" (p. 21).
• "Politely walk away or change the subject when others around you use bad language" (p. 23).
• "Do not date until you are at least 16 years old" (p. 24).
• "God has commanded that sexual intimacy be reserved for marriage" (p. 26).

A Peculiar People

I will leave off there, although there are further counsels in "For the Strength of Youth" that require perhaps even greater faith and sacrifice to live. The Lord would have a peculiar people. We read in Exodus 19:5, "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people" (emphasis added). And in Deuteronomy 14:2, "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth."

There is joy that awaits those who hearken to the Lord and His counsels. Those counsels generally come through the prophets. When we listen to the prophets, their words prove themselves eventually in time. Personally, I'd rather have happy hindsights over unhappy ones. I know that when we live according to the level that Peter speaks of in 1 Peter 2:9-11, we will sing the praises Peter referred to:

To get to that which Peter spoke of (the ability to sing and show forth praises to God and to avoid the entanglements of the flesh), we must hearken to our God's words. The Lord would prefer that we avoid heartache. He has created this world so that we might know joy (2 Nephi 2:25). But to get there, we must be willing to leave our personal "Haun's Mills." This requires that we listen to the prophet when he speaks, even if we can't see the pending danger.

The prophets share with us the Lord's thoughts for His people, whether it be on the topic of food storage or family home evening or moral issues. Sometimes we choose to listen and the consequences eventually bear themselves out joyfully; sometimes we refuse to listen, standing stubbornly by our personal Haun's Mills, eventually to reap sorrow. It always has been thus.

Summary

Peace comes when we do not need to spend energy looking over our shoulders waiting for the other shoe to drop — or in the case of Haun's Mill, for the angry mob to come. When we do what we need to do, as asked by the prophets, we can sleep well at night.

When we have done what we've been asked to do, even if we can't see why, we need not worry. However, if we choose to ignore counsel, we may indeed face the same emotions that Jacob Haun must have faced on that clear and bright October 30^th, late in the afternoon in 1838. Those people's future happiness was truncated, simply because they thought they knew better and chose to ignore a prophet's words to flee to "Zion."

C.S. Bezas' new book, Powerful Tips for Powerful Teachers: Helping Youth Find Their Spiritual Wings, has been called the perfect book for those who teach youth. It is available at LDS bookstores and by clicking here.