Sign 8 - Puritans and Pilgrims

Year:1620

Scriptures:

1 Nephi 13:13

13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

When Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603 Prince James VI of Scotland became King James I of England. He ruled as the King of England from March 24, 1603 until his death on March 27, 1625. He was a despotic king and supreme dictator.

When it is realized how despotic the European kings were at this period, it is easily understood that the colonists did indeed flee from captivity and oppression. Under such kings as James I of England, there was hardly a semblance of freedom. He was the supreme dictator and controlled all aspects of the government, economy, education and the state religion. He ruled all aspects of the lives of his subjects. He controlled the detailed lives of his people.

Because of this many of the people fled from England to America. The original 102 pilgrims that came to America left Plymouth, England on the Mayflower on September 6, 1620. After 66 days at sea, they arrived at Provincetown Harbor off the tip of Cape Cod on November 11, 1620.

An example of the type of persecution the pilgrims were fleeing is the story of Reverend John Lathrop.

“The Reverend Lathrop was a Church of England minister. As he read the Bible carefully, he discovered that there was little harmony between the teachings of that denomination and the scriptures. Being a very conscientious man, he felt that he could not go contrary to the sacred word, so he resigned his position with the state church in 1623 and became the pastor of the First Independent Church of London. In doing so he rejected the state religion and flew in the face of both government and clergy by setting up a separatist group. But he had the courage of his convictions, and he proceeded, regardless of the risks involved.

“By direction of the bishop of London, he was arrested and cast into prison. While he was thus incarcerated, his wife died. He was not so much as allowed to attend her funeral, and his children were left with no one to care for them. He made repeated appeals for clemency, but the bishop refused even to listen to him. Finally the orphaned children went to the bishop as a group and personally pleaded for mercy. So pitiful were they in their misery and dejection that the bishop was finally moved, and he released Lathrop on condition that he leave the country. This he did, and, with thirty-two members of his congregation, he went to America. (Mark E. Petersen, The Great Prologue [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1975] 34)”