Sea Side Reflections
By Rhoda Watson, London
O, how I love to sit and watch
Those vessels on the sea,
And how I long to see the day
That one will carry me
To my lov’d home in Deseret,
The land we love so well,
Where in sweet peace and unity
Together we shall dwell.
O, how I love to sit and watch
The radiant sun go down
Toward that blest and happy land,
Our lov’d and cherished home.
We know that if we faithful are,
We’ll see that happy day,
When o’er the waters deep and broad
We shall be borne away.
O, how I love to sit and watch
The waters rolling high.
O, tell me what’s more beautiful
Than air, and sea, and sky!
And yet the sea’s the barrier
Between us and our home,
But still by faith and fortitude
We mean to overcome.
O, how I love to sit and gaze
Across the western sea!
Methinks I see the Mormons there,
At work like busy bees.
The way looks long and dreary,
Deep looks the ocean foam,
But we will not grow weary
While trav’ling to our home.
To valued friends we leave behind
We strive the Truth to show.
They will not listen to our words
They say it is not so.
O, no, they say the Mormons are
A poor deluded set.
But someday they will wish they’d gone
With us to Deseret!
We’ll do our best t’ enlighten them,
We’ll warn them of their fate.
May they their own delusion see
Before it is too late.
O, may our friends yet bless the day
They heard the Gospel sound
And gather with us to that land
Where virtue doth abound.
(1867)
A common theme that shows up frequently in songs and poems of the early European LDS converts is that something terrible was about to happen, and by migrating to Zion they were escaping that destruction. So they left their friends and family behind and came to Zion. Terrible things did happen in Europe, and terrible things happened here. But we, the descendants of the pioneers, are still waiting.