Hank Smith:                      00:02                   Welcome to followHIM Favorites. This is where John and I share a single story to go with each week’s Come, Follow Me lesson. John, we are in 1 Kings 12 through 23 this week. It’s all about Elijah and I have a story for you. It fits when Elijah, you know this story, when he has this basically the first reality TV show when he puts these two altars together and says to the priest of Baal, call upon your God, I’ll call upon my God. We’ll see what happens. The priests of Baal call upon their God and nothing happens and, you know, Elijah says, maybe he’s busy or maybe he’s on vacation.

John Bytheway:               00:39                   On vacation. Yeah.

Hank Smith:                      00:41                   Maybe he’s asleep. Then he puts water on his altar, 12 barrels of water and has all these rocks and wood and the offering, he prays for the Lord to show the people and it says, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and the water. It takes everything. And when the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, “The Lord, he is God. The Lord He is God.” They’re like, I believed before, but now I’m 100% in. Well, this is a different type of story but something that happens right before your eyes. The date is October 9th, 1846. Nauvoo is under siege, John, you know this. There are mobs literally firing cannons at the Saints trying to get them all to leave Nauvoo. Many of them had already left earlier in 1846, this is October. And really the only people who are left are those who don’t have enough money, the poorest of the saints to get west. Brigham Young had everybody take on the Nauvoo Covenant that we wouldn’t leave anybody behind, but that’s going to take a while to get everybody over, but they have to leave.

                                           02:04                   I mean, they’re being shot at. They only have enough money, John, this poor camp, to get across the river. That’s it. They leave their homes, get across the river. They had 17 tents and eight wagons. Among this group is a guy named Thomas Bullock. He was sick, but he was trying to keep a faithful record. It was important to the saints to keep a history. All right, now here’s what happens. The morning of October 9th, 1846, Captain Allen, he’s the leader of the group, called all the men out who were well and ordered them to build fires and prepare breakfast. Thomas Bullock, I already told you, he arose with a terrible headache and then it happened. Several large flocks of quail flew into the camp, lighting on the wagons, the ground, even on their breakfast tables. The men and boys ran and caught them. The quail would lift off, fly around, and land in the camp once more, allowing the suffering exiles to catch them easily. This is what Bullock recorded. He said, “This morning, we had a direct manifestation of the mercy and goodness of God in a miracle being performed in the camp. The brethren and sisters praised God and glorified his name. That what was showered down upon the children of Israel in the wilderness is manifested unto us in our persecution.”

                                           03:26                   John, this happened six times. They’re sitting there, they have nothing to eat and these quail, you know, quail aren’t meant to fly a long ways if you’ve ever seen a quail fly. It’s kind of like seeing an elephant fly. It’s not meant to fly very far. They’d fly across the Mississippi River and they’re so tired they just fall into the camp. This happened six times. I mean, you’re just sitting there watching it happen. You have a full stomach. Every man, woman, and child in the camp that day had plenty to eat. To the astonishment of all, the quail continued to circle the camp all throughout the day. It’s a scene of miracles. It really is. It’s something right in front of your eyes. John, you and I have said many times, miracles don’t produce faith. But when you have the faith and you cross the river and you’ve pushed yourself, look what happens.

John Bytheway:               04:16                   There’s an ancient saying I’ve always liked, he who waits for roast duck to fly into mouth must wait a long time. But look at that. They’re landing on the tables.

Hank Smith:                      04:25                   Right? Unbelievable. Our friend Glenn Rawson writes, “I hope we never forget that the Almighty is always watching over us and He is merciful. Miracles happen then and still do. It is our heritage. We hope you’ll join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get any podcast. We’re with Dr. Lili Anderson this week. She walks us through these chapters in a wonderful way. She is full of energy. We think you’re going to love what she does here and then come back here next week. We’ll do another followHIM Favorites.