Downloads:
If you sing/use this song, please contact the composer and say thank you to Gail H. Johnsen!
Voicing/Instrumentation: Duet
See more from Gail H. Johnsen.
Visit composer's personal website.
Comfort/Strength/Courage/Assurance
Consecration
Diligence/Commitment/Endure to End
Faith
Pioneers
Revelation
No user ratings for this song yet. Leave yours by clicking the button above!
More about Gail H. Johnsen:
Writing lyrics has been my favorite creative endeavor for my entire adult life. My English degree from BYU has benefitted this creativity. I have lived in several areas of the country and found composer who share my joy in creating music
They of the Last Wagon
by President J. Reuben Clark Jr.
July Ensign 2017
“I would like to say something about the last wagon in each of the long wagon trains that toiled slowly over the plains. …… Back in the last wagon, not always could they see the Brethren way out in front, and the blue heaven was often shut out from their sight by heavy, dense clouds of the dust of the earth. Yet day after day, they of the last wagon pressed forward, worn and tired, footsore, sometimes almost disheartened, borne up by their faith that God loved them, that the restored gospel was true, and that the Lord led and directed the Brethren out in front. Sometimes, they in the last wagon glimpsed, for an instant, when faith surged strongest, the glories of a celestial world, but it seemed so far away, and the vision so quickly vanished because want and weariness and heartache and sometimes discouragement were always pressing so near. When the vision faded, their hearts sank. But they prayed again and pushed on, with little praise, with not too much encouragement, and never with adulation. … Yet in that last wagon there was devotion and loyalty and integrity and, above and beyond everything else, faith in the Brethren and in God’s power and goodness. …So through dust and dirt, … they crept along till, passing down through its portals, the valley welcomed them to rest and home. …But hundreds of these stalwart souls of undoubting faith and great prowess were not yet at their journey’s end. Brother Brigham [Young] again called them to the colors of the kingdom of God and sent them to settle the valleys, near and remote, in [the] vast mountains of refuge. So again they yoked their oxen and hitched up their teams, and … wended their slow way to new valleys, again trusting with implicit faith in the wisdom and divine guidance of their Moses. …And thousands upon thousands of these tens of thousands, from the first till now, all the elect of God, measured to their humble calling and to their destiny as fully as Brother Brigham and the others measured to theirs, and God will so reward them. They were pioneers in word and thought and act and faith, even as were they of more exalted station. The building of this intermountain empire was not done in a corner by a select few but by this vast multitude flowing in from many nations, who came and labored and wrought, faithfully following their divinely called leaders. …So to these humble but great souls, … I humbly render my love, my respect, my reverent homage.”
You can also bookmark/save this song arrangement to your personal sacredsheetmusic bookmark save list.
Lyrics: Spray of sand blinding still rolling along,
Where the last wagon felt almost alone;
These tireless trav'lers in the long wagon trains,
Came toiling slowly over the plains.
Often shut out by a dense cloud of dust,
They could not always view
Their loyal leaders who led in the front,
Or the crystal clear sky of blue.
They prayed again and pushed on.
They prayed again and pushed on.
Then trusting their all to the guidance giv'n
From the heavens and here on earth.
They prayed again and pushed on.
Sometimes they glimpsed a glorious scene
The Celestial world far away;
Then in that instant their faith grew stronger,
Though that heavenly sight wouldn't stay.
Yet day after day, pressing on they would go,
Over miles of prairie they crept;
Discouraged, disheartened, and footsore too,
But their hope and devotion they kept.
They prayed again and pushed on.
The prayed again and pushed on.
Little knowing the future and the pain that it held;
What their sacrifice would be worth.
They prayed again and pushed on.
They prayed again and pushed on.
Now called the colors of the kingdom we love,
From that last wagon until today,
Measured to our humble callings from God
Consecrate our journey, come what may.
Despite the dust and the mists that arise,
We, the last dispensation have come.
Destined to labor and serve valiantly;
We pray again and push on.
Push on. Push on.
We pray again and push on.
We pray again and push on.
When seasons ahead cause us struggle or pain,
Times of trouble and of travail.
We pray again and push on.
We pray again and push on.
We pray again and push on.
Still the hosts of Israel live by their name;
Forever we'll "Let God prevail."
We pray again and push on.
We pray again and push on.
We pray again and push on.
We pray again and push on.
