Our guest speaker at the November 2011 meeting was Larry White, attorney with Burbidge and White, in Salt Lake City. Mr. White was born in Medford, Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon. He later earned his law degree from the University of Utah. Larry served as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong.
He began his talk by quoting several verses from the Book of Hebrews that he tied in with the Pilgrims. Mr. White said, “it is impossible to understand the Pilgrims in the absence of religion.” He then recounted the account of how King Henry VIII broke with Rome, leading to the establishment of the Anglican Church and an English version of the Bible, which could be read by the masses.
The Pilgrims broke ranks with the Puritans and began meeting separately in 1586. Imprisonment was the punishment for holding meetings outside the Anglican Church, but the Pilgrim group persisted. Before sailing for the New World on the Speedwell, the Pilgrims lived in Holland where they could worship freely. The Speedwell was sabotaged by the crew, who had no intentions of spending a year away from their homeland, so the Speedwell returned to port after a short trip. Being undaunted in their quest for religious freedom, the Pilgrims set out on the Mayflower.
Mr. White declared that “the Pilgrims’ religiosity persists in their descendants.” Thank you, Mr. White, for sharing your insights with us.