"Is This The Place" by Parker Martin Smith and the Harris 2nd Ward Roadshow Group 2002

Is This The Place?

A Parody Of Brigham Young And The Latter Day Saints
As They Entered What Is Now Known As Salt Lake City

My son Parker is playing and singing lead. His first time on stage.
And in front of approximately 3,000 Plus People At The Mesa Amphiteatre!

The interesting part about this is that he is playing the part of a man that is entering what will become Salt Lake City with the first company of Latter Day Saints including the Prophet Brigham Young, and in actuality his Great, Great, Great Grandfather, my Great, Great Grandfather, Starling Graves Driggs, was with Brigham Young when they entered what is now known as the Salt Lake Valley. Then it was still a part of Mexico but there was much persecution and mobs slaying the saints when they were back in Illinois, Missouri and Ohio, even an order of mass execution of the saints was issued by the Governor of Missouri, to kill men, women and children for their belief in God. (Yes - Here in the United States Of America - Land Of The "Free").

Brigham Young moved the entire Latter Day Saint population west, over the Rocky Mountains, some pushing or pulling handcarts, many died along the way to their journey to freedom; freedom to believe in God the way they chose, while walking the thousands of miles to where The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints now makes its headquarters - Salt Lake City. My Great, Great Grandmother, Sarah Rogers and her brother Samuel L. Rogers were also on that trek with their parents. Those parents died along the way and were buried in shallow, unmarked graves along the trail. (Listen to or read the words to Dan's "Sutter's Mill" to get an idea of the hardships they endured.) Samuel went off to become a part of the Mormon Battalion and Sarah became a ward of Brigham Young. As the first company of the mass exodus came upon the valley, Brigham Young raised up off his sick bed and announced "This Is The Place!" and there began the building of Salt Lake City.

Years later Brigham Young called Starling to his office to give him a calling of going to San Bernadino, California to set up another Mormon colony. The Prophet asked Starling if there was anyone he would like to take as his bride. Starling told him of his interest in Sarah. Brigham then told Starling to go and bring Sarah back to his office.

Starling went to where Sarah was working in the yard and told her of the Prophet's request. Sarah told Starling; "You go tell Brother Brigham he has just as much shoe leather to wear out as I do." Starling was taken aback and I can only imagine how he felt as he turned to go back and tell the President of this great church what she had said. He got away down the road and Sarah called him back and said' "I just wanted to see how far you'd get. You tell Brother Brigham I'll be right there as soon as I get cleaned up."

Sarah went to Brigham Young's office and the Prophet told her that he wanted her to marry Starling and go with him to help settle this new region in California. She asked him; "Are you calling me to do this?" to which the Prophet said yes. She married him but joked for the rest of her days that the only reason she married him was because she was called to do so. The truth is that the first time she saw Starling, years before in Nauvoo, Illinois, she was riding on the back of a wagon with some other young women and she told them; "There comes my future husband and I warn all you girls to leave him alone as I have already set my cap for him." He came up and asked where to find a certain party's home.

Starling died at a young age, five years after their marriage, due to complications with pneumonia but they had three children together before his death. The children were Olivia, Starling Jr. and Hanna Amanda. Starling Jr. and Hannah Amanda died as children prior to Starling Sr's death. When he was on his deathbed he asked Sarah to not marry another and she never did, but made her own way, asking favors of no one. She was always faithful in her duties and paying of tithes.

Brigham said she should learn how to use a six-gun which she did, and she taught her daughter Olivia how to use one as well. She could shoot as well as any man around. One day a man came out of the brush and grabbed the reigns of her buggy and she whipped out her pistol and chased him off.

She started a boarding school and one day as the men were out working, a very large Indian came to the door of the kitchen and came in after her. She picked up a large butcher knife and went right at him. He turned and ran out the door and she never had any trouble after that.

She later moved to Snowflake, Arizona where she became the Postmaster for the United States Postal service on December 18, 1887. She owned a little store in the early days and also sowed burial clothes for the townsfolk.

The morning she died she cooked breakfast for a large group of men, getting up at five o'clock. At eight o'clock she complained of not feeling well and went to lay down. She suffered all day, and enduring severe pain she passed away in the evening of June 20, 1911. She lived a good life of seventy-eight years, fifty-one of those a widow, Everyone loved her and called her "Aunt Sarah".

This story of Starling Graves Driggs and Sarah Rogers Driggs was paraphrased and taken from the book "Pioneer Women Of Arizona".

Now press refresh and scroll down through the pictures as the story unfolds.