Jesus said in Matthew 12:37, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. This verse used to scare me when I was younger. I thought it was saying that you could lose your salvation if you said something you shouldn't. However, that is not what this passage means. In context, Jesus was saying that what people say really reflects what they believe inside. A few verses earlier, verse 34, states, ...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. We can determine what someone really believes based on what comes out of their heart, and that can be determined by what they say. If you want to study this passage more in-depth, I recommend the Enduring Word online Commentary (link at the end of this post).
It follows, then, if we can determine beliefs based on what someone says, let's examine the faith one of American history's most beloved authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder. What did Laura's faith consist of?
Laura Ingalls was born in 1867 in Wisconsin. In her 90-year sojourn on this planet, she went from the pioneer days of covered wagons, wood stoves, log cabins, dugouts, and one-room schoolhouses to a modern world of automobiles, radios, movies, television, credit cards, and fast food. Another way to look at it is, her lifetime took America from President Andrew Johnson (one President after Lincoln) to Dwight D. Eisenhower. To give still more context, the hit TV show Leave it to Beaver aired a few months after her passing. That's right. Laura Ingalls and Eddie Haskell could have met! All joking aside, as the 20th century came and moved forward, Laura worried that modern children wouldn't know what life had been like for her generation, which led her to write her famous and beloved Little House series. I, myself, read these books in elementary school. Laura was able to bring back another time, another America even, that had been buried. We can treasure her stories and what they teach us about life in the second half of the 19th century.
Possibly equally as enduring as the books, the television program Little House on the Prairie aired from 1974-1983, and continued in syndication. It is still one of my favorite shows. Because of the books and show, decades of readers and viewers are familiar with the Ingalls family and their friends. There are 5 museums and/or markers that serve as tourist destinations for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder (these are in Pepin, Wisconsin; De Smet, South Dakota; Walnut Grove, Minnesota; Mansfield, Missouri; and Independence, Kansas).
It is important to note that the books are fiction, though based on Laura's real life. The TV show is based loosely on the books, and is even further from the reality from which it was taken. To know the real truth about Laura Ingalls Wilder, we need to dig a little deeper.
So what did this interesting woman believe? Was Laura Ingalls Wilder a Christian? Will we see her in Heaven? She isn't here to ask, but the words she said in her lifetime can tell us a lot about her faith.
I recently read the book A Prairie Faith, The Religious Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, by John J. Fry. Fry attempts to ascertain what Laura really believed about God, faith, Christianity, the Bible, and religion in general. I'll put a link to this very interesting book at the end of this post. I'm not going to give away everything from the book, so I still encourage you to read it. I enjoyed it.
Charles and Caroline Ingalls, Laura's parents, were devout. A book they especially treasured was Persuasives to Early Piety, an evangelistic book written by Baptist minister John Gregory Pike. This book was given to them by Caroline's mother as a wedding present. They kept it throughout their lives and moves, and eventually passed it on to Laura, who also kept it. This book talks about sin, and need of salvation, and how to place one's faith in Christ alone for salvation. It is encouraging that Charles and Caroline (and later Laura) held this book as important. Perhaps it is an indication of their own faith.
When Charles and Caroline Ingalls lived in community, they were church members. During Laura's early years, they lived far from any worship services, but they observed Sunday as a sacred day at home. Charles played hymns on his fiddle. Praise for the Fountain Opened was a family favorite (many of us are more familiar with this song as being titled There is a Fountain Filled with Blood). This hymn's lyrics are biblical and evangelistic, with a clear presentation of Christ's shed blood and death on behalf of believers, and salvation being possible through Him. Again, the importance of this and other hymns to the Ingalls family could be an indication of saving faith.
As the Ingalls family lived in town as Laura got a little bit older, church became a bigger part of her life. Their family mostly attended the Congregational church, though as a young teen in Walnut Grove, Laura also attended the Methodist youth group, which met at a different time than her family's Congregational church. She participated in a scripture memory competition, in which she memorized 100 verses, and was given a study Bible. Faith, church, and Christianity appear to be more central to her during this period than at any other point in her entire life. During this time, she prayed, internalized scripture through memorization, and attended two different churches, including revival services both had.
While Charles, Caroline, and Laura's older sister Mary all joined their Congregational church, Laura was never a member. She never joined any church during her lifetime, though she remained a regular attender always. She seemed to prefer Congregational and Methodist churches throughout her life. As an older teenager, Laura boarded with some Presbyterians, and when they shared their Calvinistic faith with her, Laura was said to respond that if this were true, she was already saved or not saved, so why bother? It appears her words were received humorously, and would be replied to, "Oh! My! My! That Laura Ingalls!" It seems she didn't think much of Presbyterian theology. Her answer could be seen as sarcasm toward Calvinism specifically, or an outright indication of taking eternal truths in general lightly.
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| L-R, Carrie, Mary and Laura Ingalls |
Laura appeared to have a quiet faith. She seems to have been uncomfortable with overt evangelism or those who spoke outwardly about their Christianity. A particular man who joined their church after a revival often testified in Wednesday night prayer meetings about what God had done for him, and his walk with God. Laura wrote about this: It somewhat offended my sense of privacy. It seems to me that the things between one and God should be between him and God like loving ones mother. One didn't go around saying 'I love my mother, she has been so good to me.' One just loved her and did things she liked one to do. I find this personally discouraging. This means Laura would have had a problem with the Great Commission, and the Apostles' undying stand for the Gospel. Maybe as a 19th Century American, she was able to quietly practice her faith, but the early church was anything but quiet in their practice of Christianity! It makes me wonder how real it was to Laura, if she could keep it quiet. I think Laura would have had a problem with me, personally. I share the Gospel, and have gotten into trouble at times from other "quiet" Christians who didn't approve of sharing their faith openly. This is an unbiblical way to view evangelism, since we are commanded to preach the Gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15). The Holy Spirit empowers evangelism (Acts 1:8). Being against speaking of God openly is to be against a work of the Spirit, and Christ's command. Not everyone is outgoing, and God wouldn't want someone to try to be someone they're not. Not everyone has the overt gift of evangelism. But to be offended by those who do is a problem. We can't hide our faith under a bushel. This does not mean Laura was not a born-again Christian, but it is uncomfortable to me, in light of some experiences I have had.
While Laura never joined a church as a member, she and her eventual husband Almanzo Wilder were active members of the Eastern Star, a Masonic group. Masons must believe in a higher power, but are not required to commit to a particular religion. There is a lot about Freemasonry that is unknown to me, and I have been led by some accounts to wonder if this is a group all Christians should avoid. I do not know what Laura's involvement in the Eastern Star indicates. I will not comment further on this information.
Laura and Almanzo's only living child, Rose Wilder Lane, did not adopt the Christian faith for herself. This is not their fault, again, only an observation.
Laura wrote for their local paper for many years, and only a handful of articles mention God or spiritual themes, and even those are pretty surface-level Christianity. God-fearing themes fill Laura's Little House books. Stories of attending Sunday school, saying prayers, and honoring the Sabbath fill their pages. I think I agree with John Fry, who concludes that Christianity was important to Laura Ingalls Wilder, but not central to her life. Was she a born-again Christian? I'll put it this way. If she wasn't, she was without excuse, because she was surrounded by it. If she was, then it had that effect on her eternity.
The big takeaway for me, and my challenge to you, is to live in such as way that, after you die, no one will have to guess or speculate whether or not you were saved. Share the Gospel. Make a stand for Christ, however God has led and gifted you for that. We're all different, and it's okay to be you! Just don't leave any question about what you believe about Jesus! As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (Second Timothy 4:5).
To read Enduring Word Commentary on Matthew 12, click here.
To view A Prairie Faith, The Religious Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder click here.
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