Lawrence Taliaferro

Virginian Lawrence Taliaferro (pronounced “Tolliver”) becomes the Indian agent at Fort Snelling. Respected by the Indians for never making promises he could not keep, he works hard for 20 years to rid the fur trade of whisky and cheating. At last, in poor health and tired of the government’s broken promises, he resigns.*

Lord, thank you for honest people! What pleasure it is to have someone return our phone, admit a mistake in our favor at the cash register, or actually put a lost item into the “lost and found” so we can reclaim it. As King Solomon wrote so many years ago, “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” I simply wish to honor and remember the “honest people” of the world to You today, and commend to You their example.

Father of Honesty, Mother of Truth, today I wish to honor  and remember Lawrence Taliaferro, who crystallizes this type of character. Thank you that he wanted a square deal for Indians of Minnesota who came to him at Fort Snelling. There is such power in a person who is willing to let their yes mean “Yes”, and their no mean “No”.

We are no different than Lawrence. There are many times that we tire of doing good and quit. Often, there is more punishment and criticism for doing the right thing than sweeping the wrong thing under the rug!? Will You forgive our hearts to quit doing right and forgive Mr. Taliaferro!? Will you forgive any assessments he made, probably quite logically, of the Federal government’s failure to honor its promises? Will You bless these specific tribes of Indians in the specific areas that they have been wronged? Will You forgive any tribal counter-judgments or resentments of State or Federal government? Will You begin to heal these centuries-old heartaches today?

*Note – PrayThroughHistory uses the timeline located for several years at the Minnesota Historical Society Web site, at this URL: mnhs.org/about/dipity_timeline.htm .  The current URL is www.dipity.com/Minnesota/History/Minnesota-History/ and only works if typed, not pasted, in browser. It is worth the effort!