The Desert Blossoming As The Rose

When John and I were in Rupert, Idaho last September, we stopped by the Square. There was a display by the restored Wilson Theatre that mentioned that the area had blossomed like a rose, especially after homesteaders began farming the area in 1950's. A scripture in Isaiah was quoted, which mentioned a desert blooming like a rose. John had his scriptures on him and looked up similar scriptures. He later wrote the irrigation project in Minidoka County was a prophecy fulfilled. And I thought the scripture was about the fulfillment of prophecy in Salt Lake Valley. When the Mormon Pioneers settled the Salt Lake Valley, it was desert. Jim Bridger, a frontiersman, doubted a bushel of corn could grow in the area that Brigham Young desired to settle. I imagine Jim Bridger would be surprised that in 2002, the Salt Lake Valley hosted the Winter Olympics.

So while the Salt Lake Valley desert was blossoming as a rose, so was the desert in the Magic Valley. In the 1950’s, there was a big push to invite farmers to homestead in Minidoka County. One of the events that made this possible was pumping water from the ground.  Diverting water through the use of dams along the Snake River was another event that led to homesteaders coming to the Magic Valley. Although Minidoka County borders the Snake River, there are no creeks in the county. There are only man made canals running through Minidoka County. There are plenty of wells, which provide water for many farmers in the county. This makes me realize, I never thought I grew up in a desert.  I was surrounded by many farms that displayed the colors of green; potatoes, alfalfa, barley, sugar beets, etc.

And then I realize that scripture in Isaiah 35:1 " ... and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." has been fulfilled in the Magic Valley.