According to Almanzo, this episode takes place 10 years after he last saw Royal, which would have been in the season 7 episode "The Nephews". However, no mention is made of his two sons or his wife, who featured in that episode. Also, his daughter, Jenny, has suddenly appeared even though she was not mentioned either in the earlier episode but must have been alive then, even if the 10 year timeline was correct, which it very clearly is not.
This episode has a plot point similar to that of the two-part Season 1 episode "The Lord is My Shepherd", where Laura wanted to die and go to Heaven after misunderstanding advice she got from Reverend Alden, just as Jenny did here.
This episode takes place in 1887.