j o u r n e y.

My mom, dad and brother left at 4:30am this morning along with 79 others from the K5th ward to drive 13 hours all day long to get to Martin's Cove, WY where they will spend the next two days on a journey down the very trail that the Martin and Wille Handcart Companies took in November of 1856. They will be walking on foot the entire time, pulling handcarts. They will be dressed as the pioneers dressed. Their experience there is made to be as much like the experiences of the pioneers as possible.

I think it's incredible. I imagine my parents, I imagine the pioneers. And how often do I forget to be thankful for what they sacrificed - those who gave all, lost so very much. Lost babies and children and husbands and wives, those who buried them in the frozen ground. Their strength astounds me. And I know that they paved the way for a great many things, and how so much changed, so much was brought about because of their willingness and their testimonies.


M Russell Ballard:

We cannot begin to understand the journeys made by those who laid the foundation of this dispensation until we understand their spiritual underpinnings. Once we make that connection, however, we will begin to see how their journeys parallel ours now. There are lessons for us in every footstep they took--lessons of love, courage, commitment, devotion, endurance, and, most of all, faith. Those 19th century pioneers to whom we pay special tribute never set out to be heroes, and yet they accomplished heroic things. That is what makes them Saints. They were a band of believers who tried to do the right things for the right reasons, ordinary men and women who were called on to perform an extraordinary work. At times, they gave in to their discouragement and allowed themselves to murmur and complain. But ultimately their faith in God and the man they sustained as their prophet and leader prevailed, and they righted their vision and attitudes along with their wagons. In the process they found joy amid the hardships and trials of the trek.No matter how difficult the trail, and regardless of how heavy our load, we can take comfort in knowing that others before us have borne life's most grievous trials and tragedies by looking to heaven for peace, comfort and hopeful reassurance. We can know, as they knew, that God is our Father, that He cares about us individually and collectively, and that as long as we continue to exercise our faith and trust in Him there is nothing to fear in the journey. Let us remember that the Savior is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and there can be no greater promise than to know that if we are faithful and true, we will one day be safely encircled in the arms of His love. He is always there to give encouragement, to forgive, and to rescue. Therefore, as we exercise faith and are diligent in keeping the commandments, we have nothing to fear from the journey.



{For more information about the LDS Treks and what they involve, read here.}

Here is the story of Martin's Cove.

And here is a blog dedicated to another ward's trek experience.