Activity #5

One of the greatest principles of the restored gospel is that we are linked like a chain together with our ancestors and our posterity, through the sealing powers of the priesthood. Here are some of the activities you can do this week to help prepare you for trek.

* Think about your part in your family chain. How can you take the faith of your ancestors and carry it on to your ancestors?
*Take some time this week to find out about your grandparents and parents. How did they gain their testimonies?
* Work on your family history and see if there are family members who still need their work done. If so, be the one to start that work by getting these names ready for baptism for the dead.
* Are you or the parents the "pioneers" in your family? If so what can you do to link the family chain together?

Think about what legacy you want to leave for your future generations. The reason we have these great histories to learn and grow from is because people kept journals. Record your thoughts and feelings in your journal.

A reverence for sacred things gives context to all of life's experiences. That context is especially important when we learn about distant places and people who lived long ago. With the assistance of the spirit, events that took place along the Mormon Trail can touch our hearts and inspire us to greater commitment. As President Boyd K. Packer has encouraged, our objective should be to "see the hand of the Lord in every hour and every moment of the Church from its beginning to now." The journals kept by the pioneers seem to cry out for us to see the hand of the Lord in the events described there. Without the spirit one may see the Mormon Trail as merely sagebrush and dusty paths. But a sensitive heart will discern the eloquent witnesses of what transpired there. When we begin to feel the spiritual kinship with those who walked these trails, our lives are strengthened and enriched."

"Journal of the Trail" Glazir and Clark

Many of the Saints who suffered much on the trek west, when asked alter in life said that they would be willing to do it again for the Gospel sake, for their testimonies, and for the faith of their children and future generations.

Francis Webster

"We suffered beyond anything you can imagine, and many died of exposure and starvation...But we came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives, for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities " I have pulled my handcart when i was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other  I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or hill slope and have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand, and when i reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back may times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there. "Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company."

Emily Marshall

Emily Marshall crossed the plains with her widowed mother. Emily celebrated her 10th birthday the after arriving in the valley. In her later life, when Marion's daughter asked her if she would endure her 1856 journey again, she bravely replied, "If I knew that was the only way I could get to Zion and obtain the blessings of the gospel, I certainly would."
Mary Soar Taylor
Mary came as a widow with two sons. William Henry (12) and Jesse Soar (9). "Many had their limbs badly frozen, myself and William among the number. I could not stand on my feet for three months after I arrived. I know it is the work of God and I hope and trust that any of my posterity that may come in possession of this may be strengthened in their faith by it and be worthy of such parentage for truly we suffered much for truth's sake but the reward of the faithful is sure."

James and Sarah Leah

There is a poem written by the grand-daughter of James and Sarah Leah. They both died while crossing the plains as apart of the Martin Handcart Company  Their great faith was passed on to their posterity and is exhibited in this poem.

When you come to the Red sea place in your life

And hardly know what to do

When there's no way back and no way ahead

And only one way and that's through

Then trust in the Lord with a faith supreme

Till the night and the storm is gone

He will still the winds and part the waves

When he says to your soul "Go On"

Marintha Hart

Activity #4

When we die, we take nothing but our knowledge with us. What things would pain us to leave behind? What things are our hearts set upon?
Most pioneers had only 2 outfits; one for every day and one for special occasions. As you go through your closet and your drawers, ponder which 2 outfits would you choose if you could only keep 2? Would they be warm enough in cold weather? Would they hold up for 111 days it takes to cross the plains if you had to wear them every day? Would your sense of fashion still have had any influence in which outfits you would choose?

John Jacques

John was a most interesting and colorful pioneer. He was born January 7, 1827 in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, England. He said his father was a little gruff but a very honorable man and his mother never had any faults at all (that he was aware of). When he was 13, he was sent to be a cabinet maker and upholsterer as an indentured apprentice. He wrote, "most of the men where I worked when apprenticed and after were corrupt. As a religious boy, I was consequently unmercifully plagued and made the butt of ridicule. These were not good moral schools for boys. I always had the highest regard for truth and virtue...no matter who is the tempter nor what is the temptation, your virtue is worth more than them all, it is the pearl of great price. It is beyond all price...no offer involved is worth a moment's consideration. The unfailing motto should "Never Surrender"."
He joined the church as a teenager and both his master and his father tried to get him to give up the new religion. He was called to serve as a traveling missionary when he was 20. He became the assistant editor of the Millenial Star and wrote religious study for children. He married Zilpah Loader and had a baby girl named Flora before he immigrated to Zion. When President Young requested John come to the valley, he began to prepare. he got a gun and practiced shooting.
He gives a very detailed account in his journal about his trip and it is well worth reading about. But the story to think about this week is this:
John has written about preparing to leave Iowa City with the Martin Handcart Company. He says, "As only a very limited amount of baggage could be taken with the handcarts, during the stay in the Iowa camping grounds, there was a general lightening of such things as could best be done without. Many things were sold cheaply to residents of that vicinity, and many more things were left on the camping ground for anybody to take or leave at their pleasure. It was grievous to see the heaps of books and other articles thus left in the sun and rain and dust, representing a respectable amount of money spent therefore in England, but thenceforth a waste and a dead loss to owners."
Tell My Story Too, page 230

Activity #3

This week for our activity everyone needs to find a story of an ancestor or someone that heeded the call to come to Zion. Read and study about their desires and the struggles they went through to bring their families out west so they could live free of religious persecution. Think of the trials we all face today and how we can strengthen ourselves against them by honoring our ancestors desire and commitment to us.

Reflecting On Their Trials

Many of us are descendants of hardy pioneers and we feel grateful and inspired by their faith promoting examples of sacrifice. Many of the good and righteous people of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies paid the ultimate price on the snow covered wind swept plains of Wyoming. They were heeding the call to come to Zion by Brigham Young. They wanted to be around the prophet and people that believed the same as they did. They put their faith in the Lord and left their homes in Europe and began to make the journey to Zion.
Our commitment to the kingdom should match that of our faithful ancestors even though our sacrifices are different. They left comfortable homes and compelled to journey thousands of miles by boat, rail wagons, and finally handcarts to reestablish their families, homes and church in safety. Our sacrifices may be more subtle but no less demanding. Instead of physical deprivation and hardship, we face the challenge of remaining true and faithful to the gospel principles a midst such evil and destruction forces as dishonesty, corruption, drug and alcohol misuse and disease. Also, we find ourselves in combat daily with immorality in all of its many forms. Pornography and violence, often portrayed in insidious television shows, movies, and videos are running rampant. Hate and envy, greed and selfishness are all about us and families are disintegrating at an ever increasing pace. With all of this we must never forget the source of our abundant blessings and the trial and hardships that were gone through for each of us as our ancestors were coming to Zion and establishing this home for the church and all of us.

Activity #2

Think about your family. What would you be willing to do or sacrifice for them. Talk with your parents and other family members about pioneers in your family. On Trek you will be given the opportunity to have a new "Trek" family. Decide now what kind of attitude you will bring into your Trek family and what you will be willing to do for them.

James Kirkwood

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

James Kirkwood was 11 years old when his family came to the Salt Lake Valley with the Willie Handcart Company. His widowed mother, Margaret and older brother, Robert pulled one of his other brothers, Thomas in the family handcart for over 1000 miles. Because of this, James was given the task of caring for his 4 year old brother Joseph. As they climbed Rocky Ridge, it was snowing and there was a bitter cold wind blowing. It took the whole company 20 hours to travel 15 miles. Joseph and James became separated from the main group. When little Joseph became too weary to walk, James had no choice but to carry him. Slowly James and Joseph made their way to camp. When the two finally arrived at the fireside, James, having so faithfully carried out his task of carrying his brother, collapsed and died from exposure and over-exertion.
"Savior, may I love my brother, As I know thou lovest me." Truly, James loved his brother and gave his life for him like the Savior did.
Learn more about James and Joseph Kirkwood and their family on page 57 of Tell My Story Too.
("Lord I Will Follow Thee" page 220 of the Hymn Book)