Attention All Stake Trekkers!
How would you feel
if you had only a daily ration of
4 ounces of flour to eat every day?
Experience it.
Next week choose
a day to eat only 1 slice of bread or 1 roll all day long.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
This is some of the story of Ephraim Knowlton
Hanks,
in his own words, regarding the rescue of the saints:
In
the fall of 1856, I spent considerable of my time fishing in Utah Lake; and in
traveling backward and
forward between that lake and
Salt Lake City, I had occasion to stop once over night with Gurney Brown, in
Draper,
about nineteen miles south of
Salt Lake City. Being somewhat fatigued after the day’s journey, I retired to
rest quite
early, and while I still lay wide
awake in my bed I heard a voice calling me by name, and then saying: “The
handcart
people are in trouble and you are
wanted; will you go and help them?” I turned instinctively in the direction
from whence the voice came and
beheld an ordinary sized man in the room. Without any hesitation I answered
“Yes, I will go if I am called.”
I then turned around to go to sleep, but had laid only a few minutes when the
voice
called a second time, repeating
almost the same words as on the first occasion. My answer was the same as
before.
This was repeated a third time.
When
I got up the next morning I said to Brother Brown, “The hand-cart people are in
trouble, and I have
promised to go out and help
them;” but I did not tell him of my experiences during the night.
now hastened to Salt Lake City, and arrived
there on the Saturday, preceding the Sunday on which the call
was made for volunteers to go out
and help the last hand-cart companies in. When some of the brethren responded
by explaining that they could get
ready to start in a few days; I spoke out at once saying, “I am ready now!” The
next day I was wending my way
eastward over the mountains with a light wagon all alone. [Probably Oct. 26-27]
The
terrific storm which caused the immigrants so much suffering and loss overtook
me near the South
Pass, where I stopped about three
days with Reddick N. Allred, who had come out with provisions for the
immigrants. The storm during
these three days was simply awful. In all my travels in the Rocky Mountains
both
before and afterwards, I have
seen no worse. When at length the snow ceased falling, it lay on the ground so
deep
that for many days it was
impossible to move wagons through it.
Being
deeply concerned about the possible fate of the immigrants, and feeling anxious
to learn of their
condition, I determined to start
out on horseback to meet them; and for this purpose I secured a pack-saddle and
two
animals (one to ride and one to
pack), from Brother Allred, and began to make my way slowly through the snow
alone. After traveling for some
time I met Joseph A. Young and one of the Garr boys, [Abel], two of the relief
company which had been sent from
Salt Lake City to help the companies. [This was the first group of rescuers who
left immediately after the first
call from Brigham Young on October 5. Brigham continued to make public and
private calls for rescuers to
meet the late companies for the next two months.] They had met the immigrants
and
were now returning with important
dispatches from the camps to the headquarters of the Church, reporting the awful
condition of the companies.
[Ephraim had passed the Willie Company and the rescuers already with them near
Ft.
Bridger on Nov. 2. Young and Garr
had found the Martin, Hodgett and Hunt Companies at the last crossing of the
N. Platte River and helped them
back to Devil’s Gate before taking this “important dispatch” or report to
Brigham
Young.]
In
the meantime I continued my lonely journey, and the night after meeting Elders
Young and Garr, I
camped in the snow in the
mountains. As I was preparing to make a bed in the snow with the few articles
that my
pack animal carried for me, I
thought how comfortable a buffalo robe would be on such an occasion, and also
how I
could relish a little buffalo
meat for supper, and before lying down for the night I was instinctively led to
ask the
Lord to send me a buffalo. Now, I
am a firm believer in the efficacy of prayer, for I have on many different
occasions asked the Lord for
blessings, which He in His mercy has bestowed on me. But when I, after praying
as I
did on that lonely night in the
South Pass, looked around me and spied a buffalo bull within fifty yards of my
camp,
my surprise was complete; I had
certainly not expected so immediate an answer to my prayer. However, I soon
collected myself and was not at a
loss to know what to do. Taking deliberate aim at the animal, my first shot
brought him down; he made a few
jumps only, and then rolled down into the very hollow where I was encamped. I
was soon busily engaged skinning
my game, finishing which, I spread the hide on the snow and placed my bed upon
it. I next prepared supper,
eating tongue and other choice parts of the animal I had killed, to my heart’s
content.
After this I enjoyed a refreshing
night’s sleep, while my horses were browsing on the sage brush.
Early
the next morning I was on my way again, and soon reached what is known as the
Ice Springs Bench.
There I happened upon a herd of
buffalo, and killed a nice cow. I was impressed to do this, although I did not
know
why until a few hours later, but
the thought occurred to my mind that the hand of the Lord was in it, as it was
a rare
thing to find buffalo herds
around that place at this late part of the season. I skinned and dressed the
cow; then cut
up part of its meat in long
strips and loaded my horses with it. Thereupon I resumed my journey, and
traveled on till
towards evening. I think the sun
was about an hour high in the west when I spied something in the distance that
looked like a black streak in the
snow. As I got near to it, I perceived it moved; then I was satisfied that this
was the
long looked for hand-cart
company, led by Captain Edward Martin. I reached the ill-fated train just as
the
immigrants were camping for the
night. The sight that met my gaze as I entered their camp can never be erased
from my memory. The starved forms
and haggard countenances of the poor sufferers, as they moved about slowly,
shivering with cold, to prepare
their scanty evening meal was enough to touch the stoutest heart. When they saw
me
coming, they hailed me with joy inexpressible,
and when they further beheld the supply of fresh meat I brought into
camp, their gratitude knew no
bounds. Flocking around me, one would say, “Oh, please, give me a small piece
of
meat;” another would exclaim, “My
poor children are starving, do give me a little;” and children with tears in
their
eyes would call out, “Give me
some, give me some.” At first I tried to wait on them and handed out the meat
as they
called for it; but finally I told
them to help themselves. Five minutes later both my horses had been released of
their
extra burden–the meat was all
gone, and the next few hours found the people in camp busily engaged in cooking
and
eating it, with thankful hearts.
A
prophecy had been made by one of the brethren that the company should feast on
buffalo meat when their
provisions might run short; my
arrival in their camp, loaded with meat, was the beginning of the fulfillment
of that
prediction; but only the
beginning, as I afterwards shot and killed a number of buffalo for them as we
journeyed
along.
When
I saw the terrible condition of the immigrants on first entering their camp, my
heart almost melted
within me. I rose up in my saddle
and tried to speak cheering and comforting words to them. I told them also that
they should all have the
privilege to ride into Salt Lake City, as more teams were coming. . . .
After
this the greater portion of my time was devoted to waiting on the sick. “Come
to me,” “help me,”
“please administer to my sick
wife,” or “my dying child,” were some of the requests that were made of me
almost
hourly for some time after I had
joined the immigrants, and I spent days going from tent to tent administering
to the
sick. Truly the Lord was with me
and others of His servants who labored faithfully together with me in that day
of
trial and suffering. The result
of this our labor of love certainly redounded to the honor and glory of a kind
and
merciful God. In scores of
instances, when we administered to the sick, and rebuked the diseases in the
name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, the sufferers
would rally at once; they were healed almost instantly. I believe I
administered to
several hundreds in a single day;
and I could give names of many whose lives were saved by the power of God.
But
I will only give the details in one more instance. One evening after having
gone as far as Fort Bridger I
was requested by a sister to come
and administer to her son, whose name was Thomas. [See biography for Thomas
Dobson, Martin Company.] He was
very sick, indeed, and his friends expected he would die that night. When I
came to the place where he lay he
was moaning pitifully, and was almost too weak to turn around in his bed. I
felt
the power of God resting upon me,
and addressing the young man, said: “Will you believe the words I tell you?”
His response was “Yes.” I then
administered to him, and he was immediately healed. He got up, dressed himself,
and danced a hornpipe on the
end-board of a wagon, which I procured for that purpose. But notwithstanding
these
manifestations of the Lord’s goodness,
many of the immigrants whose extremities were frozen, lost their limbs,
either whole or in part. Many
such I washed with water and castile soap, until the frozen parts would fall
off, after
which I would sever the shreds of
flesh from the remaining portions of the limbs with my scissors. Some of the
emigrants lost toes, others
fingers, and again others whole hands and feet; one woman [see biography for
Maren
Johansen, also known as Mary
Johnson, (Parsons), Hunt Company] who now resides in Koosharem, Piute Co.,
Utah, lost both her legs below
the knees, and quite a number who survived became cripples for life, but so far
as I
remember there were no fresh cases of frozen limbs
after my arrival in camp.
***It takes great FAITH to listen to the promptings
of the Lord and even more Faith to act upon those promptings. This story of Bro. Hanks reminded me of a
scripture. 1 Nephi 4:6: "And I was lead by the Spirit, not
knowing beforehand the things which I should do." Are we prepared to receive promptings? Are we willing to act upon them? Do we take
the time to reflect upon the things we have been taught and are we ready to act
as the Lord's hands when He needs us? We
need to be spiritually prepared to act, at any moment. Take a few moments and ponder about your own
life. Are you where you need to be? What do you expect to get from trek? What can you do to help others strengthen
their testimonies? Write down some of
your thoughts in your journal.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Activity #11
The Willie and Martin Handcart Companies and the Hunt and Hodge Companies experiences crossing the plains and coming to Zion were filled with miracles. These miraculous events took place in answer to prayers that had been offered up.
This week as you prepare for Trek, we ask you to take some time and watch the movie "Seventeen Miracles."It portrays some of the miracles that took place. Remember that as you watch this movie and then go to Trek that we will be standing on sacred ground. And never forget that Heavenly Father is a God of Miracles.
Elizabeth Crook Panting sailed alone to
America on the ship “Thornton” with 2 young children as her husband did not
make the journey. He was against the Mormons and had threatened to kill his
wife if she didn't stay away from the Mormons. He finally got so mean; she took
her two children and left him. The small family joined up with the Willie
Handcart Company where there may have been a couple of Elizabeth’s relatives
traveling with them. While they were
traveling to Zion, Elizabeth pulled her two young children, her one year old
daughter was very ill, Elizabeth would
ask her older son Christopher to check and see if Jane was dead yet.
On October 14, Elizabeth went out to
gather some buffalo chips, she had almost filled her apron, when a man came
up-seemly out of nowhere-she told the man that her group was starving, the man
told her to follow him, and she dropped the chips out of her apron. The man led
her to a cave where a lot of dried buffalo meat was hanging, there were shelves
of books on one side of the cave that looked like the Book of Mormon gold
plates. She said they looked as if they were sealed. The man loaded up her
apron with as much meat as she could carry. She left the cave, and as she
looked back the man and the cave were gone. She went back to camp and shared
the meat to the ones that were in the most need, no doubt saving lives.
Elizabeth and her two young children arrived safely in the Salt Lake Valley.
Story:
Ann Rowley
Feeds Her Family with Two Sea Biscuits
Ann Rowley,
a widow who had eight children to feed, felt a mother's pain in their hunger.
"It hurt me to see my children go hungry," she wrote. "I watched
as they cut the loose rawhide from the cart wheels, roasted off the hair, and
chewed the hide."43 One evening she felt the providence of God in
helping feed her children:
"Night
was coming and there was no food for the evening meal. I asked God's help as I
always did. I got on my knees, remembering two hard sea biscuits that . . . had
been left over from the sea voyage. They were not large, and were so hard they
couldn't be broken. Surely, that was not enough to feed 8 people, but 5 loaves
and 2 fishes were not enough to feed 5,000 people either, but through a
miracle, Jesus had done it. So, with God's help, nothing is impossible. I found
the biscuits and put them in a dutch oven and covered them with water and asked
for God's blessing. Then I put the lid on the pan and set it on the coals. When
I took off the lid a little later, I found the pan filled with food. I kneeled
with my family and thanked God for his goodness. That night my family had
sufficient food."
Olsen, Andrew (2010-07-22). The Price We Paid
Activity #10
When
we go on trek we will have a cooking
committee to make sure that we have sufficient and great food. This one major difference
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Come, Come, Ye Saints
"A reporter from the Council Bluffs Bugle, located across the
Missouri River from Florence, wrote with admiration about the Willie company as
they started…toward Fort Laramie."
He writes:
"Having seen several handcart
trains pass through this city, and cross the ferries at Elk Horn and Loup Fork,
we could not help but remark on the enthusiasm which animated all classes and
ages…
It may seem, to some, that these
people endure great hardships in traveling hundreds of miles on foot, drawing
arts behind them. This is a mistake, for
many informed me that after the first three days' travel, it requires little
effort for two or three men or women to drag the light handcart….It is also a
fact that they can travel farther in a day, and with less fatigue, than the ox
trains…
This is enthusiasm- this is heroism
indeed. Though we cannot coincide with
them in their belief, it is impossible to restrain our admiration of their
self-sacrificing devotion to the principles of their faith."
"John Chislett also recalled the good spirits as the Willie company left Florence. "We moved gaily forward full of hope and faith. At our camp each evening could be heard songs of joy and merry peals of laughter(concerning) our conditions and prospects." The Price We Paid, pgs. 86-87
"We did all we could do to aid and encourage each other. In the blizzards and falling snow, we sat under our handcarts and sang, Come, Come Ye Saints...The Lord gave us strength and courage."
-Stone-Willie Company
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