Box Elder County--It is no secret that Utah celebrates and cherishes their pioneer heritage. LDS Youth have been raised on stories of how the pioneers made the great trek to religious freedom, many pulling handcarts and sacrificing loved ones and even losing their lives. Members of the LDS Church in many stakes across the states will have the chance to experience a small taste of what the pioneers endured as they make their own trek, pulling handcarts and traveling the same trail that their ancestors traveled. Boys and girls over the age of 14 will experience some of the same “fun” the pioneers had along the trail with singing and dancing in the evening, testimony meetings, cooking by the campfire and sharing the friendship and laughter. New friendships will be forged with endured hardships.
Garland Stake in Box Elder County will be one of those participating in the trek this year. Many hours of planning and prayer have gone into preparing the youth for this summer’s trek, which will take place during the 24th of July holiday. Groups have been organized with Mas and Pas, aunts, uncles and siblings. Each family will have both adults and children; however, part of the challenge for the youth is that the groups have been organized so that the “family” they travel with are not members of their own ward.
The youth have spent months with testimony building activities to spiritually prepare them for what they will endure. Many who have gone before speak of the difficulty of the journey, especially a small portion where the women re-enact the men of the Mormon Battalion leaving for war. During this part of the journey, the women must push their handcarts without the help of the men and boys. There are stories of the men weeping as they watch the women struggle up the hill with handcarts and how much they desired to help them. It gives the youth a small understanding of how the men must have felt knowing that they were leaving their wives and children to bear a heavy burden.
While the youth will endure hardship, the church leaders have gone to great lengths to make sure that the experience is a safe one. Unlike the pioneers, the youth will have plenty of clean water, nourishing food and medical staff on hand. They will also have access to emergency vehicles and suitable shelter.
One thing is for sure, youth across the state of Utah participating in trek this year will grow spiritually and gain an understanding to a small degree of what was sacrificed in the name religious freedom by the pioneers.
