The Builders of the Nation

I can't think of anything I can say concerning the pioneers - their tremendous journey of faith and dedication; the example they set and the heritage they left behind - that can, in any way, do their journey justice. So instead, I'll just share a few things from the book The Price We Paid by Andrew D. Olsen. You've probably heard the first story many times, but it's a favorite of mine, so here it is again. I have followed in the literal footsteps of these pioneers - walking where they walked, seeing the same land they saw - and I am grateful for them. I only hope that I (and all of us) will have the courage and faith necessary to endure all things which are placed in my path, as they did in pressing forward, day after day, in conditions much worse than I will be faced with. I am grateful for their example, and their shining legacy.



"When Francis Webster was an old man, he was sitting quietly in a Sunday School class in Cedar City as some people were criticizing Church leaders for the handcart tragedy. When he could bear the criticism no longer, he stood and asked the people to stop. Speaking calmly but with emotion, he acknowledged that it was a mistake to send the handcart companies so late, He also acknowledged that he and others in these companies had suffered greatly. Nevertheless, he bore testimony that he had found a pearl of great price in the experience:

'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 a hill slope and I 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 many 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.'"

A Trail of Tears, A Trail of Hope

"In many ways, the trail that the Willie and Martin handcart pioneers walked was a type, or metaphor, of mortality. Along the path to Zion, they were sometimes mocked or ridiculed. Sometimes they had to cross rivers that threatened to sweep them away. Some of those crossings were through icy waters that left them frozen and numb. Along the path there was also sand, sometimes for long distances, making progress slow and grinding. When the elements were at their worst and the Saints were at their weakest, they had to face Rocky Ridge. Toward the end, they had to go through mountains that had several feet of fresh snow. Indeed this was a trail of tears.

But the experiences of the Willie and Martin handcart pioneers show that faith and hope will triumph over the worst days on the trail. Faith and hope kept these Saints stepping forward when their strength was gone. Heaven-sent rescuers helped sustain their hope when despair began to take them off the path. And when they felt alone, when they felt that they could bear no more, a divine hand was stretched out to steady them and guide them home."

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart:

and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30



(Olsen, Andrew D. The Price We Paid: The Extraordinary Story of the Willie and Martin Handcart Pioneers. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co. 2006. Print.)