For those who are not familiar with the history of the Mormon Pioneers, well, there's just so much history it's hard to recap. Basically, the early members of the LDS church were persecuted horrendously. They were driven from state to state, they were mobbed, their homes and crops were burned, they were violently abused, there was even an extermination order signed by the governor of Missouri at one point making it legal to kill Mormons.
Nice, right? So much for freedom of religion.
So, the members were left with no choice. After receiving no help or protection from the country that was supposed to have freedom of religion, they began to head west, into Indian Territory. Interesting enough, the Indians, who had seen some of this persecution were often very friendly and helpful.
Well, if you can imagine for a moment, having very little earthly possessions because a mob had destroyed them and then having to take your family (whether they were healthy or not) across the plains - hundreds of miles - with no cars, trains, airplanes or any other convenient luxury to assist you... it was quite a trek! The lucky ones had a covered wagon and some horses or oxen to pull it. As more and more people tried to leave, the provisions became less and less. Out of desperation, the groups started using handcarts which they would push/pull themselves. So now, you're taking your family to walk across hundreds of miles with only what you can fit in a handcart, which you will be pulling and pushing together. Sound fun yet?
But wait, it gets better!
There were a number of handcart companies who fortunately made it to the Great Salt Lake Valley safely. However, there were a few companies who ran into blizzards with no shelter and what little food they did have quickly ran out. But let's imagine that you are among the lucky ones - you were able to get a handcart for your family early and weren't stuck in the early winter blizzards that stopped some of the others. Still, can you imagine, having walked close to 1000 miles, your shoes have worn through and you are now barefoot. You still have hundreds of miles left to go and you have reached snow covered mountains. You now must walk (pushing and pulling your handcart) barefoot through the snow, up steep climbs, through freezing cold streams, etc.
The good news: You make it! It takes you months, but you make it! You might have lost a few toes, but you are safe and most (if not all) of your family makes it too! Now all you have to do is build a house and plant some crops. No rest for the weary!
So, that sounds unbelievable... yet it happend to thousands of early pioneers. Many made it, some did not. Some where buried along the way, others weren't even able to be buried because the ground was too frozen. Then there were the unfortunate companies who became stranded in the early winter blizzards. Many of them died. Fortunately, those who had already arrived in the valley were willing to leave the comfort of their new home to go back in search of the stranded. Some of those rescuers lost their lives as they saved the lives of others.
This is a part of our history. And to help the youth learn more about it and even experience some of the lesser challenges of it, they will be pushing and pulling handcarts this summer for 3 days. I think that they will be traveling about 20 miles, but don't quote me on that. They will be wearing "pioneer clothing" (though they are to all wear comfortable, 21st century shoes) and they will be sleeping on the ground (they will have sleeping bags).
Today, they are making bonnets for the girls to wear, leather covers for their journals which they will keep while on their trek, they even started making one of the handcarts that they will be using. There were displays for them to get a visual of what things were like for some of the pioneers too. And then, there was the trail of snow that they could walk on barefoot (or with burlap wrapped around their feet if they chose) to get a taste of how it felt. Here are some pics:
This is an example of the bunks on the ships that some took from England to Boston. There would be a whole family per bunk - basically a whole family per shelf! Then you rotated with other families too - so you'd get out of bed then another family would climb in. There would be up to 6 people sleeping in one of these little shelves!
6 oz of flour, just to give you an idea of how little food they sometimes had to eat. That would be all an adult would eat per day when the food began to be rationed.
I am so grateful for the sacrifice of the early pioneers. Some people ask, "Why did they do it? Why were they willing to sacrifice so much?" They did it because they trusted God. They did it because they wanted to live in a place where they could practice their religion in peace. They did it because they had heard the call to gather in the West and they wanted to obey.
There is often so much focus on the sacrifices and trials they faced - for they were great! But if you read the journal entries, there were happy times too. There would be singing and dancing at night, the childen played games, the members of the groups helped one another, there were even babies born! It was hard, but they made the best of it and did it joyfully!
I admire the pioneers; I don't know if I could be as strong as they were. I am grateful to them for the legacy they have left us. :)
If you would like more information about the Mormon Pioneers, check out what Wikipedia has to say, plus Wikipedia has more about the Mormon Handcart Pioneers, and this about the Mormon Trail. And then there is this cool page, provided by the church, that shares info about the pioneers including many journal entries.
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