So I decided to break with tradition and actually post something without waiting a month! Crazy huh? I guess when you have something worth writing about it takes precedence over tradition. This last weekend I went on trek with my entire family. It was interesting watching how everyone reacted to it. You had people like me who were totally stoked and ready to go, People who were there just because their parents made them go, and people who were just along for the ride. No matter what category they were in though, every person made a contribution to the atmosphere of the trek and we all left a little bit of a different person (some had smaller changes than others, but we were all different none the less). Something about going out and pulling a handcart 10 miles in two days in the hot sun gives you a new perspective for good or bad.
I can't speak for everyone on the trek, but I'd like to share my little picture of the world and the impact that it had on me. As we started out on our little journey, each of us were given a paper with a name and story of one of the original pioneers. I was given Ann Morris Butler Rice. She was 39 at the time she crossed the plains with the 3rd Handcart Company on June 28, 1858. Before she even set foot on the trail, she had had to endure a long journey from Wales with her 2 remaining children. Her husband and other 2 children had died of cholera. Rather than being disheartened and giving up on the church, she became an amazing example of faith and pursued the command to gather to Salt Lake.
With this story in mind, I set out on my own trek. As we were pulling the handcart up a large hill, I looked down at my feet and started thinking about what it would be like to be a single mother, not only pulling the handcart, but trying to keep track of two young children on my own. Ann's example of faith and courage was amazing to me. I started thinking about my own life and the trials that I have been through. Though I haven't been asked to give up all the worldly things that I own and walk halfway across the country, I have been asked to give up my own ideas of what is important and allow the Lord's plan to be the center of my life. I am by no means perfect at this goal, but I have been making a valiant effort. I still have a long way to go, but I know that I'm on the right path.
As we continued our journey, I found myself being slightly irritated by all the talk about all the hard things that the pioneers went through. Don't get me wrong, they did go through a lot of difficult trials and we need to remember those, but I also think its good to remember that it wasn't all sad. The pioneers had great faith, they wouldn't have started out on such a journey otherwise. And with that faith comes a great trust in the Lord. That trust and reliance on our Savior is what brings peace and happiness despite the trials that come into our lives. The Pioneers understood that. On our second day we were given the second half of our person's story. Of all the lines in it, the one that touched me the most was "Ann pulled the cart with a song and prayer in her heart." Such a simple thought but something that has so much impact in our lives. Imagine what would happen if every person woke up each morning and "pulled the cart" of our lives "with a song and prayer in [our] hearts"? how different would the world be if we had that same faith, to know that it doesn't matter what is to come, what hardships may be brought into our little sphere of time, that joy, happiness, and support are only a prayer away?
After we were given the last part of the story, we had a little testimony meeting under the quaking aspens next to a large open meadow. As the leaves fluttered in the breeze, several people stood and bore their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I realized more in that moment than I had ever before that it doesn't matter what level your testimony is on, whether you cry or not, or if you use big elaborate words. The most important thing is that you have one and you take the time to share it with those around you. Sometimes that doesn't even mean sharing it with words. Your life can be your testimony, and should be your ultimate testimony. That's what the Pioneers did. Their lives were their testimony and witness to their faith. I wrote in my journal as we were finishing up our little testimony meeting and I'd like to share part of what i wrote:
"It's so hard to fully understand what the Pioneers truly went through. Pulling a handcart through the woods for two days can only give you so much insight. It's not even really about pulling the handcart. It's about the people. The people then, that sacrificed, and us now, the people who have the responsibility, just like the pioneers, to better the church and to take the gospel to all those out in the world that have yet to hear it."
That is what it is all about. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. His plan of happiness is essential for our eternal salvation and happiness. There is no other way. That is why the Pioneers left their homes and sometimes even their families to travel across the world to follow the Lord's prophet on the earth at that time. We have the same responsibility now and forever. This gospel cannot and will not fail, I know that without a doubt in my mind. My goal is no longer to find out whether or not its true, it is now to live it to its fullest and I intend to do that for all eternity!
Penny for Thought...
The bishop of my home ward posed an interesting question, one that I think deserves a lot of personal thought... "Do trials make you become bitter or better?" Granted we all have our down and off days, but on average where do you stand? Are you the one that people see as happy no matter what is going on in your life? do you grow from those trials, or do you let them get you down? Its all a matter of personal choice, what will yours be...
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