The pioneer exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, began February 4, 1846. As Brigham Young and the Saints entered the Salt Lake Valley On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young said, “This is the right place”
Many saints and converts immigrating from England made the 1300mile trek from Iowa City to the Salt Lake Valley. The vast majority of the Utah pioneers got their first glimpse of the sagebrush, sego lily and the salt-flat desert landscape of the Great Salt Lake Valley on foot. Some even arrived barefoot after having suffered extreme hardships in traversing over 1,300 miles of prairie, desert, and mountain wilderness.
These pioneers accomplished hard things and each of us is promised that we also can do hard things. The Theme of our Trek is... “In His Strength I Can Do All Things” from Alma 26:12
Before the railroad reached the Utah Territory in 1869, approximately 70,000 pioneers, 9,600 wagons, and 650 handcarts made the trek from Winter Quarters in present-day Iowa and Nebraska to the Salt Lake Valley. Each pioneer who walked from the Mississippi River to the Great Salt Lake took millions of steps to travel that distance.
Under favorable circumstances, the trek took a little more than three months. Traveling 15 miles in a day was considered a good day. For the Rancho Cucamonga Stake the longest day of our trek will be our first day and will be 7 miles. In total, billions of footsteps of faith were taken by our pioneers. These pioneers trekked through heat and cold, through mud, sand, and sometimes snow and through rivers and over mountains. They faced trials that required great faith and perseverance.
Perhaps the most memorable pioneer stalwarts were the Saints who made the journey in handcart companies. These companies brought nearly 3,000 pioneers west between 1856 and 1860. In 1856, two handcart companies, with 1,075 pioneers under the leadership of James G. Willie and Edward Martin, left later in the year than planned, and they encountered early winter storms in present-day Wyoming.
President Joseph F. Smith said, “Truly the Lord encourages us to walk in faith to the edge of the light and beyond—into the unknown. After the trial of our faith, He once again shines the light ahead of us, and our journey of faith in every footstep continues. Now, it has swelled into billions and billions of footsteps throughout the world.
Our Rancho Cucamonga trek will focus on gospel principles that the pioneers exemplified. Some of these principles are. . .
Faith:
Faith in Jesus Christ sustained Latter-day Saint pioneers as they entered the waters of baptism, journeyed to America, endured adversities, and helped build Zion. Your trek can help you develop this same faith. You can also learn how to be modern pioneers and establish faith-centered lives and traditions.
Obedience:
In gathering to the American West, the pioneers were obeying the call of a prophet, Brigham Young. Your trek can help you learn the importance of obeying God’s commandments and following the teachings of His prophet today Russel M. Nelson.
Charity:
The stories of the pioneers are replete with examples of people who showed charity to each other in the most adverse circumstances. In your trek, you will have many opportunities to experience the blessings of giving and receiving charity.
Sacrifice:
Latter-day Saint converts made great sacrifices by leaving homelands, families, and friends to gather to Zion. When tragedy struck two of the handcart companies in 1856, Church members made great sacrifices to leave the comforts of their homes in the Salt Lake Valley and to rescue and care for these Saints. As you participate in your handcart trek, you will have opportunities to make sacrifices and to experience the blessings that come through service.
Persevering Through Adversity:
The handcart pioneers’ trek was arduous. Some of these Saints faced harsh winter storms as well as heat and exhaustion; had inadequate clothing, shelter, and food; and suffered illness and death. Clinging to their faith in God and their vision of Zion, they persevered through the most daunting conditions. Your trek can help you learn to persevere, turn to God in times of trial, and gain a testimony that in all aspects of your life, He will help lift and bear your burdens.
The Theme of our Trek is... “In His Strength I Can Do All Things” You will recall, that in this scripture Ammon is boasting and is rebuked by his brethren.
Alma 26:12
Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
Elder Ballard invites us, and as your Treks Trail Boss I invite you, my young brothers and sisters, to join with us and begin now to prepare for a spiritual journey by walking in the footsteps of our beloved pioneers. This will likely be the only time in your life that you will have this awesome trekking opportunity.
We must be sure that the legacy of faith received from them is never lost. Let their heroic lives touch our hearts, so the fire of true testimony and unwavering love for the Lord and His Church will blaze brightly within each one of us as it did in our faithful pioneers.
Their accomplishments were possible because they knew, as I know, that our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, restored the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith and that this Church will continue to roll forth until it fills the whole earth. To this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen (Elder Ballard “Faith in Every Footstep” Ensign, Nov.1996, 25)
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