I Trek, You Trek, We Trek

When I was a teenager, we didn’t have handcart treks. I wish I had experienced one then. But as an adult, we have been immersed: Over the past 12 years, 5 kids + 2 parents = 8 Trek experiences. That’s a lot of pushing and pulling and walking. And a lot of awesome. Our family has had a great run of treks since our kids entered the youth program. It has been a good thing. A youth trek offers physical challenge, spiritual growth, bonding with fellow saints, and empathy towards our ancestors.

But every trek is different, and every person is different. Because of this, every trek experience is different.

For some of our kids, trek was the most physically challenging thing they ever did. For others, not so much. For some, it was one of the most powerful spiritual experiences to date. For others, a spiritual experience, but not the spiritual experience. For some, it was life-altering. For others, it affirmed a life that was not in need of drastic altering. For some, it was a time of bonding with temporary siblings and ma’s and pa’s. For others, it was a lot of quiet walking with limited interaction.

And that is OK. Trek experiences are rightfully unique for each participant, and deeply personal.

Why would I say “rightfully?” Let’s go back and look at the original “trekkers” – the handcart pioneers. From 1856 to 1860, almost 3,000 saints headed west pulling handcarts behind them. They were formed into 10 companies, but if you are at all like me, you can only name two of them. The Willie Company, and the Martin Company.  Why are those the two that stand out? Because they were disastrous. 220 deaths came from those two companies. (link) We tend to focus on the tragic.

That tragedy sometimes overshadows something amazing – even miraculous. In addition to the 220 deaths mentioned, there were only 30 deaths between the other 8 companies combined. 250 fatalities total. One company did not lose a single soul. It was a wildly successful means of reaching Zion, with all due respect to the fallen.

Seen from a higher viewpoint, the mortality rate for the pioneers was not that much different than the rest of the US population at the time. Even more remarkable is that “the infant mortality rate on the plains was 9 percent, while the general infant mortality rate in 1850 was above 15 percent.” (link) (In layman’s terms, being a pioneer was not much more life-threatening than regular living in the 1800s, and if you were a baby, you were better off being carried across the plains than staying home in the States.)

Now don’t start thinking I am trying to minimize the sacrifice of those folks. I’m not. I have ancestors who were buried on the plains, and one who made the crossing SEVEN times to help others. I am well aware of the hardships and trials.  For many it was a trail of suffering and tears.

I am also aware that for many, it was a trail of hope – even an enjoyable experience.

For many of those who crossed in relative “ease,” the journey was not so much of a Trek.  For many, their individualized Trek came later. For some, the Trek after the trek was a far greater challenge. Many succeeded. Some failed.

• Some brethren decided against making the Trek back to Zion because they had gold fever in California, and stayed to make their fortunes.

• Many pioneers completed their trek, only to be called upon to leave their beautiful new homes, gardens and orchards to begin yet another Trek to some godforsaken desert in Nevada or Arizona.

• Some abandoned their Trek to follow the road of apostasy.

• Many husbands and wives were separated by years and oceans while brethren were called to begin a new Trek to serve as missionaries in far-off lands.

• Those who lost loved ones along the way began the emotional Trek of mourning the dead while holding the faith and waiting for thirty to forty years to complete sacred, binding temple ordinances.

A handcart trek may or may not be a life-altering experience – but it not from lack of effort on the part of those who carry them out.  Diligent leaders spend countless hours on their knees and hard at work trying to make it the best possible opportunity for each of the youth to experience and feel. They do an amazing job. It is one of the few opportunities for service in the church where blisters almost always come with the calling. From my experience, the vast majority of the youth (and adults) that participate in youth treks are better for it. They find themselves stronger spiritually, and they learn a lot about themselves, and what they are capable of. It is good to know that we can do hard things.

In my opinion, the single best benefit of a successful trek is to learn more about ourselves and our relationship to God. We learn that together with God, we can overcome adversity, and grow from it. Why is this important? Because eventually – inevitably – we will be challenged with our own personal TREK. And this TREK will be as individual as we are.

Elder M. Russell Ballard said this:

“Although our journeys today are less demanding physically than the trek of our pioneers 150 years ago, they are no less challenging. Certainly it was hard to walk across a continent to establish a new home in a dry western desert. But who can say if that was any more difficult than is the task of living faithful, righteous lives in today’s confusingly sinful world, where the trail is constantly shifting and where divine markers of right and wrong are being replaced by political expediency and diminishing morality.” (link)

Do you know what your modern day, personal TREK is? There are many journeys that can be difficult.

• Is your life a constant journey of tamping down doubt while trying to build faith?

• Is it fighting illness or injury that makes simple things in life a TREK?

• Are you mourning the loss of a child, or a loved one?

• Are you grieving over the spiritual standing of a wayward son, or daughter, or spouse?

• Is it a TREK to get up and face each day because of depression or other mental or emotional challenges?

• Is fighting a never-ending battle of financial problems your TREK?

• Will ou TREK be a lifetime of fighting to keep worldliness at bay?

• Is your TREK in life to experience Job-like adversity, yet still praise God?

“And how will we feel then, as we stand shoulder to shoulder with the great pioneers of Church history? How will they feel about us? Will they see faith in our footsteps? I believe they will, particularly as they view our lives and experiences from the expanded perspective of eternity.”

“The road we travel today is treacherous, and the scriptures tell us it will continue to be so until the very end. But our reward will be the same as that which awaits worthy pioneers of all ages who live faithfully the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, make right choices, and give their all to build the kingdom of God on earth.” (Ballard)

If you or one of your teenagers are embarking on a trek this summer, I wish you well. I hope that it is a source of hope, and source of strength that you can draw on for the rest of this TREK we call mortality.

Note: image of painting “United” by Julie Rogers, used by permission of the artist.  (Thanks!)