"Steps of Reflection, Faith in Tomorrow"

      About 14 months ago, Spencer and I were asked to meet with one of the Members of our Stake Presidency.   At this meeting President Opdahl talked about how our Stake would like to participate in a Youth Pioneer Trek during the summer of 2012.  I instantly thought, Oh!...he's going to ask us to be a Ma & Pa, but to my utter shock he asked for our service as Trek Coordinators, which means we plan the whole thing.  That is a HUGE responsibility!  Of course we accepted and so for the past 14 months we have been living and breathing Pioneer Treks.  During this prep-time I have felt such a varied amount of emotions; excited, inspired, anxious and overwhelmed, but most of all humbled!  I have been humbled by the amount of service so many people freely give to make events like this happen.  I am humbled by the respect and trust that others have in us, even though they are older and wiser, I feel their confidence in us and I appreciate that.  During our Trek Kick-Off Fireside I gave the following talk to our Stake youth which expresses my thoughts on the up-coming Trek. 

"Steps of Reflection, Faith in Tomorrow"

      I have to admit that between the age of 12-18 I had absolutely no interest in Pioneers!  I never had a great-great grandfather cross the plains pulling a handcart with the hope of finding religious freedom, so I had never felt a personal connection to the early pioneer history so widely regarded in our church.  I had the mentality that if it didn’t apply to me, why should I care.

     But the truth of the matter is, it does apply to me.  And it applies to all of you too.  And I regret to say that for years I was oblivious to the roots that blessed me, and continue to bless me.  We all have pioneers in our family.  Every single one of us here have at least one ancestor that chose to listen to the missionaries and join the church so that their children could have the gospel in their lives.  For some of us here, those pioneers may date back to the early settlers of the church; those who sacrificed all they had because of their faith in the gospel.  For others it may have been your parents or grandparents who were introduced to the gospel, or even yet, maybe your roots in the church began with you. 

     However long your roots in the gospel have been planted, one thing that rings true for all of us is that those roots are a part of our spiritual strength. 

     The first part of our theme we entitled, “Steps of Reflection”.  We chose this phrase because we feel that it’s important to reflect on where we came from.  We need to take the time to learn about what our ancestors did and what they sacrificed for us.  Personally, and collectively. 

      It’s extremely important that we not forget what the Restoration really means and what it cost. 

      I had an opportunity a few years ago to learn about my great-grandma on my Dad’s side.  She was born and raised in Norway.  When she was 18 years old she worked for a man who was a Mormon.  The religion intrigued her and she wanted to be taught the gospel.  She asked to be baptized, but because of her parents’ disapproval the missionaries told her they would rather she had a strong testimony, strong enough to stand on her own before she be baptized.  Her family practically disowned her.  In public her siblings even refused to be seen with her. 

      My Great-Grandma belonged to a club that the church in Norway had.  In this club each member would pay a certain amount of money a month into a fund and the most active member was given the money to come to America.  Once they got to America and secured a job they would then repay the money to the club.  Despite several threats from her family that bad things would happen to her if she left, she decided it was the right thing to do and arrived in America in Feb. 1910.  She only knew just a handful of people who had traveled previously and that is all.

      It takes a lot of faith to leave something behind, even if you’re moving on to something better, but Faith helps us to have courage in pursuing our dreams.  The gospel of Jesus Christ would not be what it is today if not for the faith of the early pioneers.  But do we truly understand WHY the pioneers did what they did? 

      Just like my Great-Grandma, the Saints in a lot of cases could have stayed where they were. But they looked beyond the here and the now.  Which leads me to the second part of our theme.   “Faith in Tomorrow”

      The Pioneers movement west was for us, the future members of this church, so that we could have the gospel in our lives, and a temple to worship in.  The hardships that the Pioneers had to endure were severe.  I bet in a lot of cases the pain felt endless.  But they were determined.  They KNEW that tomorrow would be better.  “Tomorrow” might have meant days or weeks, or even months before relief came but they believed with all of their heart that that relief would come.  Many gave their lives trying. 

      By experiencing some of the hardships that the early Church pioneers had to go through, we hope that you will learn to appreciate, and value, all that they did for you.  And recognize the faith they had in order to do it.  One of my favorite quotes from the movie 17 Miracles is, “All this will be worth it if my posterity will keep the faith”. 

      It is my hope as we go on this trek that we can all begin to recognize the roots that have blessed our lives.  That our faith in the gospel will grow.  And more importantly, as we exercise our faith, we will all come to realize that we too can overcome any hardship in our life.  I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.