Our ward has spent all year preparing to take the youth, 14
and older, on a 3 day TREK to somewhat mimic what the pioneers experienced
crossing the plains. I suppose the purpose of a fabricated Trek is to give the
kids an appreciation of their heritage and to teach them that they too can do
hard things. May Tuesday night youth activities were focused on preparing for
the Trek—teaching the kids to square dance or making clothes for Trek, or
having devotionals telling them how wonderful it would be. Many of my son’s friends were able to
go on Trek, but my son was not able to go—he missed the age requirement deadline
by 13 days. He started to complain about going to Tuesday night activities,
which was unusual, so I asked him what was going on. He finally said, “I don’t
want to go and hear about everything I’m going to miss out on during Trek.” I
understood perfectly! It’s not fun to hear about the amazing time other people
are going to have without you! And so as the time for Trek grew nearer, I
became more weary of hearing about it too. What about those of us who weren’t
asked to go on Trek? Are we not as important as those who were asked to go? I
struggled with this a little. And then I had a revelation. :)
First, I concluded that wanting to go on Trek—purposefully creating
trials for yourself— was kind-of like wanting to have cancer so that you could
learn to better rely on the Lord, and grow closer to others that have also had
cancer! Okay, maybe cancer is a bit extreme of a comparison, but trekking
through the desert in the hot sun and sleeping on the ground is not luxury!
Then I had a real revelation—not just a rationalization. :) I realized that
wanting to go on Trek is a good thing. It’s good to want to go! By not going, I
was able to get the perspective of those Saints who wanted to go west at the
time of the early pioneers but weren’t able to go. They had testimonies too. Many
of them probably had the desire to be with their fellow saints. I am sure they
prayed for their brothers and sisters who were on the trail west. I am sure
they wanted them to make it to Zion with stronger faith and testimonies to
carry the church forward. Don’t we all want our youth—whether our own or
someone else’s—to be as strong as they can? They are the future fathers and
mothers, future leaders of our Church. And those youth desperately need our
support and our prayers.
The Trek united the people who went on it. But I would also
argue that the Trek brought the whole stake closer together. We all fasted
together in behalf of those participating. When I fasted, I expanded my fast to
all our youth—whether they went on Trek or not.
When our stake got back from Trek, we had a Sacrament
Meeting where all those who participated in the Trek were invited to bear their
testimonies about the experience. It lasted 2 ½ hours! As I sat there, I
kind-of got a glimpse of how single members in the Church feel in a testimony
meeting where it seems that everyone talks about how great marriage is. Or how
members without families feel when someone goes on and on about the greatness
of families. They aren’t bitter or begrudging of those people, although
sometimes they might feel left out. We are happy when someone is able to learn,
able to conquer a hard thing, able to feel the Spirit & come closer to
Christ. That’s what we want for others! And in learning this, I gained that
myself. I was able to learn, I was able to conquer this little trial in my
life. I learned that even though I wasn’t asked to cross the plains, God still
loves me! I will have my own mountains to climb. And so will my son. I don’t
need to worry about missing out on climbing this one.
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