Dad and enjoyed our trip to see Michael, Jenni, Alyssa, Emma and baby Benjamin. This is the first time I have been to South Dakota so it was fun to drive there and see the different landscapes. I still love mountains, and lakes the best; but there is a beauty in the corn fields, small hills and the rivers which are very large and very beautiful.
We enjoyed attending Michael and Jenni's branch. Michael was called that day as the new Elders Quorum President and was set apart by the Stake President who was visiting that day. Jenni wasn't able to come but we were happy to have been there for this moment.
We decided to travel to Martin Cove on the way home. The weather was good; so we decided to hike up to the area where the Pioneers of the Martin handcart company camped. The hike was about 5 miles long. Before starting out there was a quote by President Hinckley stating that this was sacred and hallowed ground. All I can say is that statement is very true. The spiritual feelings felt there were incredible.We hiked up to the upper camp and spent time in a prayer of gratitude for the sacrifices that these pioneers made.
I would like to share a couple of stories. These saints were stranded when a huge snow storm and violent winds came through the canyon. Dad and I felt the winds in the canyon and I am thankful that they were warm winds. One of the mothers in the tent stayed up all night holding onto the tent's center pole to keep it from falling on her family. I can't imagine how cold that must have been. Many of the tents fell down and there was no way to set them back up due to the frozen ground. When the tents came down there was no real protection from the elements. Another father got his family out quick before the tent collapsed; the only problem was that their six year old boy did not get out fast enough and was caught under the tent. They couldn't get him out until morning when the winds and snow had stopped. Meanwhile, this little boy thought to himself that he had heard that freezing to death was an easy way to die. He therefore curled up and went to sleep. He was protected by the tent and apparently had a good supply of oxygen; so he sleep well and was warm. In the morning he came out from under the tent to the amazement of his family who thought he was dead. Dad and I shed tears in reading many of these kind of experiences.
The saints who died during this time could not be buried due to frozen ground; so they had to just cover them up sage brush. Later on the body's were never found because animals would have probably gotten them.
A Stake President in Wyoming started to investigate what happened to the saints that died there. He felt inspired to look into the history of the Willie and Martin Handcart Company members. He continued to investigate and found out that the saints that died in Martin Cove and Rocky Ridge did not have their temple work completed. This was in 1991. He then started a Willie and Martin Handcart Company project in his stake. He gave out names of those individuals to stake members and they were to research these pioneers and their ancestry. In the end they did the work for over 4,000. individuals. I think we both were in tears driving for the next 3 hours to Rock Springs, Wyoming while reading the book, " The Second Rescue" which was about this project. There were also miracles that occurred in purchasing the land in Martin Cove; again by this same Stake President. We also purchased a book that has stories of all of the saints who survived this along with the experiences of the Stake who did the work for those that died on hallowed ground in both Martin Cove and Rocky ridge. In the book about those who came from Salt Lake to rescue these two groups of people your great great great Grandfather Anson Call was one of them. Dad and I were so grateful that we took the time to stop and enjoy this very spiritual experience.
We enjoyed attending Michael and Jenni's branch. Michael was called that day as the new Elders Quorum President and was set apart by the Stake President who was visiting that day. Jenni wasn't able to come but we were happy to have been there for this moment.
We decided to travel to Martin Cove on the way home. The weather was good; so we decided to hike up to the area where the Pioneers of the Martin handcart company camped. The hike was about 5 miles long. Before starting out there was a quote by President Hinckley stating that this was sacred and hallowed ground. All I can say is that statement is very true. The spiritual feelings felt there were incredible.We hiked up to the upper camp and spent time in a prayer of gratitude for the sacrifices that these pioneers made.
I would like to share a couple of stories. These saints were stranded when a huge snow storm and violent winds came through the canyon. Dad and I felt the winds in the canyon and I am thankful that they were warm winds. One of the mothers in the tent stayed up all night holding onto the tent's center pole to keep it from falling on her family. I can't imagine how cold that must have been. Many of the tents fell down and there was no way to set them back up due to the frozen ground. When the tents came down there was no real protection from the elements. Another father got his family out quick before the tent collapsed; the only problem was that their six year old boy did not get out fast enough and was caught under the tent. They couldn't get him out until morning when the winds and snow had stopped. Meanwhile, this little boy thought to himself that he had heard that freezing to death was an easy way to die. He therefore curled up and went to sleep. He was protected by the tent and apparently had a good supply of oxygen; so he sleep well and was warm. In the morning he came out from under the tent to the amazement of his family who thought he was dead. Dad and I shed tears in reading many of these kind of experiences.
The saints who died during this time could not be buried due to frozen ground; so they had to just cover them up sage brush. Later on the body's were never found because animals would have probably gotten them.
A Stake President in Wyoming started to investigate what happened to the saints that died there. He felt inspired to look into the history of the Willie and Martin Handcart Company members. He continued to investigate and found out that the saints that died in Martin Cove and Rocky Ridge did not have their temple work completed. This was in 1991. He then started a Willie and Martin Handcart Company project in his stake. He gave out names of those individuals to stake members and they were to research these pioneers and their ancestry. In the end they did the work for over 4,000. individuals. I think we both were in tears driving for the next 3 hours to Rock Springs, Wyoming while reading the book, " The Second Rescue" which was about this project. There were also miracles that occurred in purchasing the land in Martin Cove; again by this same Stake President. We also purchased a book that has stories of all of the saints who survived this along with the experiences of the Stake who did the work for those that died on hallowed ground in both Martin Cove and Rocky ridge. In the book about those who came from Salt Lake to rescue these two groups of people your great great great Grandfather Anson Call was one of them. Dad and I were so grateful that we took the time to stop and enjoy this very spiritual experience.
In a few years this might be a great adventure for a family trek. If we wait long enough some of you could pull us in our handcart.
1 comment:
Sounds like you had a blast!
Dave and I loved Palmyra. Hope to get to see some more church sites in the future.
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