While I was a youth in Wyoming I was given
a chance to go on a Trek with the Church Youth in Martin’s Cove. The scenery
was beautiful and I loved the site. Throughout the Trek, we had speakers address
us regarding the different hardships and stories of the great pioneers. I was
lucky enough to walk for an ancestor of my own which made the experience so
much greater. We were on the end of our five day Trek when we stopped to listen
to two particular speakers. They were a married couple; they spoke calmly yet
strongly to the youth after acting out an anguishing scene of a pioneer couple.
The couple on the Trek retold the brief history of the
Nielsons who were in the Handcart Company. I noticed that as I watched the couple
struggle through this hard trial that it seemed so real. They reached the top
of the hill and delivered an eloquent, moving talk with the power of the Holy
Ghost. They used this portrayed scene as a metaphor for our lives. Remembering
what they had said about the parallel to our lives has stuck with me. The
parallel of this struggle on Rocky Ridge of the Nielsons and my own struggles
has stayed with me. As I climb over the personal obstacles in my life, I recall
the struggle of the tiny Elsie Nielson hoisting her husband into the handcart,
and pulling him all by herself in a blizzard.
Isn't it interesting how stories and metaphors stay through our lives? We usually come home from Mormon oratory meetings, and we can't remember much of what people said. But we can always remember stories or metaphors, and they're almost always applicable into our lives. Sometimes we even use those stories in our own oratory literature or to help others get through trials. Stories stay with us because they're easy to remember and easy to regurgitate.
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