Primary Pioneer Trek

Because I am in the primary presidency in our ward I get to do all kinds of things with the kids out here. It has been so good for me as a mother to see where I need to develop and where I need to let go. One of the biggest improvements in my parenting came when I realized that I'm not as knowledgeable in the Gospel as the children that I'm teaching. I decided to read my scriptures every day and I just about have. I have learned so much from the President, counselor, song leaders and teachers that I serve with...but most of all I have learned from the children. Even if my children are screaming and fighting all through sacrament meeting, I can't help but smile when I get to primary. Yesterday we did a Pioneer trek which was SO fun! We walked just over a mile pushing and pulling handcarts. We stopped along the way to see the Indians and to have lessons and hear stories of the pioneers. (I was so touched to hear the stories that I called my mom and asked her to tell me my ancestor's stories.) When we made it half way we celebrated with dehydrated apples and figs. We also drank from the cooler with our hands just like if we were drinking from a stream. By the end the little ones were tired (although they didn't really complain) so they rode in the handcart.

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This picture is especially special to me. They did not pose for this but I was touched when I saw the girls standing cuddled by their teacher I was reminded of a story about Emma Smith, The Prophet Joseph Smith's wife.

This is from

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith

Responding to Persecution with Faith and Courage

In the winter of 1838–39, the Missouri state militia was under orders from the governor to drive the Latter-day Saints from the state, and the Prophet Joseph Smith was imprisoned in Liberty Jail. That winter and the following spring, a scene of terrible suffering unfolded as thousands of Saints were forced to flee their homes in Missouri. Leaving much of their property behind, they began making their way 200 miles eastward to western Illinois, under the direction of Brigham Young and other Church leaders. Few of the Saints had good wagons and horses, and many slept unsheltered in the rain and snow. Some who did not have shoes wrapped their feet in rags as they walked across the snow.

In February 1839, a kind neighbor helped Emma Smith place her four children and her few belongings into a wagon lined with straw. When their party came to the frozen Mississippi River, Emma walked across the ice with her children, carrying the manuscripts of the Prophet’s Bible translation in two cloth bags tied around her waist under her skirt. She and many other destitute Saints took refuge in the community of Quincy, Illinois, where they continued to suffer from hunger, cold, and sickness, though these sufferings were alleviated by many acts of kindness from a caring community.

Although the Prophet Joseph yearned to help the Saints, he could do little but pray and give direction through letters to Brigham Young and the other brethren who were leading the Saints in his absence. In these desperate circumstances, he wrote words of encouragement and peace to Church members: “Dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123:17).

This picture just reminds me of the picture of Emma with her children wrapped in her arms. I thought of the similarities we have to Emma as teachers and parents to these children. Just as she was protecting the manuscripts from boing stolen or lost, we protect our heritage and the stories of our parents and grandparents from being lost. We also protect them from the cold and winds of the world.