Being Undaunted

I'm reading Gerald Lund's novel The Undaunted. It is about the Mormon pioneers who left the comforts of their homes to settle the southeastern part of Utah. This call to move came after many of them had endured the hardships of crossing across the plains years earlier, some in wagons, some walking, and some pulling handcarts.

Last night I was reading about Jens Nielsen (a real person whose story is in this book). While crossing the plains one of his sons died. Jens' feet were so badly frostbitten that they never healed. On the night his son died, he was the only man to help put up their large, 20 man tent. The other four men had died. The women weren't strong enough to help. It was snowing and very cold. The ground was frozen solid so no tent stakes would go in. He said, "When it looked like we all should die, I offered a prayer to my Heavenly Father. I said that if the Lord would let me live to reach Salt Lake City, then all the rest of my days should be spent trying to be of use to Him under the direction of the priesthood."

I would like to think that if I was one of the pioneers crossing the plains in such harsh and unfavorable circumstances that I would have been as faithful and faith-filled as Jens Nielson. But I am not so sure I could have done it. Maybe that is why the Lord let me come to earth today-- He knew I couldn't endure an earlier time.

Many days I feel like the woman in this picture by Al Rounds. The picture hangs on my bedroom wall. It reminds me of a time when we did a pioneer reenactment trek at Martin's Cove. It was one of those moments when I was reminded that God is mindful of me as an individual.



At church today something was said that bothered me. I guess it was because I was feeling like the girl in the handcart picture. Later, in Sunday school, I was asked to read this quote by Elder Ballard: "We are the inheritors of a tremendous heritage. Now it is our privilege and responsibility to be part of the Restoration's continuing drama, and there are great and heroic stories of faith to be written in our day. It will require every bit of our strength, wisdom, and energy to overcome the obstacles that will confront us. But even that will not be enough. We will learn, as did our pioneer ancestors, that it is only in faith-- real faith, whole-souled, tested and tried-- that we will find safety and confidence as we walk our own perilous pathways through life."

I was so touched by that Elder Ballard's message. I hope that I will have the strength, wisdom, and energy to overcome the obstacles that I will undoubtedly face in my life. I hope that one day my nieces and nephews and their children will tell stories about me and my undaunted faith. I hope that one day I will be a source of inspiration for someone to keep going, to be faithful, even when it is snowing, cold, and the ground is too frozen for tent stakes.

Life is Good.