On the eve of the beginning of a 446-mile wagon-train trek from Logan to Cedar City, Utah, Elder M. Russell Ballard extolled the pioneers who founded the territory and state more than a century ago.
"During your 25-day centennial trek, some of you will get a small glimpse of what our forefathers experienced traveling about 1,300 miles from Nauvoo," Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said June 3. "Even with your rubber-tired wagon wheels, I would guess the 446 miles to Cedar City will be far enough!"The event, Utah's Centennial Wagon Train, left Logan in northern Utah June 4. Organizers hope to reach Cedar City in southern Utah by June 28. About 55 wagons departed, and about 100 are expected to join in some portion of the trek.
Elder Ballard, a centennial commissioner, mentioned that he is also chairman of the Church Sesquicentennial Committee.
"We are preparing for a wonderful celebration during 1997 marking 150 years since the pioneers came to these valleys," he said. "We owe them so much, and we must never forget that the foundation for today was built in large measure upon the shoulders of our faithful pioneers."
Illustrating that the pioneers often sacrificed everything they had, Elder Ballard told of his great-grandfather, Henry Ballard, who joined the Church in February 1849 in Thatcham, England, at age 17.
The apostle quoted from Henry's life history in which he told of being healed by the elders of the Church and then enduring seasickness on the passage across the ocean, being injured by a boiler explosion on a steamboat, and suffering from exposure and lack of necessities during the trek to the Salt Lake Valley.
Elder Ballard also told of his great-grandmother from Scotland - Henry's wife, Margaret McNeil - who as a 13-year-old also endured the trials of crossing the plains.
He quoted this account from her life story of the family's arrival in Ogden, Utah, on Oct. 4, 1859: "We camped on the outskirts of town, and father left us and went into Ogden to find work. While camping here many people passed us on their way to attend the General Conference of the Church held in Salt Lake City. Across the field from where we were was a little home and out in the yard was a big pile of squash. We were so famished that my mother sent me over to beg for squash for we did not have a cent of money, and some of the children were very weak for want of food. I knocked at the door, and an old lady came and said, `Come in, come in. I knew you were coming and have been told to give you food.' She gave me a large loaf of fresh bread and said to tell my mother that she would come over soon. It was not long until she did come and brought us a nicely cooked dinner, something we had not had for a long time. This woman was surely inspired of the Lord to help us and we were grateful for her kindness. Bread never tasted so good before or since."
Elder Ballard warned against becoming like the children of Israel before they inherited the promised land and invoked the scripture in Deut. 6:10-12, which concludes: "Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."
"The comparison of our times and conditions to those of the pioneers is overwhelming," Elder Ballard said. "In some ways, perhaps, their struggle against the elements may have been a lesser challenge than ours today. Living amidst the comforts and conveniences that many of us enjoy, if we are not wise, can foster apathy, indifference, and even a false sense of security."
He said the centennial year "is a wonderful opportunity to recommit our lives to the proven values exhibited by those who settled these mountain valleys."
