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New video about the Willie and Martin handcart companies
WEST JORDAN, UTAH -- The West Jordan Utah Stake has produced a play,
The Mormon Trail, about the Willie and Martin handcart companies of
1856.
The two companies left Iowa City late in the summer (July) and didn't
reach Salt Lake City until November. Early storms and freezing
weather caused great suffering and death among the pioneers. In the
midst of these trials, the Saints held true to their testimonies and
looked to God for help. Help came in the form of Saints helping each
other, angels from God helping push the carts and comfort the Saints,
and supply wagons arriving from Salt Lake.
Members of the two companies are featured in the play, including
Francis and Ann Elizabeth Webster, Elizabeth and Aaron Jackson, Jens
and Elsie Nielson, Levi Savage, Ephraim Hanks, Harvey Cluff, and the
four men who carried the Saints across the ice-filled Sweetwater.
Members of the West Jordan Utah Stake spent thousands of man hours
over three years in producing the play. The play was produced as a
"teaching play," using the trials of the pioneers as object lessons
to help us realize that we can overcome our trials by applying Gospel
principles to our lives.
The video can be purchased for the cost of duplication and shipping
by going to
http://www.webster-family.org/ . That site has a number of
pictures from the play.
Source:
Allen Leigh 15Dec01 A2
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