The Hub and Spoke Brand

I have stood on sacred ground at times in my life, but none has been as moving as the ground made sacred by the Martin handcart pioneers in Wyoming near Martin's Cove. I think it no accident that the man who later settled this land (knowingly or not) made tribute to the handcart pioneers by selecting the "hub and spoke" as his cattle brand. The hub and spoke maybe because it looked like a sun and the man's last name was Sun, but also because there were so many abandoned handcart wheels on his ranch where all that remained were the hub and spokes. I am moved by the sacrifice made by these saints who walked across the wilderness facing hardships to get to Zion.

Gordon B. Hinckley said in General Conference 1996 "I take you back to the general conference of October 1856. On Saturday of that conference Franklin D. Richards and a handful of associates arrived in the valley. They had traveled from Winter Quarters with strong teams and light wagons and had been able to make good time. Brother Richards immediately sought out President Young. He reported that there were hundreds of men, women, and children scattered over the long trail from Scottsbluff to this valley. Most of them were pulling handcarts. They were accompanied by two wagon trains which had been assigned to assist them. They had reached the area of the last crossing of the North Platte River. Ahead of them lay a trail that was uphill all the way to the Continental Divide with many, many miles beyond that. They were in desperate trouble. Winter had come early. Snow-laden winds were howling across the highlands of what is now western Nebraska and Wyoming. Our people were hungry, their carts and their wagons were breaking down, their oxen dying. The people themselves were dying. All of them would perish unless they were rescued."

He went on to say.

"Stories of the beleaguered Saints and of their suffering and death will be repeated again and again next year. Stories of their rescue need to be repeated again and again. They speak of the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am grateful that those days of pioneering are behind us. I am thankful that we do not have brethren and sisters stranded in the snow, freezing and dying, while trying to get to this, their Zion in the mountains. But there are people, not a few, whose circumstances are desperate and who cry out for help and relief."

Today in a special priesthood meeting President Schnieber invited the priesthood leadership to step up their efforts to reach out to those in need of spiritual and physical nourishment. I was moved by the spirit felt as moved as when standing on the sacred ground at Martin's Cove.

I will step up my efforts to serve God by serving his children.