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I object to Trek not only because some things can be seen as contrived and manipulative, but also for some of the physical demands we’re placing on unconditioned teenagers. My stake has the most physcially demanding Trek that I’ve heard of and it worries me. Quote:“that may be true, but your daughter and I both had a fabulous experience that you have to do to appreciate.”
If you try to argue with that, you’re being stupid. Period.
There’s a really important lesson in that about a whole lot of things, even if you never participate – and even if participating would push you over the edge.
“Different strokes for different folks” can’t be only about us; we have to honor it for others, as well – even those who see and experience things radically differently than we do.
Just to reinforce what I was talking about in my previous post, KSL posted this article today entitled “ Mormon Malian presidential candidate becomes modern pioneer.” http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26125173&nid=757&title=mormon-malian-presidential-candidate-becomes-modern-pioneer&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-13 ” class=”bbcode_url”> http://www.ksl.com/?sid=26125173&nid=757&title=mormon-malian-presidential-candidate-becomes-modern-pioneer&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-13 It starts off like this:
Quote:SALT LAKE CITY — As we approach the 24th of July and reflect on the intrepidity of our ancestors, it is worth considering the bold journey of a modern pioneer — Malian presidential candidate Niankoro Yeah Samake.
Not only is Samake Mali’s first LDS presidential candidate, he is Mali’s only LDS member (aside from his wife and two children). The starkness of this singularity cannot be overstated. In a nation where an estimated 95 percent of the population is Muslim, Christians in general raise eyebrows.
More remarkably still, Samake has a fighting chance in this Sunday’s election. A recent informal poll conducted by Jeune Afrique placed the 44-year-old candidate in third of 28 candidates with 17% of the vote. At a time when Mali has been ravaged by corruption, a coup and a territorial takeover by Islamist militants, Samake’s experience and vision offer a distinct opportunity for the nation’s recovery.
These are the kinds of pioneers I think we need to be emulating and recognizing for our youth, not just the handcart variety.
There is nothing wrong with honoring the past, but we also have a great future to look forward to.
I just wanted to add my 2 cents in here. My Stake did Trek a few years ago. My 12 year old son (at the time) didn’t want to go, but there was so much pressure that this would be a wonderful, spiritual experience my DH and I made him go. We should have listened to our instincts, and trust me in the future I’ll never trust a Bishop’s advice over my mother’s intuition again. Well, when our son came home, he didn’t want to talk about it. At all. He sat on my lap and cried for 2 hours until he fell asleep. He woke up and proceeded to tell us that he was hungry the whole time, there was never enough food (and he’s not one of those teenage boys that eat constantly) he never got enough to drink and was forced to participate in square dancing. (He did Irish dance for years, he knows how, he’s willing, he was tired) He said it felt like they walked 20 miles a day (it was more like 5, but still, it was hard) until he was physically exhausted and had to sit around the campfire and listen to dead baby stories.
It traumatized the kid.
He slept on the floor in our bedroom for a week, because the “dead baby stories” gave him nightmares.
I think Trek is overrated.
Roobytoos, I am genuinely sorry for your son’s poor experience. I think that this is a reminder that not everyone is alike. For everyone that has a spiritual experience there may be others that are having a traumatic experience. I think that is one of the dangers of forcing individuals into an emotional situation with the hopes of triggering a spiritual moment – sometimes the emotions are strongly negative. roobytoos wrote:He slept on the floor in our bedroom for a week, because the “dead baby stories” gave him nightmares.
As someone who has lost an infant child, I think there is a fine line between remembering the loss and….glorifying it. I believe we should be very careful not to manipulate the remembered pain of others for our own agenda. I’m sure it is easier said than done but I believe the principle to be sound. Can we tell their stories without summarizing that it was all worth it, that they overcame the trial and were rewarded in heaven, that they did it for us as though their dead baby was the price that had to be paid for the freedoms we now enjoy? A fine line indeed.
Roy, I am truly sorry for your loss. I hope the comment of “dead baby stories” wasn’t offensive, it was my son’s choice of words at the time, and all though a bit rough and crude, I think these words epitomize the depth of the anguish it caused him to experience. roobytoos wrote:Roy, I am truly sorry for your loss. I hope the comment of “dead baby stories” wasn’t offensive, it was my son’s choice of words at the time, and all though a bit rough and crude, I think these words epitomize the depth of the anguish it caused him to experience.
No worries. We are all friends here.
I just imagine my descendants (or even worse a church youth group) playing up the horror and shock and rawness of DW and my shared pain for a desired effect (to manipulate a spiritual experience, engender loyalty to the organization, or some other purpose). I guess I just feel that it is dehumanizing, that it reduces our experience to a plot device. I say that this is easier said than done because people are by nature complex and our ability and interest to understand others (especially from the distant past) is limited. We view them through the lens of our own day and often try to force them into pre-conceived molds that serve our modern purposes. I know there is no maliciousness in it.
I tend to think the only people who have the right to share horror stories are those who have gone through them – or if the stories are published by the people themselves in a way that obviously was meant to be shared. As a history teacher by inclination and training, I understand the urge to publish and comment on everything, and to use everything for specific purposes, but I also believe those who are don’t experience something can’t relate and, therefore, shouldn’t consider themselves able to provide expert commentary. They ought to allow people to speak for themselves. That’s true of myself commenting on issues of race without seeking input from those who have faced racism – or a Protestant talking about Mormonism without seeking input from Mormons – or any other example I could use. We shouldn’t conclude and pontificate about what others suffer(ed); we ought to focus on simply letting their own voices be heard – both the living and the dead.
I don’t follow my own advice all the time, but . . .
roobytoos wrote:
Well, when our son came home, he didn’t want to talk about it. At all. He sat on my lap and cried for 2 hours until he fell asleep. He woke up and proceeded to tell us that he was hungry the whole time, there was never enough food (and he’s not one of those teenage boys that eat constantly) he never got enough to drink and was forced to participate in square dancing. (He did Irish dance for years, he knows how, he’s willing, he was tired) He said it felt like they walked 20 miles a day (it was more like 5, but still, it was hard) until he was physically exhausted and had to sit around the campfire and listen to dead baby stories.It traumatized the kid.
He slept on the floor in our bedroom for a week, because the “dead baby stories” gave him nightmares.
I think Trek is overrated.
I’m so sorry, your son sounds like a very compassionate person.
We had a planning meeting this week, and several things have changed from the email that was sent out. They couldn’t get permission to do lots of stuff.
So we are camping in the same place every night, and just doing out and back loops for the handcarting.
The camping location is near a lake that is a popular beach hang-out, half the walking will be on asphalt, and some of it through residential neighborhoods.
😯 The youth were told to bring swimming suits.
This is going to be a strange trek.
rebeccad wrote:We had a planning meeting this week, and several things have changed from the email that was sent out. They couldn’t get permission to do lots of stuff.
So we are camping in the same place every night, and just doing out and back loops for the handcarting.
The camping location is near a lake that is a popular beach hang-out, half the walking will be on asphalt, and some of it through residential neighborhoods.
😯 The youth were told to bring swimming suits.
This is going to be a strange trek.
Begs the question of why even incorporate aspects of “trek” when not doing “trek?” What’s the point?
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