Spiritual Preparation

Spiritual Preparation

Trek can be an amazing spiritual experience! During Trek you will have experiences designed to help you feel the Spirit. The more you are spiritually prepared, the better those experiences will be for you.

To help you prepare spiritually for Trek, please review and consider the preparation resources shown here.

Attend your Church Meetings:

Pray Daily & Study the Scriptures

Re-read scriptural passages that deal with the various “exodus” experiences in the history of God’s people from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants.

Identify Pioneers in your own Family through Family History

Whether you have an ancestor who crossed the plains with the Saints, or you are the first member of the church in your family, everyone has a pioneer heritage that they can honor. Learning about your personal pioneers will help the trek to take on more meaning. Keep in mind: There are many pioneers in the church who didn’t cross the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. A pioneer is one who goes before, preparing the way for others to follow.

Research and learn about your pioneer ancestors or those who came before you who converted to the gospel and made it possible for you to have the gospel in your life. Take a look at the Youth & Family History website to help you get started.

Attend the Temple

Attend the temple at least once before Trek and take the name of a personal ancestor or an ancestor of a member in your branch or ward. Strive to be baptized for your own ancestor on that day.

Keep a Journal

Get a small notebook or journal to write down your thoughts as you prepare for Trek. Write about your own life, your challenges, and parallels you find to the early Saints.

Take the notebook with you on Trek, and write your experiences as you go. Include the mundane as well as the spiritual; sketch the scenery; write about your physical challenges, the food, and sleeping arrangements and about the things spoken to your heart.

Learn Hymns

For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.” – Doctrine & Covenants 25:12

Music was important to those traveling to the Salt Lake Valley. Music has the capacity to lift the spirit, encourage one of failing strength, comfort the mourning, and express delight and joy, no matter the circumstance!

The following hymns were included in the first hymnal put together by Emma Smith: Redeemer of Israel, How Firm a Foundation, and The Spirit of God. Memorize the lyrics and tunes of some them. You will be amazed how your Trek experience is enriched by your ability to sing along the way. Hymn singing keeps our hearts focused on the spiritually rich experience of a Trek, whether the songs are solemn or exuberant.

In 1908, a hymnal called Songs of Zion was was compiled by nine mission presidents in the United States and was published by the Northern States Mission in Chicago. Songs of Zion included about one hundred gospel hymns, among them Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel.