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Trek dos and don'ts


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5 hours ago, Rain said:

So don't spend a lot of time doing it where it sounds contentious obviously, but if there is a lot of hype about how this will be the most spiritual experience then consider sharing with the kids that it won't be that way for some and that is ok- there will still be things learned.

I agree.  I don't think it's helpful to promise the youth they will have powerful spiritual experiences on trek (or any other church activity).  It sounds like our stake leaders have learned that lesson.  From the handbook, it states the purpose of trek is to "strengthen testimonies, build unity, and learn gospel principles while learning from the experiences of the handcart pioneers".   Those seem like reasonable and realistic goals.

1 hour ago, Duncan said:

Our stake did a Trek a few years ago. Two don'ts I would add. The first is don't bury pretend dead babies, that is something out of a Rob Zombie movie, plus it's kind of a I don't know a bit insulting to people who actually had to bury a real life child along the way. The second would be don't give talks about trek in Church, the rest of us who didn't go don't want to hear about it or hear more about it, I don't want to hear about what you wore, what you ate, who you pretended to be, what flowers you picked, what birds you saw, what it was like to go a few days without a phone-I don't want to go to church and hear about a hike :(

Dead babies aren't mentioned anywhere in the handbook, so I think we are safe there.  However, I do like the trek talks in Church.  Of course, the youth need a topic to speak on instead of just giving a report on what they did on trek. 

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3 hours ago, Valentinus said:

How about not going on the trek? There are hundreds of more worthwhile activities that provide life lessons. The trek is no longer a lesson in sacrifice, faith and hardship. It's more a rural and archaic costume party with handcarts and plenty of misguided nostalgia.

And kids don't like playing dress up?

Adults are often heavy into period pieces and cosplay as well.

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5 hours ago, Thinking said:

Take and drink lots of water.

yep, that is heavily stressed. We were warned by the Stake YW president that some young women won't want to drink anything during trek so they won't have to go to the bathroom on the trail.  Maybe I'll use the news story in your link as motivation, if needed.

5 hours ago, Valentinus said:

How about not going on the trek? There are hundreds of more worthwhile activities that provide life lessons. The trek is no longer a lesson in sacrifice, faith and hardship. It's more a rural and archaic costume party with handcarts and plenty of misguided nostalgia.

As I posted before, the stated purpose of trek is to "strengthen testimonies, build unity, and learn gospel principles while learning from the experiences of the handcart pioneers".  Maybe there are better activities to provide the goals you listed.  I hope to help make it a great experience for the youth, no matter how contrived, misguided, or historically inaccurate parts of trek may be.

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3 hours ago, gopher said:

yep, that is heavily stressed. We were warned by the Stake YW president that some young women won't want to drink anything during trek so they won't have to go to the bathroom on the trail.  Maybe I'll use the news story in your link as motivation, if needed.

As I posted before, the stated purpose of trek is to "strengthen testimonies, build unity, and learn gospel principles while learning from the experiences of the handcart pioneers".  Maybe there are better activities to provide the goals you listed.  I hope to help make it a great experience for the youth, no matter how contrived, misguided, or historically inaccurate parts of trek may be.

Because building testimonies on half truths, lies, etc is the great path to solid faith.

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16 hours ago, Valentinus said:

Because building testimonies on half truths, lies, etc is the great path to solid faith.

And your testimony of whatever your latest belief set is of course, exempt. right? :)

Good to see you, you fellow weirdo.

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On 5/29/2017 at 2:59 PM, mfbukowski said:

And your testimony of whatever your latest belief set is of course, exempt. right? :)

Good to see you, you fellow weirdo.

Of course not. Many atheists have flaws. For example, Richard Dawkins is somehow a nearly inerrant atheist thinker. Or that Ayn Rand is a great influence on atheistic libertarianism and "Atlas Shrugged" is some divine economic playbook. Or that the man bun is evidence of higher thinking men.

Every day I wish I had a wall that was conveniently near by when dealing with certain atheists.

I love you, Mark.

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1 hour ago, Valentinus said:

Of course not. Many atheists have flaws. For example, Richard Dawkins is somehow a nearly inerrant atheist thinker. Or that Ayn Rand is a great influence on atheistic libertarianism and "Atlas Shrugged" is some divine economic playbook. Or that the man bun is evidence of higher thinking men.

Every day I wish I had a wall that was conveniently near by when dealing with certain atheists.

I love you, Mark.

Lol. Love you back, grasshopper. Keep the quest going. I hope that is totally offensive, demeaning and politically incorrect. :)

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Trek makes fine bikes, I don't know what all the fuss is about.

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On 5/30/2017 at 9:35 AM, Bernard Gui said:

I have expressed misgivings about trek before. It seems to me that there is a fine line between providing a group experience that may or may not involve the Spirit and emotional manipulation.

Our previous stake president used to spend vast sums of money on a pioneer trek for our youth, convinced that somehow it would manipulate the wayward ones back into the fold. And it often seemed to work ... well, for a couple of weeks or so. I never once saw it work longer than that. What I have seen work with youth is spending vast amounts of time with them every single week, often many times a week, and then connecting them to heaven in a real and personal way. But it's certainly easier to think that a one-off dress-up camp can will work just as well. 

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On 5/29/2017 at 5:35 PM, Bernard Gui said:

I have expressed misgivings about trek before. It seems to me that there is a fine line between providing a group experience that may or may not involve the Spirit and emotional manipulation. Having felt manipulated by the Boy Scout Woodbadge experience which is somewhat similar to trek, I'm a bit gun-shy of such things.

In one of our past treks, leaders planned stressful events that would prompt the youth to pray and seek priesthood blessings. I hope current treks avoid such things. Promising a "spiritual experience" is risky business. 

For my money, a week working for Habitat for Humanity or some other charity would be better, but that's just my opinion.

Thumbs up to that! I've heard stories from my own children that made me question the safety of trek. Habitat for Humanity? Cool!

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10 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Our previous stake president used to spend vast sums of money on a pioneer trek for our youth, convinced that somehow it would manipulate the wayward ones back into the fold. And it often seemed to work ... well, for a couple of weeks or so. I never once saw it work longer than that. What I have seen work with youth is spending vast amounts of time with them every single week, often many times a week, and then connecting them to heaven in a real and personal way. But it's certainly easier to think that a one-off dress-up camp can will work just as well. 

The personnel, time, and money required for trek is phenomenal. That's a lot of resources tied up in one activity. I agree with the benefits of continual personal contact. Apprenticeship is something that cannot be overrated.

 

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10 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Our previous stake president used to spend vast sums of money on a pioneer trek for our youth, convinced that somehow it would manipulate the wayward ones back into the fold. And it often seemed to work ... well, for a couple of weeks or so. I never once saw it work longer than that. What I have seen work with youth is spending vast amounts of time with them every single week, often many times a week, and then connecting them to heaven in a real and personal way. But it's certainly easier to think that a one-off dress-up camp can will work just as well. 

I think that is called "parenting".

When I was called into a leadership position, my mentor in leadership said to me "Never forget you cannot live other people's lives for them"

I have never forgotten that.

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I think the cost of trek should be evaluated. In Activity Days, we analyzed the budget and they are given $5 per activity which equated to $.50 per girl per activity or a cost of $12 per girl a year. Needless to say a lot of activities are being payed for by the leaders. Trek cost an enormous sum and it is dubious how worthwhile the activity is. Habitat for humanity service seems like a much better plan.

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20 minutes ago, bsjkki said:

I think the cost of trek should be evaluated. In Activity Days, we analyzed the budget and they are given $5 per activity which equated to $.50 per girl per activity or a cost of $12 per girl a year. Needless to say a lot of activities are being payed for by the leaders. Trek cost an enormous sum and it is dubious how worthwhile the activity is. Habitat for humanity service seems like a much better plan.

I agree that there is not much to be gained by reliving the avoidable suffering my direct ancestors went through.

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I recently attended the final training for trek.  We usually learn from the dumb stuff that's done out west, so there are plenty of precautions added to keep the youth safe.  There will also be a full time EMT there.  I expect there will be some complaining from youth (and some leaders) during trek, but I think it's going to be a blast for most.   I wish it was available when I was younger, but I plan to have a lot of fun as an adult leader.  The youth do service projects all year already, so I don't see how Habitat for Humanity (as noble a cause as it is) is going to provide them a better experience than trek.  It's unique, challenging, and may be a life changing experience for some youth.  I don't know if trek costs much more than the usual youth conferences held on non-trek years.  In my stake, the only complaints I've heard came from a few adults who have never gone on trek.  If the only thing the youth get out of it is a fun experience, is that so bad?

Maybe one reason the church is losing younger members is because they see how boring, dull, and no fun the adults have become.  (oops, almost forgot the smiley face :) )

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