Pioneer Stories
Watch a series of videos showing Pioneer Stories from around the world.
View your Pioneer Relatives with FamilySearch
Pioneer stories, especially firsthand accounts of hand-cart pioneers, are very effective in helping learn the lessons of faith, obedience, and sacrifice that the pioneers exemplified. Any stories that are told and reenacted during the trek should be historically accurate. For a collection of historically accurate pioneer stories, see Handcart-Stories
The entire collection of stories from the Willie & Martin Handcart companies.
The Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database contains more than 50,000 names of pioneers that are linked to year of travel or company, as well as excerpts transcribed from more than 3,000 Mormon Trail narratives. You can access it at history.lds.org/overlandtravels.
We encourage everyone attending trek to dig a little into their past, or find a pioneer story that inspires them, and select a pioneer to walk for during trek.
Your Story
Each youth is to bring a One-Page Pioneer Story to inspire you on the Trek. We recommend that your story be typed onto a sheet of paper, folded in half, placed into a quart-sized zip-lock bag, and put into your equipment bucket.
At some point during the Trek, we will ask you to tell your pioneer story. Consider these options for your story:
- If you have a pioneer ancestor, the story can be about that pioneer’s experiences.
- If you do not have a pioneer ancestor, the story can be about the conversion story of your ancestor who joined the church — or, if you are a first generation member, then you should tell your own conversion story.
- If you are a non-member guest, the story can be about an ancestor who came to America — or, if you are a first generation American, then you should tell your own immigration story.
- Find an inspiring story of someone who was a hand-cart pioneer.