We went on a hike up a steep hill that was slippery from snow and had trees and other woodland obstacles. My older nephew was able to make it up the hill more or less by himself, while my younger nephew required my help. So we hiked the hill hand in hand and followed the trail blazed by his older brother.

As I helped my younger nephew and called out for the older one to wait for us, or to be careful, I found myself in an allegory. The times we learn most in this life are often the ones that are most challenging. My young nephew came to a branch in the pathway and looked at me for help, but I told him he could do it. He tried and with some intense two-year-old effort, he made it. Heavenly Father is always there to help us, but often lets us try it ourselves: He wants us to realize what we are capable of.

At a point in my life where school work, decisions about my future, and being pulled in nine million different directions, it was a comfort for me to know that Heavenly Father was expecting me to figure a lot of these things out on my own. Not because he had given up on me or didn’t care, but because he wanted me to realize my potential and abilities.

Just like my nephews, in God’s eyes I need a lot of help, especially up those slippery hills. He’s there and let’s me learn from these challenges. As Parley P. Pratt reflected, his trials refined him into what the Lord wanted him to be. So thanks little nephew, for calling me.

- Dan Shirley, Industrial Design Major and Education in Zion Student Gallery Educator

http://www.understandingmormonism.org

I recall driving through areas in Nebraska and Wyoming where the only adjustments I made in the car were not in the steering wheel, but in my seat to lay back. The flat and open road soon began to bore me, and I began to complain about my situation.

“Why couldn’t my parents just have flown me out to Utah?” In my bitterness and complaining, I remember that I stared out of the window only to see the open plains that lie ahead of me.

In that moment, I could not help but to think about the Pioneers and their trek westward.
Having left everything behind, they journeyed through plains and mountains, the hot sun, and the freezing snow. I can only imagine making such a trek with the thought that some of my family members might not make it.

So why were the Saints subjecting themselves to such awful circumstances? I learned in that moment that the Saints were not only traversing across the country to flee persecution, they were doing it because a prophet of the Lord had been inspired to tell them to do so. No matter how intense the pain of their frozen feet, or the blisters on their hands from pulling the carts became, the Saints pressed forward.

I’ll never forget that car ride and just how grateful I felt to be able to make my own passage out west in the manner in which I was traveling.  It was because of the sacrifice of so many that I was able to have it so easy. It was because of these faithful early members of the church, that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been able to fulfill the prophecy that it would one day cover the whole of the earth.

Let us all strive to remember the sacrifices that have been given so that we too may be able to be grateful for those few and precious eternal things that are of most importance.

– Ben Simmons, Education in Zion Gallery Educator, Psychology Major

On a particular stressful day with a very long list of things to accomplish, I was walking through the exhibit and began to read about Susa Young Gate’s life. The first line of her display says “Susa Young Gates was a prolific writer, adept educator, advocate for Women’s rights, leader in the LDS Church, early organizer of the Church’s genealogy program, and mother of thirteen.”

My first thought was “I think she had a much longer to do list than I’ve ever had!” I began to read on about all the accomplishments she made throughout her life despite the many trials she frequently faced. Her influence was spread all around her, changing the lives of everyone she came in contact with.

Reading about Susa really inspired me to press on even when life gets busy or overwhelming. Her story has helped me appreciate the difficulties and stressful things in life that we are all often faced with. I’m sure there were times that Susa felt she had too much on her plate, or that a task was just too difficult to endure. Fortunately she never gave up and went on to influence so many lives, especially in education.

I encourage anyone who is having a busy and stressful day to come read a story in our gallery like Susa Young Gate’s life story. I promise you will not regret it!

- Stephanie Adams, Math Education Major and Education in Zion Gallery Educator

Courtesy of news.byu.edu

Some nights you just cannot wait to go to bed. What is better than waking up to a nice frozen floor, leaving the warmth of your covers, to get ready to walk out into the frozen tundra of Provo’s winter wonderland? I’m sure that we all could think of things that we would rather be doing, yet the weather has never discouraged the Saints, past or present, from achieving the goals that they have set for themselves.

What a privilege we have to be here at BYU where faith is at the core of higher education. What an honor it is to be able to go forth from this institution and serve others in whatever communities and municipalities that we will inhabit after graduation.

Yet, each and every morning we must make the decision to put on that extra sweater or jacket and careen up the hill upon which BYU is placed in the bitter Utah cold. It is imperative for us to deepen our understanding of personal sacrifice so we can look to the past and truly understand how weather has affected the Saints.

When Joseph Smith received the revelation to build the Kirtland temple, it was in the beginning of the winter in 1832. The Saints at the time had just arrived in Kirtland, and were too poor to even afford small luxuries and comforts. Yet, they were able to not only build their own houses, but the Lord’s as well.

It was in the bitter winter of January 1838 that the Saints were forced to leave behind the beautiful temple which they had sacrificed to make in order to flee to Far West, Missouri.

Then, during the winter the Saints were forced to leave Far West in response to the extermination order that had been issued. The winter of that exodus claimed the lives of many Latter-day Saints.

Courtesy of ldsces.org

It was in the beginning of one of the worst winters in Nauvoo when the Saints were commanded to erect a temple to the Lord. This would not be the last time, however, that the Saints were to endure the cold as they were forced to leave Nauvoo and everything they had built in it. They were originally planning to leave in April of 1846, however because of continued persecution, they decided to leave early on February 4th, during the middle of the winter season. The trials that the Saints faced in the cold can be read in many of the Church’s publications, but the impact and inspiration that can be felt from those early Saints still stands today.

What, therefore, have we to complain of during our winter season? What burdens have we to bear other than our daily routines and homework schedules? I write this message not to condemn those who seek to complain of the cold, but to remind us all of the beauty in all of God’s creations. There is a time and a season for all things. What greater beauty can exist than to see the snow covered mountains that surround this university? What greater eloquence can be found in the sight of a fresh sheet of snow covering the ground as we find ourselves surrounded by purity? Let us all remember that although we face trials in our everyday lives, we must seek out the beauty and blessings that lie hidden, even under the snow, in all things.

- Ben Simmons, Psychology Major and Education in Zion Student Gallery Educator

Courtesy of institute.lds.org

A long time ago, in 1912, there was another girl at BYU. But she was even colder than I am. She came to Provo as a refugee of the Mexican Revolution. She didn’t have boots, gloves, hats, scarves, or even a coat. She too had a checklist of the food she could afford to eat daily: boiled wheat flakes, mashed potatoes, bread and milk.  Her name was Camilla Eyring Kimball. Although we may now her best for the wife of the beloved Prophet Spencer W Kimball, her life wasn’t always so ideal sounding.

When the revolution started in Mexico, her father sent Camilla and the rest of the family to take refuge in Arizona. The family, consisting of brothers, sisters, grandmother and mother only had time and means to back one trunk between them all.

Once they were in America the only house they could find that was affordable had only one bedroom. It had no kitchen and only a single bed, which her grandmother slept on. There was so little floor space that the children took turns sleeping under the bed at night.

Camilla’s parents decided it would be best for her to finish her education. So as a teenager Camilla traveled by train from Arizona to Provo alone. It was the dead of winter. She had no winter clothing.

However, Camilla made the best of her circumstances. Education was so important to her that she worked her way through high school and college.  She even saved enough to attend Berkley for a semester. After her schooling she became a teacher at different academies, eventually settling down in Gila, Arizona, where she met and married Spencer Kimball.

So, as I dash back to the car with my shopping cart full of instant calories, I know that everything is going to be okay. Being a college student, a poor college student, still has its trials but I can make the best of any situation as I trust in the Lord, believing that everything will turn out for the good.

—Anna Silver, Theater Education Major and Education in Zion Gallery Educator

Take a look at this transfer student: Susa Young Gates. She was born in 1856, attended the University of Deseret and then got married and had two children. Sadly, her marriage ended in divorce, but, because of the motto she was fond of saying, “keep busy in the face of discouragement,” she wasted no time in returning to school at Brigham Young Academy and began conducting a choir on campus. While still a student, she even founded the School of Music that still flourishes today.

Thank goodness for Susa and others who mustered the strength to resume their education in a new place. Indeed, transfer students of old and at present contribute fresh ideas and perspectives on life that can only come from the outside experiences they’ve had.

So if you’re one of those who has felt unsure of your place here in BYU’s sea of bright students, consider all the wonderful things you’ve brought with you, think of ways you can share them, and just know that, wherever you’re from, we need you here.

– Karen McKay, BFA Major, Education in Zion Gallery Educator

These questions would cycle through my mind often, and I’d always struggle to not feel this discouragement. It wasn’t until the first time I walked through the Education in Zion Gallery that I was given a different perspective on attending BYU. I started to read all about the early saints of the Church and how despite the persecutions and trials in their lives they still made education a priority. It made me stop and realize how blessed I’ve been to come to college without having to sacrifice as much in my life.

I read stories about teachers who gave up so much, even their compensations, so the school could stay open for the children to learn and get an education. I couldn’t help but continue to compare my life to these people and appreciate all the sacrifices they made for education when I’ve done very little to be at a great university.

In one of the rooms in the gallery there is a wall sharing a portion of a vision of President John Taylor. It talks about how Zina Young Williams, a faculty member of Brigham Young Academy and daughter of Brigham Young, asked President Taylor if the Church could help more with the funding of the financially struggling school. He shared with her a sacred and recent experience. Her father had come to him in a dream and told him that the school “was accepted in the heavens and was a part of the great plan of life and salvation . . . and that Christ himself was directing, and had a care over the school.”

Tears came to my eyes while reading of John Taylor’s experience. Right then I received a small understanding of how wonderful Brigham Young University is and that it truly was inspired. It has always been part of an important plan, and we all have been chosen to attend such a sacred place where the Lord wants us here. I know I’m going to still have those hard days where I continue to ask myself those self-doubting questions, but now I can come into the gallery and reread John Taylor’s vision and remind myself to trust in the Lord and know that I am truly blessed to be at a university directed by and cared for by the Lord.

In the Book of Mormon we read Alma chapter 36, verse 3, which states: “And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.”

- Stephanie Adams, Math Education Major and Education in Zion Gallery Educator