17 Miracles

I don't claim to be a movie buff.  I pick and choose which movies I want to see with care.  Some don't get seen until they're out on DVD--though sometimes I find myself wishing I'd seen it on the big screen (The Next Three Days).  Others I'm there within 48 hours of opening day (Pirates!).  A recent new release, 17 Miracles, was one I really wanted to see I just didn't know if I wanted to watch it in public.  The trailer itself reduced me to tears and I knew I'd be a blubbering idiot almost from the get-go.

I had the chance to go to a movie this week and since I've already seen On Stranger Tides and wasn't interested in any of the other ones at my local movie theater, I figured...  What the heck.  I'm pretty sure I won't be the only one sniffling and sobbing throughout...

Heh heh...

I don't have direct Mormon pioneer ancestors but my children do.  Sitting here in my air conditioned home in the Salt Lake Valley, it's hard to comprehend what they went through as they crossed the plains.  The Willie and Martin Handcart Companies appear to have suffered the most...  Just last month, I was in Iowa City, IA, where they started out on their treks west to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.  As we drove the distance on I-80, I reflected a lot on what it must have been like.  I had hoped to stop at Martin's Cove on the way there but timing didn't allow it.  I really want to get there this summer. To see where these brave pioneers walked, suffered, and even died in an effort to get to Zion is a testimony-building experience for me.

Here I am, living in Zion (and wishing to be elsewhere) and people died to try to reach it.  I think that's what touched me the most about the movie--my ambivalent feelings towards living in Utah and seeing what people went through so that they could.  They left homes, families, jobs, everything behind. Could I do that?  Would I do that?

Four-ounce sack of flour.
Quarter included for a size reference.

The other thought I had while watching the movie was about how little they had to eat and they weren't even close to the end of their journey.  When they were rationing out the four ounces of flour a day I just kept thinking about all the food I have in my home...  Four ounces.  A day.  Several years ago, my sons had the chance to spend a few days up at Martin's Cove and walk where their ancestors walked (though not in the handcart companies portrayed in the movie--I think).  They had the chance to push a handcart for quite a few miles each day, submerged completely in the pioneer era.  As a reminder of everything they experienced on their trek, they were given a small, four-ounce sack of flour.  I can't even begin to imagine surviving on that small amount...  A Day.

True to form, I find myself wanting to learn more about the main character in 17 Miracles, Levi Savage, as well as the others mentioned, not to mention the miracles portrayed.  They're fascinating people.  Back when it came out, I received the book Fire of the Covenant as a birthday present (1999).  I started to read it when I was at work but spent several months at home on bed-rest at the end of my last pregnancy and never picked it up to read again.  Until now.  I pulled it off my bookshelf and will start over reading it today.  I look forward to learning more about these faithful Saints who gave so much to move to Zion.

I still find myself pondering about the Pioneers when I'm out and about in this valley.  I imagine in my mind's eye what it must have looked like a century and a half ago...  Even driving home from the movie theater last night, I thought about it.  I'm so thankful I live NOW rather than then.  I'm not sure I would have had the faith to make the trip West.

Well, anyway...  *I* liked the movie, in spite of the tears, and would recommend it to anyone and everyone if they get the chance.  I like miracles.  :)