CONFERENCE INFORMATION

CONFERENCE INFORMATION

Event: The 2014 Chesapeake Stake Youth Conference will be a pioneer trek; it will build upon last year’s conference when our youth visited Palmyra and learned about the restoration.  Youth Conference will be for youth ages 14 up through those who have just completed their senior year of high school. Conference will occur Monday, June 23, 2014 through Wednesday, June 25, 2014 and will take place at the Marriott Ranch in Hume, VA (Northwest of Fredericksburg).

Conference participants and leaders should meet at the Chesapeake Stake Center at 6:00 AM on Monday, June 23, 2014 for registration. Participants should arrive at registration in pioneer clothing. Youth must have a signed permission slip and medical release form to participate. In order to minimize delays from lost or missing forms, leaders should collect signed forms ahead of time and send them to registration with a responsible adult.  If a youth participant will require adult assistance with medications; the camp physician will collect the medication at the time of registration. Units are responsible to arrange transportation to and from conference. Space will be limited, so youth should not bring more than the items listed on the youth packing list. Once registration is complete, we expect to depart for the Marriott Ranch at 7:00 AM. Travel to the trek location will take approx. 4 hours. 

The youth will trek in “family” groups. Immediately upon arrival at the ranch, youth participants will be assigned to their family. Each family will be assigned a handcart and will consist of 10-12 youth and an adult couple who will serve as their “ma” and “pa”.  The youth will trek about 11.5 miles over three days. Throughout the trek, the youth will be taught about real pioneer experiences through stories and portrayals. The youth will also participate in pioneer games, activities, family devotionals, and a concluding testimony meeting.  We expect this to be a very difficult but spiritually rewarding experience for our youth. 

Background: From 1856 to 1860 handcarts were a means of helping Latter-day Saints (mostly immigrants from England, Scotland, and Scandinavia), who lacked funds for ox and horse teams, to gather in the West. Nearly 3,000 Mormon pioneers made the journey from Iowa or Nebraska to Utah in 10 handcart companies. In the Willie and Martin Handcart companies, nearly 210 of the 980 pioneers died along the way. John Chislett, a survivor wrote, “many a father pulled his cart, with his little children on it, until the day preceding his death.” Handcart pioneers have become an important symbol in LDS culture, representing the faithfulness and sacrifice of the pioneer generation. 

“I wish to remind everyone within my hearing that the comforts we have, the peace we have, and most important, the faith and knowledge of God we have, were bought with a terrible price by those who have gone before us.” President Gordon B Hinckley Oct 1991

Theme: The theme for our conference is Faith In Every Footstep.

Objective: The purpose of this trek is to provide the youth the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation of the sacrifices made by the early handcart saints. Youth today face trials and hardships; while their trials may not be as physically challenging as the pioneers, they require enormous spiritual and moral strength to overcome. We want our youth to understand they are a continuance of the pioneer legacy. They have a great responsibility to overcome the challenges that their generation faces, just as the pioneers overcame theirs. We want them to understand that it is their responsibility to build the Kingdom of God upon the foundation laid for them by the sacrifices of their forbearers.

Fasting: Fasting should not be incorporated as part of the trek. The trek will be physically demanding and the lack of food or water could be dangerous.

Physical Fitness: Participants should condition themselves physically for this conference. Wards and branches may make conditioning activities part of their Youth Conference preparation. Individuals should be able to walk 4 miles on level ground in 60 minutes or less without undue stress.

Standards: Each participant must act in accordance with church standards at all times and encourage other members of the trek to behave in accordance with gospel standards. Non-member friends are invited to participate but should be made aware of the requirements to adhere to church standards through an interview or interaction with a member of the unit’s bishopric/branch presidency.

Not Allowed: Personal electronic devices (such as phones, Ipods, game devices, music players, etc), are not allowed on the trek or in vehicles while traveling to and from the trek location. Animals, small children, firearms, fireworks, fishing equipment, ATV’s, or mountain bikes cannot be brought to conference.  Youth participants may bring folding pocketknives 3.5 inches or less, but sheathed knives or machetes are prohibited.

Emergency Contact: In case of emergency, parents and unit leaders may contact the following: 

President Jones, Stake Presidency                
President Miller, Stake YM President           
Sister Goldade, Stake YW President    
Brother Vetter, Stake YM 1^st Counselor   

Trek Starting Location                                    

4440 Fiery Run Road                                                        

Linden, VA 22642                                                

Conference Location      

Marriott Ranch

5305 Marriott Lane    

Hume, VA 22639      

Telephone (540) 364-2627          

Closest Hospital (13 miles, 23 minutes)

Warren Memorial Hospital

1000 N Shenandoah Avenue

Front Royal, VA 22630 

Telephone (540) 636-0300