Follow Me to Zion w/ Book Giveaway

Book Details
Authors: Andrew D. Olsen and Jolene S. Allphin
Release Date: September 2013
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Biography

I LOVE reading the "preface" of a book...you can learn SO MUCH from it!

And this book has a wealth of information in the preface...

Tucked inside a journal belonging to handcart pioneer Thomas Normington are two fabric strips, each about six inches long and one inch wide, that were likely used as bookmarks. Attached to the center of each strip is a piece of cross-stitched fabric with the words "Follow Me to Zion." These simple words are an invitation to devote one's life to God and his purposes. They are also an invitation for each person, whether in 1856 or today, to consider his or her path.

Follow Me to Zion tells stories of members of the Willie handcart company who accepted those invitations with full devotion. In doing so, these Saints made tremendous sacrifices. Most of them left family, friends, property, and homelands so they could answer the call of a prophet to gather to Zion...Their faith is our inheritance. Their faith is a reminder to us of the price they paid for the comforts we enjoy.

Handcarts were less expensive than wagons and more affordable for the Saints who had left practically everything.

Five handcart companies traveled the plains in 1856.

Three came quickly and with out much loss.

But the last two~ the Willie and Martin companies~ had a different experience...

They ran short on provisions and they were caught in winter storms.

While they lost some 200 members of these companies they left a legacy of faith.

"The timely assistance of rescuers and the sacrifices the people made for each other helped save the lives of some 800 Saints."

These are their stories~

This book also includes beautiful art by Julie Rogers

Also included are photographs, journal entries, and memories from a descendant.
A fascinating and thought-provoking book.
A book to be treasured and shared.

Let us remember these pioneers and know that 

IF they did what they did, we can do what we need to do.

Deseret Book has graciously offered a

BOOK GIVEAWAY for MY readers :)
US address only please

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Authors and Artist
Andrew D. Olsen is an editor for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the author of The Price We Paid: The Extraordinary Story of the Willie and Martin Handcart Pioneers. Andrew and his wife, Linda, are the parents of 3 children.

Jolene Spendlove Allphin has a love for the 1856 pioneers and rescuers that continues to grow. She has published nearly 300 biographical sketches of them inTell My Story, Too. Jolene and her husband, Michael, are the parents of 11 children.

Julie Boswell Rogers is an acclaimed artist who has won many awards. Her art has been featured in Church publications, visitors' centers, and the Church History Museum.

(A review copy was provided for this review. However, all reviews are of my own opinion :)