Sacred, secular mix at Martin's Cove

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, it has long lived in the hearts and minds of untold thousands of Martin Company descendants and Latter-day Saints, with the stories passed from one generation to the next.

The stories are recounted regularly by volunteers for the trekkers but only to those who ask for the information. And as the 150th anniversary of the first handcart pioneers is celebrated this year, the details of those stories — and the sources from which they were drawn — has come under increasing scrutiny.

Elder Jay Whittier and his wife, VerDene, of Sunset, Utah, stayed last winter at Martin's Cove and will remain through the summer. They were drawn to the area because they are descendants of people in the Martin company and their rescuers.

The couple say they wouldn't trade their experiences helping young people live a piece of history or the time they spent last winter in subzero weather helping with the filming of a new documentary about the ill-fated handcart companies to be broadcast next fall.

"This is a place where, if you let it, you can see the eternal perspective of things. . . . It's a place where the Holy Spirit can testify to you," Jay Whittier said. Initially hesitant to leave her home, she wouldn't change it now, VerDene Whittier said.

"I've found myself up here, and you can't find yourself unless you find the Lord first."

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com