There is great courage in passing through difficult challenges, in being made to suffer and struggle against the briars of life. But there is another courage which I see as greater still. This is the courage to leave comfort and seek the suffering souls.
This is the courage of Alonzo Rhodes.
On the coldest winter he had ever seen, Brigham Young asked for volunteers to leave the warmth of their homes and rescue some pioneers traveling across the plains, trapped by the fierceness of winter. So Alonzo went. He was in the group that rescued the Hodgett wagon company. Though less well known than the Martin/Willey Handcart Company, their struggles were no less painful. This famous portrait is of the Hodgett company.
Every member of the Hodgett company suffered frostbite that took fingers and toes. The rescuers plowed through 18 foot snow drifts to find the freezing saints, over mountains and through plains until they finally found them, those faithful saints who had gone through more than most are asked to bear.
More information about Alonzo can be seen here: Family Search info
