Review of 17 Miracles (2011) by Dale C — 11 Jul 2011

The story is powerful, and will certainly touch the heart of anyone of any faith. I stand in awe of those good folks who had the faith to give everything they had, and everything they were, for the chance to serve the Lord in their own way.

Anyone who knows the history of the LDS faith knows what a tenuous and precious thing it was for the early saints to find a place where they could practice their religion without facing severe persecution from others. Prior to the events portrayed in this film, within about a 15 year span, the saints had been driven out of three primary settlements, where they had to leave most everything they owned behind and start over. When they were finally led to the Salt Lake basin as their place of gathering, thousands of saints from all over the world came by any means they had to gather with the saints there. Most made the difficult trek with relative ease (by 1800's standards)--so much so, that many consider the LDS migration to the west to be the most successful pioneer migration in history.

There were, however, two handcart companies, the Willie company (portrayed in this film), and the Martin company, who encountered great difficulty in their journey, and due to delays ran very short on food and supplies, and were caught in Wyoming blizzard conditions. This story tells how members of the Willie company relied on their faith for their very survival, and how through their faith, they were able to bring down the powers of Heaven in the form of miracles--without which, the entire camp may well have perished. Very touching and inspiring. Bring your tissues--you'll need them.