POCATELLO — More than 500 youth members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered at the Mountain View Cemetery in Pocatello early on the morning of April 14 clutching rakes and sporting neon yellow vests with the Mormon Helping Hands logo emblazoned on them.

The cemetery spring cleanup is an annual event, organized by local members of the church from the Pocatello, Pocatello West, East, Central and Alameda stakes.

Mitch Beckstead, who has been in charge of organizing the cleanup for two years, said the event is something that always brings out hundreds of youth aged 12 to 18 and their church leaders.

“They want to serve,” Beckstead said. “They want to give back to this community that has given us so much.”

Despite the 9 a.m. start time, the youth took to their task of raking up leaves and gathering branches and other debris with vigor.

“It’s not like it’s hard,” said 15-year-old volunteer Paige Hoskins. “It’s just a thing we do.”

The April cleanup of the cemetery is not the only time members of the church come together to assist the community. The church frequently mobilizes hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of members to perform service projects and help in times of crisis.

Mormon Helping Hands is the name under which members of the church volunteer. During natural disasters, such as hurricanes, the logos can be seen on shirts and vests worn by church members performing services.

“It’s just a way for our faith to demonstrate its willingness to help communities, not just members of the church,” said church leader Troy Ruud of the Mormon Helping Hands.

Ruud also said that during the Mink Creek area fire six years ago, thousands of church members volunteered their time to help.

During the cemetery cleanup, each stake is given a section of the cemetery to cover, and they work inward to meet in the middle.

“At least that’s what’s supposed to happen,” Beckstead said. “Sometimes it’s not always that easy.”

The leaves are raked into large piles at the edges of the plots, and a truck with a vacuum on it drives by later to remove them.

“It’s a good service to the people whose ancestors are buried here,” Ruud said. “The church teaches family history and ancestry, and this is a great way to not only beautify the area but provide a great service for those that have passed on before us. The youth have been taught to connect with their ancestors and do genealogy work and family history work, and I think this is just an extension of that.”

Twain and Michelle Hayden, who are both youth leaders and have been participating in the cleanup for three years, said they believe the project to be rewarding to the kids who volunteer.

“Work is one of the greatest therapies that there is,” Twain said. “There is a fulfillment that comes from service and from work. You just feel good.”

He added that it is an opportunity for church leaders to better understand and get to know the youth.

“If you’re working right side by side with a kid, they’ll tell you how things are going,” he said. “So it’s an opportunity to understand the needs of the youth and the youth to be able to learn the joy of work.

“It’s a wonderful project for the kids,” Michelle added. “It’s very fulfilling.”

Hallie Olsen, a five-year veteran volunteer, said she believes the project has become a local tradition.

“It’s just kind of something we’ve been doing for a long time,” Olsen said. “And it really helps the community. It makes it look prettier when it’s clean, and it’s helpful to people.”

As some church members, like Shayne Hoskins, Paige’s father, see it, the cemetery cleanup is a part of church members’ civic duty.

“We’re a big part of the community,” Shayne said. “And a cemetery like this is a big part of the community. Everybody sees it, everybody comes out. They’ve got their loved ones here. It’s one of those things where it’s got to get taken care of, and it makes it go a lot easier for everybody to get in.”

“Plus, you get free pizza,” Paige added.