Faith
of Our Fathers - Pioneers Past and Present
This week in
Utah we celebrated a state holiday that is unique to Utah. July 24th
was “Pioneer Day” in celebration of the arrival of the first group of pioneers
that entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. They were refugees, driven
out of the State of Illinois because of their religion.
The Mormon People
had a history of hatred and misunderstanding by their neighbors that started in
the State of New York (Where Joseph Smith organized the church in 1830) when
they left to flee persecution and went to Ohio in 1831. They settled in
Kirtland, Ohio and lived in peace for a few years when persecution drove them
out again and they fled to Missouri. They developed several settlements in
Jackson County, and Far West and Clay County before the Governor of Missouri
issued the extermination order to drive the Mormons out or exterminate them. In
a Wikipedia article about the extermination order it says:
“Missouri Executive Order 44, also known as the Extermination Order in Latter Day Saint
history,[1][2] was
an executive order issued on October 27, 1838 by
the governor of Missouri, Lilburn
Boggs. It was issued in
the aftermath of the Battle of Crooked River, a clash between Mormons and a unit of the Missouri State Guard in northern Ray County, Missouri, during the Mormon
War of 1838. Claiming
that the Mormons had committed "open and avowed defiance of the
laws", and had "made war upon the people of this State," Boggs
directed that "the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be
exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their
outrages are beyond all description".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Executive_Order_44)
They once again
had to flee leaving their property behind and start over in Illinois. Brigham
Young talks of the time they lived in Nauvoo and how persecution eventually
drove them out again:
“We lived in Illinois from
1839 to 1844, by which time [enemies of the Church] again succeeded in kindling
the spirit of persecution against Joseph and the Latter-day Saints. Treason!
Treason! Treason! they cried, calling us murderers, thieves, liars, adulterers,
and the worst people on the earth. … They took Joseph and Hyrum, and as a
guarantee for their safety, Governor Thomas Ford pledged the faith of the State
of Illinois. They were imprisoned [in Carthage, Illinois], on the pretense of
safekeeping, because the mob was so enraged and violent. The Governor left them
in the hands of the mob, who entered the prison and shot them dead. John
Taylor, who is present with us today, was in the prison, too, and was also
shot, and was confined to his bed for several months afterwards. After the mob
had committed these murders, they came upon us and burned our houses and grain.
When the brethren would go out to put out the fire, the mob would lie concealed
under fences, and in the darkness of the night, they would shoot them.” (“Teachings
of Brigham Young”, Chapter 15)
After the death
of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his Brother Hyrum on June 27, 1844, the
pioneers once again were forced to flee because of mobs and hatred towards them.
Brigham Young then tells of their trek to the Rocky Mountains and the faith of
those pioneers that began that historical trek in February 1846:
“We arrived here, where we
found a few … Indians, a few wolves and rabbits, and any amount of crickets;
but as for a green tree or a fruit tree, or any green field, we found nothing
of the kind, with the exception of a few cottonwoods and willows on the edge of
City Creek. For some 1200 or 1300 miles we carried every particle of provision
we had when we arrived here. When we left our homes we picked up what the mob
did not steal of our horses, oxen and calves and some women drove their own
teams here. Instead of 365 pounds of breadstuff when they started from the
Missouri river, there was not half of them had half of it. We had to bring our
seed grain, our farming utensils, bureaus, secretaries [desks], sideboards,
sofas, pianos, large looking glasses, fine chairs, carpets, nice shovels and
tongs and other fine furniture, with all the parlor, cook stoves, etc, and we
had to bring these things piled together with some women and children, helter
skelter, topsy-turvy, with broken-down horses, … oxen with three legs, and cows
with one teat. This was our only means of transportation, and if we had not
brought our goods in this manner we would not have had them, for there was
nothing here…
“There never has been a
land, from the days of Adam until now, that has been blessed more than this
land has been blessed by our Father in Heaven; and it will still be blessed
more and more, if we are faithful and humble, and thankful to God for the wheat
and the corn, the oats, the fruit, the vegetables, the cattle and everything he
bestows upon us, and try to use them for the building up of his Kingdom on the
earth…
“We wish strangers to
understand that we did not come here out of choice, but because we were obliged
to go somewhere, and this was the best place we could find. It was impossible
for any person to live here unless he labored hard and battled and fought
against the elements, but it was a first-rate place to raise Latter-day Saints,
and we shall be blessed in living here, and shall yet make it like the Garden
of Eden; and the Lord Almighty will hedge about his Saints and will defend and
preserve them if they will do his will. The only fear I have is that we will
not do right; if we do [right] we will be like a city set on a hill, our light
will not be hid.” (“Teachings
of Brigham Young”, Chapter 15)
That first trek lead by Brigham Young, has been compared to
a modern Israel wilderness trek lead be a modern Moses. By 1869 80,000 pioneers
had made the journey west to Salt Lake City by wagon, hand cart and ships from
the east coast to the west coast and then by land to Salt Lake City. From Salt
Lake City Brigham Young sent other pioneers to settlements in other cities in
Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada and many other areas of the western United States,
Canada and Mexico. Isaiah prophesied that in the last days a temple would be
built in the tops of the mountains and that all nations would flow unto it:
And it shall come to pass
in the last days, that the mountain of
the Lord’s house shall
be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted
above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (Isaiah 2:2)
On April 6, 1893 Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated the Salt Lake Temple.
Salt Lake City is located in the tops of the mountains and today all nations do
come to see the temple and to learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. In 2022 Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics and people
from all nations came to the games and learned about the LDS Church and it’s
people in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Every year on July 24th the “Days of 47” are
celebrated in Salt Lake City where one of the top 5 parades in the country for
its size celebrate the coming of the pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley. In every
area of the church a celebration is held to remember and honor our pioneer
heritage. Last week my family was in Washington State and the stake there held
their “Pioneer Day Celebration” on Saturday, July 19th where
hundreds of church members gathered to enjoy food and pioneer games.
My parents were converts to the LDS Church and as such we
don’t have any members of our family (that we know of) that participated with
those first pioneers that left their homes and journeyed to Salt Lake City, but
they were pioneers because they were the first in our family to leave their
churches, family and friends and join with the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. President Dieter F. Uchtodorf, Second Counselor in the First
Presidency spoke about those early pioneers and how pioneers today can claim a
heritage with the first pioneers:
“The faith of our fathers—I love that
phrase,” says President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First
Presidency. He explains that for many Latter-day Saints, these words are
reminders of valiant pioneers who traveled by wagon, by handcart, and on foot
to settle in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. But with today’s worldwide
Church membership at more than 14 million members from various backgrounds and
origins, how do Church members share in a common pioneer heritage? And what
does it mean to be a pioneer today?
“I love and honor the faith and courage of
those early pioneers of the Church,” President Uchtdorf continues. “My own
ancestors were living an ocean away at the time. None were among those who
lived in Nauvoo or Winter Quarters, and none made the journey across the
plains. But as a member of the Church, I claim with gratitude and pride this
pioneer legacy as my own.”
“I claim the legacies of today’s modern-day
Church pioneers who live in every nation and whose own stories of perseverance,
faith, and sacrifice add glorious new verses to the great chorus of the
latter-day anthem of the kingdom of God.” (“We All Share Pioneer Legacy”, https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/we-all-share-pioneer-legacy)
Elder Dallin H.
Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve, spoke about a talk by President J. Reuben
Clark titled “Them of the Last Wagon”. President Clark talked about the leaders
of the wagon trains going west and how they were always in the front where the
air was clear and they had a vision of the where they were going. But in the
back was the last wagon where the dust of the other wagons clouded their vision
and they had to travel with faith trusting in those at the front. Elder Oaks
says:
“President Clark’s words of tribute also apply
to the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our
day. In every nation, in every worthy occupation and activity, members of this
church face hardships, overcome obstacles, and follow the servants of the Lord
Jesus Christ as valiantly as the pioneers of any age. They pay their tithes and
offerings. They serve as missionaries or as Church Service volunteers, or they
support others who do so. Like the noble young mothers who postpone the pursuit
of their personal goals in order to provide the needs of their children, they
sacrifice immediate pleasures to keep commitments that are eternal. They accept
callings and, in the service of others, they willingly give their time and
sometimes their lives.
“They do
as the Savior taught: They deny themselves; they take up their crosses daily;
they follow Him. (See Luke 9:23.)
These are those the Savior likened to the seed that fell on good ground: “in an
honest and good heart, having heard the word, [they] keep it, and bring forth
fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15.)
“The
fruits of the gospel issue from every honest and good heart, without regard to
past origins or current positions in the Church. As President Clark declared,
“There is no aristocracy of birth in this Church; it belongs equally to the
highest and the lowliest.” (J.
Reuben Clark: Selected Papers,p. 73.) (“Modern Pioneers”, Dallin H.
Oaks, General Conference, October 1989)
Members all over
the church are pioneers, whether they are the first members or have generations
of members in the church. They are forging the trail that their descendants
will follow. They are the ones with the clear vision of where they are going
and the blessings that await them. They will teach future generations by
example what it means to be committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many have
left other family and friends behind to strike out on their own for the sake of
the Gospel.
We must always
remember the sacrifices that those early pioneers made so we could enjoy the
blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ today in peace. We must also recognize
the modern day pioneers that are forging their own wilderness trek where they
are leaving their own Babylon and entering into their own promised land. They
truly are blessed pioneers.
Your comments
are always welcome.
