Pioneer Day

Seeing that it is Pioneer Day, as I speak, I would like each of us to reflect on this question: Do you, like the pioneers, have the courage and the consistency to be true to the faith and endure to the end? For many months (I like to think our whole lives, though if you are like me, you could always use a review) each of us has studied the lives and accomplishments of our pioneers, early and modern. If lucky, we have even done some modern reenactments, I compliment you if you have done so. I personally am reminded of a little act or play that my family put on of one member of my heritage that showed us through study how to work hard. Despite what we have today through our simple grocery stores, he had to learn the art and trade of hunting, because, without it, his family would have nothing to eat that night which was never wanted. Now after all these studies and observations (sometimes with the distracting note of pure fun), it is appropriate to ask ourselves, “Therefore, what?” Are these pioneer celebrations academic, increasing only our fund of experiences and knowledge? Or will they have a profound impact on how we live our lives or attack the different bit not so different difficulties of our own day? These questions apply to all of us. As President Hinckley reminded us in April 1996, “Whether you are among the posterity of the pioneers or whether you were baptized only yesterday, each is the beneficiary of their great undertaking.”1 Each of us honestly enjoys the blessings of their pioneer efforts, and all of us have the responsibilities which go with that true heritage. It honestly is not enough to study or reenact the accomplishments of our pioneers (no matter how much we may wish it was). We need to identify and recognize the great, eternal principles they applied to achieve all that they achieved for our benefit and then apply those principles to the challenges of our current day. In that way, we each can bring honor to their pioneering efforts, and we also reaffirm our heritage and strengthen its capacity to bless our own posterity and “those millions of our Heavenly Father’s children who have yet to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.”2 I like to think that we are all pioneers in doing so, no matter the day that we may live in. I would like to note on the foremost quality of our pioneers, which was faith. With faith in God, they did what every pioneer does and what we all should do—they stepped forward into the unknown: a new religion, a new land, a new way of doing things. With faith in both their leaders and in one another, they stood firmly against formidable opposition. I have always admired that. Two qualities that I can clearly see in the lives of our pioneers, early and modern, are unselfishness and sacrifice. Some of us have Utah pioneers who excelled at putting “the general welfare and community goals over individual gain and personal ambition.” That same quality is clear in the conversion stories of modern pioneers. Once someone receives a testimony of the truth of the restored gospel, they have unhesitatingly sacrificed all that was required to assure that its blessings will be available to their children and to generations unborn. Some of them have sold all their property to travel to a temple. Some have lost employment. It wasn’t easy, seeing that many have lost friends, some have lost parents and extended family, as new converts have been disowned for their faith. This must be one of the greatest sacrifices of all. Here we may recall the Savior’s teaching: “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. … “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:35, 37–38) I personally praise what the pioneers’ unselfishness and sacrifice have done for us, but honestly, I doubt that is enough. We should also assure that these same qualities are guiding principles for each of us as we have chances to sacrifice for our nations, our families, our quorums, our members, and our Church. This is undoubtedly important in societies that have exalted personal interests and individual rights to the point where these values seem to erase the principles of individual responsibility and sacrifice without a second thought. Other great qualities found in our early pioneers were those of obedience, unity, and cooperation. We have all become excited at the example of the Saints who responded to President Brigham Young’s call to rescue the stranded handcart companies or to pull up roots in settled communities and apply their talents and lives to colonizing new areas. Our people have always been characterized by their loyalty and obedience to the direction of their leaders, their unity, and their extraordinary capacity to cooperate toward a common goal, I like to think. We honestly see the modern manifestations of these pioneer qualities in the great contributions our brothers and sisters make in a wide variety of private projects and common efforts that require unity and cooperation, even today. Another modern manifestation of our own church’s obedience, unity, and cooperation is our unique missionary program, from the preparation and service of young missionaries to the remarkably diverse activities of mature couples throughout the world. In a day when our prophet has challenged us to reach out to welcome and fellowship new members and to reawaken the faith and fellowship of those who are no longer with us, we can gain strength from the example of the pioneers. The pioneer legacy is a legacy of inclusion. When the Saints were cruelly and brutally driven out of Missouri, many were so poor that they lacked teams and wagons to move. Back then, their Church leaders were adamant that none of the poor would be left behind. The response was the same in the exodus from Nauvoo that had to be taken too. When the wagons and handcarts moved even further west, their movement was always one of inclusion, and no day’s journey ended until every straggler was accounted for. When the Saints settled in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, they promptly established a Perpetual Emigrating Fund to assist the poor to move from Winter Quarters, and later from the nations of Europe. No small amount of at least half of those who journeyed to join the Saints could not have come without the help of leaders and members who were determined to include everyone who desired to gather in Zion. In this, there was cooperation. We need that same spirit of inclusion to accomplish our own modern prophet’s call for it. Another great pioneer virtue included in this list was their commitment to one another, to their leaders, and to their faith. We honor that quality in the words of these personal favorite hymns (sorry, I am the choir chorister, I have a few): Firm as the mountains around us, Stalwart and brave we stand On the rock our fathers planted For us in this goodly land— The rock of honor and virtue, Of faith in the living God. They raised his banner triumphant— Over the desert sod. And we hear the desert singing: Carry on, carry on, carry on!(“Carry On,” Hymns, no. 255) True to the faith that our parents have cherished, True to the truth for which martyrs have perished, To God’s command, Soul, heart, and hand, Faithful and true we will ever stand.(“True to the Faith,” Hymns, no. 254) Now, what does it mean to be true to the faith? The word true applies to the meaning of commitment, integrity, endurance, and courage. It also reminds us of the Book of Mormon’s description of the 2,000 young warriors:“And they were all … exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:20–21) In the spirit of that description I say to our returned missionaries (and us all…my husband found me before I left)—men and women who have made covenants to serve the Lord and who have already served Him in the great work of proclaiming the gospel and perfecting the Saints—are each of you being true to the faith? Do each of you have the faith and continuing commitment to demonstrate the principles of the gospel in your own lives, consistently? You missionaries have served well, but do each of you, like the pioneers, have the courage plus the consistency to be true to the faith and to endure to the end? Here I am reminded of a pioneer example of faith, commitment, and courage by some young men just about the age of our missionaries. Just a few months before the Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered at Carthage, some of his enemies plotted to kill him. They sought to enlist others in their conspiracy as part of their plan. Among some of those they invited to a meeting in Nauvoo were two young men still in their teens, Robert Scott and Dennison L. Harris. Dennison’s father, Emer, in fact was the older brother of Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon. Being truly loyal to the Prophet, these young men immediately reported the invitation to Dennison’s father, who advised the Prophet Joseph seeking more advice. Joseph asked Harris to request that the young men attend the meeting, and pay strict attention to what was said, but make no commitments, and report the entire matter to the Prophet afterward. As events foretold, there were three meetings. They began by denouncing the prophet Joseph as a fallen prophet, proceeded to considering how Joseph could be overthrown, and concluded with specific planning to kill him. All of these brutal plans the two young men reported to the Prophet Joseph after each meeting. Preceding the third meeting, the Prophet foresaw what would occur and told the young men this would be the final meeting. He forewarned them that the conspirators might kill them if they refused the required oath to participate in the murderous, cruel scheme. He said he did not think the conspirators would shed their blood because of their youth, but he called upon their loyalty and courage in these words:“Don’t flinch. If you have to die, die like men, you will be martyrs to the cause, and your crowns can be no greater.”He renewed his original caution though that they should not make any promises or enter into any covenants with the conspirators, giving them power. He then blessed them and expressed his love for their willingness to risk their lives for him. As Joseph had foreseen, the third and final meeting did require that dark oath to take the prophet’s life. When the two boys merely refused, explaining that Joseph had never harmed them and they were unwilling to participate in his destruction, the leaders declared that since the boys knew the group’s plans, they must agree to join them, or they must die on the spot. Sadly, they stayed true to their word, and knives were drawn. Some protested killing the boys, since their parents knew of their presence, so their failure to return would cast suspicion on some of the conspirators. By the slightest margin, the cautious course was chosen, and those who opposed killing prevailed, fortunately. The boys were threatened with certain death though if they ever revealed what had transpired in the meetings or who had participated, and they were then allowed to leave unharmed. As the boys passed behind the view of the guards, they were met by the Prophet, who was eagerly watching and praying for their safe return. They reported everything to him, not leaving a detail out. In return, the Prophet thanked and praised them, and then, for their safety, counseled them not to speak of this to anyone for 20 years or more (which, I don’t know about you, but that would’ve been exceedingly difficult for me!). The faith, commitment, and courage of these young men is an example to all of us, even today. Their pioneer qualities and the others I have mentioned—integrity, inclusion, cooperation, unity, unselfishness, sacrifice, and obedience—are as vital today as when they guided the actions of our pioneers in the former day. To truly honor those pioneers, we must honor and act upon the eternal principles that guided their actions. As President Hinckley reminded us back in 1996 (when you think about it, wasn’t that long ago, comparatively),“We honor best those who have gone before when we serve well in the cause of truth.” That cause of truth is honestly the cause of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose servants they were, and whose servants we should strive to be even in the present day. I testify of this and pray that we, too, may be “true to the faith that our parents have cherished,” and give the future generations something to remember) in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.