Today is Pioneer Day in my home state of Utah. We celebrate Pioneer Day to commemorate the pioneers that came before us and settled in Utah.
I am a descendant of the pioneer William Clayton who was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was also a clerk and a scribe to the prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints you will most likely know the song he wrote entitled, "Come, Come, Ye Saints." He wrote the song when he was out on the plains and received word that his wife who was still in Nauvoo had given birth to a healthy baby boy.
I am very grateful for those who went before me and sacrificed greatly so that I could have what I do today! No matter what religion you are, you too are a descendant of a pioneer. A pioneer is someone who prepared the way or was the first to explore or develop something. Someone who provided us a way to follow. None of us would be where we are today if it weren't for the pioneers who came before us.
"With the complex issues facing our families and our friends, our citizens, our state, our neighbors, our nation, [and] the world, may we remember pioneers of an earlier day,” said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He noted that early pioneers “persevered against injustice, misunderstanding, some intolerance, occasional bigotry, occasional racism, against differences of custom and traditions and faith, [and] labored against all of that to carve out for us, their descendants, the wonderful day and the marvelous miraculous time in which we live.”
“We owe the same pioneering, persevering legacy to our children and our children’s children.”
“People working together are more successful, more prosperous and much more happy than neighborhoods or ethnic groups or religious faiths that are suspicious of one another, threatened by one another, and all too often hostile, even violent, toward one another,” he said.
I believe the world still needs pioneers today. We can continue to be pioneers by standing up for what we believe is right and true and preparing a way for the future generations.
This is what I know to be TRUE!
