Apart from Christmas
and Easter, two days every year have had a tremendous impact on my life. These days are my birthday and July 24th, known to members of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Pioneer Day. Pioneer Day, a literal
holiday in the state of Utah, is a celebration commemorating the arrival of the
Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Mormons (mainly in
the Western United States) remember their pioneer ancestors who through trial and
tribulation walked across the country in order to establish a land for their
people which would allow them to be free from outside persecution and
influence. For any Latter-day Saint without relation to these early pioneers,
Pioneer Day becomes a time in which they can remember when their extended family
or they themselves joined the Mormon Church. Of course, even the Mormons who
fall into the latter category can find celebration in the lives of the early
pioneers, for these pioneers helped establish not only what would become Utah,
but also the very headquarters of the Mormon Church today.
My
connection with Pioneer Day begins in similar fashion to other Latter-day
Saints. My ancestor Thomas Steed first heard the Mormon message in his own home
in Herefordshire England in 1840 when Mormon Apostle Wilford Woodruff preached
to a congregation of United Brethren members. Thomas was subsequently baptized
in November of that year and worked his way to Nauvoo Illinois in 1844, only a
few months before the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. From Nauvoo, Thomas
then made the trek to Utah with his young family. I won’t bore my readers with
the finer details of his journeys, but suffice it to say I often remember the
sacrifice of Thomas Steed, who like other Mormons helped build up the
Intermountain West.
However,
Pioneer Day has taken on much more significance in my life. Eleven years ago on
Pioneer Day I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah in order to
serve in the Ohio Cleveland Mission. I found it intriguing that I was entering
a region of America saturated with early Mormon history since I was entering my
mission on Pioneer Day itself. One hundred and fifty five years after the
Mormons entered the Salt Lake Valley I was making a trek back across the United
States to where some of my ancestors once lived (such as John Reed, a
blacksmith on the Kirtland Temple). It was in Ohio, after serving 18 of the 24
months of my mission in the Kirtland Stake, that I incorporated many aspects of
Mormon history I was previously unaware of into my love of general history.
 |
| The Newel K. Whitney Store, Kirtland, Ohio- Many revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith were received here. |
I
learned many things on my mission, but one thought that impacted me the most was
how important it was for Latter-day Saints to study every aspect of their
history as well as perpetuate a better/more accurate understanding of that
history. As a missionary I might have been about aiding in the conversion of
individuals to Mormonism, but afterward I focused not so much on conversion as
much as helping others gain an actual understanding of Mormonism and its history.
Although I did not know after my mission how I would accomplish it, I sought to
train myself in a way that I could pursue the study of American religion and
Mormonism as a potential career.
In my final semester of undergraduate work at Boise State University I discovered that Claremont Graduate University was opening up a Mormon Studies program within their School of Religion. I also discovered that well known Mormon historian Richard Bushman was going to be the inaugural Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies. I immediately took the opportunity to apply and altered my life in such a way that I could study Mormonism at an academic level. I was accepted to CGU in 2009, received my MA in 2011. I am now currently working on my PhD with a focus on North American religious history. So, needless to say, Mormon history, and Pioneer Day have both had a significant influence on my life.
In my final semester of undergraduate work at Boise State University I discovered that Claremont Graduate University was opening up a Mormon Studies program within their School of Religion. I also discovered that well known Mormon historian Richard Bushman was going to be the inaugural Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies. I immediately took the opportunity to apply and altered my life in such a way that I could study Mormonism at an academic level. I was accepted to CGU in 2009, received my MA in 2011. I am now currently working on my PhD with a focus on North American religious history. So, needless to say, Mormon history, and Pioneer Day have both had a significant influence on my life.
Due
to the significance of Pioneer Day on my life, I wish to take a brief moment to
conclude this blog with one thought about what Pioneer Day means to me. Pioneer
Day is a moment to reflect on the history of Mormonism, but this reflection is not merely a carefree admiration of my
faith’s religious heritage. Instead Pioneer Day needs to be a time when we
reflect as Latter-day Saints, both individually and collectively, on the areas
in which we need to improve in order to be more in line with the heritage of
our ancestors and to improve on what they have left us. For instance, could we
not strive more diligently in our day to give aid to the poor and the needy, regardless
of their circumstances (ie. not to use excuses that hinder us in giving aid, such
as saying “they’re lazy,” etc.)? One person who taught this without a doubt was
Brigham Young. When the early Mormons instituted a cattle and horse community
roundup to protect their flocks from Indians and wolves many objected to the
safety precautions and refused to include their cattle in the herd. To this
Young declared, “Natural feelings would say let them & their cattle go to
Hell, but duty says that if they will not take care of their cattle, we must do
it for them. We are to be saviours of men in these last days. Then don’t be
bluffed off by insults or abuse.”[1]
Interesting counsel in reminding us that it is important to take care of the
poor, regardless of why they are
poor. Is this not what Christ himself taught (see Matthew 25: 34-40)?
Or
perhaps, as Latter-day Saints we could make a more concentrated effort to be
less critical of those who believe or think differently than ourselves. After
all, one of the tenets of Mormonism found in the Articles of Faith is, “We
claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our
own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how,
where, or what they may” (Article of Faith #11). This goes for respecting those
of any religion (perhaps interacting with them in interfaith activities) and,
may I add, even those with no religion (at least, in the conventional sense) at
all.
These
are just two items I have been thinking about recently. I am sure than many of
you can determine other ways in which we can realign ourselves with the teachings
and example of our pioneer ancestors. Pioneer Day has had a profound
significance on me personally, and perhaps as Latter-day Saints we can make it
just a little more influential in bettering ourselves both individually and as
a community. Of course, still feel free to partake in BBQs, fireworks, and
relaxation.
[1] Leonard J.
Arrington. Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter Day Saints,
1830-1900 (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2005), 58.
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