Pioneer day

We recently celebrated the arrival of the Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake valley in Utah on July 24, 1847.  Our son Dave was asked to give a talk on his pioneer heritage in his ward in Charlotte, NC.  Here are some of his notes from the talk.  I thought they were so good and worth sharing. 

My pioneer stories (which you can look up on lds.org!!)

• On March 28, 1857, the American ship George Washington left Liverpool England for Boston carrying 817 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as they headed to gather together in Zion.
• Aboard was  Charlotte Tarrant Banford, age 43 (my 4^th great grandma), twice widowed, 1 child from first marriage,  Job Pingree (age 20), my 3^rd great grandpa, and 6 children from 2^nd marriage (ages 11-4), and Job’s future wife Mary Morgan
• First four days, rough seas, everyone seasick, their belongings and boxes all broken and strewn everywhere
• Up at 5 or 6, clean, prayers, breakfast, various duties throughout the day, bed by 8 or 9
• April 19^th – arrived in Boston Harbor
• April 23^rd – got on train in Boston, headed west
• Passed through Albany NY, Buffalo NY, Cleveland OH, Toledo OH, Chicago IL, arrived in Iowa City, IA on April 30^th
• June 3^rd – depart Iowa City as part of the Jesse B. Martin Company (company of 192 people)
• June 22^nd, near Council Bluffs– Richard (4), Charlotte’s son, dies of measles, they bury him by the side of the trail
• “Heavy was the heart of that dear mother as she turned her eyes west to face she knew not what, but with faith that God would help her through.”
• Cattle Stampede along banks of North Platte River – John Banford (5) is killed, Charlotte’s daughter Martha (Job’s step sister) seriously injured
• Job’s experience:
• “I walked all the way from Iowa City to Utah and every other night had to be on guard half the night with the cattle. We got along pretty well until we came to the Platte River bottom where there was lots of buffalo. Then we had trouble with our cattle stampeding and running off. Several of the cattle were lost and one of ours happened to be lost so we had to work a cow from there to Utah. When we camped at night our wagons were put in the shape of a horse shoe, only left narrow so we could drive the cattle in to catch them. One morning when we were yoking them up and hitching them to the wagons they stampeded—running over people and one old man was killed. My Mother had a little boy killed and her daughter Martha's hip was broken so she had to be hauled in the wagon all the way to Utah.
• At this place Elder Latey and several others left the company and went back to Omaha and lived there. At this place we could see the land black with buffalo for miles. We also saw many small herds of deer grazing in the distance. In our travels we crossed many streams of water. On account of the loss of cattle the ladies had to walk and to save them wading streams, I carried many of them over. I also helped get feed for the cattle carry water and wood or buffalo chips to cook with.”
• September 12, 1857 – arrive in Salt Lake,
• September 22, 1857 – settle in Odgen
• Were persecuted on trains, on the trail, never giving up hope or giving up on their faith – 6 month journey, covered nearly 5,000 miles, left behind their home, their country, family, friends, and belongings, all because they believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and the prophet had asked all the saints to gather together to Zion.
• I am proud of my pioneer heritage – all four of my grandparents are descendants of pioneers, lds.org lists 40 of my ancestors as being Mormon pioneers, and I am grateful for their sacrifices, faith, endurance, and perseverance

 

Shared pioneer history

• However, this pioneer history is not limited to only those direct descendants.
• President Uchtdorf, in the April 2008 General Conference, speaking on the faith of our fathers, said:
• “The faith of our fathers—I love that phrase.  For many members of the Church, these words bring to mind valiant pioneers who abandoned the comfort of their homes and traveled by wagon and on foot until they reached the valley of the Great Salt Lake. I love and honor the faith and courage of those early pioneers of the Church. 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 believe that all of us who are members of the church, actual pioneer descendants or not, can claim as President Uchtdorf does, that legacy.

 

What it means to us today

• This pioneer heritage that we all share should inspire us to do more and be better saints, better members of the church.
• Elder Ballard, in the October 2008 General Conference, stated:
• “We are all needed to finish the work that was begun by those pioneering Saints over 175 years ago and carried out through the subsequent decades by faithful Saints of every generation. We need to believe as they believed. We need to work as they worked. We need to serve as they served. And we need to overcome as they overcame.

• Of course, our challenges are different today, but they are no less demanding. Instead of angry mobs, we face those who constantly try to defame. Instead of extreme exposure and hardship, we face alcohol and drug abuse, pornography, all kinds of filth, sleaze, greed, dishonesty, and spiritual apathy. Instead of families being uprooted and torn from their homes, we see the institution of the family, including the divine institution of marriage, under attack as groups and individuals seek to define away the prominent and divine role of the family in society.
• This is not to suggest that our challenges today are more severe than the challenges faced by those who have gone before us. They are just different. The Lord isn’t asking us to load up a handcart; He’s asking us to fortify our faith. He isn’t asking us to walk across a continent; He’s asking us to walk across the street to visit our neighbor. He isn’t asking us to give all of our worldly possessions to build a temple; He’s asking us to give of our means and our time despite the pressures of modern living to continue to build temples and then to attend regularly the temples already built. He isn’t asking us to die a martyr’s death; He’s asking us to live a disciple’s life."

• I hope that we can remember and reflect on our shared pioneer heritage, and strive to be better saints because of it