“The path of modern pioneers is not easy. Burdens carried in the heart can be just as heavy as those pulled in a handcart.” Dallin H. Oaks

This week I was in Utah for July 24th and the celebration of Pioneer Day for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It’s a big deal there, with many businesses taking the day off, temples closed, and parades and fireworks in abundance. It’s a wonderful day honoring those stalwart early members of the church and followers of Christ, who stayed the course and sacrificed so much to prepare the way for all who would follow.

When I was a younger woman, I didn’t like to read about pioneers.  It was too sad, overwhelming, devastating.  All I heard was the heartache and loss.  I was thankful for them, their contribution, their dedication, and their fortitude, which were awe inspiring, but I didn’t want to read about them—it was too painful. Sometimes I wondered if I could have been as brave as they had to be.  Would I have been able to stick with it through all the persecutions and hardships?  Could I have kept going if my children or husband had to be buried along the way?  Would I have pressed on when most everyone seemed to be against me and what I believe?

As I grew older, having suffered heartache and loss myself, I began to draw strength from the stories of pioneers. Instead of feeling despair reading their experiences, suddenly I felt a kinship with them, and was encouraged by their victories over discouragement and difficulty. I started to understand that we shared some of the same fears and failures, hopes and hallelujahs.

“Many of our challenges are different from those faced by former pioneers but perhaps just as dangerous and surely as significant to our own salvation and the salvation of those who follow us. For example, as for life-threatening obstacles, the wolves that prowled around pioneer settlements were no more dangerous to their children than the drug dealers or pornographers who threaten our children. Similarly, the early pioneers’ physical hunger posed no greater threat to their well-being than the spiritual hunger experienced by many in our day.”

Dallin H. Oaks

The first time I felt like maybe I would have been a faithful pioneer, able to follow the call of the Lord even though I feared for my children, was when I was prompted to move my family from Utah back to Las Vegas. I’d already lived in Vegas for 10 years and had been happy to get out of there and enjoy Utah for 3 years. I didn’t want to go back. My kids were settled, some in high school, and I knew it would be painful for them to leave friends and go to new schools. I couldn’t understand how it could possibly be a good thing for me to take my teenage sons to “sin city” where everywhere you look there are businesses and billboards with temptation and sexualization. My husband had recently left the church, and we were struggling with what that meant in our family, as well. Thankfully, we had loved ones in Vegas, friends and family. In fact, I believe it was to bless family members and for them to bless us, in the future, that we were called back.  At the time, I didn’t know the reasons, but I knew the voice of the Spirit, and I knew my Heavenly Father loved me. I believed, with all my heart, that whatever He asked me to do would be for my good, and the good of my family.  I was afraid and heartbroken, but I was determined, like those pioneers, to cling to my covenants, do what was asked of me, and trust God to take care of us. So, during one of the most difficult times in my life, we packed up, said goodbye to dear friends, and moved our family back to the same home we had left three years previous, and, again like those pioneers, we were blessed, strengthened, and guided by our loving Father. 

Since that experience, 11 years ago, I have seen many parallels from my life, and the lives of believing friends, to those of revered pioneers we honor on Pioneer Day.

“What a wonderful thing it is to have behind us a great and noble body of progenitors! What a marvelous thing to be the recipients of a magnificent heritage that speaks of the guiding hand of the Lord, of the listening ear of His prophets, of the total dedication of a vast congregation of Saints who loved this cause more than life itself!

“…With so great an inheritance, we can do no less than our very best. Those who have gone before expect this of us. We have a mandate from the Lord. We have a vision of our cause and purpose.

“…We honor best those who have gone before when we serve well in the cause of truth. Gordon B. Hinckley

As we get closer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, it is progressively apparent we will have to stand up for the “cause of truth” amid forceful opposition, conflicting worldly knowledge and beliefs, and even loved ones’ disagreement.

It’s becoming increasingly unpopular to believe:

• God created the earth, everything in countless universes, and human beings, making each of us His child, beloved of Him, and therefore worthy of love and kindness from each other.
• He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from the effects of death and sin, if we choose to repent.
• He created man and woman to marry and form families, which are the eternal unit of Earth and Heaven, and we are still commanded to multiply and replenish the earth, and protect children, born and unborn.
• He has restored His gospel in its fullness, with prophets and apostles, just as in the time of Christ, and it’s found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
• There is right and wrong, good and bad, and God’s commandments are still in force today, including loving and forgiving others who may choose to exercise their agency differently than we do.

Speak up about any of these things in a group of people, and you may find yourself, like the pioneers, opposed and wounded by harsh words. Like them, we need faith and courage. We may watch loved ones walk away from the faith we cherish and possibly turn away from us.  We may face persecution from inside and outside our families, be falsely accused of beliefs, thoughts, and actions we don’t espouse, or see family members imprisoned by addiction.  We may need to be rescued and carried during times of illness, crisis, or spiritual starvation, or watch our children suffer it. We may walk long, dark roads of depression or climb perilous mountains of trials. In all of this, we can remember, we’re not alone.  We can rely on the Lord to carry us through it just as He did pioneer men, women, and children who chose to follow Him, even in the midst of severe physical and emotional conditions.  With His help, and the aid of fellow saints, they did it, and we can too. Hurrah for Israel!

“If you take each challenge one step at a time, with faith in every footstep, your strength and understanding will increase. You cannot foresee all of the turns and twists ahead. My counsel to you is to follow the direction of the Savior of the world: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’” James E. Faust