Pioneers

When I was little, I loved pioneers.

Leslie, my cousin Megan, and I played pioneers almost every time we got together (the rest of the time we played orphaned princesses or petitioned President Lincoln to save our beloved park). At Megan's house we would play Oregon Trail II; at ours we would play Oregon Trail I or III. When we got a little older and more prolific, we had this game called Pioneer Diaries where we would sit at the computer and take turns writing journal entries about our days as pioneers. Here's my favorite excerpt (I don't think Leslie and I were getting along this day):

Megan (aka Melissa): “Father blessed me before he died. He said that if I would hold to the iron rod I would be able to endure.”
Kyra (aka Katherine): “Father blessed me. He said that if I would hold to the iron rod I would become great and marry a wonderful, righteous man.”
Leslie (aka Jolie): “Katherine is sweet, but she is a few feet down the iron rod. I mean that in the best way possible.”


But that wasn't all. Megan read Work and the Glory at the age of like 8, so I had to read Work and the Glory (or at least read the family charts in the later books so I would know who died without actually having to read them). I loved Pioneer Day because it meant I got to dress up as a pioneer. I loved the Heritage section of the Children's Songbook and loved the "Utah, This is the Place" tape with its songs about pioneers.  I loved pioneers.

During the sesquicentennial celebration. My mom is wearing a 70s prom dress.

That all changed in 2005. 2005 was the year of pioneer and church history overload. It was the year of Joseph Smith's 200th birthday, but since his birthday was at the end of the year we had to celebrate the entire year. It was the year my stake went on trek to Martin's Cove. It was the year we studied Doctrine and Covenants in Sunday School. It was the year my family had to sing a pioneer medley that I had to arrange (actually, it was pretty good . . . wish I remembered it) and I had to give a talk about pioneers. It was the year of the Day of Celebration all about Joseph Smith and pioneers (not that I participated since I was at EFY, which also seemed to be about pioneers). It was the year that every fireside and every talk in General Conference was either about Joseph Smith or the Martin and Willie handcart companies. By the end of that year I was sick and tired of pioneers.


But now . . . now I like pioneers again. As I've learned more about my pioneer ancestry I've come to appreciate them as real people who had to do really hard things. I know that we often say that the pioneers' trials were physical whereas ours were spiritual, but I don't know that that's true. It seems like they had to deal with plenty of spiritual trials of their own. The 1800s weren't PG-rated, after all. 


Furthermore, they certainly weren't perfect. As I've learned more about Kevin's side of the family, I've learned that there were pioneers who worked with his ancestors who were downright annoying and disagreeable. There have been pioneers who have turned out to be spoiled and entitled (Ann Eliza Dee Webb Young Denning, anyone?). But there were also many selfless, brave, and faithful pioneers who basically built the West and turned a desert into a home.


In fact,I feel like their accomplishments after arriving in Utah are just as incredible as their arrival in Utah. When I was younger I thought the pioneers were great just because they walked across the plains. But now I think their main contribution was what they built -- the cities, the forts, the schools, the tabernacles, the temples. They did this despite all the persecution, this time from the US Government itself. They left us a heritage that extends beyond the handcarts and covered wagons.


I think this is why my favorite pioneer hymn is "They, the Builders of the Nation" (I know . . . not Come, Come Ye Saints, though that's a close second).

They the builders of the nation, blazing trails along the way;

Stepping stones of generations were their deeds of every day.

Building new and firm foundations, pushing on the wild frontier,

Forging onward, ever onward, blessed honored Pioneer!

Happy Pioneer Day!

ps: here's a little video I made for Pioneer Day last year.