Pioneer Day

July 24th is Pioneer Day. This is a day that we celebrate the pioneers crossing the plains to settle in Salt Lake City on July 24th, 1847. Although the holiday in centered around Utah, it is really a holiday for anyone to enjoy and reflect upon their ancestors, whether they are Mormons or not.

A girl gave a talk about the pioneers in church on Sunday and she said that while many people admire the endurance of the pioneers to have to sacrifice so much, she admired the most their ability to adapt. She brought up that many of key doctrines were revealed after numerous pioneers had joined the church and they had to adapt to a changing lifestyle, and a changing religion. What faith! I'm not sure why I had never thought about that aspect of the early members of the church, but I've been thinking alot about it since Sunday.

I've also thought about what other qualities the pioneers had. They endured, they had faith, they had physical stamina like no other, and in most cases sacrificed everything they had for everything they believed. And this made me think, "Could I ever, under any circumstances, be considered a pioneer?" Of course there have been no obstacles in my life that have remotely come close to the trials they endured, but would my descendants look at me and what I had done in my life and see an example of faith, enduring, and sacrifice? It has given me alot to think about.

In addition, the quote of the day this morning was, "There must be constant and incessant work, in order to have a harvest." Made me think, what areas of my life am I expecting a great harvest without having to do anything... probably too many.