Pioneer Day

Friends,

As I think about changes in life and the quote: nothing is as constant as change. What a true statement. Even when we are not doing anything to actively create change, life just seems to have a way of pushing things along. I like this description from President Monson: "Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes.

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."

Holidays tend to give me time to think about stuff beyond school and this Pioneer Day weekend has been no exception. (Thanks BYU for giving me a day off of school yesterday.) Pioneers knew what was really important in their lives--their beliefs and their families--and they gave up many of the temporary things we consider important--like homes and jobs--to move across the country in pursuit of something better. Sight unseen, they packed up a few belongings into a wagon or handcart and set off across the wide expanse of the American plains. I've driven from Nebraska to Utah in a car and it takes one very long day. For the LDS pioneers, it took months to cross through Iowa and Nebraska and then up through Wyoming before finally entering the Salt Lake Valley, where God had promised the pioneers a place to live free from persecution for the first time in almost 2 decades.

This was a huge change for the LDS members. Some chose not to go and stayed in Nauvoo. Others faithfully pressed forward with their friends and families, fording rivers and streams, facing the hot sun with little relief, many literally pushing their lives forward in wooden handcarts. Each day brought challenges, both familiar and novel, during which God tried His people and through which many solidified their relationship with the ultimate Being in the universe. Loved ones died along the way and the suffering was often intense. Those who endured never looked back to complain or question. Allow me to insert a famous quote from a member of the Martin Handcart company: “ ‘I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it.’ ”

He continues: “ ‘I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.

“ ‘Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.’ "

Don't you have your moments when you think 'I can only go a little further and then I will give up?' I do. And rarely do I have the presence of mind and the humility to attribute my successes to the Lord and His angels or to even be grateful to be alive and having whatever life experience has thrown a wrench in the gears of my own near-sighted plans. I echo the words of Elder L. Tom Perry as he quotes President Reagan: “"I do not want to go back to the past; I want to go back to the past way of facing the future.' His counsel still resonates within me. There is something about reviewing the lessons of the past to prepare us to face the challenges of the future. What a glorious legacy of faith, courage, and ingenuity those noble early Mormon pioneers have left for us to build upon. My admiration for them deepens the longer I live."

I sincerely hope that I can adopt the quiet fortitude and courage these wonderful pioneers exhibited on their long march in 1847.