Today is July 24, 2013. 166 years ago, today, faithful followers of
Jesus Christ arrived in the barren desert of the Wasatch Front. These
Christians left everything they possessed, other than the bare
essentials, and crossed the plains of the Midwest. Their faith in Jesus
Christ and His restored gospel motivated them to take such drastic
measures as to leave the homes they had established to move west.
These saints of Jesus Christ were persecuted for their faith, much
like the saints in the New Testament. But they knew that the religion
they believed in was the very same religion that Jesus Christ
established during his mortal ministry: His church. The living prophet
in 1847, Brigham Young, led the faithful saints to Utah where they could
openly practice their religious beliefs. I'm grateful for the many
sacrifices of those "Mormon Pioneers." I was born and raised in Utah in a
home where Christ was at the center.
I know that Jesus Christ established His church upon the foundation
of apostles and prophets. His church was lost after He and His followers
were persecuted into their graves. But in love, our God and Heavenly
Father has called living prophets and apostles to guide us once again,
for "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth His secret
unto His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7)."
Our God is a God of miracles and He is unchanging. He performed
miracles in the past and He continues to do so today. The Mormon
pioneers are proof that God cares about His children and blesses them when they obey Him. May we all honor our pioneers and ancestors this,
and every July 24.
Happy Pioneer Day!
