The Pioneering Spirit
As we sit in the valleys of the mountains and gaze at the grandeur of our surroundings, it is easy to forget that as the first pioneers entered these valleys 158 years ago, they were greeted not with comfortable homes, green lawns, and tree-lined streets, but with sagebrush flats, sunbaked earth, and the prospect of years of hard work ahead. Some even felt they would rather return back over that gruelling trail than settle in this desolate place. These beautiful valleys we now call home, this thriving economy, this pleasant place to live has been carved out of the desert with hard work, sweat, and tears, a legacy left to us by those hardy progenitors.
In our lives today, it is easy to become complacent, to convince ourselves there is really nothing substantial one person can do to change for the better our environment. Our everyday lives are altered by the scourges of drugs, gangs, pornography, and a whole host of evil that surrounds us. We are afraid to send our children out to play alone. We must be constantly vigilant as our families view television, movies, and the internet. Every day, the news carries stories of every vice imaginable. Yet, we allow ourselves to be content simply to complain about the problems that confront us, not willing to really make a difference.
During the 24th of July commemoration in 1857, exactly 10 years from the day Brigham Young first entered the Great Salt Lake Valley, he received word that the United States Army was headed to Utah to put down a rumored rebellion. Brigham had promised that if the Mormons were able to last ten years in their new home, they would never be driven out. That determination was put to the test on the very day they celebrated their first decade in these mountain valleys.
So, what to do? Should they fight? Should they turn the other cheek again and risk the atrocities they have faced years earlier in Illinois and Missouri? Neither option was acceptable. Brigham needed a plan and he devised one quickly. He called upon Lot Smith, a veteran of the Mormon Battalion and best friend of the legendary Porter Rockwell. Lot's assignment was to take a small group of men and intercept the army in Wyoming. Their job was not to fight with them and try to turn them back. It was simply to harass them and slow them down to the point they would be unable to reach Salt Lake that year. This would give the rest of the saints an opportunity to make more permanent plans.
Lot and his small band did not back down. They did not take the attitude that they were only a handful against a well-trained, well-armed force sent by the federal government. They just went to work, raiding and burning supply wagons, driving off mules, seizing livestock, and putting a halt to the army's advance. So successful were these activities that the army was forced to overwinter at Fort Bridger on the high plains of Wyoming. Not that this was a respite. The raiding party had arrived before the army and burned all the buildings. By the time Johnston's army reached Salt Lake the following spring, negotiations were underway and hostilities were averted. So, rather than this being an occupation, it became a financial boon to the pioneers who were able to trade produce and livestock for wagons and teams. Then, when the army pulled out just three years later to participate in the Civil War, much of their equipment and supplies were left behind. Did this small band of men fighting a worthy cause make a difference? Absolutely!
Recently, a brother-in-law who had transferred from Utah to the Seattle area noticed a billboard that was particularly offensive and obscene. Upon making inquiries as to how to get it removed, he was told the advertisers had a constitutional right to advertise in this manner and that the billboard would not be removed. That answer was simply not acceptable, so with an aggressive, can-do type attitude, he made some phone calls, rallied support and eventually got the billboards removed from his city. They were then relocated into some adjoining cities. But, through the attention this issue had received from the media, citizens of these cities determined they didn't want that obscenity in their area either. Eventually, the billboards were removed completely from that market. It is certainly refreshing to see the Bill of Rights work in favor of, and not against, decent Americans trying to stem the tide of lewdness and obscenity.
It is this can-do attitude, this pioneering spirit of our forefathers, that we so desperately need in our communities today. There is much we can do to create a safe, welcoming environment that will last into the next century and provide a better tomorrow for our children. First, we can look to our heritage, to the examples of pioneers past. But, that is not enough. We need pioneers for our present day. We need heroes today we can look to, heroes our children can look to, emulate and idolize. We need to be those heroes.
We must not allow ourselves to believe that we cannot make a difference. We must not give in to that selfish attitude which says," I am alright, so I will not worry about planning for the future of my family or community." This is our time, our opportunity to contribute, and our responsibility to look to the future of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Then, they will look back on us, on our contributions, struggles and sacrifices, and honor us just as we do those wonderful pioneers who began the fight 158 years ago.
In our lives today, it is easy to become complacent, to convince ourselves there is really nothing substantial one person can do to change for the better our environment. Our everyday lives are altered by the scourges of drugs, gangs, pornography, and a whole host of evil that surrounds us. We are afraid to send our children out to play alone. We must be constantly vigilant as our families view television, movies, and the internet. Every day, the news carries stories of every vice imaginable. Yet, we allow ourselves to be content simply to complain about the problems that confront us, not willing to really make a difference.
During the 24th of July commemoration in 1857, exactly 10 years from the day Brigham Young first entered the Great Salt Lake Valley, he received word that the United States Army was headed to Utah to put down a rumored rebellion. Brigham had promised that if the Mormons were able to last ten years in their new home, they would never be driven out. That determination was put to the test on the very day they celebrated their first decade in these mountain valleys.
So, what to do? Should they fight? Should they turn the other cheek again and risk the atrocities they have faced years earlier in Illinois and Missouri? Neither option was acceptable. Brigham needed a plan and he devised one quickly. He called upon Lot Smith, a veteran of the Mormon Battalion and best friend of the legendary Porter Rockwell. Lot's assignment was to take a small group of men and intercept the army in Wyoming. Their job was not to fight with them and try to turn them back. It was simply to harass them and slow them down to the point they would be unable to reach Salt Lake that year. This would give the rest of the saints an opportunity to make more permanent plans.
Lot and his small band did not back down. They did not take the attitude that they were only a handful against a well-trained, well-armed force sent by the federal government. They just went to work, raiding and burning supply wagons, driving off mules, seizing livestock, and putting a halt to the army's advance. So successful were these activities that the army was forced to overwinter at Fort Bridger on the high plains of Wyoming. Not that this was a respite. The raiding party had arrived before the army and burned all the buildings. By the time Johnston's army reached Salt Lake the following spring, negotiations were underway and hostilities were averted. So, rather than this being an occupation, it became a financial boon to the pioneers who were able to trade produce and livestock for wagons and teams. Then, when the army pulled out just three years later to participate in the Civil War, much of their equipment and supplies were left behind. Did this small band of men fighting a worthy cause make a difference? Absolutely!
Recently, a brother-in-law who had transferred from Utah to the Seattle area noticed a billboard that was particularly offensive and obscene. Upon making inquiries as to how to get it removed, he was told the advertisers had a constitutional right to advertise in this manner and that the billboard would not be removed. That answer was simply not acceptable, so with an aggressive, can-do type attitude, he made some phone calls, rallied support and eventually got the billboards removed from his city. They were then relocated into some adjoining cities. But, through the attention this issue had received from the media, citizens of these cities determined they didn't want that obscenity in their area either. Eventually, the billboards were removed completely from that market. It is certainly refreshing to see the Bill of Rights work in favor of, and not against, decent Americans trying to stem the tide of lewdness and obscenity.
It is this can-do attitude, this pioneering spirit of our forefathers, that we so desperately need in our communities today. There is much we can do to create a safe, welcoming environment that will last into the next century and provide a better tomorrow for our children. First, we can look to our heritage, to the examples of pioneers past. But, that is not enough. We need pioneers for our present day. We need heroes today we can look to, heroes our children can look to, emulate and idolize. We need to be those heroes.
We must not allow ourselves to believe that we cannot make a difference. We must not give in to that selfish attitude which says," I am alright, so I will not worry about planning for the future of my family or community." This is our time, our opportunity to contribute, and our responsibility to look to the future of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Then, they will look back on us, on our contributions, struggles and sacrifices, and honor us just as we do those wonderful pioneers who began the fight 158 years ago.
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