FHE_Pioneer Day_Layout 1 - Jenny Phillips

Pioneer Day: Why we Remember the Pioneers
FHE lesson zplan for “Pioneer Day”
Discussion:
1. Pioneer Day, July 24th, is an official holiday in the state of Utah, but members of the church everywhere celebrate Pioneer
Day. Why do we celebrate pioneer day? (On this date in 1847, the first Mormon pioneers (143 men, 3 women, 2
children) led by Brigham Young, entered the uninhabited Salt Lake Valley. Pioneer Day was first observed in 1849, 2
years after the arrival of the first pioneers.)
2. Why is it important to remember and honor the pioneers?
Read the Following:
Gordon B. Hinckley: "In the environment in which many of us live, there is need for reminders of lessons learned in the
past. In our times of abundance, it is good occasionally to be taken back to earlier days, to have our minds refocused on
the struggles of the early Latter-day Saints." ("The Faith of the Pioneers," Ensign, July 1984, p. 3.)
Ezra Taft Benson: "We stand today as beneficiaries of the pioneers priceless legacy to us . . .The historian Lord Macauly
said, "The people who do not revere the deeds of their ancestors will never do anything to be remembered by their descendants."
We hope the present generation will continue to be reminded by sermon, song, eulogy, and family traditions
of the noble virtues of their pioneer ancestors and to recognize that it was by and through the hand of God that . . . . the
settlement in Ephraim's mountains took place.” (This Nation Shall Endure, pg. 46)
Puzzle Activity:
Print out the picture on the following page. Put it back in your printer and print the page after that (with the 5 boxes that
say “faith” “prayer” etc.) on the back of the picture. Cut out the 5 boxes. Put the boxes in a bowl and have each member
of the family choose one at a time. Have them read the box and discuss any of the questions. Have the children tape together
the boxes so they match up. Explain that these are all traits that made the pioneers such great examples. Turn
over the boxes, and show how all those pieces put together are what made the pioneers who they were.
Read: A Description of the First “Pioneer Day”
Two years after the pioneers first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, the first Pioneer Day was celebrated. A cannon fire started the day
which also included a brass band, the unfurling of a large American flag, the ringing of the Nauvoo bell. Also “At a given signal, the
several thousand Mormons in Salt Lake City assembled into their respective wards. Led by their bishops and identified by distinctive
banners, these wards then marched as separate groups to Temple Square. Arriving at Temple Square—the spiritual, if not physical,
center of the Mormon capital—each ward sat together in the southeast corner of Temple Square under a bowery constructed for the
occasion. This was perhaps the single largest assembly of Mormons in the nineteen-year history of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
Once the wards were seated, a procession marched the few blocks to Brigham Young’s home in the "log row" to escort him to the celebration.”
The celebration included young men and young ladies singing hymns through the street and a special program where Brigham Young
spoke, poems wer recited, and songs were sung. “ At the end of the program, those in attendance made their way to nearby
dining tables that accommodated not only the several thousand Mormon pioneers, but also scores of forty-niners heading
to California goldfields and numerous Native Americans. Despite meager circumstances, one participant commented,
"Such a feast of the body coupled with a feast of the soul has not been experienced on this continent for a
length of time." (BYU Studies, vol. 36 (1996-97)
Game: “Pioneer Memory” Print out the last page in this document, cut out the pieces, and play memory.

Faith
Prayer
Gordon B. Hinckley: “The power that moved our gospel forebears
was the power of faith in God. ”
(Faith: The Essence of True Religion)
What are 2 ways the pioneers showed faith?
What are 2 ways we can show faith today?
Courage
Pioneer Patience Loader: "I can testify that our
Heavenly Father heard and answered our prayers and
we were blessed with health and strength day by day
to endure the severe trials we had to pass through on
that terrible journey. . . . We know that if God had not
been with us that our strength would have failed us
and our bodies would have been left on the plains. . . . I
can truthfully say that we never felt to murmur at the
hardships we were passing through. I can say we put
our trust in God, and he heard and answered our
prayers." )(Archer, "Recollections," 88–89.)
The Story of Bodil Mortensen: Many of those who crossed
the plains were only children. One of those children was Bodil
Mortensen, age ten, from Denmark. Bodil Mortensen came alone,
before her family to join the saints in Salt Lake City, her older sister
traveled a year before her and was in Salt Lake. Bodil joined the
Willie Handcart Company with a family from her country Denmark.
Winter storms began early that year and slowed the travel
of the company. Rock Ridge was along hard journey for the children.
The distance was about 15 miles, including a two-mile stretch
in which the trail rose more than 700 feet in elevation. It took some
of the children 27 hours to reach the camp. The snow was already
more than a foot deep, a blizzard was raging, and the temperatures
were freezing. A howling October snowstorm blinded ten-yearold
Bodil Mortensen as she climbed with several other younger
children, shivering and hungry, up the snow-covered slope of
Rocky Ridge. Bodil was exhausted and weak, the young girl
struggled on her way, hoping to reach Salt Lake City to be with
her sister. Bodil was apparently assigned to care for some small
children as they crossed Rocky Ridge. When they arrived at
camp, in the wee hours of October 24, she must have been sent to
gather firewood. All she could find was twigs of sagebrush. The
next morning she was found leaning up against the wheel of a
handcart, twigs clutched in her hands, frozen to death.
Watch the Jenny Phillips video “BODIL”
How did Bodil show courage?
Sacrifice
Alice Wash was the only member of her family that
joined the church. When she left to cross the seas and
plains to go to Salt Lake, she had to leave all of her
mother and father, her brothers and sisters, and almost
everything she owned. But her testimony of the gospel
was the most important thing to her, and she still chose
to follow the prophet.
Work
The pioneers had to walk over 1,000 miles through
really hot days, through rain and thunderstorms, and
through muddy, difficult areas. They were willing to
work hard to follow the prophet and do what was
right.
In what ways today are we required to work for the
gospel?