SUPPM-1974-01-January-February_text

PAGE FOUR THE PIONEER JAN.-FEB., 1974
OFFICIAL SHOWING of the Brigham Young graveside monument; Dr. D.
Orson Wright, (left) immediate past president of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers,
sponsor organization; Sculptor Edward J. Fraughton, author of this and many
other such exceptional art; and Thomas A. Lambert, president of SUP, give final
approval to the sculpture.
Portrays Family Unity And Hope
Brigham Young Graveside Sculpture Approved
By Duane Cardall
(Press Secretary of the SUP)
The working model has been com¬
pleted, it has been approved by the
first presidency of the LDS Church and
work has begun on the large statue that
will be placed at the site of Brigham
Young's grave in Salt Lake City.
The Church has invited the Nat¬
ional Society of the Sons of Utah Pion¬
eers (SUP) to help with the project.
SUP in turn has commissioned popular
Mormon artist Edward J, Fraughton to
sculpture a monument in memory of
the pioneers who came to the Salt Lake
Valley more than a hundred years ago.
Dedication has been set for June 3,
1974.
Fraughton describes the piece as a
“forward looking, family group.” The
wife is clinging to the husband, who
presides over the family, and the child
is clinging to both.
Costs $25J)00
‘ It s an effort to create a feeling of
family unity and hope for tomorrow,”
said Fraughton. “The family has arrived
in the valley and LalJ is well\ he said,
“Now, they’re looking to the future.”
Members of The National Society of
the Sons of Utah Pioneers have been
challenged to raise $25,000 for the pro¬
ject. SUP President Thomas A. Lam¬
bert says the society is more than half
way toward that goal. SUP hopes to
have the money in by February 15,
1974,
In addition to the statue, plans at
the gravesite include erection of two
smaller monuments in memory of the
composers of two popular LDS hymns -
Eliza R. Snow who wrote “0 My
Father” and William Clay ton, composer
of “Come, Come Yc Saints.”
The statue and the two monuments
will be placed near the front of the
gravesite, while the south portion,
which includes Brigham Young’s grave,
will remain a memorial to the man who
led the saints across the plains and dir¬
ected the settlement of much of the
West.
Part of a Tour
Once completed, the Pioneer Mon¬
ument and Brigham Young’s gravesite
will become part of a walking tour of
historic Salt Lake City sites. Other
stops on the tour will include Temple
Square, The Beehive House and the new
Church Office Building.
Former SUP President and Chairman
of the Monument Project, Dr. Orson
D. Wright hopes the monument will be¬
come an effective missionary tool for
the Church. He said, “It will be a means
of acquainting people with the sacri¬
fices made by the pioneers who settled
the Valley.”
Wright said the project also “gives
SUP a chance to participate in a com¬
munity project” which justifies its ex¬
istence and “upholds the dreams of our
ancestors,” Dr. Wright reports that the
chapters mostly have come along all
very well with their contributions to
the monument fund but urges the few
that have not done so well, to make a
renewed effort to get in these funds as
promptly as possible.