Celebrating the 24th of July

On the 24th of July, 1847 the main body of the pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. As stated by President J. Reuben Clark in his address on the 100th anniversary of that same event, "These tens of thousands who so moved and so built were the warp and the woof of Brother Brigham's great commonwealth. Without them Brother Brigham had failed his mission. These were the instruments -- the shovelers, the plowers, the sowers and reapers, the machinists, the architects, the masons, the woodworkers, the organ builders, the artisans, the mathematicians, the men of letters, all gathered from the four corners of the earth, furnished by the Lord to Brother Brigham and the prophet leaders who came after, that he and they might direct the working out of His purposes. These wrought as God inspired Brother Brigham and the other prophets to plan, all to the glory of God and the upbuilding of His kingdom."

Every year of my life we have remembered the pioneers on the 24th of July, sometimes with parties, rodeos, parades, fireworks and cannon blasts, but other years with a simple acknowledgement of the heritage handed to us from these who sacrificed their entire lives to establish outposts in the desert. Let us not forget our heritage!

As President Clark concluded, "So to these humble but great souls, our fathers and mothers, the tools of the Lord, who have, for this great people, hewed the stones and laid the foundations of God's kingdom, solid as the granite mountains from which they carved the rocks for their temple, to these humble souls, great in faith, great in work, great in righteous living, great in fashioning our priceless heritage, I humbly render my love, my respect, my reverent homage. God keep their memories ever fresh among us, their children, to help us meet our duties even as they met theirs, that God's work may grow and prosper till the restored gospel of Jesus Christ rules all nations and all peoples, till peace, Christ's peace, shall fill the whole earth, till righteousness shall cover the earth even as the waters cover the mighty deep. Let us here and now dedicate all that we have and all that we are to this divine work. May God help us so to do."