Church Talks
“THE LORD’S PIONEERS”
[Address given by Elder John E. Enslen at a Pioneer Day Celebration held in the Siem Reap Branch, Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, July 28, 2007.]
Introduction
Today we remember and celebrate the 160th anniversary of the arrival of the first Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. I am grateful for the privilege of speaking to you on this occasion about our Mormon pioneer heritage.
Being a Pioneer in the Gospel Sense
A “pioneer” is one who goes before and leads the way. A pioneer often leads the way through an unknown area to a new land. But being a pioneer in the gospel sense means more than a physical removal from an old land of problems to a new land of promise. It involves a new way of thinking about life. It involves a new way of living life. It involves moving from an old way of life to a new way of life.
Pioneers During the Time of Christ’s Mortal Ministry
We can read about the pioneers of Jesus’ day who lived in more difficult times than do we:
They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. (John 16:2-3)
Forsaking Incorrect Traditions
When we talk about being a pioneer in the gospel sense, we are talking about forsaking those traditions of our more immediate ancestors which are inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here in Cambodia, our more immediate ancestors have been led away from the gospel of Jesus Christ over a long period of time, even for many centuries. I say “more immediate ancestors” because our “more remote ancestors,” like Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Jacob, invite us to be a part of the correct traditions which are consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we should not forget that our most direct ancestor, to whom we owe our strongest allegiance, and to whom we can feel currently connected at all times, is our Heavenly Father.
Forsaking the incorrect traditions of our more immediate ancestors does not necessarily involve relocating from one place to another. But forsaking the incorrect traditions of our more immediate ancestors will always involve moving from a past way of life to a new way of life. This internal move involves great faith, courage, and sacrifice on our parts. The faithful members in this congregation, to whom I am now speaking, are true pioneers in this gospel sense. I honor you for your willingness to deny yourself and take up your cross daily and follow Christ. (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23)
A pioneer is not worthy of Christ unless he loves Christ more than he loves the incorrect traditions of his fathers. (Matthew 10:37) A true pioneer will give away every sinful practice to know Christ (see Alma 22:18), whether that practice is personal, family, ethnic, cultural, religious, or national. All nations and cultures have common practices which are contrary to the ways of God.
The wicked one uses the incorrect traditions of our fathers to lead us away from light and truth. (D&C 93:39) The wicked one will use incorrect traditions to pit one nation against another nation. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not cause one nation to fight against another nation. The gospel of Jesus Christ unites us in peace.
In the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is only one race. It is the race of God, for we are all the children of God and belong to His family. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is only one culture. It is the culture of gospel living, for we all speak, and sing, and dance, and entertain in accordance with one Spirit. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is only one nation. It is Zion, the kingdom of the Saints, without foreigners or strangers (Ephesians 2:19), for we all make the same covenants to the same King, while continuing to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.
Requirements for Being One of the Lord’s Pioneers
We cannot become Christ-like, nor can we receive the rewards that Christ has promised to the faithful unless we become one of the Lord’s pioneers. A pioneer chooses to repent and change so that the old way of life gives way to the new and better way of life. A pioneer chooses to stay morally clean. A pioneer chooses to abstain from alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other harmful substances. A pioneer chooses to keep the Sabbath day holy. A pioneer chooses to pay an honest tithe and fast offering. A pioneer chooses to be honest in all of his dealings with others, and to avoid corruption of any kind.
Even after we become baptized members of the Church, the incorrect traditions which we left behind can still tug at us. Being one of the Lord’s pioneers requires a life-long effort. As faithful pioneers, we must diligently pray, study the scriptures, and obey our living prophet in order to protect ourselves against returning to the “old land” or the “old way.” Unfortunately, the faithful can become non-believers once again if they return to the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct. (Mosiah 1:5) The scriptures liken such a return to that of a dog that turns to his own vomit, or a washed sow who returns to wallowing in the mire. (Proverbs 26:11; 2 Peter 2:22; 3 Nephi 7:8)
Our Pioneer History
When we think of pioneers, we most readily think of the early Mormon pioneers of America who were outcasts (Isaiah 11:12; 56:8) in their own nation because of their unwavering determination to follow a newly revealed, misunderstood, maligned, and unpopular religion. They were an exiled people. Their enemies drove them from place to place, from New York to Ohio, and then to Missouri where the governor of the state ordered their “extermination” if they did not leave the state by a certain date. They found refuge in Illinois, but before the passage of much time, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered by a mob. The city of the saints in Nauvoo, Illinois then became the only American city ever to come under siege by fellow Americans.
The pioneer’s crossed the frozen Mississippi River and migrated to the Indian Territory—present day Nebraska, and then a year later to the Rocky Mountains, in order to find a measure of peace away from their enemies. While in the act of migrating, they forgivingly donated 500 from among some of their best men to the employ of the very national government that had flatly refused to protect them in their civil right to worship as they pleased—even that same national government that was originally founded in large part upon the principle of religious freedom. These 500 men, as true patriot citizens, were willing to lay down their lives as soldiers in their nation’s territorial war against Mexico.
Of the approximately 80,000 Mormon pioneers who attempted to cross the plains between 1847 and the joining of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, 1 in 13 died in their attempt. A large portion of those deaths came in the early years, when hounded, harassed, abused, and expelled members of the Church suffered miserably from the exposure, malnutrition, fatigue, exhaustion, and disease associated with a severe winter march of forced removal.
Our Pioneer Legacy
That group of saints who settled in Utah and surrounds has produced today a Church of more than 13,000,000 members, the ever-increasing majority of which now live outside of the United States. The growth is beginning to reach exponential proportions with a million new members being added about every three years. More than 1,000,000 missionaries have served the church at their own expense, and 400,000 of that million have served since President Gordon B. Hinckley became President of the Church in 1995.
You here are a part of the great miracle that is presently taking place in the country of Cambodia, and throughout Asia, and throughout the remainder of the world where thousands upon thousands join the Church weekly; and their only enticements for doing so are the doctrines of Christ as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successors in these the latter days.
Our Personal Adoption of the Mormon Pioneer Heritage
Every new member of the Church adopts the Mormon pioneer heritage as his own religious heritage. Every new convert to the Church is a “pioneer” in his own right, and is entitled to appreciate and honor the early Mormon pioneers just as much as a 5th generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 16 direct lineal Mormon pioneer ancestors. There is no salvation by virtue of being a bloodline descendant to the early Mormon pioneers. Salvation begins with faith and repentance, for God can raise up children from a stone. (Matthew 3:8-9; Luke 3:8) But there is much faith to be gained by a study of, and honoring of, and remembering of, the lives of those courageous early Mormon pioneers who consecrated themselves to the building of the Kingdom of God in the earth.
Individual Responsibility
Salvation is an individual matter. Each of us is responsible and accountable for our own actions. It is true that our personal adverse circumstances may have negatively impacted who we are at this moment. But we cannot use our adverse circumstances as an excuse for not improving ourselves. Each of us alone is ultimately responsible for the type of person we become. We can raise ourselves to the Savior’s standards by exercising in Him our faith unto repentance. Through faith and repentance, we can secure for ourselves the mortal and post-mortal blessings available through the atoning sacrifice of our beloved Redeemer.
Closing
I will close by telling you that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints belongs to each of you here in Siem Reap, Cambodia just as much as it belongs to any other member of the Church anywhere in the world; and the opportunities and blessings provided by the Savior’s atoning sacrifice apply to each of you just as much as they apply to any other person anywhere in the world. I bear you my witness that the Savior loves each one of you just as much as he loves any other person anywhere in the world.
May each of us be the kind of faithful and courageous pioneer member that the Lord wants us to be, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.