Blessed Honored Pioneers

This time of year in my home state of Utah, we like to celebrate a day that we call "Pioneer Day". Every 24th of July we celebrate the entering of the first Latter Day Saint Pioneers in the valley of Salt Lake City, on
July 24th 1847. (which at the time was not in habited by anyone besides Native Americans).

Having been raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints my whole life, I come from a long line of "Mormons". A few of my ancestors traveled across the western plains in the mid 1800's. My Grandpa has always taught me by telling my siblings and I all about them.
I just want to first state that I am so proud of the sacrifice of my ancestors to cross the western plains with so few of their many possessions. They sacrificed family, friends, homes, comfort, many earthly goods, all to be able to find the peace and joy that comes from being able to worship their beliefs. The faith, courage, hope in the Savior Jesus Christ that they had was what brough them through.
But not everyone who is a member of the church has this kind of "Blood Line" so to speak. Many members of the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints are probably only the first in their family to join the church, or maybe their parents were or possibly grandparents. And each one of them is a modern pioneer in their own way by sharing the Gospel. Each one of these people have sacrificed so much to be able to have the true and everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. They didn't cross any treterous plains for 5 months, or have to bury a family member a long the way, or anything really that many of the early Pioneers went through. BUT they have sacrificed. They may have sacrificed their family, their homes, their friends, their old habits, and just like the pioneers of old they are blessed.
And like many of the pioneers of old, they have that same hope, courage and love for the Savior that keeps them going and helps them to share this Gospel with everyone around them. And this unify force of Faith and Love is what connects these modern pioneers with the early pioneers who crossed the plains many years ago.
In a recent article on LDS.org Elder M. Russell Ballard said that:
“We must be sure that the legacy of faith received from the pioneers who came before us is never lost. Let their heroic lives touch our hearts, and especially the hearts of our youth, so the fire of true testimony and unwavering love for the Lord and His Church will blaze brightly within each one of us as it did in our faithful pioneers.”

I encourage each of you (members and non-members) to make a legacy of your own, be a modern Pioneer, live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Share it with others. If you are not a member, I invite you to investiage it. Really learn for yourself about what we as "mormons" or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, are really about.