As we learn from Utah's Mormon pioneers, so too can our children and others learn from us and from the examples we set, Elder Albert Choules Jr. told more than 600 assembled Monday at the Days of '47 sunrise services.
Elder Choules, of the Second Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the featured speaker at the 7 a.m. service in the Tabernacle on Temple Square."I hope the young people who are attending this service and watching the parade will grow to understand the importance of this day in history," Elder Choules said. We can teach them about their pioneer heritage and explain to them the great examples set by the pioneers who came to this valley July 24, 1847.
"What is a pioneer? He or she is someone who opens the way and prepares for others to follow. As the early Mormon pioneers came to Utah, they planted seeds of generosity and love along the way and made it easier for others to complete the journey."
Elder Choules said his pioneer great-grandfather wrote to others that he was building a home 16 feet by 14 feet and welcomed people to come and visit and stay with him.
"I wonder what happened to all those who did come to stay with my great-grandfather. Recently I examined a pioneer log cabin that used to stand on Temple Square and which now stands near the Church Museum. It is 15 feet by 20 feet in size - not very large by today's standards.
"I can recall when friends and relatives crowded my home as a young man and outnumbered beds, so people had to sleep on the floor wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags.
"The size of our home, like the size of pioneer homes, is never as important as the size of our hearts. It is a good idea to keep the size of our hearts and the size of our rooms in proper prospective," Elder Choules said.
"My great-grandfather was ordained as a bishop in May 1856 and had served 45 years by the time he was 80 and was honored in ceremonies and with a story in the Deseret News that said he had served as a bishop of the church longer than anyone. He served three more years before he died."
Elder Choules said faith sustained Jesus and the early Christians, as well as Joseph Smith during his travail and Brigham Young on his journey to Utah. "What is our faith? What do we learn from the pioneers? Do we teach these lessons to our families verbally and by example?" he asked.
"We must be pioneers today, in our own time, in our own way. When we are baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we inherit the blood of the pioneers, no matter what our background.
"We can all prepare the way for our children and for others by setting good examples, by helping them to love one another. We are pioneers if we prepare our children and others for a better tomorrow," Elder Choules said.
Musical selections at the sunrise service were performed by the Salt Lake Symphonic Choir and Col. Paul Madsen and other members of the Mormon Battalion presented the flag ceremony.