Modern pioneers are no longer required to endure hardship crossing the plains, but they now must guard against clever attacks on the family, a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve told thousands Sunday.
Speaking at the Ogden Pioneer Days Fireside, Elder Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said that the pioneers of today should make their families "symbols of strength" while remembering the sacrifices of earlier pio-neers.The event was held in the Dee Events Center on the Weber State University campus Sunday evening.
"We too are pioneers. The opposition to the work is different now," Elder Nelson said. "The adversary is cleverly stalking at the basic unit of society - the family."
Quoting a hymn, Elder Nelson encouraged church members in attendance, many of whom are descendants of early Mormon pio-neers, to "be true to the faith that our parents have cherished and true to the truth for which martyrs have perished."
He said that the celebration of the pioneer settlement of what is now Utah is important, saying that those who remember their ancestors are also worthy of remembrance.
"We need to remember the deeds of the modern children of Israel. Adults need to be reminded. Children need to be taught," Elder Nelson said. "The westward exodus was the mightiest since Israel's flight from Egypt led by Moses."
He reminded his audience of pioneer sacrifices by recounting the trials of 150 years earlier, when in 1846 more than 12,000 LDS pioneers traveled across Iowa from Nauvoo, Ill., to Council Bluffs in bone-chilling weather.
Elder Nelson invited three girls and one young woman, dressed in bonnets, to stand as models of youthful pioneers as he read their immigration stories.
He told the story of six-week-old Amanda who migrated to the West with her parents from Norway. He recounted how Elisabeth, 18, was stranded in Wyoming, starving in the cold, as she and those with her were rescued by a party from Salt Lake City.
He recounted how 10-year-old Margaret from Scotland drove a cow across the prairie while carrying her small brother. He explained how Mary, 13, from England suffered frostbite and had to have her toes amputated.
"These stories of pioneers remind us of their trials and help us endure challenges of our own," Elder Nelson said.
More important than their experiences was the motivation behind their gathering, and it should be remembered, the apostle said.
Their motivation was the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored through Joseph Smith, with its priesthood, belief in agency and accountability and promise of eternal blessings, Elder Nelson said.
As the LDS Church has grown to more than 9 million members, modern pioneers make sacrifices for similar reasons, he said.
The apostle cited the example of the sacrifice of a Czech couple who revealed their beliefs to communist authorities to help the church gain official recognition in Czechoslovakia.