They're called the "Mormon pioneers." But I've always seen them as "Mormon pilgrims."Like the bonnet and belt-buckle group that bumped into Plymouth Rock, or those tale-tellers en route to Canterbury, the Mormon "pilgrims" knew exactly where they were going and why.They had a destination in mind — a place of deliverance — a place where faith and freedom could be found.Pioneering?Yes, the Mormons did a lot of that. They blazed trails, explored new vistas, pushed frontiers and "boldly went where no one had gone before."But that wasn't the point. Those things were simply by-products.The Mormons were after bigger game than mere discovery.They were seeking salvation.They didn't trek into the West looking for adventure, the rush that comes with risk or the fame of being first.It was never about their own glory.It was about the glory of one greater. It was about finding some place on earth where they could almost touch him.And that distinction matters, I think.It matters because we often confuse the two.Today the world is awash in "pioneering" spirit. Everyone craves a new experience, the next new thing. We want to explore.In short, we're looking to be stimulated. And when we find it, we confuse it with being fulfilled.But fulfillment comes from within.It comes from commitment.What we are missing today is purpose — the purpose of a pilgrimage.We once had it, I think. We had a sense of who we were and what we wanted.And we had a sense of where we wanted to go.But that candle flame is guttering now.Perhaps, in time — and with a spark from heaven — we'll find that "pilgrim flame" again.We'll no longer go out into the world hoping to discover who we are.We'll know.We'll no longer want something "new," but something real, something that endures.Maybe, at some point, life will no longer be about our destiny, but it will once again be about our destination.There are plenty of models of such an approach from our past.The New England Pilgrims arrived.So did Moses and the Israelites, the Nephites and those amazing Mormon pioneers.When we find the courage of our convictions and seek spiritual — not physical — stamina, we'll get there, too.We certainly know the way.Those pioneering Mormon pilgrims mapped it out in detail.
E-mail: jerjohn@desnews.com