FamilySearch has built a new webpage to encourage people to both remember the pioneers who came before them and create their own pioneer legacies.
The page, called “I Am a Pioneer,” launched July 15. It includes the stories of pioneers from different locations and time periods and outlets for visitors to share family stories.
“It’s a universal message that everyone has a story to tell and a legacy to leave,” said Cris Rees, senior product manager at the LDS Church's Family History Department. “It’s really about leaving that legacy for the future, for the generations to come.”
Rees said “I Am a Pioneer” is an effort to expand traditional thinking of pioneers to include people from all eras and places. Visitors to the page can start by watching an introductory video that defines the word “pioneer” and highlights unique stories of people from around the world.
“There are examples which fit the definition of a pioneer: one who goes before, showing others the way to follow,” it says in the video. “What about our time?”
Below the video is an interactive map with pins that link to stories in the Church History Department’s "Pioneers in Every Land" series. The series is a collection of stories gathered by the Church History Department. Senior product manager Kevin Nielson said the department has collected a vast number of stories from Latter-day Saints around the world and has about 30 published on the site.
“When we find one that’s really faith-promoting, we’ll write an article and feature that so that people can have an understanding that the faith of the pioneers continues today throughout the world,” Nielson said.
The series includes the stories of Vichit Ith, who helped establish the church in Cambodia in 1993; the first Latter-day Saint branch in Togo, formed in 1999; and the first Jamaican convert to the church, Victor Nugent, who was baptized in 1974.
Rees said they’ll be adding stories to the "I Am a Pioneer" map throughout the month of July, and Nielson said "Pioneers in Every Land" has so far inspired people to focus on building and understanding their own legacies.
“We have received regular feedback on the blessing of people’s lives as they read these stories and realize that they, too, have their own pioneering story and that pioneers are not exclusive to the Mormon pioneers of the 1840s and 50s,” said Nielson. “Pioneering and the faith that the pioneers exhibited continues today.”
After reading some of these stories, guests to the webpage are invited to record their own stories and to familiarize — or re-familiarize — themselves with the FamilySearch site.
“We also invite people to share their legacy on FamilySearch as well as to really get into FamilySearch and see what’s new,” Rees said. “So many people log into FamilySearch, they haven’t been in for a while and just don’t know what’s in there.”
Modern pioneers can also share their stories through social media using the hashtag #IAmAPioneer. Rees himself has made a personal connection with the project. He said recording his story is important to him as a father.
“It’s about telling a story that my kids can grasp onto, that they can remember,” he said. “And it’s leaving something for them so that when I’m not here anymore, when I’m gone, they’re going to have something to remember me by.”
Rees hopes the “I Am a Pioneer” site will inspire members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to value individual legacies, past and present.
“We’re really hoping that this is a message of hope that resonates with members around the world ... no matter where you are, whether you’re in a small town or a small village in Brazil or if you’re in a big city in the United States,” Rees said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, you are important and you have a story to share.”
Email: jjohnson@deseretnews.com