The courageous acts of the pioneers who settled the Great Basin must never be forgotten, President Gordon B. Hinckley told Days of '47 Inc. executives officers, board members and guests.
President Hinckley and his wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley, were guests of honor at a luncheon held after the Days of '47 parade in Salt Lake City on July 24. Among others attending the luncheon, held in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, were U.S. Sen. Robert S. Bennett and his wife, Joyce McKay Bennett; Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt and his wife, Jackie Smith Leavitt; and Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corridini. Sen. Bennett offered the invocation, and Gov. Leavitt spoke briefly of Utah's pioneer heritage. F.R. (Flip) Harmon, president of Days of '47 Inc., gave welcoming comments. Barbara B. Smith, a former Relief Society general president and chairman of the luncheon committee, conducted.President Hinckley expressed appreciation to all who had a part of "putting on this annual production, the Days of '47." In addition to the annual parade on July 24, Days of '47 events included a sunrise service in the Tabernacle on Temple Square, a youth parade on July 22, a pops concert, a rodeo and horse parade, a street dance, a Western heritage art show, a marathon and 10K race, various mall shows featuring entertainment by youth groups, a family fun day at historic Wheeler Farm, special television programs, an annual hike to the top of Ensign Peak, and the selection of three young women who are descendants of pioneers to serve as the Days of '47 royalty. (Please see related articles on pages 4-10.)
Also included were "Pioneer of Progress" awards, presented to individuals who have helped carry on pioneer traditions. Recipients were: Jill Carlston, who collects enough funds each year to provide more than 500 turkeys and trimmings for needy families throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays; Edith Webb Menna, director of the Pioneer Memorial Museum; Mark L. Money, founding director of the University of Utah Research Park; and Steve Young, professional football player and founder of the Forever Young Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides funding for other charities. A posthumous award honored the work of Arthur V. Watkins, "a revered statesman and public servant." Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve accepted the award on behalf of the Watkins family. Arthur V. Watkins, U.S. senator from 1947-1959, was the father of Elder Scott's wife, Jeanene Watkins Scott, who died May 15.
In his remarks, President Hinckley said, "It is imperative that the people of this community, of this state, and of the entire West be reminded of the labors and the sacrifices of those who, at so great a cost, laid the foundations of that which we enjoy today. An awareness of history establishes the very foundation of the better aspects of our culture. For instance, when we know that while wrestling to subdue this once wilderness area, our pioneer forebears also fostered music, the theater, painting, sculpture, literature and the like, then we are more inclined to cultivate these cultural elements in our own contemporary environment.
"There have been many movements of epic proportions in the history of mankind that are worthy of remembrance and which we cannot afford to forget. But the migration to this valley before the coming of the railroad is of so vast a scope, involving so many people, and entailing so much of human suffering and sacrifice, that it must ever occupy a unique place in the annals of human history. It has all of the elements of a great epic - persecution, flight into the wilderness, hope, vision, sickness, the unrelenting cruelty of the elements, deaths numbering in the thousands, and final triumph through unspeakable courage and labor. We must never forget those who have gone before. We must never take lightly the price they paid.
"It is a story not only for the members of the Church of which they were members; it is a story for all the world and for all generations."
President Hinckley said it is difficult in this day of central heating and air conditioning, of easy communication and comfortable travel to appreciate the rigors the pioneers endured.
"I know of no story of fortitude more gripping or larger in scope than that of those who came here with such difficulty, grubbed the sagebrush, brought the waters of the mountain streams to these thirsty soils, planted, cultivated, and harvested."
President Hinckley said the city and state are now receiving and will continue to receive national and international attention. "Utah is being discovered by the world," he said. "The Winter Olympics in 2002 will bring worldwide attention to this area. With all of this, let us never forget the past."
He spoke of many continuing activities, places and efforts the Church makes to keep alive the memories of the pioneers. He referred to Temple Square and the surrounding area as being, in part, a living memorial to the pioneers.
President Hinckley mentioned the work the Church is doing with the city to construct two small parks at the intersection of State Street and Second Avenue. The two parks, he said, will add much to the ambiance of Salt Lake City, and will be continual reminders of those who have gone before.
He spoke of four markers in Wyoming that he dedicated in the past four years. "All are in commemoration of the struggles and sacrifices of the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies and the Hodgett and Hunt Wagon Companies of 1856," he said.
"The first of these monuments is just west of Devil's Gate at what is known as Martin's Cove. Here, in November of that tragic year, the Martin Company and those associated with them sought refuge from terrible storms in a little cove surrounded by hills. Snow beat about them and the winter winds chilled them. They suffered and many died. I have stood at that hallowed spot where I think they were buried. My wife's grandmother, a 13-year-old girl, was part of the wagon company associated with the Martin Handcart Company.
"From this spot I have looked down the valley of the Sweetwater River, the crossing of which on that occasion was a most dreadful experience. The water was running fast. It carried great chunks of ice."
President Hinckley recited part of the story as it was printed in the Improvement Era, of February 1914: " `Nearly one-sixth of their number had already perished from the effects of crossing North Platte, 18 days before. They believed that no earthly power could bring them through that place alive, and reasoned that if they had to die it was useless to add to their suffering by the perpetration of such a rash act as crossing the river there. They had walked hundreds of miles over an almost trackless plain, pulling carts as they went, and after making such tremendous sacrifices for the cause of truth, to lay down their lives in such a dreadful manner was awful to contemplate.' "
President Hinckley added, "They sat down in the snow. Old men wept and women cried in despair."
He then continued the story from the Improvement Era: " Three 18-year-old boys belonging to the relief party came to the rescue, and to the astonishment of all who saw, carried nearly every member of that ill-fated handcart company across the snowbound stream. The strain was so terrible and the exposure so great, that in later years all the boys died from the effects of it. When President Brigham Young heard of this heroic act, he wept like a child, and later declared publicly,that act alone will ensure C. Allen Huntington, George W. Grant and David P. Kimball an everlasting salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of God, worlds without end.' "
President Hinckley then spoke of having dedicated a monument at the place where members of the Willie Company, moving ahead of the Martin Company, were rescued from certain death by those sent from the Salt Lake Valley by Brigham Young.
"We then dedicated a monument at the summit of Rocky Ridge, where the trail winds steeply to the summit marking the Continental Divide," he continued. "It is a difficult climb even today in good weather. At that time, with snow and bitter cold, it was a trail of tears and death."
The fourth monument was at Rock Creek Hollow, at the place where 13 of the Willie Company died in one night and two the next morning, and all were buried in a common grave.
To those responsible for organizing events to commemorate the pioneers who settled the Salt Lake Valley, President Hinckley said, "Again, I thank you for your continuing energetic service in reminding this generation of the generations that have preceded us, for making us aware of these heroes. . . . We all need heroes. No greater heroes are to be found anywhere than those whose lives we commemorate through your activities."
