Pioneer Day

I gave a talk last Sunday in church on pioneers. So in celebration of Utah's Pioneer Day tomorrow and I will share with you a part of my talk.

"The pioneers who crossed the plains were brave, courageous souls. They endured many challenging hardships. Yet pioneers did not cease to exist when the Latter-day Saints reached the Salt Lake Valley, for I have known pioneers in my own life who have chosen to follow the example of the ultimate pioneer Jesus Christ.

In the fall of 1975 my Grandma Hicks received a phone call that changed the lives of many. On an October day two missionaries randomly opened up the phonebook and put their finger down on a name and dialed the corresponding number. My Grandma answered the phone and an invitation was extended. Because of her introduction to the church 21 years previously in California the invitation was accepted, and the missionaries were invited to her home.

At that time my parents lived in a home that had no running hot water. So every Sunday they would take their two young children to my grandparent’s home so that my dad could actually take a hot bath. Sunday also happened to be the day that the missionaries would be at my grandparent’s home sharing the gospel with them. To the missionaries great delight their lessons turned into a family affair. They were able to teach my grandma, grandpa, Uncle Paul and his wife Maureen, Uncle Joe, Aunt Jean and her boyfriend Brian whom she later married, my mom, and my two oldest sisters Kim and Sabrina, and eventually my father.

Dad wasn’t receptive to the missionaries at first. He would sit in the living room and watch football while the others were being taught in the kitchen. He would also sit in a chair by the kitchen door to listen to the lessons but not participate in any of the discussions. During the second lesson the missionaries gave my mom The Book of Mormon to read. The same book that my dad later used to find answers to different questions that he had. He started to participate just a little in the discussions. One day he told the missionaries to not push him and he would let them know when he was ready to listen. So my mom would attend church with my grandparents and dad would send money with her so that she could pay tithing because he had been taught about tithing from his Grandpa Eaton.

A couple of weeks go by without my parents hearing from the missionaries. Dad asks Grandpa what’s going on and Grandpa didn’t know but he would find out. It turns out that the missionaries had done what dad asked them to do and stayed away. The missionaries were then invited to my parent’s house in late December to share the gospel with them as a family.

My mom accepted the gospel before my dad did. So while the rest of the family was baptized in December, mom chose to wait for my dad. I am extremely grateful for my pioneer parents and for the covenants that they made in the waters of baptism on January 31, 1976."