Pioneer Day

Having been a Mormon my whole life and not really discussing religion with my friends growing up I have discovered that I am terrible at knowing what my church believes as compared to what other religions teach.  When I was about 12 I just off-handedly mentioned Joseph Smith in a sentence and my best friend said, "Who's Joseph Smith?".  I was floored.  I couldn't believe that someone so central to my religion was unknown to lots of people in the world.  When my son's girlfriend joined our church she informed me of some of the differences in what her family believed and what my family believed but I'm still not clear on all the differences.  So, at Savannah's tennis lesson the other day I informed her coach that she wouldn't be at her next lesson because we were going to Utah for Pioneer Day.  Of course he said, "What's Pioneer Day?"  I wasn't as surprised this time but it got me thinking, again, about how many things are "Mormon" and how many people don't know what these things are.  I was very proud to tell him that Pioneer Day was the day we commemorate the saints pulling into the Salt Lake Valley and realizing that this dry, dusty desert was going to be their new home.  They had fled the east on the heels of religious persecution and came to a place "where none shall come to hurt or make afraid".  I get choked up even thinking about those valiant Latter Day Saints who sacrificed all to maintain their religious freedom, even in a country that was founded on the concept of freedom of religion.  These brave, bold saints are why I enjoy the blessings of worshipping how I want to even though we are still being persecuted today.  I'll take the occasional snide comment or the social snub any day as opposed to the burning of my home and the killing of my loved ones.  I have the utmost respect for the early saints and all they sacrificed for their religion and I am very excited to go back to where it all began, in Salt Lake City, UT to celebrate with my people.