Today, July 24th, is Mormon Pioneer Day. This is a big day in Utah, a celebration rivaling and even excelling that of July 4th. It was on this day in 1847 that the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.
I am proud to claim pioneer ancestors. A brief history: The family of Thomas McBride, who was killed at the massacre of Hawn's Mill in Missouri, moved to Nauvoo, Illinois in the late 1830s. Thomas's son James McBride later migrated to Utah with the body of the Saints. There, he built a brick home in Santaquin. Later, he and his family were called by the Prophet to settle the Gila Valley in Arizona. Still later, his son (my grandfather) Don Carlos McBride was called to leave his wife and children to serve a mission, at his own expense, in Samoa.
With each call, the family responded in faith. What a wonderful legacy they have left me and other members of my family. When I am ready to give up, to say "I can't do this (whatever it is) any more, I remember this legacy of faith, courage, and service.
Joy for today: remembering pioneer ancestors.
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