Pioneer Day and Utah Days of '47
Happy Pioneer Day! If you are in Utah, you’ll get to enjoy the Utah Days of ‘47 Parade, Utah Days of ‘47 Rodeo and best July fireworks you’ll ever see. Wait, you’ve never heard of Pioneer Day? Don’t worry, most people outside of Utah or the Mormon faith probably haven’t heard of it either and today that will change.
I hadn’t heard of Juneteenth until 2017 when I watched the 4th season premier of “Black-ish” on ABC. The iconic episode (and the entire series really) is worth watching. Not only did it teach me about a part of American history but it’s highly entertaining! While I don’t know this to be a fact, I believe the power of a hit TV show paved the way for the 2021 recognition of June 19 as a federal holiday.
While my Substack doesn’t have the reach of a primetime network comedy, I hope you will gain an appreciation lesser known piece of American history, the settling of Utah by the Mormon Pioneers. While I no longer believe in the spiritual claims of the Mormon church, the physical hardships, tenacity & grit of my people are respectable.
Early Days of the Mormon Church & Historical Context for Pioneer Day
In the Spring of 1820, a 14-year-old boy named Joseph Smith received what is known to Mormons as “the first vision.” As the story goes, the 20s were a decade of great religious unrest in America and young Joseph wanted direction as to which church to join. He fervently prayed in a grove of trees in Palmyra, New York as to which to join. Because of his great faith, Joseph claimed to receive a vision and saw God the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. They told him to not join any churches, but to restore Christ’s church on earth.
In the ten years following the first vision, Joseph Smith, along with a few other men, translated ancient scripture inscribed on golden plates (known as “The Book of Mormon,”) reestablished the role of apostles & prophets, brought back the sacrament, baptism by immersion, and temple rituals. Mormons believe that Joseph Smith restored the gospel as Christ established 2,000 years ago.
In the early days of the church, Mormons were free thinking radicals in every sense of the word. They believed that polygamy was a decree from God and wanted to practice this non-traditional form of marriage freely. In 1838, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs declared that “Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state.” And so the Mormon migration began and my ancestors were part of the hundreds of thousands of pioneers who trekked West in pursuit of religious freedom and peaceful life.
The journey was arduous and fraught with challenges. After a difficult trek across the plains and mountains, the first group of pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Brigham Young famously declared, "This is the right place," marking the beginning of the Mormon settlement in Utah.
Once in Utah, the Mormons continued to practice polygamy, which became a significant point of contention with the federal government. The practice was deeply unpopular and considered morally unacceptable by much of the broader American society. It delayed Utah's quest for statehood, as the U.S. government refused to grant statehood to Utah while polygamy was still practiced. The LDS Church officially renounced polygamy in 1890 through a manifesto issued by Church President Wilford Woodruff. This renunciation was a crucial step in Utah's path to becoming a state, which was finally achieved on January 4, 1896.
My Pioneer Heritage
My great great grandfather William Clayton is an important figure in LDS history. Not only was he a scribe for the prophet Joseph Smith, but he invented an early version of the odometer called the “roadometer” used to measure traveling distance which proved helpful on the pioneer trail. He is most well-known for writing the famous LDS hymn, “Come, Come Ye Saints” to encourage the weary pioneers as they faced harsh winters, starvation, and death. He and his family eventually settled in the Salt Lake Valley July 24, 1847 when he was 32 years old.
Another great, great grandfather was Samuel Rose Parkinson who converted to the church in England in the 1830s and emigrated to America shortly thereafter to join fellow members and help build up the kingdom in Utah.
My maternal grandmother joined the church 100 years after that by way of Mormon missionaries who baptized her as a teenager in Denmark before World War II.
And would you believe that I moved to Los Angeles on Thursday July 24, 1997? Talk about a full circle moment! It was totally unplanned by me, but I feel like it was divinely inspired. I call it my “Personal Pioneer Day.”