Though a relatively new Utahn (this is only my second Pioneer Day) and a non-Mormon (I’m Mennonite), I am moved by the story of George D. Grant’s care for endangered pioneers.
In 1856, two groups of pioneers foolishly left too late in the season. Grant, in an act of true heroism, led a rescue operation to retrieve them. The pioneers were discovered in a blinding snowstorm in Wyoming. Though more than 200 of them would die, several hundred lives were saved because of the self-sacrificing love and diligence of Utahns like Grant. They sought those lost pioneers the way Jesus tells us the widow seeks for a lost coin or a shepherd searches for a lost lamb.
Imagine if Americans pursued the safety of those fleeing violence in Honduras, Syria and elsewhere with such dedication! Utahns have a model in Grant and his rescuers, and Mormons’ unique history of flight from persecution reminds us that such care is life-or-death. Pioneer Day makes this story available to all of us — and challenges us to welcome refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants. I encourage each Utahn, whether new or well-established, to embrace the spirit of pioneers who risked much to save those fleeing persecution.
Rebecca Barrett-Fox, Ogden