As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are fully aware of the two great migrations of vast numbers of our religious ancestors. First, the ancient Israelites were led by the prophet Moses out of Egypt, where they had been slaves for centuries. Under divine inspiration, Moses wrote the scriptures of the Pentateuch, also known as the Torah, which is still used by the Jewish people today. The Israelites migrated and gathered in the land of Canaan and formed principalities for each tribe. They also built a temple in Jerusalem, at the centre of their land.
Second, in the early 1800s, in the eastern United States, the Prophet Joseph Smith received and translated the Book of Mormon, a book of scripture, by the power of God. It “declares the doctrine of the gathering…In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur”. (Russell M. Nelson in Conference Report, Oct. 2006, 84). As the early Latter-day Saints gathered, temples were built under great duress and sacrifice. Led by the Prophets Joseph Smith and then Brigham Young, the members of the church finally migrated far to the west to the Great Salt Lake Valley. There, they found relief from oppression, and communities and temples were established.
Sacrifice is the Hallmark of a Pioneer People
Persecuted peoples, prophet leaders, scriptural revelation, migration to safety, and the building of temples is the pattern of gathering. It has always been so.
“Each July 24th, Latter-day Saints in Utah and around the world celebrate Pioneer Day, an official holiday that this U.S. state celebrates to commemorate the first group of the faith’s pioneers that arrived in the Salt Lake Valley nearly 175 years ago.
‘Not everybody is a descendant of a pioneer that made their way across the plains in the valley,” said President M. Russell Ballard, senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “But all of us have forefathers, and regardless of our nation, culture, and where we come from … we all have pioneer heritage.’” (Latter-day Saint Leaders Honor Pioneers of Past and Present, Newsroom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, July 22, 2020)
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints associate pioneers with religion, great faith, courage, determination, and endurance. The title “pioneer” implies overcoming risks and dangers, suffering, sacrifices, and hardships. Another characteristic of these pioneers is their power not to complain about their circumstances, but to faithfully press on, seeking peace and a better life. The early church pioneers are loved, respected and honoured to this day.
Like Life, The Trek Westward Was All Uphill
On July 24, 1847, the vanguard pioneer group, led by Brigham Young, arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. From his sickbed in the back of a wagon, he rose up, looked over the lake and countryside, and proclaimed, “This is the right place; drive on.” (Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833–1898, ed. Scott G. Kenney, [after 1880] Vol 7, 61)
Each summer, Church members in Salt Lake City participate in the “Days of ’47” parade and festival to celebrate the arrival of the pioneers. Similar celebrations are held throughout Utah on that day to commemorate and honour the local pioneer settlers by wearing clothing of that era, and participating in parades, rodeos, and other events.
In 1846, the Saints hastily left their homes, temple, and the beautiful city of Nauvoo, Illinois, to escape increasing violence and persecution. Winter Quarters in Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa, became way-points from which the pioneers pushed onward to the Great Salt Lake, another 1000 miles to the west. Over the course of two decades, nearly 70,000 pioneers travelled the Mormon Trail to the Utah Territory. Thousands arrived in the Great Basin by wagon train. Thousands more pulled hand carts and walked across the rough and rocky track.
Several trails leading west, such as the Mormon Trail, the Oregon Trail, and the California Trail were combined at certain points along the rivers which provided essential water. Sadly, the persecutions continued even on these trails, forcing the Mormon contingents to proceed on the opposite side of the rivers, away from the Oregon and California trails. Disease, sickness, and death were common in each of the many companies. Two handcart groups, the Willie and Martin companies, were caught in October winter storms on the high plains of Wyoming, and approximately 200 lives were lost. This was by far the worst non-military disaster among any of the groups in American history who trekked the trails to the west. Those who survived recounted their experience as a builder of true faith, and even as they were tested and tried, they remained true.
At the beginning of the exodus to the Great Salt Lake, the travellers were mostly from the city of Nauvoo, but as the Church grew rapidly in the British Isles and Europe, new converts were urged to immigrate and join with the saints in Utah. Most of these early converts boarded sailing vessels at the Liverpool, England, dockyard and sailed to America, eventually making their way to the Salt Lake Basin. Even at that time, the Church was highly organized, and saints from Europe travelled in groups led by a duly called “captain.” No individual or family needed to make the journey alone, and many received financial support through the Perpetual Immigration Fund.
The Pioneer Movement Expands
Once the Church was established in Utah, President Young began to colonize and establish outlying communities of Latter-day Saints. Guided by brave leaders, groups of resolute member families were called and set out from the centre of the Church. This is considered a second wave of pioneers, with over 100 settlements established from Mexico to Canada. This new surge of explorers, educators, farmers, ranchers, and irrigation experts had their own tales of adversity and misfortune as they made their way to their appointed areas. They survived treacherous journeys and harsh weather, proving that these communities could exist on their own and flourish. This colonization by Church members greatly influenced the settling of the western United States and Alberta, Canada. In fact, there are four communities with a large percentage of Church members in what are called the “pioneer communities” of Southern Alberta: Cardston, Magrath, Raymond, and Stirling. They were all settled through the Church's colonization program.
The wealthy Galt family of Lethbridge owned railways and land. They realized a railroad from the United States border to Lethbridge would be beneficial for their coal sales and for immigrants arriving in Canada. The Galt railroad company and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entered into a contract to build a railway from Sweetgrass, Montana, to Lethbridge, Alberta. The Church would provide the labour, and the Galt railway company would supply the materials and pay the workers in cash and land.
Construction began in 1890, and as a result, the village of Stirling sprang up from this contract. Stirling became the drop-off point for the Church immigrants settling in the pioneer communities. The Galt family was involved in a similar plan to build a canal from Magrath to Stirling. By genius and skill in irrigation, the Utah and Idaho church members who immigrated built the canal in two years without the aid of mechanical excavators, relying solely on horses and men.
Cardston was founded by Charles Ora Card in 1887. He led ten families of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who travelled from Utah on the Macleod-Benton Trail. This was one of the last wagon train migrations. Cardston continued to grow as more members of the Church arrived from the United States. On January 1, 1913, President Joseph F. Smith announced that a temple would be built in Cardston, the first temple constructed outside the United States. The Cardston Alberta Temple was completed and dedicated in 1923 by President Heber J. Grant and is now a protected national historic site in Canada. The Cardston Alberta Temple has been a great blessing and asset to the saints in Canada.