Why the First Mormon Pioneer Day Was So Patriotic 🇺🇸

America failed them, but they still loved and served their country. In 1849, the Latter-day Saints had finally found peace. For years, they had been driven from their homes by violent mobs. Their property had been stolen and thousands had been forced to flee in the middle of winter. Their pleas to the courts went unanswered. The governor of Missouri even signed an extermination order against them.

When they appealed to President Martin Van Beurren, he famously replied, "Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." Their prophet, Joseph Smith, was later murdered while under the promised protection of the governor of Illinois. Most people would have become bitter. Many would have abandoned any love they had for their country. But the Saints chose something different. On July 24th, 1849, 2 years after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, they held their first Pioneer Day celebration. and the theme was patriotism.

They raised a massive American flag over Temple Square. 24 young men marched carrying copies of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 24 young women followed carrying the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Then came 24 elderly pioneers known as the Silver Grays. One speaker explained why. He said that the terrible suffering they had endured came from a corrupted and degenerate administration.

But the pure principles of our boasted constitution remain unchanged. In other words, they refused to confuse the failures of imperfect leaders with the eternal principles of liberty. They still believed in religious freedom. They still believed in the Constitution. They believed America could become what its founding ideals promised. That may be one of the greatest lessons those pioneers left us.

Real patriotism isn't pretending your nation is perfect or abandoning it when it isn't. It's remaining committed to the principles of freedom, justice, and faith even when imperfect human beings fail to live up to them.