My great grandparents never crossed the plains. None of my ancestors were ever Joseph Smith’s neighbours. I never had a relative who went on a mission to England. So am I a pioneer?
According to Dictionary.com, a pioneer is “one who ventures into unknown or unclaimed territory to settle.” In a way, that is exactly what I am.
My parents joined the Church in 1978 in Regina shortly after the Saskatoon Saskatchewan District became a stake. My mum’s side was very strong in the Catholic faith. In fact, my grandfather wrote a letter to my mother — the only one he’s ever written to any of his children — telling her how much this decision of hers angered him. My parents were pioneers in their own right.
My three brothers, my sister and I eventually were all baptised. My brothers and I were all ordained deacons in the Aaronic Priesthood, the first ones ever in our families, and in turn, teachers and priests. For some unexplained reason, out of the four of us, I was the only one to have served ever in the presidency of all three quorums.
High school came and went and I found myself weaving in and out between activity and apathy concerning the Church. Some friends of mine, including an old girlfriend with whom I shared a close relationship and who had just joined the Church shortly before we met, helped me to see the value in sticking with it and making the Church a part of my life.
A year later, with no family example before me, I embarked on a full-time mission to Utah. It was a wonderful experience. I was able to react with hundreds of different people, make decisions concerning my future, learn patience and tolerance, gain respect for others’ beliefs, and experience joy. The joy of seeing people clasp on to the light of the Gospel.
6 months after I got home from my mission, my wife and I were married in the Seattle Temple. It reminded me of the day over 10 years earlier when my family and I had travelled to Salt Lake City to be sealed together as a family.
Shortly after our marriage, I was called to the elders quorum presidency in our ward and a year later as president of that elders quorum. I served as president of that wonderful quorum until we moved to Lethbridge three years ago. Oh, I had some wonderful spiritual experiences with my brethren in that quorum!
Since being in Lethbridge, I have served as Ward Mission Leader. All these callings have never been filled by any other member of my family. And now as secretary to the stake mission presidency, I am serving in a stake position — something not done by my family.
So what does this all mean? That I have something to boast about? That I am better than everyone else in my family because I have done all that I am supposed to and because I’ve worked my way up the ecclesiastical ladder?
No. It means I am a pioneer.
I doubt I’ll ever be in the Church News. I’m not a pioneer like the Saints in Madagascar, creating a stake out of a branch in roughly a decade. I’m not a pioneer who travels across a country on foot to escape religious persecution. I’m not a pioneer who is commanded to settle a new city.
I’m a pioneer because, for my family, the Lord has called me to venture into unknown or unclaimed territory. And I hope my footsteps are worth following.
