What a marvelous thing it is to have a great heritage, my brothers and sisters. What a grand thing to know that there are those who have gone before and laid out the way we should walk, teaching those great eternal principles that must be the guiding stars of our lives and of those who come after us. We today can follow their example. The pioneers were people of great faith, of tremendous loyalty, of unthinkable industry, and of absolutely solid and unbending integrity. (Gordon B. Hinckley was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this fireside address was given at Brigham Young University on 2 February 1997.)
Song:
“Whenever I Think about Pioneers,” Children’s Songbook, p. 222.
Scripture:
Let every man use all his influence and property to remove this people to the place where the Lord shall locate a stake of Zion. And if ye do this with a pure heart, in all faithfulness, ye shall be blessed; you shall be blessed in your flocks, and in your herds, and in your fields, and in your houses, and in your families. (Doctrine and Covenants 136:10-11)
Lesson:
In the Book of Mormon, Alma talks of how faith is like a seed. We need to first plant the seed of faith in our hearts and nourish it to help it grow and sprout. Just like a seed needs water and sunlight to grow, we need to nourish our faith so that it will develop.
Throughout our whole life, we need to nourish our faith with diligence and patience and we will feel it grow and grow. If we do this we will taste the fruit of our faith which is eternal life. (Alma 32:26-43)
Quote:
“We also need to prepare our own seedbed of faith. To do this we need to plow the soil through daily humble prayer, asking for strength and forgiveness. We need to harrow the soil by overcoming our feelings of pride. We need to prepare the seedbed by keeping the commandments to the best of our ability. We need to be honest with the Lord in the payment of our tithing and our other offerings. We need to be worthy and able to call forth the great powers of the priesthood to bless ourselves, our families, and others for whom we have responsibility. There is no better place for the spiritual seeds of our faith to be nurtured than within the hallowed sanctuaries of our temples and in our homes.” (James E. Faust, “Of Seed and Soils”, General Conference, October 1999.)
Activity:
East Millcreek Trek
Load the kids in the car and enjoy a driving tour of the early settlers of East Millcreek. You may wish to share with your family these interesting facts as you explore the historical sights.
Find these historical sights on our Instagram account EMCNFloat #pioneerfhe.
or
Drive to each sight with the maps below.
Alva Keller brought with him across the plains, seeds in his pocket to plant once he arrived in Zion. He was able to plant them and was very successful at farming. He created the first irrigation ditch in East Millcreek.
John Neff disassembled his mill and hauled it across the plains so he could rebuild it and produce flour for the early settlers. He built the first mill in Utah and it was located on the South corner of Oakwood Street and Evergreen Ave. His mill was torn down and the beautiful home Oakwood Estates was built where the mill once stood.
The Old Log Schoolhouse
In 1854, pioneers in East Millcreek built the first schoolhouse. They hauled drinking water from the creek and brought logs from the nearby canyons to construct the school. The community built the school together.
The children used desks made out of slabs of wide pine. They would collect charcoal to use as a writing tool. The charcoal was gathered from nearby kilns in the canyon. The school master would remove the writing with a wood plane. Often times students would pay for their schooling with produce.
The school was located on the corner of Millcreek Canyon Road and Waymark Circle.
Daniel Russell was know throughout New York for his fine produce. He brought with him across the plains shoots from his apple and peach trees. He planted the first orchard in East Millcreek and produced Utah’s first peaches. Once again, his produce became know throughout the country for being exquisite. He asked to be buried on his homestead, under an apple tree.
Refreshments:
Pioneer Recipes
Other Pioneer Activities:
Pioneer Butter Activity
Pioneer FHE
Pioneer Treasure Hunt
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