Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

To my daughter, 

               Yesterday was Pioneer Day, the day that we remember the arrival of the pioneers in 1847 into the Salt Lake Valley. Of course, we celebrate not just that group but all of those who crossed the plains to Utah with wagons and handcarts, often walking the whole way. One of our ancestors who was a pioneer was a man named Henry Britt Skidmore. He was born in 1830 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and when he was only eight years old he started working as an apprentice in the trade of making and sharpening saws for a Mr. Disston. He became very good at this and was a foreman of a factory at a young age. As a young man he accepted the gospel and he ultimately decided he wanted to join the Saints in Utah. One account in FamilyTree records this: “When he joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he told Mr. Disston his ambition was to go west and live among the Latter Day Saint people. His employer was very much upset over him leaving and promised Henry if he would go to Chicago, he would set him up in a business of his own. Henry turned this offer down and later went to Utah. Mr. Disston made three visits to Salt Lake City to try and persuade Henry to come back to Philadelphia. He said he would make him his partner and give him half of the business, but Henry refused, saying that the Gospel meant more to him than all the money in the world.” Henry did indeed travel on the trail to Utah in 1855, and the same account records simply that there were “many hardships and trials.” Once he got there it was very difficult with little of the conveniences and comforts of life he had had before. But he was committed to the gospel and was with the Saints where he wanted to be. He was one of the thousands of faithful pioneers who gave up everything to build up the kingdom of God and make the desert blossom as a rose.  

               His story is similar to so many of those early pioneers: they gave up their homes and comfortable lives, traveling thousands of miles at a great sacrifice, to follow the gospel and join the Saints in Utah. But they did it because of they knew the Gospel of Jesus Christ was true and desired to follow Him. I love that description of Henry that the Gospel meant more to him than all the money of the world—that is how it should be for each of us. His example and that of so many of the pioneers invites us to be fully committed to the Gospel and to love the Savior more than all the things of the world. When Jesus was on the earth He told His followers: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). That should be how we live our lives: to always seek first the things of God. On another occasion the Savior taught His disciple this: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:25-26). Never forget that what matters most is our devotion to the Savior and His gospel. Always remember the pioneers and their sacrifices—you will similarly be called upon in your life to make sacrifices for the Savior, and think of their example when you do. I know that there indeed is more joy in following Him than there is in obtaining all the things of the world!

Love,

Dad