New Monument Connects Past Pioneers with Today’s Immigrants Looking for a Better Life

Top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participated in the unveiling of the Pioneer Children’s Memorial at This Is the Place Heritage Park on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The new landmark honors the lives of more than 650 known children who died during the 1,300-mile journey Latter-day Saints made in the mid-1800s from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Utah.

One of the leaders present Saturday morning was President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who offered the dedicatory prayer for the new memorial.

“How grateful we are as Thy children to be gathered here at the base of this memorial that has been prepared to honor the little children who, in their faith and trust tried to come here, but did not make it,” President Ballard said in his dedicatory prayer. “Watch over and bless those who do come, that they will feel and know what a wonderful privilege it is to have a place like This is the Place Heritage Park. . . . We dedicate this memorial now for the building of faith of any and all who will come here to celebrate the wonderful pioneering efforts for this, the Salt Lake Valley.”

[casavile]

Obrigado, Pioneiros valentes no testemunho de Jesus Cristo!!!! Desde jovem, desejei seguir o exemplo de coragem e fidelidade de vocês!!! ❤❤

[claudiolavanderi]

GRACIAS A LOS PIONEROS Y PROFETAS PODEMOS DISFRUTAR EL EVANGELIO DE NUESTRO SALVADOR JESUCRISTO, GRACIAS PADRE AMADO.

[laruebennett]

Thank you for allowing me to witness this Dedication.
Sincerely.

[rodneyjohnson]

I have no problem with immigrants as long as they come in the country legally

[TonyOlsenFerris]

Helping refugees is one of the purposes of the #FreedomHaven (freedomhaven.org) currently being designed.

[masham]

There’s probably a little more to it, that connects old and new, than they have in this snippet of a video.
The way it connects is this: it reminds us that immigration (legally) is no different than when the pioneers traveled to the west, and the same goes for refugees.
Of course there are people who do it illegally, or who aren’t refugees and claim ‘spots’ here, taking a place that someone who IS in need could have had.
I think what we all need to remember is that we need to be kind, we need to help others because there was no one to help the early saints when they had to flee the United States, and come to the west where they could be safe.




There are many facets to this topic, but what the church is talking about here is those who do things legally, and those who really need help. Do not turn this into a place to argue about illegal immigration, that is NOT what this is about.

[dfusa]

So illegal border crossing is similar to the pioneers of old ? Who writes these titles???

[berthawong]

Traducir al Español para América Latina por favor

[Esperkama]

I'm confused because nothing in this connected to today's immigrant children.

Further the title is very misleading because there is a big difference between legal immigrants (that everyone rational likes) and illegal immigrants (that no rational person likes). This is a common tactic that certain progressive people use to muddy the water when they talk about the vague "immigrants".

Basically all LDS members believe that legal immigration is good. But every country has the right to set their own laws and no country can reasonably allow complete unrestricted immigration. I mean 90% of the people claiming asylum coming to the USA are REJECTED because it turns out they LIED and are just coming because they want better economic opportunities. Most of them bring children. If we start letting all of them come in how long do you think it will be till we start seeing LITERALLY 100 million people a year coming to the USA.

[joshua_sykes]

The title is misleading because the video mentions nothing about today's immigrants. EDIT: Although this would be a great opportunity to do so, because there are many families seeking a better, freer life today just like the pioneers did.

For those outraged by this video's title and/or wondering how pioneers and today's migrants are alike, how about this: Today's migrants and Latter-day Saints refugees were looking for the same: Safety and peace. Not very complicated. Another one: They're both children of God, held in the same sature by Him. Another one: Neither deserved the suffering, treatment, and pain they went/go through. Fourth: many gave their lives in pursuit of safety and peace, as the LDS pioneer children showcased in the video did. Yes, there are obvious cosmetic snd contextual differences, but I doubt any of those trump any of these four or other similarities. Let those similarities dictate your attitude, opinions, and degreee of love you decide to feel for them. Let us be more like the Savior.