For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again. - Prov. 24:16

The days after the Mormon pioneers arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley were filled with work and activity. Ditches and wells had to be dug, late crops planted, land allocated and hard decisions made about preparing for the unknown winter ahead. On top of that, more people were coming and a town had to be prepared for their arrival.

Those things are hardly what most of us would want to do after an arduous trek over unfamiliar territory. When we reach a goal the natural inclination is to savor the moment before asking what comes next. For them, the achievement was in the work, and the journey's end was only a beginning. We remember those long-ago pioneers, not because 152 people made a remarkable trek over plains and mountains to enter the valley on a hot July day, but because of what they did after they arrived.

It's another lesson they handed down to us. In this life, those who are not committed for the long haul are bound to be disappointed. We remember the pioneers not because they arrived, but because they stayed.

The English writer William Thackeray put it this way:

"To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty, to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless, to forego even ambition when the end is gained - who can say this is not greatness?" (The Virginians.)

The principle of endurance is at the core of all great human experiences. Think of the events that we consider milestones in our lives.

We see the need for endurance when we are baptized, which in itself is a notable achievement, but which opens for us a lifetime of service and dedication. Through endurance we progress from one gospel principle to the next, from one assignment to its successor.

We certainly see it in our schooling. That first day of school is a major goal for our children, but ahead of them are years of study, cases full of books and countless reports to write.

And if marriage itself is our goal, we may be dismayed after the honeymoon to find that much work and effort lies ahead of us to maintain the union. Perseverance and endurance are essential for a decision intended to last forever.

And no parent will ever argue that work, commitment and endurance and then more work are not required to raise children.

In all of these, our success rests greatly with our willingness to commit ourselves to a long journey rather than a short excursion undertaken for the novelty of it. In essence, we are saying to ourselves and to others that we intend to be here tomorrow, that we will undertake the work and see it through to its conclusion.

Christ was certainly aware of this when He warned His disciples before sending them out to preach His gospel that they would be hated of all men for His sake, "but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matt. 10:22.) The Lord repeated the thought in a revelation to Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio in 1831: "Blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether in life or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life." (D&C 50:5.)

Joseph Smith also incorporated it into the 13th Article of Faith when he wrote that, as members of the Church, "We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things."

From our vantage point nearly a century and a half after the first wagons rolled down the hills to become an enduring legacy for the Church, it's easy to appreciate the breadth of the pioneers' achievements. As the years went by they would colonize throughout the West, establishing upwards of 700 communities and laying the groundwork for a world-wide organization.

But we should also be mindful that this was achieved by endurance. Although the pioneers chose the site for the Salt Lake Temple within days of arriving, they could not begin its construction for six years - and it would be 40 years before the great spires that so symbolize the Church would be dedicated. Between that breaking of ground and temple dedication lies the sweat of two generations.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a few lines that are frequently quoted:

The heights by great men reached

and kept

Were not attained by sudden flight

But they, while their companions slept

Were toiling upward in the night. ("The Ladder of St. Augustine.")