This week in Church history
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50 years ago
The events of the Mormon Pioneer centennial included the dedication of "This is the Place" monument and the arrival of a pioneer caravan in the Salt Lake Valley, according to reports in the July 26 and Aug. 2, 1947, Church News.
President George Albert Smith spoke at the dedication of the monument, memorializing the arrival of the first Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, and offered the dedicatory prayer during a July 24 ceremony. President Smith's counselors, President J. Reuben Clark and President David O. McKay also spoke.
The granite monument adorned with bronze statues and plaques was built near the mouth of Emigration Canyon as part of the centennial.
The pioneer caravan was also part of the centennial celebration, arriving in the valley July 22. The July 26 Church News reported: "The 1947 trek was made by 148 descendants of these Mormon Pioneers and, like the original company, the complement consisted of 143 men, three women and two boys, riding in 72 vehicles." The automobiles used for the 1,300-mile journey from Nauvoo were draped with white tops to resemble covered wagons and had cutouts of oxen on the front fenders.
Quote from the past
"If as the Doctrine and Covenants tells us, our words are recorded by the angels in heaven (see D&C 62:3), our actions must not be contrary to our words. This would be a most devastating deceit. When we proclaim to the world our belief, then our actions must confirm our words."
- Louise W. Madsen, counselor in the general Relief Society presidency, from an address given during the October 1972 Relief Society conference
