Pioneers have existed through all ages, Elder Ballard says
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From Adam and Eve to today's defenders of religious liberty, pioneers have existed in all ages, Elder M. Russell Ballard said Sept. 18 in a speech to attendees at the annual symposium of the National Sons of Utah Pioneers in Salt Lake City.
A member of the Quorum of the Twelve with an abiding interest in preserving the Church's historical legacy, Elder Ballard spoke at an evening dinner concluding an afternoon of lectures from LDS history scholars. He spoke on an assigned theme, "Pioneering Connections, Ancients to the Restoration" and applied to it the theme of the 1997 Mormon Pioneer Sesquicentennial, "Faith in Every Footstep."
"Pioneering is a continuing process throughout the world," Elder Ballard said. "We must never lose sight of the fact that many pioneers of the gospel have gone before us."
He said he had just returned from a 13,000-mile, 15-day trip through seven countries of Europe, holding many meetings with Church members and missionaries. "In Rome we had an opportunity to meet with two prominent Catholic cardinals. ... In some ways we are pioneering relationships with many other faiths to assist in protecting religious liberty here in America and many other countries."
He added, "One of the great threats that I see to religious belief is the march forward of secularism, which is swarming the world. It is very prominent in Europe and now becoming progressively more prominent in the United States."
Elder Ballard spoke of many figures in the Bible and Book of Mormon, emphasizing their pioneering work, including Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Lehi, Nephi, Alma, Moroni, Peter, Philip, Barnabas, Mark and Paul.
"As has been repeated over and over and over again, God has given to His children the gospel," he said. "And, over time, people push it aside and choose not to follow it, and then there's a deep and abiding apostasy, requiring, again, another restoration. When we talk about the Restoration, we cannot just talk about Joseph Smith. There have been restorations over and over again in the history of the world.
Elder Ballard said the greatest pioneer of all is the Savior. "No footsteps in time or eternity have required such perfect faith as did the footsteps of the Savior of the world. His great Atonement is beyond expression the most remarkable footstep of faith that has ever been given to the human family. You all know He was the greatest pioneer that has ever lived. We look to Him for our personal salvation."
Although Peter, Philip, Barnabas and Mark faithfully journeyed in many parts of the Mediterranean coasts to establish and strengthen the Church, the journeys of Paul are better known, Elder Ballard noted.
"I had an overwhelming personal moment in Rome as I contemplated that as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, I was walking in the footsteps of Peter and Paul, who lost their lives in that city," he said. "It was a special experience for all of us to be where they walked."
Speaking of Joseph Smith, Elder Ballard said, "Can there be any doubt that it was unwavering faith that led a 14-year-old boy to walk into the secluded Sacred Grove to pray for the knowledge promised in James 1:5, 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God'? Joseph's footsteps of faith sustained him in his visits to Cumorah before he received the gold plates and began the process of restoring the fulness of the gospel once again on the earth."
Elder Ballard also spoke of the courage and faith of members of Joseph Smith's family, including his parents and his wife, Emma.
"Brigham Young, upon whom God placed the responsibility to lead the great exodus west, learned to follow the Lord and to follow the Prophet Joseph," he said. Likewise, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, who succeeded Joseph Smith and Brigham Young as presidents of the Church showed pioneering faith in enduring hardships to accept Mormonism, Elder Ballard recounted.
"But even though the wilderness we've been given to conquer is decidedly different from the rough and rocky trail to Utah and the barren landscape that our pioneer forebears encountered in 1847, it is no less challenging and trying for us than it was for them," Elder Ballard declared. "And it is certainly no less important for us to keep our eyes on the prophet, our shoulders to the wheel, and our feet firmly planted on the trail of faithfulness.
"Our struggle is found in living in a world steeped in sin and spiritual indifference where self-indulgence, dishonesty and greed seem to be present everywhere. Today's wilderness is one of confusion and conflicting messages. The pioneers had to battle the wilderness of the rocky ridges and the dusty mountain trails with their faith focused on Zion and the establishment of the Church in the Salt Lake Valley. We, too, must focus on Zion and put our faith to work in building up the kingdom of God in our wards and branches. We must have the same kind of faith, the same willingness to give our all to the great cause of the Church."
Church members of today, he said, must ever be on guard they do not become casual in the payment of tithing, living the Word of Wisdom, abiding the law of chastity, and being honest and trustworthy in all they do. He added that becoming casual in doing those things dilutes a sense of urgency in keeping the commandments.
Touching on the future, Elder Ballard said, "Ahead of us will be the faith to defend religious liberty here in America. We must build relationships with those who love God and believe that religion has every right to speak out in the public square in behalf of people of faith who choose to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. This will require faith in the footsteps of the Latter-day Saints."
