North Idaho stakes celebrate Pioneer Day with service project
By Gloria Warnick, Staff WriterShare:  
July 26, 2010 — In the April 2006 General Conference, David F. Evans quoted a piece of advice President Gordon B. Hinckley's father gave him while he was on his mission, "Forget yourself and go to work."
When President Hinckley took this advice, he wrote what he discovered:
"The whole world changed. The fog lifted. The sun began to shine in my life. I had a new interest. I saw the beauty of this land. I saw the greatness of the people."
This weekend, in celebration of Pioneer Day, between approximately 900 people from the Coeur d' Alene and Hayden, Idaho stakes joined together as the fog lifted over Lake Farragut. They cleared underbrush, leveled uneven soil and trimmed tree branches from the pine trees as they rediscovered the beauty of the lake and surrounding area.
Pioneer Day, a unique celebration to Latter-Day Saints held every July 24, honors the months-long expeditions endured by 80,000 pioneers who migrated to the Utah Mountains from 1847 to 1869. Today, a trans-Atlantic flight from France to Salt Lake City can complete this journey in eight hours.
More than 350 wagon trains and 10 handcart companies delivered early members of the Church to the Utah Territory during that 20-year period before the railroad was completed in 1869. Following several relocations in New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois, thousands of Church members, under the direction of Brigham Young, settled more than 400 communities in the western territories. An online library of stories depicting life on the trail is available through the Church History Department.
Those historic pioneer journeys are celebrated throughout the Church each year with parades, picnics, dramatic and musical pageants or actual trekking re-creations, by young and old, newly baptized and long-term members who take the time to pause and acknowledge the pioneer heritage of the early Church.
Volunteers gathered at the shooting range for some words of welcome and instruction. Photo by Rhonda Paulson.
The Coeur d' Alene Stake and the Hayden Stake chose to honor the memory of our forefathers with a service project benefiting their beloved Farragut State Park.
The work project was coordinated between the Hayden and Coeur d' Stakes in a record breaking 2 _ months. Dwain Clements worked with Don Callister and Rob Clark to coordinate with Randal Butt, Farragut park manager, on this project. The Caterpillar store in Hayden donated equipment to knock down trees, cut out asphalt, and prepare trails for several days before July 24. Church members also brought implements to help with the project.
Heavy equipment was brought in to assist in moving the large logs. Photo by Rhonda Paulson.
"We wanted the heavy equipment work done before our members arrived," said Callister.
Clark, foreman for the heavy equipment work that was done said, "The work that we did probably saved the state $100,000. With the number of people involved the dollar figure was roughly at $1,800 an hour."
It is no wonder that the Coeur d' Alene Press quoted Ranger Butt as saying, "I want to say the word 'lifesaver.'"
The volunteers' contributions has helped to keep the park open and functional. The park budget has been trimmed including little more than a skeleton crew kept on as staff.
Many hands make light work at the Upper Shoreline trail. Photo by Rhonda Paulson.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles said in a January 2010 address to young members throughout the world, "In many ways you are like the pioneers … except in your journey you face new and challenging circumstances. Each of you has your own personal challenges, and each of you is on the pioneer trail toward eternal life. You must always remember you are not alone."
Describing the character of Latter-day Saints, Newsweek magazine wrote: "No matter where Mormons live, they find themselves part of a network of mutual concern; in Mormon theology everyone is a minister of a kind, everyone is empowered in some way to do good to others, and to have good done unto them: it is a 21st century covenant of caring."
This caring is not limited to Church members but extends far beyond. According to Church President Thomas S. Monson, "As a church we reach out not only to our own people but also to those people of goodwill throughout the world in the spirit of brotherhood which comes from the Lord Jesus Christ."
It is in this spirit of brotherhood that members of the Coeur d' Alene and Hayden Stakes reached out on Pioneer Day 2010.
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