I like to read Carol Lynn Pearson’s poem “Pioneers” every year on Pioneer Day.
My people were Mormon pioneers.
Is the blood still good?
They stood in awe as truth
Flew by like a dove
And dropped a feather in the West.
Where truth flies you follow
If you are a pioneer.
I have searched the skies
And now and then
Another feather has fallen.
I have packed the handcart again
Packed it with the precious things
And thrown away the rest.
I will sing by the fires at night
Out there on uncharted ground
Where I am my own captain of tens
Where I blow the bugle
Bring myself to morning prayer
Map out the miles
And never know when or where
Or if at all I will finally say,
“This is the place,”
I face the plains
On a good day for walking.
The sun rises
And the mist clears.
I will be all right:
My people were Mormon Pioneers.
This poem really speaks to me. When I first left the church I felt like I was disrespecting and distancing myself from my heritage. I no longer had a claim to the Mormon identity. I stumbled upon this poem and it changed my outlook forever.
No one is able to take my identity from me. I am an inheritor of the Mormon identity and heritage. By leaving the LDS church I was emulating my ancestors, not disgracing them. I left behind everything I’d ever known because what I believe to be the truth. It is a Mormon tradition to take bold steps towards the life that you want to live.
Own your Mormon identity. Claim what is your birthright. Boldly reinvent it to be what you believe to be the truth.