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LDS Church cancels Pioneer Day Devotional


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Posted
6 hours ago, bluebell said:

I wonder if Pioneer Day is losing some of it's spiritual significance after this many years?  

Spiritual significance??

Posted (edited)
49 minutes ago, Calm said:

I only knew of it because my friend was called one year as coordinator.  I had previously assumed it was just a city thing before that.  Scott's comment seems to indicate more statewide....except that might be just in terms of the main parade.  Local parades may be a stake by stake thing...or rather city by city since even my small town has three or four stakes.

My comment pertained only to the Days of ‘47 celebration in Salt Lake City and the participation therein by some surrounding communities, mainly in the Salt Lake Valley. I’m not familiar with how local communities around the state organize their local Pioneer Day observances if they hold them.

I do know, however, that when I was growing up in the Draper area our stake, which back then encompassed not only Draper but a couple of nearby rural communities, was highly supportive of and influential in Draper City’s Pioneer Day parade and carnival at the city park. 

But that was many years ago. Draper doesn’t even hold its July festival (now called “Draper Days”) on Pioneer Day anymore. I live in the same area as I did back then, but there are now dozens of stakes where there was only one, and our communities have long since lost their rural character. 

Edited by Scott Lloyd
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

The Days of ‘47 continues to be a huge draw in Salt Lake City and surroundings. The Bountiful Handcart Days event is very popular also. In Utah, at least, I don’t see any sign of Pioneer Day losing its popular appeal or spiritual connection any time soon. 

 

 

1 hour ago, bluebell said:

The article said that they were discontinuing the Ogden celebration because attendance was down. Apparently it’s losing its popular appeal in some parts of Utah. 

I’m not convinced you can definitively conclude that this means Pioneer Day in general is losing its appeal. There may be other reasons why locals in Ogden are less inclined these days to attend a local Sunday night devotional. 

It seems from the website that the overall celebration is still quite viable:

http://www.ogdenpioneerdays.com/

Edited by Scott Lloyd
Posted

So I take it the devotional is actually on the Sunday of the week of July 24th and not on Pioneer Day itself (except when the 24th is on a Sunday)?

If so, that makes more sense to me as .I was thinking a devotional on the 24th after dinner and then off to the fireworks....just seemed out of place.

Posted
31 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Yes. Spiritual significance. And I don’t see why that should be brought into question. 

Oh I don't doubt that

But thanks for the explanation.

Posted
35 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

My comment pertained only to the Days of ‘47 celebration in Salt Lake City and the participation therein by some surrounding communities, mainly in the Salt Lake Valley. I’m not familiar with how local communities around the state organize their local Pioneer Day observances if they hold them.

I do know, however, that when I was growing up in the Draper area our stake, which back then encompassed not only Draper but a couple of nearby rural communities, was highly supportive of and influential in Draper City’s Pioneer Day parade and carnival at the city park. 

But that was many years ago. Draper doesn’t even hold its July festival (now called “Draper Days”) on Pioneer Day anymore. I live in the same area as I did back then, but there are now dozens of stakes where there was only one, and our communities have long since lost their rural character. 

My husband grew up in Draper as well. He lived on Boulter street, do you know the area? I remember going to their parade and carnival. As a family we would attend his side of the family's family parties every second Monday of the month for years and many were spent at the Draper park.  

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

My husband grew up in Draper as well. He lived on Boulter street, do you know the area? I remember going to their parade and carnival. As a family we would attend his side of the family's family parties every second Monday of the month for years and many were spent at the Draper park.  

I’m afraid all I know of Draper, even today, are the main thoroughfares, public buildings, stores and Draper Park. I lived (and live) in Crescent, just to the north. 

Twice in recent years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Herman’s Hermits, one of my favorite British Invasion bands from the sixties, perform at Draper Park for Draper Days. On both occasions, Herman (Peter Noone) mentioned the Church’s Draper Utah Temple prominently situated on the mountainside. On the first occasion he joked that Mrs. Brown in his song “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely  Daughter” is descended from Ebenezer Brown, the Mormon Pioneer who settled Draper. 

Edited by Scott Lloyd
Posted
2 hours ago, Calm said:

So I take it the devotional is actually on the Sunday of the week of July 24th and not on Pioneer Day itself (except when the 24th is on a Sunday)?

If so, that makes more sense to me as .I was thinking a devotional on the 24th after dinner and then off to the fireworks....just seemed out of place.

It has been over 33 years since I worked for the Ogden Standard-Examiner, but yes, my recollection is that the devotional is customarily held on that Sunday evening, at the special events center on the Weber State University campus. 

Posted (edited)

If it is the last of the Pioneer Days celebrations, people just may be exhausted given how massive it has all become in my view.  Though not even close to the Stampede.

Edited by Calm
Posted
54 minutes ago, Calm said:

If it is the last of the Pioneer Days celebrations, people just may be exhausted given how massive it has all become in my view.  Though not even close to the Stampede.

I learned during a trip to Alberta a few years ago that it was a Mormon who started the Stampede. 

Posted
8 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

There’s an annual sunrise service in Salt Lake on July 24 in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. It customarily features an address by a General Authority of the Church. 

While working for the Church News I had occasion some years to cover it. For a while it was rather sparsely attended, but in recent years, attendance seems to have picked up substantially. I don’t know what to attribute that to. Larger population, perhaps. 

Many people who are coming downtown for the parade start their day of celebration with the sunrise service. 

Did I miss something? Have you retired?

Posted

There are too many of these "devotionals".

Youth devotionals, YSA devotionals, Christmas devotionals.... the list goes on.

Posted
3 minutes ago, Alan said:

There are too many of these "devotionals".

Youth devotionals, YSA devotionals, Christmas devotionals.... the list goes on.

Why too many? 

And why the scare quotes on “devotionals”?

Posted
13 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

The Days of ‘47 continues to be a huge draw in Salt Lake City and surroundings. The Bountiful Handcart Days event is very popular also. In Utah, at least, I don’t see any sign of Pioneer Day losing its popular appeal or spiritual connection any time soon. 

Even though it is not a national day of celebration, a very nice meal paid for by the Federal Bureau of Prisons was held each Pioneer Day for Mormon prisoners at the medium security federal Prison on Terminal Island in San Pedro, California, along with family and friends as guests from outside the prison.  It was great and featured steak, baked potato, and all the fixins, provided by the Bureau of Priisons.  Each group was entitled to one such celebration per year.  The Jews chose Passover, while Catholics and Protestants chose Christmas -- if I recall correctly.  But that was long ago.  Don't know what they do now.

Posted

 

 

15 hours ago, Tacenda said:

I like parades for some reason but I have to pull my husband's arm to go to one. If you're from the Davis county area, I'll give you a hint, go to the Bountiful parade if you want to see alot of Salt Lake floats and dignitaries or famous people. It's almost always the night before the Days of '47 parade. So easier to go to IMO. 

Well atleast the church built the rodeo stadium for the Days of '47! 😏

Assuming it is still going you can also go to the float preview which is held indoors. There you can see all the floats, vote on your favorites and they even had some of the matching bands come - that parade around the floats with my son was so much easier!

11 hours ago, bluebell said:

I live in Davis county and I’ve never heard of any of the local stakes being involved in organizing local parades. Does it only happen in Utah County?

No. There are so many stakes that your stake just won't do it very often.  And it really depends on how the stake does it as some advertise well asking for help and some just choose people to help.

Posted
29 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Even though it is not a national day of celebration, a very nice meal paid for by the Federal Bureau of Prisons was held each Pioneer Day for Mormon prisoners at the medium security federal Prison on Terminal Island in San Pedro, California, along with family and friends as guests from outside the prison.  It was great and featured steak, baked potato, and all the fixins, provided by the Bureau of Priisons.  Each group was entitled to one such celebration per year.  The Jews chose Passover, while Catholics and Protestants chose Christmas -- if I recall correctly.  But that was long ago.  Don't know what they do now.

Wow that's very interesting.  If you converted on the right schedule you could probably get 4 or 5 good meals a year. 

Posted
7 hours ago, phaedrus ut said:

Wow that's very interesting.  If you converted on the right schedule you could probably get 4 or 5 good meals a year. 

Since it's in California, you wouldn't even have to fully convert.  I'm sure if you just told them you identify as a Catholic, Jew, Mormon etc, they'd have to give you the dinner.

Posted
10 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

In May. 

Woot!!  A fellow retiree...congrats!!!

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