Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
Travel and Religion
It’s been an unusually good Pioneer Day!

It’s been an unusually good Pioneer Day!

Last updated on: July 24, 2024 at 11:34 pm by Dan Peterson

0 Comments

It’s been an unusually good Pioneer Day! 2024-07-24T23:34:11-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“The Handcart Pioneers” (1900), by Carl Christian Anton Christensen
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

Utahns and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be aware of the fact that today, 24 July, is Pioneer Day. It commemorates the 1847 entry into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Brigham Young and the vanguard company of the “Mormon pioneers.” Not coincidentally, the Interpreter Foundation released the trailer for its forthcoming theatrical film Six Days in August today, on Pioneer Day. I hope that you will enjoy it and that, if you feel so inclined, you will share it with others: “Six Days in August Trailer Final HD”

In other (very appropriate) Pioneer Day news — this time out of Paris, France — Salt Lake City and Utah were officially named as the hosts for the 2034 Winter Olympics. (See a reflection on that possibility at “A great opportunity is on the way.”)

In that connection, I commend to you an interesting and very relevant article about Salt Lake City’s successful prior experience with hosting the Winter Olympics, back in 2002. Written by J. B. Haws, it appeared in An Eye of Faith: Essays in Honor of Richard O. Cowan, edited by Kenneth L. Alford and Richard E. Bennett. It is entitled “Why the “Mormon Olympics” Didn’t Happen.”

To which I append the following passage, from the King James Version’s rendering of the fourth chapter of the book of Micah, that I have always found deeply inspiring:

4 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

Please notice that last verse, the fifth, which is congruent — at the least — with a policy of not proselyting during the Olympic Games.

A rural road in North Carolina (Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)

Many years ago, there was a period when my speaking engagements on behalf of the old FARMS — the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies — got a bit out of hand. I was being sent out at least once a month, often to one of the two American coasts and, once or twice, first to one coast and then immediately, on the same weekend, to the other coast, to speak to sometimes rather small groups. It was wreaking havoc with my family and with my personal academic work.

On one such occasion, the father of the woman who had organized a fireside in a middle-sized eastern city at which I was to speak picked me up at the local airport. As it happened, she wasn’t even in town, the fireside had received virtually no publicity (and only about thirty people showed up when it happened), and her father plainly resented being obliged to take time to deal with me. (It was right after this trip that I finally put my foot down. I didn’t want to be a prima donna, I said, but I was also tired of flying across the continent sometimes twice a month in order to speak to only politely-interested groups of two or three dozen dutiful Latter-day Saints.)

Anyway, the fellow who fetched me at the airport was distinctly sullen about having to do so as we drove the considerable distance to where I would be staying. But I’ve always remembered that drive quite positively. Why? Because, for some reason or another, the topic of near-death experiences came up. (I can’t for the life of me remember how or why.)

I’ve had one of those, he said. I replied, Tell me about it!

Here’s a paraphrase of his account:

Once, in his late teens, he was driving at night along one of the densely forested rural roads in that eastern state. Suddenly, without warning, he was t-boned at an intersection and found himself floating a least a hundred feet above the accident, looking down on the two vehicles.

From his vantage point above the tree tops, he saw the flashing lights of police cars and an ambulance coming from a distance toward the scene of the accident. He watched as the medics worked on his body, trying to revive him. He tried to tell them not to worry, that he felt perfectly fine — better, in fact, than he could ever remember feeling before. But he couldn’t make himself seen or heard. Then, without warning, he felt himself reenter his body and, he recalled, “it hurt like hell.”

That story has stayed with me for years. It’s astonishing how often, when the subject of near-death experiences comes up, someone in the group will say that she or somebody close to her has had one. They are far from rare.

Anyway, with that as a lengthy preface, you’ll understand why I was struck by this story when I read it some years ago:

A young man lost control of his car during an evening snow storm. He crashed and left his body as icy-cold water began to flow into the vehicle he had been driving.

I saw the ambulance coming, and I saw the people trying to help me, get me out of the car and to the hospital. At that time I was no longer in my body. I had left my body. I was probably a hundred or two hundred feet up and to the south of the accident, and I felt the warmth and the kindness of the people trying to help me.

(Reported in Nancy Evans Bush, Dancing Past the Dark: Distressing Near-Death Experiences [n.p.: Nancy Evans Bush, 2012].)

Posted from Newport Beach, California

Travel and Religion

History and Religion

Previous Post

July 24, 2024

Getting the word out

Next Post

July 26, 2024 Remembering the Dead

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Another class of memories are of individuals who previously lived. Some of these remembered individuals ..."

PlasmaMiasma

Accounts of Premortality?

"Sutherland's lecture sounds interesting. He seems to restate the Washington consensus that trade brings peace ..."

B. Wilson

Learning more about a region of ..."

"In a meeting today, I learned another important reason why accurate (or at least as ..."

the PROBLEM

From Serbia’s “White City,” Belgrade

"I've been watching a lot of video interviews of NDErs and researchers. I think in ..."

brotheroflogan

Accounts of Premortality?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many days was Jesus tempted in the wilderness?

Select your answer to see how you score.

50 days 40 days 60 days 30 days