Suggested Hymns:
To Be a Pioneer (Children's Songbook 218)
Come, Come, Ye Saints (Hymns 30)
They, the Builders of the Nation (Hymns 36)

Read:
Psalm 105:1-5, 39-43
Alma 36:2-3
D&C 136:22

Discuss:
How did God help the Israelites as they traveled to the promised land?
How did God help the pioneers as they traveled west?

Read:
"The Nation has but recently passed and is now passing through trying times brought on largely by the anti-Christian spirit of profit and of greed. We need now to be new Pioneers who can lead the way across the plains of selfishness, doubt, greed, and social injustice to the mountains of love which will bring once again the blessings of neighborliness, social justice, and faith in God." (from a Pioneer Day program for the Church's young men's/young women's organization; in Improvement Era, June 1934)

Discuss:
What does it mean to be pioneers for social justice?
In what ways can working for social justice be tiring, discouraging, or taxing?
What difference does it make in our own struggles to remember how God helped the pioneers in the past?

Activity:
Have a pioneer-style dinner with foods typical of pioneer times. As you bless the food, give thanks to God for helping the pioneers in the past. Pray that God will bless your own family's efforts to be pioneers for social justice.

You can find simple pioneer recipes in the following issues of the Friend:

July 1997 July 1978 July 1975

Adapted from John-Charles Duffy, For Times and for Seasons: Great Ideas for Family Devotionals and Activities! (Bountiful, UT: Horizon Publishers, 2002), 38-40.