Faithful Saints Celebrate Worldwide for Pioneer Day

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Celebrations commemorating Pioneer Day will occur worldwide on July 24, 2025. The date marks the arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. While the state holiday is primarily celebrated in Utah, members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world also remember and honor the struggles and faith of early Church pioneers on this day. 

Church Historian Inspires Youth on Trek Across the Wyoming Mormon Trail

Church Historian Inspires Youth on Trek Across the Wyoming Mormon Trail

In Mongolia, 130 youths and more than 40 leaders participated in a pioneer trek reenactment June 13-14, 2025, pulling handcarts over more than 18.6 miles. While trek re-enactments are common for Latter-day Saint youth in the United States, this event in Mongolia is the first of its kind in over a decade.

Otgonzaya Batbaatar, the district president of Darkhan, Mongolia, recognized the significance of a trek experience for the youth in his area.

“The sacrifice of the pioneers blessed the whole world,” President Otgonzaya said. “I wanted my youth to feel what the pioneers felt — to recognize that they, too, are part of something bigger.”

Several youths who participated in the trek are pioneers themselves, as they are first-generation members of the Church. One participant, 18-year-old Enkh-Ujin, discovered the gospel through free English classes taught by the missionaries. She was baptized two years ago.

“When I was at those classes, I felt a calm and peaceful feeling I had never experienced before,” she said. “That feeling led me to the Church. Now, I’ve submitted my mission papers and am waiting for my call.”

Another young participant, Nathan Enkhchuluun, expressed his appreciation for the early Church pioneers, whose faithful decisions, made many years ago, have had a profound impact on his life today.

“Experiencing just a fraction of what the pioneers went through made me feel even more grateful for their sacrifices. Without them, we wouldn’t be here,” he said.

Pioneers in Argentina 

In Argentina, Saints are remembering their continent’s Church history, as 2025 marks 100 years since South America was dedicated to the preaching of the gospel. Early 20th-century Apostle Elder Melvin J. Ballard offered a prayer in Buenos Aires in late 1925, dedicating the country to the preaching of the gospel. He prophesied the Church would grow “as an oak grows slowly from an acorn.”

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Since its dedication, the Church in Argentina has grown significantly.

Rubén Morresi, a member in Ushuaia, Argentina, remembers the early days of the Church in his country, when 15-20 members would travel about 75 miles through mountainous roads to hold church meetings in a rented house.

“Families had long distances to get to the chapel, and it wasn’t easy because they came with small children and had to walk through the snow,” he said. “But it was beautiful because it was a time of great spiritual growth. We were few families, but we became very strong.”

In 1990, the Tierra del Fuego district was created, and Morresi was the first district president. In June 2019, the Tierra del Fuego Stake, the Church’s southernmost stake in the world, was established.

Estela Mahr, another member in Argentina, remembers traveling with her fiancé, Aldo Vicente Mahr, to the Mesa Arizona Temple to be sealed in 1964. It was Argentina’s assigned temple at the time.

Estela and Aldo are now members of the Buenos Aires Argentina North Stake, and both served as temple workers in the Buenos Aires temple after its dedication in 1986. Later, they were senior missionaries together in Córdoba.

Throughout her life, Estela has witnessed Elder Ballard’s prophecy of the Church’s growth on her continent come to fruition.

“As President Russell M. Nelson has said, ‘The best is yet to come.’ I know that God lives and this is His kingdom,” she said.

Today, in Argentina, there are more than 491,000 Latter-day Saints in 732 congregations, and many are third- and fourth-generation members. Argentina has 14 missions and four dedicated temples.

Read about more pioneer stories from Argentina.

Pioneer Fair in Salt Lake City 

On July 14, 2025, the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City hosted its annual Pioneer Fair. Musicians, storytellers and craftsmen joined the museum’s Living History program to bring the pioneer story to life.

Tiffany Bowles, an educator at the Church History Museum, said the Pioneer Fair is the most important event of the Church History Museum’s summer. “I hope all feel welcome around history as it comes to life,” she said.

Nineteen booths surrounded the Church History Museum and featured musical performances, crafts and demonstrations. Families and individuals enjoyed activities and exhibits and listened to songs originally played along the Oregon Trail.