Happy Pioneer Day!

Today marks the day that Mormon Pioneers found their home in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah, in 1847. A lot has been said about Mormons, a lot of ridiculous misconceptions exist.

My post today is to honor the sacrifices they made to live and believe as they wished, many of them dying on the American plains in the hopes to live free. Back then, it wasn't ok to be different, or have different ideas. Conformity was expected. You had to be white and Protestant or nothing. It wasn't quite back to the burning of witches, but plenty of Mormons were slaughtered anyway. They went from one place to another. Trying to live peaceably with their neighbors, share the love and tolerance that they believed.

They got kicked out of the United States to save their lives (Utah was part of Mexico at the time). Can you imagine being banished just because you had different ideas?

So any of you who have ever felt different, who have faced discrimination, or who just like to be yourself and not be told what to think or feel, remember those who came before.

Aren't you glad that we live in a world today that allows people to make their own choices? What about you? What have you experienced or overcome to have the freedom to be yourself?