President James E. Faust Dedicates New Monument to Pioneer Women

President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, recently dedicated a monument to pioneer women. A bronze statue of a widow and her young son leaving behind the grave of a small daughter, the monument now stands on the grounds of the Pioneer Museum near the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.

Latter-day Saint sculptor Karl Quilter, who also designed a statue depicting the angel Moroni that tops most of the Church’s temples, was commissioned by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers to create the statue. The dedication of the statue marked the climax of a yearlong centennial celebration for the organization.

In paying tribute to those pioneers who sacrificed so much, President Faust quoted from an October 1947 general conference address by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. (1871–1961): “Back in the last wagon, not always could they see the Brethren way out in front, and the blue heaven was often shut out from their sight by heavy, dense clouds of the dust of the earth. Yet day after day, they of the last wagon pressed forward … borne up by their faith that God loved them, that the restored gospel was true and that the Lord led and directed the Brethren out in front” (“They of the Last Wagon,” in Conference Report, Oct. 1947, 156; see also “To Them of the Last Wagon,” Ensign, July 1997, 36).

President James E. Faust joins members of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers at the dedication of a new monument to pioneer women. (Photo by Tom Smart, Deseret News.)