The Mormon handcart pioneers were participants in the migration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City, Utah who used handcarts to transport their belongings. The Mormon handcart movement began in 1856 and lasted until 1860. Motivated to join their fellow Church members but lacking funds for full ox or horse teams, nearly 3,000 Mormon pioneers from England, Wales, and Scandinavia made the journey to Utah in 10 handcart companies. Although fewer than ten percent of the 1847–68 Latter-day Saint emigrants made the journey west using handcarts, the handcart pioneers have become an important symbol in LDS culture, representing the faithfulness and sacrifice of the pioneer generation. The handcart pioneers continue to be recognized and honored in events such as Pioneer Day, Church pageants, and similar commemorations. The handcart treks were a familiar theme in 19th century Mormon folk music and have been a theme in LDS fiction, such as Gerald Lund's historical novel, Fire of the Covenant, and Orson Scott Card's science-fiction short story, "West."

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1545: Counter-Reformation: The Council of Trent, an ecumenical council convoked by Pope Paul III in response to the growth of Protestantism, opened in Trento, Italy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Trent)

1862: American Civil War: Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside were decisively defeated in the Battle of Fredericksburg. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fredericksburg)

1981: Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland, suspended Solidarity and imprisoned many union leaders. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojciech_Jaruzelski)

2003: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a spider hole during Operation Red Dawn and captured. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_Dawn)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

My deepest impulses are optimistic; an attitude that seems to me as spiritually necessary and proper as it is intellectually suspect. -- Ellen Willis (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ellen_Willis)