As tradition, the Salt Lake Pioneer Chapter will host a General Authority speaker and numerous servants of the community on the Stand of the Tabernacle at Temple Square. Please come support our chapter. Admission is free.

Elder Schmutz was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2, 2016. At the time of his call, he had been serving in the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the Utah South Area. From 2016 to 2020, Elder Schmutz served as a counselor and then President of the Philippines Area; from 2020 to 2023 in the Utah Area Presidency; in 2023 he began serving as President of the North America Southwest Area; and from 2011-2014 as president of the Philippines Cebu Mission.

When Julie Jensen was young, she knew about the Hole in the Rock Pioneers from seeing the slot pass they came down the canyon while from a boat on Lake Powell but hadn’t considered what didn’t took place for these pioneers after that tremendous feat. Her nephews invited her and her husband Jeff to retrace the trail, that is when she realized there was much more to the story. While on this adventure she was amazed at where the brave pioneers went, and how much faith and courage they must have had. Julie will be providing us an in-depth dive into this courageous history taken from her second trip of the entire journey.  

Greg Christoferson, president of the National Mormon Battalion Association since 2021, has had a longtime interest in the Mormon Battalion, especially the Southern California portion of the trail. While living in Irvine, California from 1977-2010, he studied that portion of the trail, visited it numerous times, and took many visitors on tours of the SoCal trail, including bus tours. He prepared a trail guide and recommendations for the Boy Scouts of America in the San Diego Council, which is used in earning a Scout uniform patch commemorating the Mormon Battalion’s trek. Greg currently serves as an Area Church History Specialist in Lehi with an assignment in writing temple histories. He is an active member of the Mormon History Association, having twice served on its Executive Board. He has edited numerous Church history books, presented papers at conferences and is published in The Journal of Mormon History.