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President Jeffrey R. Holland led Utah’s 2025 Days of ’47 Parade as grand marshal in Salt Lake City on July 24, which is celebrated as Pioneer Day in the state.
“I'm okay with the marshal part. I don't know about the grand,” President Holland said. “but I’m honored.”
He reflected on his family’s connection to early pioneers who entered the Salt Lake Valley. “I have ancestors that came into this valley. I’m honored because of what that tribute means, what the parade means, what the Days of ’47 mean,” he said.
Pioneer Day marks the arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. Between 1847 and 1868, an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Latter-day Saints migrated from various parts of North America and Europe across the Great Plains to Utah and neighboring areas.
President Holland spoke about remembering and honoring these early settlers: “To think, as I have been thinking of those pioneers, they did it with vision and perseverance and love. I’m a little emotional about all of this. We’ll have our own perseverance, if you will, to say we’re not going to let those ancestors down. We’re not going to walk away from what they did. I hope they [parade goers] come away stronger and more committed, more proud, in the appropriate sense. Proud of their ancestors. Proud of what the future holds.”
He added: “It is little enough for at least one day out of the year to look back and to see them, and then have that be the lens through which we see the future.”
The role of grand marshal has previously been filled by Elders David A. Bednar and D. Todd Christofferson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as well as former Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham.
This year’s parade featured over 100 entries including a float from Centerville Utah South Stake titled "Turning Small Steps Into Giant Feats."
