To Be a Pioneer Pioneer Story

I can’t think of a better way to introduce or review the primary song, To Be a Pioneer (archives) than by sharing some pioneer stories!

I am always inspired when I hear stories of the faith and perseverance of the pioneers. For a neat way to bring this song to life, share a pioneer story from General Conference with this To Be a Pioneer Pioneer Story singing time idea.

**See all To Be a Pioneer Singing Time Ideas!**

To Be a Pioneer Pioneer Story - Bring this song to life by sharing a pioneer story from conference for a neat way to introduce or review this D&C song in primary.

To Be a Pioneer Pioneer Story

Do you ever share videos in singing time? There are some wonderful inspirational videos and General Conference clips found on the Church’s YouTube Channel that teach gospel principles in an engaging way.

For this activity, I thought it would be cool to share a short clip about a pioneer story. If you listen carefully during conference, you’ll usually hear a pioneer story or two.

I’ve spent some time looking for pioneer stories from conference messages and want to share a few of my favorites with you!

Aside from prepping the technology, this idea really doesn’t require any extra prep work. I’ll share some additional ideas later in this post, but the basic idea is just to share a short video!

There are a few different ways to do this! If you are introducing this song for the very first time, you might consider sharing a pioneer story as a nice way to invite the spirit as you teach this song.

You can also use this activity to help your primary children connect spiritually (more spiritual connection ideas) with this song, even if you’ve already started teaching the words.

To Be a Pioneer Pioneer Story - Bring this song to life by sharing a pioneer story from conference for a neat way to introduce or review this D&C song in primary.

At the beginning of singing time, tell the children that you have a special video to share with them. Listen carefully to the story and be ready to share what you learned!

After the video is finished, ask for a volunteer to summarize the story. What was this story about? Can anyone guess what we’ll be singing about? That’s right, pioneers!

Then, begin teaching the lyrics to this fun pioneer song! If you don’t already have a copy of our To Be a Pioneer flip chart, I definitely recommend grabbing it for an easy teaching aid!

3 Pioneer Story Video Ideas

1. “More Than a Hero”

In his Oct. 2023 talk, Bishop W. Christopher Waddell tells the story of a man named Ephraim Hanks, who was part of a rescue party for the Willie and Martin handcart companies.

This inspiring pioneer story is told at the very beginning of his talk. In this video clip below, just stop the video at 2:47.

2. “Following Footsteps of Faith”

President M. Russell Ballard shared a short story about a man named Henry Ballard in his Oct 2022 conference address.

For this neat story about one of President Ballard’s ancestors, watch this video from 1:50-3:30.


3. “God Will Do Something Unimaginable”

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells a story about the early pioneers and the building of the Salt Lake Temple in his Oct 2020 conference address.

Although this story doesn’t talk about a specific pioneer, it is an inspiring story about how the pioneers persevered in building a temple. Watch this video from the beginning until 1:33.

Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth Spiritual Videos - Share an inspirational video about families for a neat way to review or introduce this song for LDS Primary Music Leaders.

For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth Spiritual Video singing time activity!

Extension Activities:

  • If you are unable to access video technology for this activity, grab a short snippet of a pioneer story from a talk and read it aloud during singing time. Feel free to find more than one story to read together!
  • Read a pioneer story as you introduce the song line by line. See this We’ll Bring the World His Truth Song Story for an example of this type of activity!
  • Act out a pioneer story! Borrow or bring in some pioneer clothes and recreate a pioneer story together! Create a simple script and choose actors to tell the pioneer story!
  • Utilize the technology and practice with this To Be a Pioneer sing along video! Practice the song with me or watch the sing along to familiarize everyone with the melody.
  • Share one of these pioneers stories from the Friend magazine. Or, choose one story for each class. Have each class read their story and summarize it to the group. Share one story each time you sing through the song.

Get more out of singing time with the INSTANT Primary Singing membership that includes printable lesson plans, tons of extended printables and an ad-free experience for each featured song of the month, or get immediate access to the entire song list for the year!

INSTANT Primary Singing Doctrine & Covenants Access Packet - Includes teaching ideas for ALL of the Come Follow Me songs for the D&C year including fun singing time ideas for the holidays, custom art flip charts, D&C year themed helps, even bonus planners and teaching demo videos! Everything you need to help you be successful as an LDS Primary Music Leader!

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Head over to this To Be a Pioneer Marching Styles activity to incorporate some movement as you review this song!

To Be a Pioneer Marching Styles - March along with this fun movement idea and try different marching styles as you review this D&C song with printable song helps for LDS Primary Music Leaders.

What pioneer story will you choose to share in your Primary room?

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