Latter-Day Saints will hold their annual Pioneer Day celebration on July 24. For those unfamiliar with the Mormon faith and Pioneer Day, here’s a rundown:

THE MORMON FAITH:
Names: Latter-Day Saints (which includes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), Mormon fundamentalism
The major players: Jesus; Joseph Smith, Jr.; Brigham Young. Smith (b. 1805) claimed to have been visited by an angel, Moroni, who asked him to publish writings on gold plates, said to contain messages from God to ancient Babylonians living in the Americas. Smith published these writings, which became The Book of Mormon. He then founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, said to be a restoration of the Christian tradition lost at the death of the apostles. After moving the church to Nauvoo, Ill., to escape conflicts, he was murdered there in 1844. Brigham Young became president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1847 and was the first governor of the Utah territory.
The sacred texts: The Book of Mormon (considered the Word of God, text compiled from Mormon’s plates, shown to Smith by Mormon’s resurrected son Moroni, said to contain the most complete Gospel of Christ), Book of Commandments, Doctrine and Covenants (modern scripture said to be a restoration of The Bible’s Old Testament). The Bible is seen as the Word of God only insofar as it has been translated correctly; Joseph Smith provided his own translation of The Bible.
The main tenants: God is the eternal father. Man can be saved through Christ’s atonement by following God’s laws. Mormons also believe in the Holy Spirit – but God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three separate entities.
The goal: To be saved by God through observance of His laws; to be resurrected at the second coming of Christ, when Christ will reign on the American continent
Encouraged practices: Building one’s character to be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and virtuous, and to do good to all men; baptism; repentance
Social connection: Plural marriage (polygamy) was once permitted but renounced in 1890

PIONEER DAY:
In 1847, Mormons were suffering persecution in Nauvoo, Ill. To find relief, the “pioneers” journeyed west along the “pioneer trail” in covered wagons. (July 24 is sometimes referred to as “Covered Wagon Days.”) When they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, Young proclaimed this was the place to stop. And so the Mormons Pioneers made their settlement in what was then called “Deseret,” what we now call Utah. Thus, July 24 marked the founding of what Latter-Day Saints consider their earthly Zion.

Today, Pioneer Day is a Utah state holiday (though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not officially recognize it as a holy day). To learn about the ways in which Mormons have commemorated the event each year, check out Steven L. Olsen’s entry in the Utah History Encyclopedia.