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The White House commemorated Pioneer Day yesterday.

Its issued statement is thick with irony, however, as it omits any indication that the White House actually understands the lessons learned from our blessed, honored Pioneers.

Mormon Pioneers are best honored by putting our shoulder to the wheel and crafting policies that enable modern-day Pioneers to thrive. Today’s Pioneers are immigrants and refugees.

So here you go, White House, I rewrote your statement for you:

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On this day in 1847, Brigham Young and the first group of Latter-day Saint pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley to begin building a new home for their families. Fleeing persecution, these families undertook a difficult journey spanning more than a thousand miles from Illinois to the Utah territory.

In the years that followed, tens of thousands of men, women, and children would convert to Mormonism and immigrate from Europe, fleeing poverty, unrest, and the Crimean War. These Mormon Pioneers trudged across windswept plains and rugged mountains in search of religious freedom and a better way of life. Once settled in the Mountain West, they worked tirelessly to transform the arid desert landscape into a blossoming new home where their families could live in peace and prosperity. The Pioneers’ stories and accomplishments are lasting reminders of the importance of religious freedom and the enduring strength and spirit of the American people.

Our Nation honors the ingenuity, industry, and unwavering commitment to faith of all those who have endured and who continue to endure civil unrest, violence, and frontier hardships. Regrettably, as evidenced by slavery, Jim Crow, the Trail of Tears, and the Chinese Exclusion Act, America has often been imperfect in welcoming the poor and estranged. The Mormon Pioneers themselves embody a tale of both inspirational personal grit, and preventable American tragedy. Their persecution was wrought by the hands of other Americans. The Mormons would never have needed to flee to Utah if we the people had embraced their rich faith as it grew in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri. Our collective failure to live up to our constitutional ideals perpetuated the hardships the Mormon Pioneers experienced.

America at its best strives to welcome all who seek to protect faith, families, and freedom. Today, America watches in horror as Muslims and Christians seek refuge from civil war in Syria, Rohingya Muslims flee ethnic cleansing in Burma, and Catholics in El Salvador take flight from destabilizing gang violence. Like the Mormons, these men, women, and children are extraordinary pioneers who are uprooting their lives and undertaking incredible leaps of faith into the unknown.

In recognition of the Mormon Pioneers and the modern LDS Church’s “I Was A Stranger” initiative, I am proud that America has placed welcoming refugees, streamlining administrative procedures, and ensuring family togetherness at the center of our immigration policy. We are confident that like generations of immigrants before them, their stories and strength in overcoming hardship will build an inspiring legacy and help our cities and communities continue to thrive.

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The above statement looks exactly nothing like the Trump Administration’s actual vindictive, racist, and cruel policies towards immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, families, and victims of violence and religious persecution. This disparity should tell you everything you need to know about the sincerity of its commemoration of Mormon Pioneers.

Photo Attribution: ResoluteSupportMedia on Flickr.