I’m a Pioneer Too
#1034 Hymns—For Home and ChurchLyrics
The Story Behind “I’m a Pioneer Too”
A Texas convert's daughter who never felt like a pioneer — until she realized she was one, and wrote the song so every child would know it too.
The Girl Without a Handcart
Jan Underwood Pinborough grew up in Midland, Texas, where her parents were the first in their families to join the Church — she was three when they were baptized. As a child she joined in Pioneer Day celebrations, but the covered wagons and handcarts belonged to other people's ancestors. She didn't see herself in the story.
The realization that came later became this song: her convert parents were pioneers. Anyone, the Church's hymn resource summarizes her conviction, 'who bravely follows Jesus Christ and helps establish His gospel anywhere in the world is a pioneer.'
Written for the Friend
Pinborough wrote the song in 2019 while serving as managing editor of the Friend magazine, as Pioneer Day content for children; it was first published in the July 2020 issue. For the music she turned to a longtime collaborator: Michael F. Moody, the former chairman of the Church's General Music Committee — the same text-and-tune team behind 'This Is the Christ,' which Pinborough co-wrote with President James E. Faust.
Moody brought his own qualifications: he and his wife had served across the Caribbean, the Middle East, the Pacific, and Africa, meeting modern pioneers everywhere. 'Our hearts have been deeply touched,' he said, 'by the faithfulness and devotion of today's pioneers.'
Every Child a Pioneer
The verses travel from handcarts and ocean crossings to temple builders to children today — first-generation members, children carrying the gospel to new places — each verse landing on the same claim: I'm a pioneer too.
Released June 12, 2025, as hymn #1034, the song does for the worldwide Church what its author needed as a girl in Texas. 'I wanted them to realize,' Pinborough said of children everywhere, 'that wherever they are, they could also be connected with that work.'
Did You Know?
- Author Jan Pinborough grew up a convert's daughter in Texas — and didn't feel like a 'real' pioneer at Pioneer Day celebrations as a child.
- She wrote the song while serving as managing editor of the Friend magazine; it debuted in the July 2020 issue.
- The same Pinborough–Moody team wrote 'This Is the Christ' with President James E. Faust.
- Composer Michael F. Moody chaired the committee that produced the 1985 hymnal — and now has songs in its successor.
- Moody and his wife served in the Caribbean, Middle East, Pacific, and Africa — meeting the modern pioneers the song describes.
Scripture Connections
- Doctrine and Covenants 136:2, 4 — The original pioneer covenant — organized companies walking 'with a covenant and promise to keep all the commandments.'
- Doctrine and Covenants 138:56 — Spirits prepared before birth to labor for souls — every generation called to pioneer something.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 — 'Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord' — the pioneer trait that never needed a wagon.
Talk About It
Questions to spark a conversation with your family or Primary class:
- A pioneer is someone who goes first so others can follow. What could you be the first in your family to do?
- Who was the first person in your family to join the Church? What did it cost them?
- Jan Pinborough felt left out of pioneer stories as a child. Who around you might need help feeling they belong to the story?
- What 'trail' are you walking right now that might make things easier for someone who comes after you?
Teaching Resources
Attribution
Music by: Michael Finlinson Moody, 2020
Text by: Jan Underwood Pinborough, 2020, and alt.
Audio files from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints