| Description |
My flag borrows its form from that of the United States of America, illustrating the love for and connection to the US Constitution which have always been general in Utah. Countless illustrations of this are available, but I consider that the following stanza of "My Own-- My Country's Flag" by Eliza R Snow Smith is sufficient: "There came a time, I shall remember well-- Beneath the 'Stars and Stripes' we could not dwell: We had to flee: but in our hasty flight, We grasped the Flag, with more than mortal might; Resolved, that, though our foes should us bereave Of home and wealth, our Flag, we would not leave. We took the Flag, and journeying to the West, We wore its motto graven on each breast... 'Union--Liberty.'" The four yellow stripes between the five blue show our being the forty-fifth state admitted into the Union. The twenty-nine bees, symbols of our twenty-nine counties, fly upwards from the beautiful Beehive, a symbol of Industry, to show that we seek to continue, even accelerate, the upward march our Pioneer forebears began. The beehive is drawn with seven rungs, linking to a Hebrew symbol for wholeness and Utah's close association with Israel. The colors, themselves, have long been associated with our beautiful State, but they are intentionally used for the significance of them. The yellow is for open friendship, the light from which none are permanently lost. The white is a symbol of pure knowledge, excellent knowledge always being prominent among the objects of Utah's industry. The blue, charitable and sage in temperament, is the capable and professional color of giving. The flag is simple and familiar, bearing a personal significance beyond that of history, symbol, or color. Against all perils, we reach for the Freedom and Liberty for which our country exists. It is only by the united efforts of the civilians that Prejudice, Ignorance, and Error can be uprooted by Inquiry, Knowledge, and Truth to give way to the life that is promised in our Constitution. This flag is a product of my Industry and my enduring love for Utah, past, present, and futurity. |
