This is MY Life

It's amazing how many little things we see about us that have no meaning until we know the story. You can stand in certain spots between here and Omaha, Nebraska, and see nothing but grass and a few rocks. There is no meaning to the place at all unless you know Mormon history, and then the place becomes alive with people. The people become a people with a purpose. The spot becomes a place where events happened, where faith was exercised. A spot that is so commonplace to the casual passerby becomes sacred.



It is quite apparent that in order to live fully we need to know something about the past, especially about the past that involves our own ancestors. We need their story to enrich our present. In exactly the same way, we need to preserve OUR story for the ones to follow us. Writing a yearly family history, or keeping a journal, allows us the opportunity to chisel our story upon the hearts of our children. When we write, we ought to write our history as a great adventure. We ought to take our young readers into it as if taking them on a field trip.



History brings understand of our times to us. In a sense, history consists of the centuries speaking to the minutes. I have been writing my own personal history since 1979 and my children have been writing theirs for several years also. Tonight, I just finished reading through Sara's history which she began writing when she was 11. What a precious and valuable gift she is leaving for her children and grands. I encourage all to continue, or start, writing their adventures for themselves and their progenity. I've never heard anyone say: "Shoot, I wish I hadn't spent all that time writing my personal history!"