MY FAITH
Even more than rooted in the soil of my ancestors, I have become rooted in my belief in and love of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of the reasons I love the photo on my home page is that it reminds me that the Savior refers to Himself as both the Light of the World and the Bread of Life. The trajectory of my life has largely been determined by the extent and depth of my belief that He is indeed those two things in addition to many others. My home was the product of a legacy of faith manifested over several generations by a people imbued with stalwart determination to follow God and whose lives and sacrifices rippled down through the generations until they reached me. Their faith in God was not transferable to me; I had to pay a price to know for myself. In response to pursuing an unfulfilling path in life for a short period of time, I began to seek God in earnest in order to know for myself if the beliefs of my ancestors were not just real for them, but universally true. In my seeking, I came to know for certain that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was indeed the only Church on the earth with the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. My journey through life has only reconfirmed and strengthened what I discovered as a young single adult. God is indeed my Heavenly Father and the Father of all mankind. Jesus Christ, His Beloved Son is my Savior and Redeemer. Jesus Christ has restored His gospel to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. A pinnacle point of that restoration was the translation of the Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ. Its powerful content comes with the promise for all genuine seekers of truth, that they may know for themselves if the book is true. If it is true, and I testify that it is, the implications are incredibly significant and have eternal consequences for each of us. This belief, which is written on the fleshy tables of my heart, has been the preeminent motivation in my life.
MY LEGACY
I was born in a small agricultural community in western Utah in the middle of the 20th century. My community was overseen by a majestic mountain peak in the Stansbury Range. I was the product of generations of people whose lives were shaped by their belief in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and whose painful past had resulted in being driven to a place of relative desolation that required painstaking work, faith, perseverance, and devotion just to scratch out a living in desert lands. My home was a haven of such faith for my grandparents, parents, me and my six siblings. This type of life was modeled for me by my parents, grandparents, and many others with whom I associated. My youthful mind could not comprehend the countless experiences of devotion, sacrifice, betrayal, disappointment, anguish, grief, hope, faith, and endurance that produced what I was privileged to experience and enjoy. For me it was an idyllic time and place. I grew up around wonderful friends and we participated in a variety of youthful and wholesome activities as we matured together. However, a significant chunk of my youthful time was spent helping my maternal grandfather, who lived very near us, manage his small dairy farm. He had twelve cows that needed milking each morning and night. In addition, he owned a pair of draft horses, a few pigs, a small herd of sheep, a dog to chase the cows, cats to keep the mice at bay, and more chickens than I would have preferred. My early years with him on his farm raising both animals and crops had an indelible impact on who I later became. My tolerance for animals diminished at the same rate my affection for growing crops escalated. To me, animals translated to a 24/7/365 commitment while crops afforded me an off season. Seven decades later, my affection for the soil, its demands and lessons, is still ingrained deeply into who I am. My wife loves animals, but I love her.
MY JOURNEY
My life’s journey, like those of my ancestors, many of whom were farmers, is a process of constant work and growth. This litany of challenges, difficulties, failures, weaknesses, disappointments, fear, regret, and grief were instrumental in helping me become who I am. But, so were the joys, rewards, achievements, and relationships. Life is a composite of all our experiences. My life has also been full of magnificent tender mercies that have been extended to me in times of need, sometimes when in desperate need, and sometimes when in no need at all. These personal experiences, both good and bad, have helped me to better understand my purpose in life and become a better person, son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Hopefully I can continue to become more like my Savior. However, the full realization of such a pursuit is beyond my own capacity and only possible with the help of Christ’s unfathomable atoning sacrifice and gift. I realize that many individuals with whom I have interacted over the years may have a different view of me. I have come to understand that judging others through the lens of a single snapshot is incredibly unfair. No life can be encapsulated by a snapshot. Hopefully, my life will ultimately be viewed more as a lifelong video than a single snapshot, or even a large photo album of snapshots. If such courtesy is what I hope from others, it would be hypocritical for me not to extend such courtesy to everyone else with whom I associate. I once heard it said that “Good judgment comes from experience, and most of that comes from poor judgment.” My personal journey through life has often been like that. The content of this website will represent some aspects of my personal process of growth and development. I truly hope some of my experiences can be beneficial to you. They certainly have been to me.