A scripture that sums up my dad is from Mosiah 2:41, it states, “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep my commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” My dad lived a blessed and happy life.
An attribute I admire in my dad is his ability to laugh at life and his positive outlook on life. I have tried to keep this same perspective in my life and teach it to my children.
When I think back of all the many memories that I have with my dad, they definitely include a lot of laughter and fun.
One of my favorite memories include being with all of our families playing many hours of cards and games laughing with each other. Sometimes my dad liked to cheat and be funny about it. My daughter said to me the other daywhen we were talking about my dad and sharing memories of him that maybe she should start cheating at King Corners like grandpa. We both started to laugh about this memory.
Majorie Pay Hinckley once said; “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.”
My dad has always had a positive outlook on life. He made our childhood fun. I remember every morning during high school he would wake us up for seminary at 5:00 am. He would remind us in a funny way that he always got up at 4:00am to milk the cows at our age.
A week before my father passed, my mom,brother, sisters and I were able to be together for a couple of days around my dad in the hospital sharing memories of dad and saying our goodbyes. It has been a long time since we have been with just our mom and siblings. We laughed. Steph peed her pants. PAUSE Nowait that was me. PAUSE Just kidding see laughter, I learned from dad. We cried which did give us a headache by the way. We shared many memories of dad and we planned his memorial.
I am grateful for my father and the values he taught me. I learned from his example to love and serve others just like the Savior did.
In closing I want to read a quote from David Bednar about my dad,
“Ordinary people who faithfully, diligently, and consistently do Simple Things that are right before God will bring forth extraordinary results.”
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen
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