Tuesday Tell All--Pioneer Spirit

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but my Tuesday Tell All journaling ideas come from here. This week's idea is actually something else, but I wanted to go back and catch up on one I didn't do. The instructions are to "tell us about pioneers in your family. Who was the first to graduate from college, first to join a new religion or move away from family. Use this definition to share a piece of your family history."

Here goes: the first to graduate from college in my family was my sister Becca. She beat me by approximately 12 hours. She rushed to finish her very last class (online) when she realized I would be graduating before her. She's older so she wanted to be first. She got it done and we both graduated with BA's from BYU in August of 1998. Zach was the first (and only, so far) to graduate from college in his immediate family. BS in Business from BYU--May 1999. (He also had a smarty pants full ride scholarship.)

If I remember correctly, my Gpa Leighton converted to Catholicism, much to the consternation of his parents. Most of my other ancestors were Catholic, though I'm pretty sure there is a Jewish g'g'g'gma from Russia somewhere in there. Anyhoo, my parents joined the LDS Church after being introduced to the Church by one of my dad's coworkers in MN. My dad was impressed with this man, and asked him what made him different from those around him.

They were invited to meet the missionaries, and started the discussions. After a few discussions, my dad decided he wasn't interested, but my mom wanted to be baptized. Dad felt like he should continue the discussions so that he could at least know more about the church Mom wanted to join. The discussion they had that very day changed his heart and they decided to be baptized together. Their parents were not happy, though I think Gma Lee was the most upset. Dad's dad (Gpa Leighton) told them to go ahead and do what made them happy. Eventually, everyone accepted it and there were no lasting hard feelings (though I don't know how long it took for everyone to get over it). A year later, my parents drove to SLC with my oldest brother, who was about 6 months old, and were sealed in the temple. The temple workers (and one of the missionaries who had taught them) were in attendance. Since that time, my parents have worked tirelessly in building the kingdom of God and teaching their children the gospel. Thank you, mom and dad, for your recognition of the truth and your willingness to sacrifice so much to follow it!

Zach's mom was also a convert to the church, though she had many ancestors that came across the plains. Her strength to follow what she knew to be true led her to meet and marry Z's dad (he proposed on their first [blind] date--but that's a story for another day=), and has lifted her family in many ways.

I wouldn't consider myself a pioneer of much, except maybe being the first of my siblings to have 4 kids. Does that really count, though? I mean, my mom had 9 so that would actually put me back in the dust. Hmmmmmmm, I'll just have to think harder to find my pioneering spirit. I'm just trying to follow in the footsteps of the pioneers who came before me, both in my family and out. THANK YOU, PIONEERS!