In my family, my parents have strived to mold children who know and value where they came from. Both of my parents come from pioneer heritage. Since we have lived in Indiana for many years, we have had opportunities to visit church historical sights and learn how our ancestors sacrificed for the gospel we are blessed with today. I treasure the memory of stopping at Winter Quarters on the drive back to Utah to visit family. After going through the visitors center, we walked across the street to locate some of our ancestors' names on the headstones. My dad found several; even in my ten-year-old mind, I recognized that if my ancestors could sacrifice everything for the gospel, then I needed to stay strong in the faith to ensure that my posterity could enjoy the knowledge of the scriptures and blessings of the temple. Learning of my mom's pioneer heritage occurred several years later. My mom had no idea that some of her ancestors had walked across the plains until I was twelve or thirteen. One day, she received a package in the mail from an aunt she had not spoken to in ten years. In the box was a beautiful quilt, hand-stitched with an elaborate pattern of yellow, orange, and red fabric. After reading the message from my great-aunt, my mom was in shock. The quilt had been sewn by my great-great-great-great grandmother who walked across the plains from Nauvoo to the Salt Lake Valley with some of the earliest pioneers. It had been passed down from eldest daughter to eldest daughter. Since my great-aunt had no daughters of her own, she gave it to my mother, her oldest niece. Over the next few weeks, my mom was inspired to research more of her family history. She studied the histories recorded by her grandparents about her ancestors who had given so much for the gospel. When we went to Nauvoo a year later as a family, instead of only admiring the pioneers collectively, we were able to find the lot where one of our ancestors had lived. I was fascinated to learn that one of my ancestors had lived across the street from Heber C. Kimball.
The research in "The Stories That Bind Us" also pointed to the importance of having a family motto. In my family, we have many goofy family mottos, like "Eat lightning" before we played sports, or "We are better than they are" referring to the fact that we always keep the commandments, no matter who choses not to. However, the true "theme" of my family during my childhood has been "No empty seats." While these three words seem insignificant, to us, the phrase means that no matter what, after this life, we all want to return to Heavenly Father together. If any of my siblings pick on each other, all my dad says is, "No empty seats." If anyone in our family seems to be struggling, my dad reminds us, "No empty seats." To us, no experience in this life could be worth missing even one of our family members in the next life. The morning I left for college, after family prayer, we all felt very sad that I was leaving. My dad said, "No empty seats." As I hugged my mom, dad, and each of my siblings over and over again, I could not imagine how the next life would be without each and every one of my family members. I vowed to not only to make sure that I was not the empty seat, but also, I promised myself that I would be a good example to my siblings so that none of them would not be an empty seat either.Knowing family stories and creating unity within families allows individuals to create happier lives. Just from "The Stories That Bind Us" we learn that children with these experiences are better-fitted to deal with challenges and have higher self-esteem. When children build everlasting bonds with their families and ancestors, they understand that their support system is larger than just their friends or immediate family, but those who proceeded them.
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