"As I was thinking about how to structure the thoughts I was going to share today I kept remembering the scriptural edict found in the ten commandments and re emphasized by Jesus during his ministry: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
I was left considering how we should show that honor not just during the lives of our parents but continuing on as a legacy to them. So I thought about what legacy Dad has left and what he might have wanted from us as expressions of honor.
Dad took as his standard a faith in Jesus Christ and a desire to follow his gospel. All of his efforts during his life were filtered through that perspective. Since his mission in Switzerland that started his adult life to his mission in New Hampshire that completed his earthly labors he strived to live the gospel as he understood it. His legacy started with those he served with and taught.
The next significant part of his legacy was his education. Dad always valued education and worked hard at obtaining his education which continued to getting his masters degree. He also continued to learn throughout his life. He was always with a book and went back to school while he worked on getting his teaching certificate. His value of education passed to his children and he also worked hard to ensure each of his children had an education as well. His efforts paid off as all of his children honored his value by earning college degrees.
The next important part of Dad's life was when he met Mom. He became a husband and father which I think was his highest priority and greatest legacy.
In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it says, "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations. Dad always strived and hoped to be a good husband and father. His children all saw his example and each of his children followed his legacy by becoming husbands or wives and parents who, like him strive and hope to be good spouses and parents. I think it is safe to say that when held to account for his charge
I was left considering how we should show that honor not just during the lives of our parents but continuing on as a legacy to them. So I thought about what legacy Dad has left and what he might have wanted from us as expressions of honor.
Dad took as his standard a faith in Jesus Christ and a desire to follow his gospel. All of his efforts during his life were filtered through that perspective. Since his mission in Switzerland that started his adult life to his mission in New Hampshire that completed his earthly labors he strived to live the gospel as he understood it. His legacy started with those he served with and taught.
The next significant part of his legacy was his education. Dad always valued education and worked hard at obtaining his education which continued to getting his masters degree. He also continued to learn throughout his life. He was always with a book and went back to school while he worked on getting his teaching certificate. His value of education passed to his children and he also worked hard to ensure each of his children had an education as well. His efforts paid off as all of his children honored his value by earning college degrees.
The next important part of Dad's life was when he met Mom. He became a husband and father which I think was his highest priority and greatest legacy.
In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it says, "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations. Dad always strived and hoped to be a good husband and father. His children all saw his example and each of his children followed his legacy by becoming husbands or wives and parents who, like him strive and hope to be good spouses and parents. I think it is safe to say that when held to account for his charge
One of Dad's greatest legacies was the example of love and honor that he demonstrated to Mom. This legacy was shown in his quiet example and his tender expressions of love. This example was so poweful, in a quiet way, that all of his children absorbed it to their cores and show their own love and honor to their spouses in their every day lives.
The next part of Dads life was all the years of just regular living. He spent his time working at his jobs, working at church, working at home and occasionally he consented to a little leisure. His legacy of work has been passed on to his children who like him all work, both inside and outside of the home to provide for their families. He spent most of his free time on behalf of others. I remember going along with him and I know Bill and Ben did too as he visited home teaching families for hours long visits to lonely seniors while we tried to be patient and fended off overly attentive dogs. I remember when Granddad would be fixing the car while visiting us and Dad would be out in the garage with him trying to be helpful and trying to avoid the wrath that frequently arose in those fraught interactions. But he persisted and when Granddad was helping us build on our living room expansion at the house on Apple Creek he was there every day following Granddad's direction and together they built that room. One of dads big contributions to that effort was the great big bookshelf along the entire north wall. Dad liked woodworking projects and that bookshelf was probably the most substantial woodworking project he undertook. And that seems appropriate since he valued books so highly. Dad was always reading something and his Christmas gifts usually consisted of a few books. I remember him reading to Amy in her room each night before bed. Les Misérables is the one I remember best but I know there were others. His love of reading is a other legacy that he has passed on to all four of his children. And his reading didn't stop with his children. All of his grandchildren who came to visit would eventually end up in the playroom with Grandpa reading to them. That legacy continues for another generation. And whenever the grandkids would visit Grandpa would be crawling on the ground playing dogs with them or building blocks are driving toy cars. He really did get down on the ground with them and engaged with them. I believe when he was a teacher that he was that way with his students as well.
Dad worked hard his whole life. If he was home he was working hard fixing sprinkler systems for the vast majority of that time but in between he was mowing or planting and maintaining our annual obedience garden. Occasionally though he scheduled in some leisure. Frequently this was a family road trip. We visited family often and Utah a lot. We usually made it to the beach each year but some of the other memorable trips include going to San Diego and San Francisco. Those trips exposed us to restaurants and attractions that seemed to be on the cultural side. Museums, old town San Diego and the Mormon Battalion Museum. Those vacations helped us to share in his appreciation of cultures and other people. And a little terror at his sometimes crazy driving. And he also spent time one on one encouraging us at our pursuits. I remember I got a book about bird watching locations on Southern California and him taking me to many of those places and we would go together to walk around trying to learn what birds were there. I know he tried to support the interest of others of you as well. When he spent his leisure time on himself he did puzzles or books of crosswords or other similar pursuits. His interest in those kinds of leisure have been passed on to all of his children and their children. He also had a great interest in baseball and watching sports on TV and that legacy has been passed on to... well to Ben at least. But also many of his grandchildren. I remember once from my childhood an experience when the movie Airplane came on TV (edited for TV I should probably clarify) and Dad and I and at least one of my siblings but maybe others were up late watching it and laughing and laughing at the absurdity late into the night after Mom had gone to bed. I think he was an influence on the legacy of the unique Duncan sense of humor.
The next part of Dads life was all the years of just regular living. He spent his time working at his jobs, working at church, working at home and occasionally he consented to a little leisure. His legacy of work has been passed on to his children who like him all work, both inside and outside of the home to provide for their families. He spent most of his free time on behalf of others. I remember going along with him and I know Bill and Ben did too as he visited home teaching families for hours long visits to lonely seniors while we tried to be patient and fended off overly attentive dogs. I remember when Granddad would be fixing the car while visiting us and Dad would be out in the garage with him trying to be helpful and trying to avoid the wrath that frequently arose in those fraught interactions. But he persisted and when Granddad was helping us build on our living room expansion at the house on Apple Creek he was there every day following Granddad's direction and together they built that room. One of dads big contributions to that effort was the great big bookshelf along the entire north wall. Dad liked woodworking projects and that bookshelf was probably the most substantial woodworking project he undertook. And that seems appropriate since he valued books so highly. Dad was always reading something and his Christmas gifts usually consisted of a few books. I remember him reading to Amy in her room each night before bed. Les Misérables is the one I remember best but I know there were others. His love of reading is a other legacy that he has passed on to all four of his children. And his reading didn't stop with his children. All of his grandchildren who came to visit would eventually end up in the playroom with Grandpa reading to them. That legacy continues for another generation. And whenever the grandkids would visit Grandpa would be crawling on the ground playing dogs with them or building blocks are driving toy cars. He really did get down on the ground with them and engaged with them. I believe when he was a teacher that he was that way with his students as well.
Dad worked hard his whole life. If he was home he was working hard fixing sprinkler systems for the vast majority of that time but in between he was mowing or planting and maintaining our annual obedience garden. Occasionally though he scheduled in some leisure. Frequently this was a family road trip. We visited family often and Utah a lot. We usually made it to the beach each year but some of the other memorable trips include going to San Diego and San Francisco. Those trips exposed us to restaurants and attractions that seemed to be on the cultural side. Museums, old town San Diego and the Mormon Battalion Museum. Those vacations helped us to share in his appreciation of cultures and other people. And a little terror at his sometimes crazy driving. And he also spent time one on one encouraging us at our pursuits. I remember I got a book about bird watching locations on Southern California and him taking me to many of those places and we would go together to walk around trying to learn what birds were there. I know he tried to support the interest of others of you as well. When he spent his leisure time on himself he did puzzles or books of crosswords or other similar pursuits. His interest in those kinds of leisure have been passed on to all of his children and their children. He also had a great interest in baseball and watching sports on TV and that legacy has been passed on to... well to Ben at least. But also many of his grandchildren. I remember once from my childhood an experience when the movie Airplane came on TV (edited for TV I should probably clarify) and Dad and I and at least one of my siblings but maybe others were up late watching it and laughing and laughing at the absurdity late into the night after Mom had gone to bed. I think he was an influence on the legacy of the unique Duncan sense of humor.
Of all the things I think Dad would like to feel was his legacy one thing stands out. He always had his scriptures on the table by his bed. He would read the scriptures at night and he would write in his journal. And every time at general conference he would take pages of notes in his tiny, hard to decipher scrawl. He felt there was value in the truths contained in the scriptures and the example he set has passed on a legacy of faith to his children and grandchildren all of whom value their religious commitments and study of the scriptures.
So he has maintained or created many legacies. And lately I have been thinking about how we honor him and those legacies he has established in the culture of our family. I think that when we do things with our children like he did for us we honor him. When we go on family trips, when we read scriptures together, when we laugh at silly movies together, when we love our spouses, when we do the good things he did, we honor him. I have seen the lives of Dad's children and grandchildren and feel we are living our lives in a way that honors him and his legacies. Our challenge going forward is to remember the source of our legacy. We need now to find ways to consider his life. Remember who he was and impress on our children the legacies that he was the source of and help our children know his part in that legacy.
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