For camp this year my talk was "whats in a name". I told the girls how I got my name, I told them about Elder L Tom Perry's family history of how they joined the church and in 7-8 generations they had more than 10,000 descendants, sufficient numbers to organize 3 stakes. Hard to believe isn't it. I talked about how Aaron was named after my grandfather, and asked what has Aaron done with my grandfathers name...since he had no sons only daughters, is he living it in the way my grandfather would be proud? Rachel was given my middle name and Haylee was given Rachel's middle name are we each living a legacy that each can be proud of?
When my nephew and niece had their daughter Eden they named her Eden Meridith. Stephanie's mother sent me this wonderful card written with such care and I read a portion of it to the young women. Her mom talked about how Stephanie was named after her Aunt Melissa who died at just 2 1/2. This is what her mother said. "As Steph drew up she learned more and more about Melissa and wore her name proudly, somehow like a badge of honor. Steph told me one day that she was so honored to carry on the name of someone who was loved so very much. Now fast forward to the day Steph found out they were having a daughter. She told me she wanted he daughter's name to mean something, and like her name something she could be proud of, and thus Eden Meridith came to be. It is the perfect name for a very perfect little girl!" Stephanie's mom may not have realized how much that meant to us, but it did and still does. Stephanie's mother is an amazing woman, I see her love and kindness to all that she comes in contact with, I am honored to know her. So as I asked the Young Women "What are you doing with your name?" I went on the tell them that at baptism the took on someone else's name. The name of Jesus Christ "what are we doing with his name?" Are we living our lives so that we can return to him and he be honored by us, or are we not keeping up our end of the Saviour's name. Since camp it has caused me a lot of reflection of my own life. We should live our lives so that we will one day be able to stand before Christ our brother and he be thrilled at how we honored his name and that we did all we could to glorify him.
6 comments:
our names are our badges of honor aren't they?
Jenna told me this was her favorite class at camp.
Robin-you are such a wonderful person. We'll make sure she knows about the incredible person who's name she bears :) She's got a lot to live up to! Thank you!!
I love your story. I'll bet it was the best class of the week. You are awesome. I wish I had named my kids with names that had a story. I never thought of it.
What a great post. All of my kids have a middle mame after family, which I don't stress much. I need to change that. They need to live up to their ancestors. Thanks for the reminder.
What a wonderful post. I guess it just proves that a seemingly simple act can go further than you think it will. Thanks for your comments. Our children are all named after an important family member or have a story associated with them. Hopefully they appreciate the meaning behind them. Eden's middle name is not only beautiful but has a beautiful history associated with it. May she wear it with pride. We are so grateful to know and be associated with your great family.
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