Two new family traditions this summer

Now that we know that the Backman scramble will be moved from Saturday, July 5th, I have two ideas I want to propose for everyone who is available and willing to participate. They fit well into my retirement weekend and the lunch for all of you and your teen-age youth on Monday, July 7th at 2:00 at Provo's Brick Oven restaurant. First, on that Saturday, July 5th: You know that I have many family names I have found on Family Search. Deanne, Natalia and Spencer have helped me do many baptisms and my siblings and many of you have helped in doing other temple ordinances. I have many names for sealings and new names for baptisms. Here is the plan: We want to have a temple morning at Opa's and Grammy's Draper temple. At 9:30 a.m., we will gather any of the adults interested in doing sealings. At the same time, the teenagers will take over in watching the children at our home or at the nearby Draper park playground. The sealing session starts at 10:00 and I have reserved a room for us. Then at 11:30, the older children who can help (Natalia, Spencer, Deanne, Michael, Savannah, Emily, Tyson, Dallin and William) will show up at the temple for baptisms for the dead. In the meantime, the mothers will take over taking care of the younger children; hopefully a few of the fathers will help me with the baptisms. So don't forget to bring temple recommends with you if you are travelling to Utah; and be sure the youth have valid limited use recommends. Second, on Sunday, July 6th: Joe and Heather have invited us to their home and yard for our first-ever Family History Gathering event. We will start about 2:30, but you can come when you are available. We will focus this first time on Grandma and Grandpa LeGrand and Edith Backman or on Grandma and Grandpa Gwendolyn and Valden Kimball (Lynn's Mom and Dad). In preparation, please go through your own photo books and find pictures with you together with Grandma and Grandpa Backman (or Grandma and Grandpa Kimball) or photos and stories you have to tell their stories. Our goal is to pick out a range of photos and stories we can upload onto the new Memories section of Family Search/Family Tree attached to their individual profiles. In the future, we can focus on other ancestors, one couple at a time. We can then ask our youth and others who know how to do it to scan the chosen pictures and stories to share and preserve them forever. While we are working on these Memories, the children can be playing in the yard. Then, we will have dinner together sometime after 5:00. In connection with these two new summer traditions to add to the Backman Scramble and to the family triathlon (FAST), I liked these thoughts from the Church General Primary president. She is the wife of my favorite missionary companion, Jack Wixom. Jack and I served together living in the mission home in Munich with President John Fetzer and his family: "We are daughters [and sons] of our Heavenly Father. We are covenant-making women [and men] of all ages walking the path of mortality back to His presence. Keeping covenants protects us, prepares us, and empowers us."

"Temple ordinances lead to the greatest blessings available through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They are those ordinances necessary for our exaltation in the celestial kingdom. As we strive to keep our covenants, our feelings of inadequacy and imperfection begin to fade, while the ordinances and the covenants of the temple come alive. Everyone is welcome to walk that path to eternal life." —Rosemary M. Wixom, "Keeping Covenants Protects Us, Prepares Us, and Empowers Us" Hopefully, our two new traditions will be meaningful this summer. They fit well with my new blog, Remembering the Covenants of our Mothers and Fathers. Thanks for considering your part on these two days if you are able to join with us.