All four of my children have a fourth toe that curves to the side a bit. It is a trait they inherited from their father. I am a little bit jealous that he shares this one physical characteristic with our children. My children look like me as well; if you squint your eyes, turn your head sideways and use your imagination. However, I am reminded that they are my children when I see my daughter reading voraciously every day or including someone that may be feeling left out or when I see my son using his negotiating skills with his friends. We gain many of our traits from our parents and from their parents and their parent’s parents and so on. All of those people in our family tree and the things they pass down to us are our heritage. So what is the heritage we receive?
There are the cultural legacies we receive. My husband hails from the Kingdom of Tonga, so we recently went to buy pigs for an event this weekend. There will be food, Polynesian dancing and many other things that are part of his cultural legacy as we gather. We will be doing things people from his part of the world have been doing for hundreds if not thousands of years. There is a beauty in that: you can feel it as you join in.
There are also the religious/spiritual legacies we receive. Each religion has its champions and defenders and many have those who gave their lives for their beliefs. They each lived their lives in hopes of making our world a better place. Often they knew they would not be the recipient of the fruits of their labors, but hoped they would leave a legacy for future generations. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are grateful for our pioneers. They came from all across the earth and gathered in Missouri, Illinois and Ohio. Then, when persecution became unbearable, they journeyed west. Some in wagons, but with many of them pulling hand carts, thousands of miles with their children walking beside them in all kinds of weather, enduring many afflictions, to reach a land where they would be free to practice their religion.
We have the legacy of our nations. Here in the United States of America, we have an amazing legacy to make us proud. During the recent Fourth of July celebrations we reflected on those who gave time, talents and some their very lives for us to live in a free nation. They sacrificed for us to have a place where we can be happy, safe and prosperous. A nation with religious liberty for all, where we can practice our religion and afford all the same privilege without fearing retribution. Freedom and liberty are some of the legacies of our great nation.
Finally, we have our family heritage. These can be a mixed bag. Each family comes with good and bad things they pass down. We can embrace and emulate the good of our families. Where our families may have faltered, we can start new traditions for our children. Our actions today not only affect ourselves and our children, but all of our posterity. I have taught my children to be politically active. You may have seen them each election cycle; out in the rain or sunshine waving signs. I have tried to show them they can make a difference. I hope my posterity will keep the tradition of political involvement as their legacy from me. I hope they will continue the legacy of culture, faith and charity they have received from their grandparents. A heritage is something we are given, but the heritage we pass on is something that we actively create with our daily choices. May we all reflect on those choices and have the vision of our posterity as we go about our daily lives.
• Jacqueline Tupou attends the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
