Thursday, July 24, 2014

A Wondrous July 24th

Today is my birthday, and though I'm not admitting to any age, I will admit it's a joy to have a day set aside to celebrate your showing up on the planet. The presents are nice too.

As a youngster, growing up in Lake Tahoe, California, it was fun having a summer birthday. There were trips to the beach, water skiing, hiking, horseback riding, and barbeques. I thought it couldn't get any better. Then, after becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, graduating from high school, and being accepted to Brigham Young University, I learned that in Utah my birthday is celebrated with a parade, rodeo, and fireworks! Well, the hoopla is not just for my birthday. You see, in Utah, July 24th 1847, is the date when the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley after their long trek across the country. The parade contains the usual assortment of  flags, bands, horses, and floats, but often the floats contain pioneers, covered wagons, seagulls & crickets, temples, and an assortment of Bible and Book of Mormon characters. It's delightful.

I look forward to my birthday every year for a variety of reasons, and one of the highlights is being able to share the day with the Mormon pioneers. It is a grand celebration of the Latter-day Saint's veracity in trekking across the country in search of religious freedom. It makes for a very good day...and the fireworks are sparkles on the cake!

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