The Spirit of Heritage

I have been pondering the creation of this blog for quite some time now. I have long endeavored to learn more about my family heritage and its origins. This hasn't merely been a pursuit of my family tree. I have yearned to come to know my ancestors as much as I can. Because only a small handful of their life stories have been recorded, coming to know these people has been more a matter of learning about their circumstances in history, of their languages and cultures, and of the things they likely would have believed. I want to understand their motivations. I want to know how their lives and times influence my life during my time on earth.

I can only attribute these interests of mine to two things, really, though each point could be picked apart into smaller points. My first driving motivation is the Spirit of Elijah, which is what I am really referring to in the title of this post. In my religion, we call God's influence upon our minds and hearts to search out our ancestors the Spirit of Elijah, as the Bible teaches that Elijah's mission during the earth's course is to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:6, KJV)." What this is referring to is the necessary acknowledgement of our ancestors and their importance to us, as well as the realization that our descendants are important to us as well. To Mormons, this is so deep as to say that both our progenitors and our posterity are a vital part of our eternal salvation.

This feeling of familial connection through all ages of earth's history has been a priceless blessing in my life, and I feel the desire to share it, for the sake of my own family members and relatives, as well as all those who seek a greater understanding of their origins. Which brings me to my second point: Hey, this blog might even be good for people who just want to read interesting stories; the stories of mankind are the most interesting, after all. I find them to be super cool, and that's the second reason I am passionate about studying my heritage. Indeed, there is something magical about delving into the dark, mysterious past from which our wandering, tribal ancestors came, like shadows out of mist; indistinct and yet tangible in the most subtle of ways. They truly shaped our world more than we can understand.

On another note, which may seem a bit political to some, I want to remind people that Europeans and white Americans come from  rich cultural heritages, just like all other human beings out there. It is common for white people who mention their lineage or cultural pride to be mocked, ridiculed and scorned. For some reason, it is considered racist for Caucasian Americans to to acknowledge that they indeed come from a worthy historical background, while we are all told to honor and respect the backgrounds of Africans, Asians, Hispanics, etc. I believe firmly that all people on this earth are inheritors of fascinating, beautiful, and ultimately divine heritages. All people make mistakes, including our ancestors, but they also made good decisions. They got us where we are today.

I hope that through my sharing of the riches of family history that I can help others to realize that people are wonderful, that we all share in the pain of tragedy and the joy of creating something better. That's what family is about, including the human family as a whole.