Legacy-
leg·a·cy
[leg-uh-see]
Show IPA noun, plural leg·a·cies.
1.Law. a
gift of property, especially personal property, as money, by will; a bequest.
2.anything
handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor: the legacy of
ancient Rome.
3.an
applicant to or student at a school that was attended by his or her parent.
4.Obsolete .
the office, function, or commission of a legate.
I never thought too much on my legacy in years past. It never occurred to me what I do today, will carry on for generation to come. It'll determine how I'm remembered. It'll determine how my future generations will follow. Recently the word Legacy has been on my mind. Making me much more careful about the actions I take and the decisions I make. The couple of times I've gone through the temple have amplified that word.
But it's more than a word. In fact it can be an entire mapping of a family line. There's legacy deep in my family. Will Royster my great grandfather moved to the Baltimore area from Oxford North Carolina in the early 1900s in search of opportunity, and inevitably building a family. Will Royster is known through my family as a pioneer and it's pretty safe to say, without his courage and his determination I wouldn't be here gracing you with my words today. His legacy will be passed on for generations to come.
But my legacy in particular is only beginning. Up until probably a year and a half ago, my thought on legacy hadn't moved much further than how it will effect my kids. In fact at that time I don't even remember if it was even that. But within the last year, the term Legacy has taken on an organic shape. As I searched on a long path for faith and God, I realized with each step my legacy was being built. I started thinking more and more on it. It made me cautious, and very observant of my actions.
Actions of getting baptized will follow the family strain that comes from me for ages. At the time it was something so personal, and dear to my heart. Though it is still very personal it is very vast, for it will touch the lives of Royster's to come. Atleast those that come from my personal line.
I took a look at my Priesthood line of authority, which tells who gave me the priesthood, and who gave that person the priest hood and son on and so forth back many generations. And I just kept reading it and thinking, wow one day my son will possibly be below me. And it was just a symbol of the legacy to come. I had to stop and think, wow I'm 23, unmarried and like a year and a half away from graduating college. That being said I'm at a very pivotal moment in my very young life. For it is here as I grow into a man that my legacy's foundation is built.
Soaking up knowledge and experience is what's going to build the best legacy for my family. Finishing college, living righteously, and loving and respecting and being there for my family and friends, those are the things that will be remembered. Not necessarily where I worked, or what my first car was, but they'll remember those memories of mine and stories and lessons and actions that helped to build that future family, That's what my grandkids will remember.
So with this in mind it puts life in a very new and bright perspective. I'm not only living for myself, I'm not only learning and working for myself. No, done away is the selfish mindset that it's all about me when in complete actuality its for countless folks I dont even know and are yet to come. And legacy doesn't only mean family, legacy can mean the everlasting memory you've instilled on those all around you. Like mom said be on your best behavior. I mean there's no telling how your actions and words can inspire or affect someone.
So for all of you, who are probably still pretty early in your lives or have young finaily or heck just about any of you, the message is to remember what you do today will affect tomorrow in more ways than you can imagine. Learn and experience as much good as you can because it's our knowledge and experience the future will hold onto. How will you be remembered?
I'm going to leave you with an amazing song by an amazing duo named Kinetics and One Love. This is there song "Will you be remembered" Seems fitting for this post. Enjoy, and always ask How you'll be remembered
The Artist-
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