Vest Family Reunion~Salt Lake City Cemetery

After we left Park City we drove to Salt Lake to the Salt Lake City Cemetery on the northeast side of town. We had a map of the cemetery and it was interesting to see where many prominent church members and prophets were buried. It was also interesting to see how many of the prophets and leaders of the church are intertwined and connected through marriage. We all laughed and joked about someone from the outside looking in. I'm sure they would be thinking, "Wow, there's a whole lot of nepotism goin' on there." :)

Below is the monument for Willard Richards, who along with Orson Hyde, taught and baptized my great-great-great grandmother, Ann Morris Creer in England. Elder Richards was one of the first missionaries sent to England by Joseph Smith in 1837. He was also 1st counselor int he First Presidency, under the direction of the prophet Brigham Young. In this picture I think my mom is explaining to my brother Chad these facts as well as the fact that my sister Emily is married to one of the descendants of Willard Richards. Stephen's grandfather, Stephen R. Covey (I assume the R is for Richards) is a grandson of Stephen L. Richards, who is a grandson of Willard Richards. So essentially my brother-in-law Stephen's great-great-great-great grandfather taught the gospel to my great-great-great grandmother and introduced our family line to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Hopefully I have all of those greats right. Pretty cool!

Below we are standing by President Harold B. Lee headstone. Yes, we are related, he's a first cousin a few times removed. That's all I can remember.

And of course, the beloved, President Hinckley. We miss that dear man.

It might sound a little strange to hang out at a cemetery or to even think to call it "fun." But it was, I felt so connected to those who have gone before, so grateful for the lives they lived and the sacrifices they made. Because of some of these people and their efforts to build the Kingdom of God, my life here on earth has been tremendously blessed. It's humbling to think about. Seeing the names of the posterity, and feeling the connectedness made me want to live well and love well and work to keep my family connected. Something about being in the cemetery and seeing all of the names and families connected also made me want to have more children. Crazy! Who knows if we ever will, but it was kind of interesting and funny. Who would have thought that hanging out in a cemetery could make you want more children.