Monday, July 18, 2011
Personal History
Greg Livingston
My first memory consists of me playing outside with my brothers and our dog. I remember playing with a fox tail, a toy that we threw up high in the air to catch it. It waved and we watched in amazement. I remember running down the street with my dog, Oliver, who was a good dog. Shortly after Oliver got into a fight with another dog, and was bit. He had to be put down, and that was a very sad thing for me. I did not like not having a dog. I loved him, and my brothers and I were very sad. I started to get angry at the dog that bit poor Oliver, so I decided I would do something about it. I found some shear clippers in the garage, and thought I would try my luck with the Doberman a few doors down. Needless to say, I did not get far with those clippers. He did not like the look of me coming at him. I learned very quickly that I could not do that. He bit me on the top of the head, and gave me a rather large gash. Somehow I got away, or maybe was rescued, and then I was taken to the hospital. Seventeen hours I waited there, and enjoyed it about as much as one would think. After a long time waiting, I’m sure my parents were tired of succoring me, I finally went in to get my head torn apart again to stitch it up properly. I still have a large scar, but it is in my scalp, so it is hidden by hair luckily.
I hate to say that this even set the stage for my life, but this is as far back as I can remember, so I must start from here. I was traumatized from this experience, because I was a very sensitive boy. I did not like to fight, and did not like to get on people’s bad side. Many of my aunts, and uncles, and my grandma and grandpa have told me that I was just a nice, happy boy. My grandma Sisco(Smith), said that I was the happiest boy anyone ever saw, I would laugh, play, and just enjoy being alive. My aunts and uncles tell about how I would play with them, and all the fun times we had together. I loved to help my Mom out with chores, and cleaning up. I also loved to be with my “Grandma with the brown hair,” or my “Grandma with the white hair.” They both treated me like a king, giving me whatever I wanted. They spoiled me. I took advantage of this because of course my parents would not do the same. Sometimes when I was over at my “Grandma with the Brown Hair’s” house, I would organize the shoes. I watched grandma do this, so I organized the shoes in the right spot, and spaced them apart at the right distance. One time, my mom did not know where I was, but then she saw that I had organized the shoes, and her worries went away.
Once it was thanksgiving, and I had just eaten a roll. I loved rolls. Right after dinner when all the kids went out to play, I came up to my grandma and said, “can I have another one of those wonderful balls of bread?” Of course everyone laughed about how this was said, and still laugh today about it whenever we have rolls for dinner.
Many home videos show how I was a chubby boy. I was a very fat baby, weighing eight pounds when I was born, and that fat carried with me. I was always a little chubbier until I reached about age four or five. When I could finally walk, my mother could not keep me down.
My dad told me about times when he would have to tie the rooms together at night, because “ The boys would go “exploring” at night and I had to keep them in their rooms, so, I tied them together with a rope,” so says my dad. I can remember back to the fun times we had in our house in California, we loved to help dad with all of his endeavors. Building trailer accessories for the boat to sit better, tying down the boat cover was always a chore, it was very hard for our little fingers to tie the knots tight with the thick rope.
My parents have many photos of the great times we had going to chop down Christmas trees during Christmas. We would walk the long walk to find the best and tallest tree we could. We would then get help from dad to put together the saw to cut down the tree. We would start, and not make very much progress before our dad came in and finished the work that we had barely started. Dad was a strong believer of doing things ourselves. Why would we go out and buy a Christmas tree when we could go out and cut one down? I was taught to use this philosophy. To this day I still want to do everything on my own. I never take my car to a mechanic unless it is something impossible for me to fix. Other than that I change my own brakes, oil, tires, filters, and anything else that is relatively easy to fix.
Our home from about age 4 to age 8 was Sacramento, California, where we loved. We lived right across a lake called Folsom Lake. We lived in El Dorado Hills. At the time it was a very quiet, dirt road, horses roaming around type place. We enjoyed a few acres of land, where we played all day. We loved to catch lizards, snakes, quails, turkeys, ducks, and anything else we could find. We would put everything in a big bucket, and they would all fight until we finally either let them out, or they crawled or jumped or slithered out of the box. We loved exploring the different areas in the huge backwoods behind our property. This is what I remember about that house, just running around barefoot, catching things, getting dirty, and just being boys. My older brother and my younger brother would go out, and build big forts with sticks and logs, and anything we could find to build a fort.
We loved Sacramento, and a memory my parents reminded me of was when my dad would wake me up early in the morning and throw us in the boat in our sleeping bags. We would wake up when the sun came out, and our dad would be sitting there with a fish on the line. He would let us real it in, and we would love trying to help him get the hook out of its mouth and try and catch another fish. We fished all over the place, and my dad was very, very patient in letting us get snags and getting our snags out and tying a new knot on and switching lures, and get untangled and all the many other things I am sure he enjoyed most about fishing with us.
We were very sad to leave Sacramento, however Dad got a job offer in Park City, Utah to start a development building Condominiums in a neighborhood. We went and that is around the time my life changed drastically. Many of my aunts who saw me all the time said that I changed from being a friendly and happy boy to being a sad, shy boy. I had no friends, and I did not know where I was. I was in a new place full of cold ice, and snow. In recess I remember just walking outside kicking ice and trying to stay warm with a huge stuffed Chicago Bulls jacket. For some reason that was the one I liked the best. After a while I found my first friend in Utah, Scott Wall. He was nice to me, and we were friends in the ward. He and I found that we were in the same grade and in the same school. We then started to race each other in fifth grade. We were both pretty fast, and almost always tied, but everyone knows I was always a little faster.
I learned to enjoy the snow, and gained an appreciation for skiing. I found a way to fit in to Park City by skiing and becoming quite good. My passion was skiing and I did not think about much else in high school. Of course I liked chasing after girls, but I would rather go skiing than chase girls. I found that I did not like team sports at that time in my life because I was not good at them, and I had no friends to help me enjoy it. All throughout high school I kept skiing and skiing and did not think about anything else. I did realize however that I could not make a career out of it, so I started getting jobs, and worked in San Francisco, Alaska, and in many different places in Park City.
I then worked my way to preparing to go on a mission and went to school at BYU-Idaho, the best University on the planet. I learned a lifetime of lessons of course on my mission, and my family always tells about how different I am. They tell me how proud of me they are, and what great things I am doing with my life. This has always been music to my ears. It makes me very happy to hear that someone is proud of me, I am not sure why. When I returned, I was eager to study and accomplish much with my life, as I still am. I met the most wonderful, charming, and sweet girl, who is righteous. Samantha Jean Lee came into my life, and I have felt different ever since. I fell in love with her in a semester, and the next we were apart, while I was working two jobs in Park City. In that time, and in the few weeks after returning to BYU-Idaho, I prayed and received a confirmation that it is a good thing to get married to her. There is the easy part, next came asking her. I asked her by writing in flowers in the sand dunes the words, “Marry Me Sam?” This went over quite well. We got engaged May 28th, and have been planning and scheduling and trying to complete schoolwork, and working all at once ever since. Sure we are stressed, but we can’t wait to be married. I love her, and can’t wait to have many hard, and good times with her, hopefully at the same time.
Testimony
I believe in Christ. I believe He is my savior. He is the only One who can bring me to salvation. I have come to love and rely on Him. The more I get to know Him, the more I wonder about how it is possible that He can atone for all of us. I know the Lord is the Savior of the world. He has made it possible for all of us somehow, to live with him again one day. The Lord loves me so much, and does not ever let me get into trouble unless I ask for it. He has kept me very safe all of my life, and I am very grateful for that. He has cared for me even when I have had no idea He is doing so. He has a perfect capability of knowing exactly what I need and when I need it. He allows me to learn in the best way possible, and gives me life lessons that stick with me if I let them. I love the Lord, and what he has done for me is amazing.
The Lord has established his church here on the earth once again. He has placed prophets and apostles to preach His words. I know that the Priesthood of God is the only power and authority that allows us to perform the saving ordinances in the correct way and with the correct authority. The power that the Lord has restored upon the earth is the only power that can bring us back to Him and our Heavenly Father. I love the Lord and strive to obey what He commands. I know that I am weak, but He can make me strong where I am weak.
The Lord has established his church here on the earth once again. He has placed prophets and apostles to preach His words. I know that the Priesthood of God is the only power and authority that allows us to perform the saving ordinances in the correct way and with the correct authority. The power that the Lord has restored upon the earth is the only power that can bring us back to Him and our Heavenly Father. I love the Lord and strive to obey what He commands. I know that I am weak, but He can make me strong where I am weak.
Views of Life
View of Life
I have views of life that are constantly changing in some aspects and never do in others. I will explain the views that never change first, and then the ones that constantly change. I have always been trying to find the best views of life to have, some of which is influenced by others, and some of which I come up with in my head. Usually the ones that I am influenced with are the good ones.
Views of moral standards never change. I believe in a firm and strict obedience to what I know is right. I know that I am weak, and if I do not follow the rules, I will not succeed. I do not think to ever change my moral values and standards. That is a part of who I am. I feel it defines me. I cannot be the same person, even have the same personality if I do not stick by my moral standards.
I also believe in following the Lord, and his followers. I know that I can trust Him, and try not to ever abandon his judgment. I want to be like him, but realize it is impossible without him, and will not be able to unless I am constantly trying to be better. I want to always do the right thing. It is something that is inside me. It always is the question of my thoughts also. If I am doing what is right, 100%, I am happy, and feel satisfied. If I am not, I cannot feel comfortable. I cannot let things slide. Sometimes it is a curse, because I become as the Pharisees.
I come from a family that serves in the church, and only accepts success. I will succeed also. I know that I have it in me. I do not want to let my parents down, and my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and everyone that is around me. I have very high expectations of myself, and sometimes it is a little too much. Sometimes I expect perfection of myself, which is obviously not a rational expectation. My family on both sides makes me proud to be their descendant. I want to be like them, and make them proud. I worry about making people proud of me a little too much sometimes. As I want them to say to me that I have done a good job, I do not feel adequate sometimes to do what is expected of me. I have become someone who demands a lot of obedience, and discipline. Because of that I believe I have become too serious of a person. I have become someone who does not joke around enough. I need to lighten up sometimes. I am also too hard on myself.
My view of politics is that it is very hard to create a government and political system without the spirit, and a perfect organization as the Lord would set it up. It is so hard in fact, that I find it not useful sometimes to even look at the different sides of politics. I am conservative, and believe in the pursuit of what someone wants and needs to do. I do believe that there should be a balance of what one can do. The laws are important to keep an order somewhat.
I believe the Economy is a little off. If we could have free trade we would be better off. It would create a very high incentive for working and everyone would produce more. There are many people in the United Stated who need to work harder, but they do not because the Government takes care of them with our hard work. I realize that it is not easy to change, but I believe that having free trade would solve a lot of problems. These problems such as, the government taking too much money from us and using it wrongfully, and “free-Loaders” who do not work, but receive money, are problems that could be solved through free trade. I believe that there are also difficulties along with that with the virtue of the people however. The laws do help to keep some crime down and some are protected because of them too.
History is something that everyone should learn. I do not like it, I find it boring, and hard to understand, but I believe it is a very important part of everyone knowing what we can do to not repeat our own mistakes. I think it is necessary for everyone to learn who they are, and where they came from in order to figure out where they are going. I think we can learn so very much from the past. Take the scruptures for example. They teach us of what has happened. They allow us to learn from the mistakes and successes of others. We are the same as the people in the past, the only thing that has changed is technology. We should all learn our heritage, and also learn from the past constantly. I believe we can use history as a tool in order to learn more, and be much, much wiser if we learn it from someone who has been through it.
I think, overall the family relationships are the most important thing to focus on. If I could pick one thing to do well at, it would to have a strong family, and love them. I think there are many things that take away from the beauty of a family in this world, and many things don’t allow us to have joy in the family like we could, but I also believe that if we work hard and do not give in to the temptations of the world, we will prevail. The Lord is on our side, and that is the most comforting thing I can think of in my life.
I have views of life that are constantly changing in some aspects and never do in others. I will explain the views that never change first, and then the ones that constantly change. I have always been trying to find the best views of life to have, some of which is influenced by others, and some of which I come up with in my head. Usually the ones that I am influenced with are the good ones.
Views of moral standards never change. I believe in a firm and strict obedience to what I know is right. I know that I am weak, and if I do not follow the rules, I will not succeed. I do not think to ever change my moral values and standards. That is a part of who I am. I feel it defines me. I cannot be the same person, even have the same personality if I do not stick by my moral standards.
I also believe in following the Lord, and his followers. I know that I can trust Him, and try not to ever abandon his judgment. I want to be like him, but realize it is impossible without him, and will not be able to unless I am constantly trying to be better. I want to always do the right thing. It is something that is inside me. It always is the question of my thoughts also. If I am doing what is right, 100%, I am happy, and feel satisfied. If I am not, I cannot feel comfortable. I cannot let things slide. Sometimes it is a curse, because I become as the Pharisees.
I come from a family that serves in the church, and only accepts success. I will succeed also. I know that I have it in me. I do not want to let my parents down, and my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and everyone that is around me. I have very high expectations of myself, and sometimes it is a little too much. Sometimes I expect perfection of myself, which is obviously not a rational expectation. My family on both sides makes me proud to be their descendant. I want to be like them, and make them proud. I worry about making people proud of me a little too much sometimes. As I want them to say to me that I have done a good job, I do not feel adequate sometimes to do what is expected of me. I have become someone who demands a lot of obedience, and discipline. Because of that I believe I have become too serious of a person. I have become someone who does not joke around enough. I need to lighten up sometimes. I am also too hard on myself.
My view of politics is that it is very hard to create a government and political system without the spirit, and a perfect organization as the Lord would set it up. It is so hard in fact, that I find it not useful sometimes to even look at the different sides of politics. I am conservative, and believe in the pursuit of what someone wants and needs to do. I do believe that there should be a balance of what one can do. The laws are important to keep an order somewhat.
I believe the Economy is a little off. If we could have free trade we would be better off. It would create a very high incentive for working and everyone would produce more. There are many people in the United Stated who need to work harder, but they do not because the Government takes care of them with our hard work. I realize that it is not easy to change, but I believe that having free trade would solve a lot of problems. These problems such as, the government taking too much money from us and using it wrongfully, and “free-Loaders” who do not work, but receive money, are problems that could be solved through free trade. I believe that there are also difficulties along with that with the virtue of the people however. The laws do help to keep some crime down and some are protected because of them too.
History is something that everyone should learn. I do not like it, I find it boring, and hard to understand, but I believe it is a very important part of everyone knowing what we can do to not repeat our own mistakes. I think it is necessary for everyone to learn who they are, and where they came from in order to figure out where they are going. I think we can learn so very much from the past. Take the scruptures for example. They teach us of what has happened. They allow us to learn from the mistakes and successes of others. We are the same as the people in the past, the only thing that has changed is technology. We should all learn our heritage, and also learn from the past constantly. I believe we can use history as a tool in order to learn more, and be much, much wiser if we learn it from someone who has been through it.
I think, overall the family relationships are the most important thing to focus on. If I could pick one thing to do well at, it would to have a strong family, and love them. I think there are many things that take away from the beauty of a family in this world, and many things don’t allow us to have joy in the family like we could, but I also believe that if we work hard and do not give in to the temptations of the world, we will prevail. The Lord is on our side, and that is the most comforting thing I can think of in my life.
Goals and Plans
Goals
My goals in life are simple, yet the ways to get there may not be so simple. My goals are to get married, complete school, start my own business, raise great righteous children, and to worthily serve in the church in whatever calling the Lord has for me. I will discuss the goals I have, and my plans of how to get there.
First I will discuss getting married. I have already done the hard part, I found a very wonderful and righteous woman who is willing to marry me. Samantha Jean Lee and I are engaged to be married in August. We are very excited, and are planning everything every day. We have a lot of things to plan and prepare, but we are well on our way to having everything planned out to the T. I am very happy with how things are going, and am very excited to be with her forever.
Next, I would like to finish school studying Business Management. While in school I plan to gain the education to be able to provide for my future family. I am not sure yet if I will go back to get my Master’s degree, but I know I want to be able to understand the business theories, and how everything works in a business. I want to be able to start my own business and I realize that an education is crucial to my long term success.
Starting my own business is another goal I have. I would like to be able to run a business with just a few partners. It is a passion I have, to create an organization that pulls in money. I know that I have skills, and natural tendencies to be good at organizing and leading, and I want to grow that skill that I have been blessed with. It is really something I have always wanted to do. I plan to get an education, and then start working for someone who is in a similar field as the one I want to go into. After I have gained experience, I will start my own firm. I realize that it is necessary to understand what I will be doing, and I believe that working for someone and being there with the first hand work will give me a huge foot forward to be able to start my own business and rely on what I have leared.
One of my most important goals is to raise great, righteous children. I believe there is nothing more important in life actually. I want to teach them in many different ways, including example, hands on, scripture study, and many other ways to ensure they have all the spiritual nutrients they need to grow healthily in the gospel. If I didn’t do anything else right in my life, I would want to provide for my children in every aspect of what they need. I will work with my wife and we will teach them together. I plan on giving them more importance than anything that can come my way in life.
Another of the most important goals I have is that of serving worthily in whatever calling the Lord wants me to serve in. I will try my hardest to always do what Is right, and help others come to know what I know. I want to help others become the best people they can be. I believe fulfilling one’s calling is a very good way of receiving blessings.
I plan to achieve my goals through help from the Lord, and my future wife, and my family. I realize that I cannot do anything alone really. There is not much I can do on my own, which I think is a great blessing. I plan to work hard at whatever I do. I know that the Lord will bless me and my family if I work hard and do what he want me to do. As I pursue my goals I hope to become a better person and not go backwards.
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