Today is a banner day.  Today (4 March 2017) is the 50th anniversary of my baptism.  Fifty years ago I was relieved of all my sins, received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and embarked upon my happy journey through life.  I was very much aware of the monumental significance of those events as they took place a half century ago, but I’m even more aware and grateful today.

I was baptized and never looked back.  I’ve never had a less-active period.  I’ve served in probably hundreds of callings, and have had a positive influence on innumerable lives.  Best of all I’ve been enabled to show my 10 children how to happily live their lives.  It gives me unspeakable satisfaction to see them all doing better than I did.

I have 50 trophies to show for my 50 years of membership in the Church.  These are my grandchildren.  I expect to be able to look down upon them 50 years from now and see them all happy and stable in the Church.

I’m astounded at what the Lord has done with insignificant, incapable me.

He put me in leadership positions, and made me equal to the tasks.

He turned a shy, trembling boy into a speaker to whom people like to listen.

He made me able to write and to express myself well with pen and paper.  I’ve written numerous books.  I’ve written them for the instruction of my children.  (1 Nephi 19:3).

I am a set-apart temple ordinance worker.  As such I have the authority to do the most astonishing things in the temple.  The blessings that I’m authorized to pronounce on people’s heads in the temple are truly breath-taking.  Four days ago as I officiated in the initiatory ordinances I was overwhelmed with the thought that the Lord would entrust to someone such as I the authority to represent Him, to act in His stead, and to pronounce astounding, far-reaching blessings that will be recognized and honored in the eternities, and which open celestial doors to the thousands of people for whom I’ve officiated.

Even more importantly, I’ve been able to extend these same blessings to many hundreds of my own ancestors and their posterity.

Why me?  Of all people, why me?

I was baptized 20 days short of my 20th birthday.  In 20 more days I’ll be 70 years old.  I know not how much more time I have left on earth.  I expect to have another 20 years; but who knows, and who knows what the quality of those years will be?

Therefore, I have a push on to accomplish some goals.  In the next 16 months I will finish indexing 50 years of general conference.  That’s 100 conferences and perhaps 4,000 talks.  I’ve read them all, taken them apart, and minutely indexed each one.

I’ll complete the sixth volume of Danny’s Book, and will have every story that has been told in general conference during the past 50 years accessible to my posterity.

I will have read the Book of Mormon once for every year of my life.

I will have completed two more books of my own writings to add to the nine already printed.  These are in addition to the 57 volumes of journals on my shelf.

I’m hopeful that by the end of June 2018 I will also be debt free.

I only hope that having achieved these goals I don’t become bored, unused, unhealthy, or incapacitated.  My kids don’t need me much any more, but hopefully the Lord will use me.  Hopefully, through my books, I will leave behind a legacy that will bless my posterity for the next thousand years.

Postscript, 31 August 2018:  I am 71 years old.  Last spring I completed my 71st reading of the Book of Mormon.  I’m now on my 72nd reading.  In May I completed The Speakers’ Index to 50 Years of General Conference.  Completing that enabled me to complete Danny’s Book, Volume VI.  I also completed my latest volume of essays entitled I Have No Greater Joy.  All three of these books are in the hands of Kevin Bradford waiting for him to have time to ready them for publishing.  Hopefully they’ll be ready for distribution to my children by Christmas.

And a couple of days ago I paid off the last $3,200 that we owed on our car.  That was our last debt.  We are debt-free, and I have reached my goals.