11,753 Feet

Birthdays are celebrated in many different ways. First birthdays are usually celebrated with close friends and family, but the only thing you want is cake. Of course, you don't remember. By the time you're eight or ten, you might upgrade to a bounce house, water slide, or any sort of the thing. Once you're about twelve or thirteen you become too "cool" for birthday parties. You'd rather just go the mall with your friends, because that's "cool." Spanish girls will celebrate their fifteenth birthday with a glorious Quince! Other girls will have a glamorous Sweet 16 instead.

Well my big 16th birthday was this Friday. I'm not a girl, so no Sweet 16. Thankfully. But, my birthday was pretty atypical. The day was spent hiking to the summit of Mount Timpanogos, elevation of 11,753 feet. The question is, what's the point of that? We hiked and hiked for hours on end, slurping larges amount of water, and munching on obligatory trail mix. Once you reach the summit, the view of the valley is breathtaking on both sides. To one side is the cities of Provo and Orem with numerous buildings and bustling highways. To the other side is a view of mountain meadows, forests, and the descending terrain. Yeah, the whole deal. So you can sign your name in a little book on the top, take some pictures, and then start to go back down the mountain. Other than some cool pictures, there really isn't any substance that you can get. A few weeks ago, I visited Farmington Cemetery, where many of my previous ancestors are buried. Visiting with my dad, he could tell me who each person was in relation to me, but other than that I know little to nothing about any of these people. Not to be depressing, but the lives we live will most likely not be celebrated by society in the years after our passing. So that kind of sets our aim in life.

By hiking up a mountain that sits almost 12,000 feet above my bedroom, I'm not making national news or being applauded by mounds of people. So our aim in life should not be popularity or fame. By accomplishing great tasks, we make ourselves stronger. We bring joy and satisfaction to our life. Things like this bring a certain sense of pride in being one of the only people to accomplish such a task. Doing great things is well, great.

While our accomplishments won't be remembered much in this world, they do count, in the next world. Hiking a mountain is a goal we could set. Our ultimate goal should be to make it back to Heaven with our Heavenly Father. In doing so, we set goals along the way. Before the big hike, training was done on small hills and the proper equipment was acquired. As we move toward our ultimate goal, we must do little things each day. You can't just get to Heaven in a single day, it takes refinement day by day. As we do the things we should, and stay on the right path. As we do that, we get closer to the Mountain. And once we get to the top in Heaven, we don't have to go back down.