![\"20111011c\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anensignwaving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/20111011c.jpg?resize=462%2C698\")
Well, hi there! Welcome to my abode here on the interwebs.\n<\/p>Well, hi there! Welcome to my abode here on the interwebs.\n
You might be wondering about the name.\u00a0 A little background is in order.<\/p>\n
I am an Ensign.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Not as in\u00a0a nice gospel metaphor<\/a>, but literally. Growing up in the Latter-day Saint Church, I always loved my last name.\u00a0 It stood as a constant reminder of who I am, and to stand as a witness of what I believed.\u00a0 I love the pioneer heritage of my name.\u00a0 For example, my great-great-great-great grandfather, Samuel Ensign was a carpenter on both the Nauvoo and Salt Lake temples.\u00a0 He gave his life in service, literally, as he died in a tragic accident during the construction of the latter.\u00a0 Those beautiful wooden doors on the west side of the Salt Lake Temple where countless wedding photos have been taken?\u00a0 They are his handiwork.\u00a0 Over the years I have thought a lot about my name and the legacy I have the privilege and responsibility of carrying forward.<\/p>\n When I was a baby, my paternal grandparents were killed in a small plane accident along with three of my father\u2019s siblings.\u00a0 While I never had the honor of getting to know them in this life, I often feel that they are near.\u00a0 I feel connected to them, and try to live my life in such a way as to make them proud.<\/p>\n Back in the late nineties, I happened to cross paths with\u00a0Elder Dallin H. Oaks<\/a>, who was a good friend to my grandparents.\u00a0 We were at the Salt Lake International Airport, and my aunt saw him across the way and pointed him out to us.\u00a0 To this day I am not exactly certain what came over me, but\u2013 completely out of character\u2013 I approached him and introduced myself.\u00a0 I can still remember the details of that conversation so long ago.<\/p>\n \u201cExcuse me,\u201d I inquired, \u201cbut are you Elder Oaks?\u201d He graciously spent the next couple of minutes chatting with me, telling me what wonderful people my grandparents were, inquiring after my parents and my current experience as a student at BYU.\u00a0 It has been one of the most pivotal conversations of my life.\u00a0 Believe me, hearing an apostle praise your grandparents\u2019 legacy really drives home the importance of honoring your family name.<\/p>\n I am reminded of the experience of President George Albert Smith, who in his youth was visited in a dream by his grandfather, George A. Smith, who had passed away.\u00a0 He asked young George, \u201cWhat have you done with my name?\u201d\u00a0 President Smith responded, \u201cI have never done anything with your name of which you need be ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, unfortunately, I cannot say that if my grandparents or other beloved ancestors asked me that same question that I could respond in the same manner that President Smith was able to do.\u00a0 I have deep regrets in my life.\u00a0 I am terribly aware of my imperfections and weaknesses.\u00a0 But I can say that today, here and now, I am doing the best that I can.\u00a0 I continue daily to do as President Gordon B. Hinckley frequently counseled\u2013 to try and be a little better.\u00a0 Certainly, some days are better than others.\u00a0 But, as we are often reminded, it is not necessarily where we are on the path that matters so much but rather that we maintain an upward trajectory toward our ultimate destination.<\/p>\n As we press forward in this manner, we honor Him whose name we covenant to take upon us each week when we partake of the sacrament.<\/p>\n I love the words of\u00a0Elder Mervyn B. Arnold\u00a0<\/a>from the October 2010 Conference:<\/p>\n In that glorious day when we stand before our beloved Savior to report what we have done with His name, may we be able to declare: \u201cI have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.\u201d \u201cI have honored Thy name.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n That is my wish too.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s in a name? During the April 2011\u00a0General Conference,\u00a0Elder Jeffrey R. Holland<\/a>\u00a0chose to speak on being \u201can ensign to the nations<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 In the closing minutes of his address, he spoke of messengers called from before the foundations of mortality to wave the Gospel to all the world.<\/p>\n As he said these words, Bryson suddenly grabbed my arm and started waving it in the air. \u201cUmmm,\u00a0what<\/i>\u00a0are you doing?\u201d\u00a0 I asked. At that moment I groaned and rolled my eyes, but over time I have thought about those words more than once.\u00a0 Now, I certainly don\u2019t claim to be an \u201censign to the nations.\u201d\u00a0 Not in the slightest.\u00a0 But I do strive to become a disciple on whom the Lord can rely.\u00a0 I work each day to do my family\u2019s legacy justice.\u00a0 I study and pray so that I will be a mother who, as Sister Julie B. Beck has described, stands as a \u201clioness at the gate<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n I am a work in progress. And so here I stand, an Ensign.\u00a0 Waving.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, hi there! Welcome to my abode here on the interwebs. You might be wondering about the name.\u00a0 A little background is in order. I am an Ensign.\u00a0 Not as in\u00a0a nice gospel metaphor, but literally. It\u2019s my maiden name. Growing up in the Latter-day Saint Church, I always loved my last name.\u00a0 It stood […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1923","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P77Mfu-v1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1923"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1990,"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1923\/revisions\/1990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/anensignwaving.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIt\u2019s my maiden name.<\/p>\n
\nHe stopped and looked down at me.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes.\u201d<\/i>
\n\u201cWell, my name is Tiffany Ensign,\u201d I explained, \u201cand I believe you knew my grandparents, Dave\u2013\u201d
\n\u201cAnd Carol!\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 he exclaimed, finishing my sentence for me.<\/p>\n![\"OLYMPUS](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anensignwaving.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/sunrise.jpg?resize=890%2C666\")
<\/p>\n
\nA whole lot.<\/p>\n
\nI looked at him in complete and utter bewilderment.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI\u2019m waving an Ensign,\u201d he grinned back at me.<\/p>\n
\nI am reaching, I am growing.
\nI am becoming.<\/p>\n