In honor of Father’s day, I’m going to share one of my favorite moments with my Dad.

My dad drove me to an early morning seminary class for about four years straight. Every morning we were in the car before six am, usually freezing in the dark of a North Dakota winter. Although it was worth it to make this journey every morning, it wasn’t a time for deep conversation. We were tired and the drive was usually spent in a silence that was occasionally broken with the sound of yawning. On this drive were two stoplights and several stop signs, all of which were obeyed with precison by my father who neither speeds nor runs anything with the color red on it.

One dreary morning we were especially sleepy and rather lost in our own half awake thoughts when we approached a stop sign. It said stop and we did. There is no traffic in Fargo North Dakota at 5:55 am. There wasn’t a single car on that road, let alone crossing the intersection and yet there we were idling lazily, obeying the bright red stop sign. The trouble was, that sign never turned to go, and so there we sat in an obedient stupor, for about two full minutes before we both looked at each other in slow realization and confusion and then started cracking up.

This is my Dad.

My dad is the kind of man who is 100% reliable. In a world where almost no one’s word is their bond, his still is. He will always do what is right and will always go the extra mile to help someone in need. He is a person who sees a need and fills it, usually without having to be asked. He just does what he can to make improvements and usually never expects anything in return.

He is a man who has served his country, thankfully returning from a year in Iraq, a tour of duty that ended an over 20 year service to the US Military. He lives with the utmost integrity, never afraid to call something as he sees it, and is always ready to humbly, but powerfully defend the truth. He is quick to share his belief in God, but never pushy. He is even quicker to live his belief in the Gospel, which is probably why so many people allow him to share it with them. My dad is everything the world wishes men still were: hardworking, honest, good, able to fix just about anything, faithful to his family and to his God. If every man on Earth was more like my dad, the world would be an infinitely better place for it. As it is, he is a rare gift, and I was blessed to be raised by him.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!