The Inheritance of Knowledge

The Kirton–Niner Family Legacy

I have come to understand that our inheritance is greater than property, wealth, titles, or earthly kingdoms.

It is knowledge.

When I search for my ancestors, I am not looking for a crown to wear. I am looking for the people whose lives came before mine, whose choices contributed to the generations that followed, and whose stories deserve to be remembered.

Through my Mother and her Garrett family, I am discovering a proposed ancestral path reaching back through the House of Stewart, Marjorie Bruce, Isabella of Mar, and Robert the Bruce.

Through Corey, another proposed path reaches the same Scottish king by way of Margaret Bruce and the Sutherland family.

These histories remind me that two people can come from different branches of a tree and still share ancient roots.

But my eternal family means something more to me than proving royal ancestry.

As a Latter-day Saint, I believe God is our Eternal Father, Jesus Christ is our Savior and elder Brother, and the Holy Ghost helps us recognize truth.

I understand the Priesthood as God’s authority, not a possession inherited through an earthly bloodline. Through sacred covenants and the sealing power, our family relationships have an eternal purpose.

Our responsibility is to seek truth, preserve knowledge, honor agency, and make those sacred opportunities available to the generations before and after us.

I think of Corey and myself as the trunk of a living willow tree. Our ancestors are the roots beneath us. Our children are the seeds, free to establish their own roots and grow into trees of their own.

We do not own our ancestors, and we do not own our children’s futures.

We are stewards of what we have received.

That is what I want to pass forward: not the power to rule, but the knowledge to understand; not the demand to believe, but the freedom to learn; not merely a family name, but a family history worth preserving.

Our knowledge of the past is part of our inheritance. What we choose to do with that knowledge becomes our legacy.

From our house to yours — the Kirton–Niner family.