Brittany
Happy happy happy birthday Geoff!!!! I admire you on so many levels. For your absolute love and devotion to your family, for always putting others needs and well-being above your own, for your fun adventurous spirit, for your active interest in others lives, for your hard work and dedication towards helping those less fortunate, for all you've accomplished, for your sense of style, for the way you treat everyone you meet, for your connection to Heavenly Father and our Savior, for the peace you carry and instill in others. I'm so proud to be your sister and I love you!!
Nikki
Happy happy birthday, G! You're dang old, but still got it! For real, though, I love how young at heart you are, how much fun you are, how you love adventure and being a nutball with kids and just living life to the fullest! Your dedication to constantly improving yourself is very admirable. Your sensitivity to the feelings of others and constant striving to terat people like the Savior would is equally as admirable. I love your thirst for knowledge and passion for empowering others. And your'e an amazing dad, husband, brother and friend. Have a great day and a phenomenal time in Europe!
Erica
Happy happy birthday Geoff! A common conversation in our house lately has been about you and how you have channeled your deep love for teasing into something that is so incredibly fun to be around. You are really amazing at self-mastery and changing in really deliberate and positive ways. We hope that some of our little teasers can grow up to be as kind, thoughtful and fun as you! Love you! Happy Birthday!
Ian
Hope your day is awesome, G! I have learned a lot from you--both actual information from talking with you and how to be a better person from being around you and seeing your example. You strike a perfect balance of being smart, considerate, adventurous, thoughtful, in tune with the Spirit, ambitious, empathetic, light-hearted and fully engaged! Love ya, man!
His dad
Geoff, I'm very glad you were born, especially as the first of the Mesha and Keenan issue. I'm gratified that you've repeatedly demonstrated over the your lifetime and intense desire to serve every mission you were sent here to perform! Happy Birthday! I love you. It's wonderful to watch those missions unfold.
Ingrid
Happy birthday, Geoff!!! I love reading all the great things everyone has said about you. You are an incredible person-you are kind and sensitive; you seek to understand; you are introspective and self-improving; you live life fully and enjoy the present moment; you have great ambitions and hopes for the future; you soak in the sunset and the ocean and the sun-warmth and the natural beauty around you; you are a delightful and playful uncle for all the cousins; you are a protector and cheerleader for all of us. I love you tons, and if I were with you today, I would let you shoot a spit-wad into my ear. Happy Birthday!!!
Emily
Happy Birthday Geoff! You are a truly remarkable person and older brother. You always make me feel like a million bucks. You are humble and kind and generous. I sure love you.
Booch
Happy birthday Geoff!! I still cry like I did when you left for your mission every time I have to leave you because that's how much you mean to me and how much I love you! I seriously have looked up to and respected you so incredibly much my entire life, and I think on a consistent basis about how you would approve of different decisions that I make in my life. You lead with so much integrity, thoughtfulness, love, service, intent and humility. It has been such an honor to witness you develop your fabric as a human being that's constantly refining, learning, growing, sacrificing, purifying, and rinsing and repeating these processes until the greatest core of a man is developed. I vividly remember many moments when you could have gotten made in a situation and that I was able to watch you go through your process that was clearly prepared for that moment to change your order of thinking into how you wanted yourself to respond in a positive manner and treat the moment as a learning experience. This was very inspiring for me to witness and it proved how much self development you put into your character. This character has led to making an astonishing impact in the world, your amazing family and our entire family as a whole. I absolutely love hanging out with you and just spending time and I'll never forget our amazing trips that we have taken together. I love your sense of humor and the way you tease us as mentioned. I love your soul. I love your heart and desire to do so much good. I love your effortless leadership. I love your love of adventure and up-for-a-good-time personality. I love your passion for life and I love that I get to call you my brother for eternity. I love you always man! Happiest of birthdays!!
And a written-in email from Tennie to read as we all verbally said what we love about him (I'm so glad we have this in writing, as it captures a bit of Geoff's devotion and sacrifice and love as a dad.)
I love how sensitive dad is to people. He’s sensitive in a way that feels truly empathetic. Across every aspect of his life, and since he was young, dad feels and recognizes other people’s struggles and then will do whatever he can to fix it. Professionally, dad has dedicated his whole life to helping people. He cares about every single person he helps and he wants - on an individual level - for every person to have a good and happy life. And so he’s given so many things away to people on the street. He’s bought huge meals for people who can’t afford their own. I remember a few times he even gave away clothes he was wearing (and clothes he really loved) to people, and I know he wishes he could do that more often. And then with us, and with me specifically, dad has always sacrificed comfort, time, sleep, food, health, and other things that are really valuable to him, for me. I can specifically remember multiple times when dad sat with me at the kitchen table working on an essay or a math problem, both of our eyes drooping, both of us watching forlornly as the oven clock ticked onward towards midnight. I always told him he could go to bed, and he always smiled a tired, loving smile (and I can see it in my head, and will be able to see it forever!) and told me he hoped I would remember this. There have to have been at least a few hundred times I or one of my sisters wanted a muffin or fruit or something dad was eating or saving, and as soon as he caught wind that one of us wanted it, he gave whatever it was to us, no matter how much he wanted it. No matter if it was rationed, and we had already eaten our ration, and he hadn’t. And almost every time I call dad, he answers and says he’s in a meeting but that he can talk for a second.
I can’t really fathom the mind-blowing selflessness he has. He’s so fiercely and sincerely loving and determinedly, quietly, humbly, selfless. I hope I can be more like that when I grow up. I really want to be as selfless and caring and empathetic and thoughtful as dad is. He makes me feel so safe. I can’t imagine getting any more lucky in the dad department.
Happy birthday to a human who’s gotta be just about as good as they come.
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