Making genealogy a part of family reunions is a tradition many families have, but for one BYU student, his idea of genealogy is a bit different from what would come to most students’ minds.

“For family reunions we usually get together and play genealogy,” said Clay Ogden, 24, an exercise science student from Blackfoot, Idaho.

How to play genealogy would be a mystery for most, but for Ogden, the answer was simple.

“It’s a card game,” he said. “It’s easier to get away with playing it when you call it genealogy, especially when you play it on Sundays.”

He said his family always eats chips with bean dip and drinks a concoction of 7UP and orange juice while they play.

These are only a few of the many traditions Ogden said his family has. Another includes getting T-shirts each year that say “Yellow Pine,” the town where their family cabin is located.

Hearts pound and boots scuffle across the stage as country stars perform to the beat of a fun-loving song, capturing the spirit of the West in tribute to the Mormon pioneers.

Country music star Collin Raye and music group Restless Heart will perform many hits during the Pioneer Day celebration at the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theater in Orem, on Friday at 8 p.m.

Music selections will include “The Bluest Eyes in Texas,” “I’ll Still Be Lovin’ You,” “Fast Movin’ Train” and “When She Cries” by Restless Heart. Collin Raye will perform recognizable songs “Little Red Rodeo,” “Little Rock,” “One Boy, One Girl” and “I Can Still Feel You.”

April Berlin, SCERA operations manager, said the concert will feature some patriotic events to celebrate the state holiday, but this outdoor experience will fit with the Pioneer Day celebration.

On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young and other pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley exhausted, ill and finally at peace.

After years of persecution that resulted in the death of their beloved prophet, Joseph Smith, the Mormon pioneers thought Utah to be a beautiful sight, even “the promised land.” This was their chance to practice their religion peacefully, after much sacrifice and loss.

Today, July 24 is celebrated as Pioneer Day, where many honor their pioneer ancestry and the faith of those who came before.

Amidst going to Lagoon, boating, hiking, barbecues and parades, many BYU students don’t fully acknowledge the true spirit of Pioneer Day.

The bishop calls you in and asks you to take a seat. You know you’re there to get a calling, and you’re bracing yourself to find out which one.

He smiles, leans forward and, much to your surprise, he says: “Will you serve as our ward’s official snow shoveler?”

Without auxiliary programs such as young men, young women or primary, student wards at BYU face the peculiar challenge of inventing callings not normally found in wards outside Provo. And while students sometimes feel their callings may not seem essential, church leaders have said such callings allow members the opportunity to serve and be involved.

“I am the Elders Quorum coordinator,” said Dwight Epperson, a senior from Salt Lake City. My job is to put up the chairs before priesthood meeting, to ask people to say the opening and closing prayers and to write the information down on the chalkboard.”

It’s that uncomfortable lesson in church, the one that blazingly reminds everyone of the importance of member missionary work. It’s the lesson causing everyone to ask themselves, “Am I doing enough?”

At a university with a highly concentrated demographic of returned missionaries, students share mixed views toward the focus and effectiveness of member missionary work in Provo.

“Most people here know how to invite their friends, they just don’t,” said Robert Center, a recent BYU graduate who served in the Paraguay Asunción North Mission. “Mainly because they don’t feel like there is an opportunity but then when there is one, they assume someone else will do it.”

In the Latter-day Saint culture, members learn at an early age about the Word of Wisdom and are encouraged to listen to prophets’ counsel regarding being healthy and physically fit.

With the rise in levels of obesity around the U.S., there is a greater concern about eating healthy and in right amounts.

But being obese does not mean a person is not living the Word of Wisdom.

“Obesity is not necessarily breaking the Word of Wisdom any more than stupidity is sin,” said Brent Top, the department chair of Church History and Doctrine. “There may be a person who does stupid things that brings sometimes negative consequences on themselves but are faithful, righteous people.”

Several factors other than overeating go into obesity, including genetics and medical conditions.

Students were encouraged to focus on finding happiness in the process of obtaining a goal rather than just the end result during Tuesday’s Devotional.

Jeffry Larson, a professor in the School of Family Life, said there are two types of expectations a person can have: expectations for one’s self and expectations for one’s relationships.

“Most of what happens to us cannot be thought of in all-or-nothing terms,” Larson said in reference to the expectations people have. He said thinking in all-or-nothing terms is a common cause of emotional pain because it doesn’t allow for mistakes.

“Much of life is gray,” he said.

Another common cause of emotional pain in setting expectations is overgeneralization, Larson said. People assume something that happened once will happen again, but that is not always the case.