Oh hey! Remember me?
I gave a talk in my new ward last Sunday. Here it is:
I'm excited to be back in a family ward. It is beautiful to be surrounded by people
from different ages and stages of life. I’ll get to see this first–hand as I’ll be working with
some of your children in my new calling as Primary Chorister.
As a child I grew up in an old home on South Temple; the same one where my
grandmother, Billie Ann Devine grew up. She told us stories about running around the
house with her younger siblings, making rope ladders out of sheets across the second
level staircase, and spending summer nights sleeping in the screened-in porch. But as a
kid myself, my mind was firmly rooted in the present where our own family memories
were being made. We had our own Christmases and voice recitals and parties. I learned
how to ride my bike in the driveway. I choreographed dances on the veranda to the
Titanic soundtrack with my friends. And I climbed onto the roof as a teenager to tan.
I honestly didn’t give too much thought to the prior occupants of the house, even
though they were my own family. Several years ago my dad passed away and my
grandma Billie Ann shortly thereafter. Our family moved out of that old house. Now
older and with added experience, I often drive past that home where a different young
family now lives. I have a more generous mind than I used to, and I think not only of my
own past, but of that of my grandmother and wonder what memories the new family is
cultivating there.
I still have a way to go, but I believe that our ability to see outside of our own
experience into the experiences of others is a Christ-like attribute. To recognize who has
come before us and give thought to those who will come after us strengthens our bond
as an eternal family. Our grandparents and children are not simply ancestors or posterity,
they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Part of the actual assigned topic for this sacrament talk was “How does doing
family history work strengthen our testimony”. Maybe you’ve noticed I’ve taken a
circuitous route to approach this topic, and I have to admit why. I just don’t do family
history work. There certainly are plenty of reminders that it’s something I should focus
on. I think God is nudging me in that direction since one, I was assigned to give this talk
and two, my new apartment is less than a block away from the family history library.
Combine that with the fact that I walk by the temple everyday should be enough of a
sign that family history needs to be a bigger part of my weekly routines. I’m very lucky
though, I have a grandfather and aunts and other family members who are doing so
much of the work already, I’ve justified to myself that if I were to get involved, I’d end up more in the way than anything else. But as I’ve
pondered on this topic, I’ve realized that family history work is far too important to
excuse myself from. There are a few things we can do to help convert ourselves to this
cause.
The first key is to learn about our families and where we came from. A core
purpose of the scriptures is to help us “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and
the heart of the children to their fathers”, (Malachi 4:10). They work to “show unto the
remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers;
and that they may know the covenants of the Lord” (introduction to the Book of
Mormon) As prisoners to the present moment, it can be difficult to cultivate a hope for
the future when so much is unknown. The scriptures provide beautiful examples of
people going being led through trials including financial hardship, infertility, political
uncertainty, and familial strife that still resonate today. Aside from the scriptures, we
have the history of our own families, whether they act as cautionary tales or examples
to emulate, can help us cultivate an eternal perspective and guide us in our own
decisions. One of my friends shared with me how her grandfather was disowned by his
own family when he joined the LDS church. “He immigrated to Salt Lake and his wife and
young son died shortly after they arrived. He had lost everything, but his faith... he
eventually was able to remarry and build a life and teach his kids to work and live the
gospel.” My friend told me that seeing their legacy has helped her want to be more
faithful. Another friend described how the example of her grandmother and how she
was able to follow her example when her own marriage was threatened by infidelity.
Now that my friends and I are facing the same sort of challenges are loneliness as our
ancestors, we can have a deeper appreciation of their lives and what they can teach us.
When we learn more about our families, it doesn’t only strengthen our faith through
their example, but helps us develop a true, Christ-like love for them. When we develop
love, it makes us more inclined to find ways to serve. The church’s focus on family history
gives us the chance to emulate the savior as we bring the opportunity to make and keep
sacred covenants to our ancestors. President Ezra Taft Benson spoke on this subject in a
1983 issue of the Ensign:
“Ours is the privilege of opening the doors of salvation to those souls who may be
imprisoned in darkness in the world of spirits, that they may receive the light of the
gospel and be judged the same as we. Yes, ‘the works I do’—proffering the saving
ordinances of the gospel to others—‘shall [ye] do also.’ How many thousands of our
kindred yet await these sealing ordinances? “It is well to ask, ‘Have I done all I can as
an individual on this side of the veil? Will I be a savior to them—my own
progenitors?’ “Without them, we cannot be made perfect! Exaltation is a family
affair” (“Because I Live, Ye Shall Live Also,” Ensign, Apr. 1993, 6).
When we do family history it strengthens the links between the past and the
present. In reality, if we are true believers in eternity, than we understand that the past
is just as much a part of our eternity, as the present and the future. When we choose to
research the history of our families and gather information to perform ordinances and
make covenants on their behalf in the temple, we are participating in a type of holy time
travel. Just as Christ atoned for our sins before our birth, we can bring help bring eternal
blessings to our loved ones after death.
So much of our society is focused on what we can build for ourselves today instead
of what we are creating for others and our common future. The gospel is all about
attending to the needs of others as a way of sanctifying our own soul. Some of my favorite
lines from Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” come from the ghost of Jacob Marley. It
reads:
“any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its
mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness… no space of regret can make
amends for one life's opportunity misused!” `But you were always a good man of
business, Jacob,' faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.
`Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. `Mankind was my business. The
common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were,
all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive
ocean of my business!'
Family history brings our focus to the business of mankind. As we look at the
legacies of those who came before us, we can’t help but examine what type of actions
we are taking today. What are we doing now that can guarantee a bright future for the
families that will come after us? Everyday bring us new opportunities to be generous
with others. To be active and informed citizens and neighbors. To be better stewards to
our earth. And to make space for those who are marginalized or forgotten. Building our
present and appreciating our past is all for naught if we are not focused on mankind as
our business, like Jacob Marley said. President Benson said, “Exaltation is a family affair”.
Our family is not limited to our own nuclear homes, but extends to everyone.
If it is God’s purpose is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”
(Moses 1:39). Then it is our purpose to help with that work. In an April 2016 general
conference talk, President Eyring said “It is because our priesthood obligation is to put
our families and the families of those around us at the center of our concern. Every
major decision should be based on the effect it will have on a family to qualify for life
with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. There is nothing in our priesthood service as
important as this… As we are faithful in our service to help Heavenly Father’s children
to go home to Him, we will qualify for the greeting we all so much want to hear when
we finish our earthly ministry. These are the words: “Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).”
