family history

The Promises Made to the Fathers

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Elijah Appearing In The Kirtland Temple, by Dan Lewis.

Elijah Appearing In The Kirtland Temple, by Dan Lewis.

My father is on the High Council in the Riverton Utah Stake, and this past Sunday he was asked to speak in a ward about the temple and family history work.  He sent me his talk, and I thought it was good and thought provoking.  I thought you might like it too.  -Bryce

By Mark Haymond
November 15, 2009
Riverton 11th Ward

At the first of October, just last month, I had the privilege of traveling with other members of our stake and even President and Sister Higbee back to the important sites in early Church history. We visited the birthplace of Joseph in Sharon, Vermont. We visited Harmony, Pennsylvania, where the Prophet Joseph and Emma first lived after they were married. In the home in Harmony most of the Book of Mormon was translated and revelations were received. Just behind that home, not fifty yards, are the banks of the Susquehanna River where John the Baptist laid his hands on Joseph and Oliver’s heads and the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood was bestowed upon them. While Joseph and Emma lived in Harmony, the Apostles Peter, James and John came to the earth and laid their hands on the heads of Joseph and Oliver and bestowed upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and the holy Apostleship.  [Read more…]

The Importance of Temple Work

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The sealing power has been compared to links in a chain which bind families together eternally.

The sealing power is compared to links in a chain which bind families together eternally all the way back to our father Adam.

Last week I was asked by our bishop to present a 10-15 minute portion of a lesson today on the importance of temple work in our combined priesthood/relief society meeting.

Our stake is preparing for a “temple month” theme for January, and our meeting today was meant to inspire us to be thinking about family history, genealogy and temple work and to do more of it.  Our bishop wanted me to present some general information about the reason for the temple and why the work performed there is of such supernal import. After my part of the lesson, two sisters were to give instruction on family history work, FamilySearch, indexing, and preparing and submitting names to the temple.

Since I only had about 10 minutes, I considered carefully what I wanted to present to introduce this topic.  Below are the notes from my portion of the lesson:  [Read more…]

Computer Technology Given to Mankind for Temple Work

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Elder Robert D. Hales, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Robert D. Hales, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve gave the devotional address at the beginning of Education Week at Brigham Young University today.  Deseret News reported on his talk.

His talk was mainly about gaining knowledge through a lifetime of learning, especially spiritual knowledge.  He used the example of Michael Phelps Olympic gold records were only possible by building on previous accomplishments.

One of the points he particularly noted was that by increasing our knowledge and capabilities throughout life, we can bless the Church and its work.  He gave an example of family history work.  Deseret News reports:

In the 1970s, Elder Theodore H. Burton presented the concept of computers being used for family records and research. “He was even bold enough to teach and proclaim that the computer technology was given to man for his use to hasten the day of family history, genealogy and temple work.”

His proclamation was met with reservations about the size and expense of computers for personal use and how few Latter-day Saints would be able to afford or operate them. Other concerns were the complexity how to make them compatible with temple records.

“All seemed to be reasonable reservations for their time,” he said, yet “today, we are embarking on a new era of family history computer technology.”

He then related details about the New FamilySearch which is being put into place as we speak, and is currently available in half of temple districts around the world.

The lesson in that story is simple, he said. “Never dwell or hold on to the past or attempt to protect your comfort zone against the inevitable changes that will be required to meet future advancements. … Our endings only usher in our new beginnings. The ending of one era ushers in a new era. Lifelong learners do not dwell on the past.

“Past learning creates a valuable foundation of experience upon which to build, not a comfortable place to dwell for a lifetime.”

He then said some valuable words to mothers, that they too can be lifelong learners.  I recommend you read the story at Deseret News.  I look forward to a transcript of his talk.

[Update 8/20/08: An mp3 (audio) format of his talk is now available here.]

[Update 9/8/08: A video (wmv) format of his talk is now available here.]

[Update 11/17/09: Here is the transcript of his talk.]

The New LDSJournal.com Service

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LDSJournal.com website

Every once and a while I discover things that I think are so relevant that I will share them here, even if they are not directly related to temples. The new LDSJournal.com website and service is one of those things. It stands out to me as something very useful and timely. (No, I wasn’t paid to post this.)

I saw an ad in an LDSLiving email about this website, and I was interested so I visited the site. I was immediately struck by how well put together the site is. The design and development of the site are top notch. It is rare these days to come across such a well-designed site, but congrats to the LDSJournal team for accomplishing the feat very well. I also appreciated the respectful use of quotes from the General Authorities on the subject of the importance of journaling, and other reasons why journaling might be beneficial to you spiritually, physically, and for your family history records on the “Why LDSJournal” page. [Read more…]

New FamilySearch to Advance Temple Work

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New FamilySearch.org websiteFor those who may not know, for the past few years the Church has been overhauling and rebuilding FamilySearch, one of the world’s premiere family history and genealogy websites, to expand its features and functionality significantly. It has been several years in the making, and is slowly being rolled out to members in selected temple districts across the world. From what I have been able to gather, the new FamilySearch will enable members to do much more family history and temple ordinance preparation work from home online. Some of the new features will include:

  • Add, correct, and manage family histories online
  • See what temple work needs to be done for ancestors
  • Prepare names for temple ordinance work at home over the internet
  • Easily see ordinance information and status of work in progress
  • Significantly reduce duplication of research and ordinance work
  • Correct personal submissions/data in real time
  • Dispute the submissions of others
  • Work collaboratively with family members and relatives
  • Find living relatives not known to exist
  • Print temple ordinance cards at home ((http://www.beyondproject.org/2006/06/12/the-new-familysearch/))

The new FamilySearch has not been rolled out to [Read more…]