The Worth of Souls Fall 2006

Transcription

1 South Davis Family History Center 3350 South 100 East Bountiful, Utah (801) Hours of Operation Weekdays: Mon. thru Fri. 9 AM to 4 PM Evenings: Tues. thru Thurs. 7 PM to 9 PM Saturdays: 10 AM to 1 PM The Worth of Souls Fall 2006 From the Director s Desk Several years ago I had the opportunity to take a group of young men and women to the American Fork Training School to participate in a service project. This school is basically an institution for severely mentally and physicallyhandicapped children and adults. Some individuals have lived all their lives within its walls. I met a man there who spent many hours every day slumped over in a wheelchair, his head resting on a tray. His severely crippled body would not allow him to lift his head. He had one eye swollen completely shut. He could not speak, and I wasn t sure if he could hear. I could not imagine what it would be like to be in bondage, in such a body as his, for an entire lifetime. I have often thought of that man. I am sure he has passed away by now and his great spirit has left the bondage of that body. He must have leaped with joy and been embraced by our Father in Heaven. Also in this Issue page Unsolved Mysteries 4 Who & What s New at the Center.4 LDS Training & OnePage Genealogy..5 Location, Location, Location...5 Patriarchal Blessings..6 Internet Research Tips...6 Talks for Today: Keep Your Fork.. 7 I cannot perceive anything harder than to be in bondage whether physical or spiritual. And yet we are told that our ancestors wait in spirit prison for the saving ordinances of the temple to be performed for them. Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. (D&C 18:10 11) Elder Marion G. Romney explains: The impact of this statement that Christ suffered the pain of all men, here given by the Lord to emphasize his high appraisal of the

2 worth of human souls, is sharpened by the realization of the intensity of that suffering. This high value which the Lord puts upon the souls of men as made known in these modern scriptures, he also revealed to his ancient prophets. To impress upon their minds the worth of a human soul, he gave some of them a glimpse of the magnitude of his creations and then explained that they were but ancillary to the accomplishment of his purpose to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39) It was like a shaft of light from the throne of God to our hearts. It opened a field wide as eternity to our minds. It appeared to me that the God who revealed that principle unto man was wise, just and true, possessed both the best of attributes and good sense and knowledge. I felt he was consistent with love, mercy, justice, and judgment, and I felt to love the Lord more than ever before in my life. I felt to say hallelujah when the revelation came forth revealing to us baptism for the dead. I felt that we had a right to rejoice in the blessings of Heaven. These scriptures bring to mind and give meaning to the Psalmist s searching inquiry: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?... For thou hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet. (Psalm 8:3 6) Now the answer to this profound question What is man that he should be of such inestimable worth? comes only by direct revelation from heaven. So important is it that it is communicated to men by God himself and angels sent by him. It was thus revealed in the very beginning to Adam and Eve. In each succeeding gospel dispensation, it has been likewise revealed to chosen vessels of the Lord (Moroni 7:31) that is, to his prophets. These prophets have faithfully borne testimony of the truth revealed to them. This they have done that the residue of men, those who will qualify themselves to obtain it, by the power of the Holy Ghost may come to a knowledge of it. See Moroni 7:32. (Marion G. Romney, The Worth of Souls, Ensign, Nov 1978, 13.) When President Wilford Woodruff first heard the doctrine of baptism for the dead from the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1841, he said: Bountiful Utah Temple After President Woodruff received a revelation and presented it in a general conference on April 8, 1894, he urged: We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents and run this chain through as far as you can get it. This is the will of the Lord to his people, and I think when you come to reflect upon it, you will find it to be true. (James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency [Bookcraft, 1966], vol. 3, pp ) In 1916 President Joseph F. Smith indicated: Through our efforts in their behalf, their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, 2

3 that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties. President Thomas S. Monson explains: I like that word, duty. He did not say rejoice with you in the fulfillment of an assignment, in response to a calling. He said, In your performance of these duties. The Worth of Souls And the great God loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations. Alma 24:14 The person who is working on his or her family history fits the description of one who is fulfilling his or her duty. I know the effort, I know the expense, I know the difficulties through which one may go to uncover one name. I know our Heavenly Father is aware of these efforts. And those for whom we perform sacred ordinances are aware of our efforts. Oftentimes, in a miraculous way, there shall appear before us a clear pathway through a field of turbulence. My brothers and sisters, do not be weary in well doing. If you feel your contribution is small or insignificant, remember that the worth of souls is precious in the sight of God. Our opportunity is to prepare the way, and to accomplish the ordinance work, after faithful research, that these souls may prepare for the glory, which is their divine opportunity. Is it any wonder, then, that when one has received a testimony of this work, he or she has a desire to give so much to its progress and advancement? Is it any wonder that barriers in due time evaporate, as mists before the morning sun, when one has performed the work, experienced that test of faith, and qualified for the desired blessings? ( The Key of Faith, Ensign, Feb. 1994, emphasis added.) May we be about our Father s business, remembering that every individual is precious to Him. And may you be blessed eternally as you seek out your ancestors and perform these saving ordinances for them. Donna Smith, Director South Davis Regional Family History Center Small stone figure on display at the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City. Photograph by Richard G. Smurthwaite Remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. Moroni 10:3 3

4 Unsolved Mysteries A few weeks ago I was watching Unsolved Mysteries on T.V. They were telling about a college professor in Canada who was doing his genealogy and was stuck on a certain family. He had a dream one night that told him exactly where to go to find the information he needed. He was amazed when he followed the dream and found the family he was looking for. The professor sent out form letters to other genealogists to see whether any of them had a similar experience while searching for their ancestors. He received 200 letters back from people who reported similar experiences. The program went on to tell some of these experiences. Announcer Robert Stack said this mystery remained unsolved but concluded, For some reason, these people wanted to be found. Donna Moss North Canyon Stake [B]y its very nature [family history work] is a constant reminder of the worth of a soul. Some have wondered about the efficiency of an endeavor that requires each individual to be identified by name and other verifying data, and then to have his or her saving ordinances performed one at a time. I find this practice welcome evidence that, in the midst of the vast cosmos, our Father in Heaven takes a personal interest in each one of us Jesus, who did nothing but what he saw the Father do, ministered in this very personal and individual way. Can we render a more Christlike service to our ancestors than to identify them, link them into families and perform their temple ordinances, one by one? -Elder Marlin K. Jensen, 1 Aug 2006, BYU Family History & Genealogy Conference. Full text at include/marlinjensen-2006.pdf Who s New at the Center A warm welcome to the newest members of our Family History Center staff: Dee & Audrey Bryant, North Canyon Stake Marjorie Hook, Orchard Stake Dot Keller, North Salt Lake Parkway Stake John & Shonny Russell, North Canyon Stake Faye Wade, Orchard Stake We re so glad to have you! Thanks for sharing your time, enthusiasm, and family history talents with us. What s New at the Center Here are some of the latest additions that you can use at our Family History Center: Digital Imaging System installed Now when you come to the Center to review a microfilm or microfiche that you request from the Family History Library, it s easy to make digitized copies of select pages. With the software for this new computer, you can copy directly to a CD. AniMap Training Video AniMap, a software program installed on all computers at the Center, shows changes in the boundaries of states and counties in the United States over time from colonial days to the present. It can help you determine which county or state records to search for a given town or city at various time periods. To learn how to use AniMap, simply click the icon on the desktop and watch a short video. Database of Marriages in Northern Hampshire, England New Computer Chairs & Wall Décor 4

5 LDS Family History Page A new Family History page has been added to the Church s main website. From the home page at select "Serving in the Church on the left side of the screen. A list of Church auxiliaries will appear. Select "More Callings/Programs," then "Family History." This new page provides information for priesthood leaders on how to administer family history in stakes and wards. It also has links to online training lessons and talks and articles by General Authorities on the blessings of family history. Leonard Plaizier, Computer Specialist, South Davis Regional FHC Help and Training for LDS Family History Consultants Everyone who has been called to serve as a Family History Consultant which includes all FHC staff members should register for training at the Church s Family History site. To register, you will need your Church membership number, ward unit number, and an address. OnePage Genealogy OnePage is part of Digital Roots, a non-profit research laboratory at BYU. If you send them a GEDCOM file of your family history, they can print out a pedigree chart, timeline pedigree, or descendancy chart for you on a single large sheet of paper, suitable for mounting on a wall. The cost for an average chart is $19.95, which includes shipping in a protective tube Rex King Pal Patches Bob Missy_ Bess Location, Location, Location Here s an idea for researching your family history smarter: Research exclusively at one location such as the Giekau parish in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany until you have exhausted the records and family information available at that location. If you stay with a location until you have milked all the records, you will avoid having to relearn a parish priest s handwriting, the historical/cultural context, and other locationspecific aspects of the records when you are forced to return to the locality to complete your research. Also, intensive research in one location often yields finds that are missed if you spend too little time in the available records. Following are some location-specific steps you may consider to maximize your knowledge of each location where you perform research: 1. Join the local genealogical society in the community where you are researching. 2. Network with others doing research in the community. 3. Know what is available in the Family History Library Catalog for your locality and become familiar with each record type for that location. 4. Visit the locality, or talk with someone who has visited the community or lives there. 5. Find out which local libraries or archives contain information relating to your selected community. Know the reference librarian at each of these facilities. 6. Obtain good, detailed maps of the area you are researching. Lyn Creswell North Canyon Stake 5

6 Ancestors Patriarchal Blessings You can obtain a copy of your deceased LDS ancestor s patriarchal blessing in the mail from Church History Archives. Send a request with the following minimum information: 1. The deceased ancestor s full name (include both maiden and married names for women), 2. The ancestor s date of birth, 3. Your relationship to the ancestor. (You cannot obtain records for aunts or uncles but only for direct-line ancestors.) Also provide the patriarch s name, the stake where the blessing was given, and the approximate year of the blessing, if these details are known. The cost for this service is $3.00, payable by check or money order (not cash) to COP. Mail your request to: Church Archives 50 East North Temple Street Salt Lake City, UT (You could also make the request in person, but there is no copying service while you wait; all replies are made by mail. If you do go in person, remember that a photo i.d. is required for admission to the Archives.) Please be patient! This type of request may take more than a month to answer. Internet Research Tips: Military Indexes A helpful directory of links to online U.S. military indexes and records, this site will point you to rosters, databases of soldiers, and listings of military and war casualties for the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam War. (For the World Wars it also has links to some other countries records.) Jane Lane North Salt Lake Parkway Stake Linkpendium A compendium of links to genealogy-related information, Dick Eastman calls this site one of the great unsung genealogy resources for U.S. research. Presently it has 5,106,800 links! It works something like Cyndi s List (another favorite), but Linkpendium is both narrower in range and deeper in its focus. To use the site, first select Localities: U.S. or Surnames: Worldwide from the home page. For a surname search, I entered Kolts a rather unusual surname that was anglicized from the German Kolz. The results were 8 links to Find a Grave, OneGreatFamilyTree, Surname Web, all databases of the Family History Library, the Kolts Family Genealogy Forum, Ancestry.com, and RootsWeb. Predictable results, but when you click on a link, you don t just see the new site s home page. You are instantly taken to the Kolts results at the listed site! Linkpendium's real strength is its pointers to resources at the county level of all U.S. states. For a locality search, I entered Davis County, Utah. The results are several pages long, listed under these main headings: Projects, Biographies & Genealogies (including links to hundreds of GEDCOM files submitted by Davis Co. residents), Cemeteries, Census Records, History (links to articles in Public Pioneer, Wikipedia, Utah History Encyclopedia, County Historical Markers, National Register of Historic Places, NCDC Storm Events, and 10 town histories), Guides to Genealogy in Davis County (4 links), Land Records (BLM), Libraries (3 links), Mailing lists and message boards, Maps, Military Records, Newspaper Records (Davis County Clipper, ), Obituaries & Funeral Home Records, Historical Pictures and Postcards, Slavery, Societies, Transportation, and Vital Records. Try Linkpendium for the county where your ancestors lived! You re sure to find new resources that you didn t even know existed. 6

7 U.S. County Finder A recommended format for entering a United States place name in your PAF program is: City or Town, County, State, USA Often you know the city or town and state but not the county. This site offers a quick way to find it. Simply type the city or town s name in the search box. (The state name is optional.) Mark this in your favorites! However, a caution is in order: Results give current county names. If borders have changed which they frequently did over time you may want to check an historic map or a program like AniMap. DIS Swedish Genealogy Club A nonprofit Swedish club, DIS, is said to be the world's oldest society for computer genealogy. DIS now has a database of more than 11 million names, most of which are connected to family trees. You can join the club for $15 a year a real bargain if you re doing Swedish research! Then if you submit a GEDCOM of your Swedish genealogy, you are given full access to the family trees submitted by other Swedish researchers. Along with a member s password, you ll receive a computer printout showing the names of submitters whose information matched some of the information in your submission. It s fun to contact other submitters, share more details, and collaborate in researching your common ancestors. I ve found the Swedes are especially gracious. They re often willing and able to communicate in English and seem happy to hear from distant cousins in the U.S. Suzanne Brown Assistant Director, SDFHC When an old person dies, a whole library disappears. African Proverb Talks for Today: Keep Your Fork We humans all have differences, but everyone born on this earth has one thing in common we all have ancestors! A few months ago I decided to rise to the challenge of taking a family name to the temple. First I had to organize all the different files, boxes, notes and envelopes that I had collected over the years as I had started to do many times before. I must confess I have had no earth-shaking experiences in my ventures. What I found were the lives of ordinary people who met the daily challenges of their lives. One of my ancestors, a young Danish woman, heard the LDS missionaries while visiting a friend and embraced their teachings. She sneaked out of the house early one morning to be baptized in a nearby pond. When she returned home, her parents were horrified to learn she had gone with those heathens and been baptized. They made her promise never to do that again. In good faith, she promised that she would never, ever be baptized again! My ancestors beliefs were so strong that many of them made the decision to come to America (some as teenagers without their parents), to move west with the pioneers, and to settle in Utah. They were good people. They faced life and death situations, and many lost every material possession. They faced the tragic loss of children and the untimely, early loss of spouses or parents. Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, they were sent south to settle areas in Indianoccupied territories. I have ancestors who built the fort in Ephraim and fought the Indians. A great-grandfather died from infection in an arrow wound. Several helped in building the Manti Temple. Now I live two miles from the Bountiful Temple. It doesn t take much effort for me to go there or to another temple in this area especially when I remember that my great-great grandfather walked 7 miles to Manti to do carpentry work on the temple. As Kelly 7

8 Applegate said, I feel genetically predisposed to accept and believe the Gospel. I believe the veil is thin when we are in need of help in our lives be it through our ancestral guardian angels or close friends who receive a prompting from them of our needs. Our ancestors blessed our lives before we were even born, and they continue to do so. Perhaps our ancestors had a dream that life could be better for their posterity a life where freedoms abound and opportunities are endless. They knew something better would come whether across an ocean, across the continent, or over steep and rocky ridges. What s with the fork? Then I want you to tell them: Keep your fork, the best is yet to come. The pastor s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her, but he also knew that she had better grasp of the future than he did. She knew that something better was coming. The next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come whether in this life or the next. I feel that was the sentiment and feelings of our ancestors and all those who struggled to make a better life. As I think of my ancestors, I m reminded of the story of a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and only had a short time left to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and asked him to come to her house. After discussing the details of her final wishes, she added, There s one more thing, and this is very important. What s that? asked the pastor. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand. The pastor looked at her in astonishment, not knowing what to say. She explained, My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love: In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, Keep your fork! It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming.like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, Looking back and organizing my papers and reviewing their lives made me realize that every single ancestor had a profound impact on my life. They shaped the circumstances into which I would be born. Though I have not had any earth-shaking experiences while searching for my ancestors, I have had life-changing feelings. I now have a deeper gratitude for their sacrifices and the decisions they made. I have a closer relationship to the feelings and emotions they must have encountered. And I often feel a more spiritual and deeper connection to them. I hope to live my life to be an ancestor who my descendants would like to know and be grateful for in some small way. And I might add: Keep your fork! Janean Sonntag North Canyon Stake 8