2021-04 Apr - What does a Dog Not Retrieving Balls have to do with Family History?

Apr 7, 2021 family history indexing

Hello from your Ward Temple & Family History Consultants:

I will start this month’s message with a short story.

Our retriever doesn’t bring balls back. Any ball we throw, she chases it. Then she sits with it out in the yard wagging her tail. At some point she leaves the ball in the yard and wants us to throw another ball. Even with a bag of many tennis balls she doesn’t bring balls, she only goes after them. Perhaps she thinks that the ball bag automatically refills itself rather than a person picking up balls (before it is time to mow the grass)?

Now on to the April message, “Why Temples & Family History”. A year ago in Apr 2020 Conference, President Nelson said,

“While worshipping in the temple is presently not possible, I invite you to increase your participation in family history, including family history research and indexing. I promise that as you increase your time in temple and family history work, you will increase and improve your ability to hear Him.”

Also a year ago, Elder Bednar stated,

“the ordinances performed in temples are essential to the sanctifying of our hearts and for the ultimate exaltation of God’s sons and daughters. …Turning the hearts of the children to their own fathers, conducting family history research, and performing vicarious temple ordinances are labors that bless individuals on both sides of the veil. As we become anxiously engaged in this sacred work, we are obeying the commandments to love and serve God and our neighbors. And such selfless service helps us truly to ‘Hear Him!’ and come unto the Savior.”

Elder Bednar went on to say,

“Consider the hastening of temple work that has occurred just during the lifetime of President Russell M. Nelson. When President Nelson was born…the Church had six (6) operating temples. …96% of the existing temples have been dedicated during President Nelson’s lifetime;…in 2020, we have 168 operating temples.”

More recently, at the Apr 2021 conference, President Nelson announced 20 new temples. The prophet has said the Lord is hastening his work. The hastening work is in all areas of the Lord’s work, including temple and family history work.

All these new, renovated, and existing temples offer the church an increase in capacity to hasten the work of performing ordinances for our selves and those who have passed on. Our kindred dead, living on as spirits on the other side of the veil, can choose whether or not to accept the vicarious ordinances we offer in their behalf the temples in mortality. When temples reopen, we can go and serve there. We can also prepare before we go to the temple.

When many Saints go to all these temples to hasten the ordinance work, how many will go only hoping that someone else brings all the names? Are there parallels with my dog’s tennis balls?

Can we do a little better to gather names of our ancestors? Can family history and indexing work help us to prepare for the increase in capacity of the Lord’s temples and the hastening of the work of ordinances for our ancestors?

We invite us all hear to the prophets voice and choose some portion of our time to consistently tithe to the Lord in this part of his work, his vineyard, so to speak. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.

If you are willing, but don’t know where to start, the Ward’s temple and family history consultants to able to help.

The Lord has provided more of us over a year of training and experience using in Zoom and other similar virtual presence technologies. So ward consultants can use these tools to help you in your house (virtually), looking over your shoulder, as it were, to help you with a specific challenge. I’m not talking about a class, but actually working with you on your family history until you’re ready to do more on your own. We’re here to help you learn to fish for ancestors and index more records which provide more names. Contact one of us to help you get started fishing.

Even if you’re experienced in family history and you’re stuck on that one person seemingly without a way forward, there are other avenues to aid this great work. Finding others in that person’s life can help find information about the person you’re stuck on. To continue to serve, cousin lines abound. New sources are being indexed that need you to attach the new sources to your people. More indexing is needed for the tsunami of records being digitized worldwide. If you’re experienced, indexing reviewers are needed to check the work of other indexers.

Cool video introduction to indexing: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2013-03-0001-indexing-is-vital?lang=eng

If experienced, consider an appropriate amount of time & talent (effort) you can tithe to the hastening of the work. No one will judge you. Any effort you can give help this eternal work.

If new to it, Family History research may seem scary at first, but you don’t need to be intimidated because we will walk with you to get started with specific steps you can take. Getting started is the key. The beginning of any journey begins with the first step. What you can do now with your current skills and knowledge is needed as the work hastens. If you want more skills and knowledge, Ward Consultants can help with that too. We invite you to participate with what you know now.

Your Ward Temple & Family History Consultants