2024-01 Jan - The Rescue

Jan 10, 2024 family history rescue

Read time: Summary 0.5 minutes | Expanded section: 18 minutes | Entire message 18.5 minutes

Our Savior said, And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19 (fishers of people is an apt analogy of gathering Israel on both sides, on both missionary work AND temple & family history work)

Summary

• Why now?
• Love drives this rescue work
• Likening the 1856 Rescue of the Willie Handcart Company to Temple & Family History work rescuing the captives
• A link to a moving CNN story of a 9-year old rescued by an immigrant
• Capable of rescuing by wearing the Armor of God in preparing records and attending the temple
• The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of rescue
• How each “group” might help (we call can help here a little and there a little)

Why now? Why more urgent?

1. The new Temple is coming soon. The Lord is in his holy temple (Hab. 2:20)
2. For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? (1 Cor. 14:8)
   • Prior to 131 years ago, armies signaled troops across battlefield distances using trumpets (aka Bugles)
   • The Prophet and Apostles have sounded their trumpets as watchmen on the tower, that’s our signal to perform, we’re enlisted until the conflict is over (hymn)
   • Our prophet said in April 2019, “We need to get up off the couch, put down the remote, and wake up from our spiritual slumber. It is time to put on the full armor of God so we can engage in the most important work on earth. It is time to “thrust in [our] sickles, and reap with all [our] might, mind, and strength.”
   • Paul said in Romans 13:11 Now it is high time to awake out of sleep
3. The Lord, through his Prophets, is providing more temples than at any time in the history of the earth.
   • Jesus said in Matthew 24: 32-33
     • 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
     • 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
4. It is January, when many people set goals for new or strengthened efforts, new outcomes for the new year. So this message is a bit longer to frame the work.

Love is the Motivator

• “The Lord loves you. He always has. The Lord wants you to come back. Your promised blessings are still in place.” ~ President Henry B. Eyring Apr 2023
• Elder Russell M Nelson, Apr 2010, “When I think of the love I feel for each member of our family, I sense, to a slight degree, the love that our Heavenly Father bears for His children.”
• Every human being who comes to this earth is the product of generations of parents. We have a natural yearning to connect with our ancestors.
• When our hearts turn to our ancestors, something changes inside us. We feel part of something greater than ourselves. Our inborn yearnings for family connections are fulfilled when we are linked to our ancestors through sacred ordinances of the temple.
• Gone are the days when only specialists do this sacred work. No matter your situation, you can make family history a part of your life right now. Primary children can draw a family tree. Youth can participate in proxy baptisms. They can also help the older generation work with computers. Parents can relate stories of their lives to their posterity. Worthy adult members can hold a temple recommend and perform temple ordinances for their own kin.
• Temple & Family History work enables members to perform ordinances for our deceased ancestors, as they may choose. Those ordinances can bring liberty to captives on the other side of the veil.

Likening the 1856 Rescue to Today’s Gathering of Israel

• Let’s reason together (Isaiah 1:18) and apply Nephi’s pattern of likening to themselves God’s communications (scripture, guidance from prophets (Amos 3:7) and apostles) in our context (me, here, now) for ‘profit and learning’ (1 Nephi 19:23).
• In October 1856, many members went out and rescued the Willie Handcart company.
• Rescue means to save someone from a dangerous or distressing situation
• “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17)
• A prophet of God asked people to go save them.
• Pres. Brigham Young said “That is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people. I shall call upon the Bishops this day. I shall not wait until tomorrow, nor until the next day
• Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley said, “there were hundreds of men, women, and children scattered over the long trail. … They were in desperate trouble. Winter had come early. Snow-laden winds were howling across the highlands. … Our people were hungry; their carts and their wagons were breaking down; their oxen dying. The people themselves were dying.”
• Press Hinckley said “Stories of their rescue need to be repeated again and again.
• Referring to the pioneers, President Hinckley also said: “I will never get over being thankful to them; I hope you never get over being thankful to them. I hope that we will always remember them. … Let us read again and again, and read to our children or our children’s children, the accounts of those who suffered so much” (Church News, 31 July 1999, 5).
• President Nelson said Gathering Israel is the most important work now.
• Elder Eyring said, “There seems to be no end to the Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is constancy in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that His message will reach those willing to accept it. And those means always include sending the message by the mouths of His prophets whenever people have qualified to have the prophets of God among them. Those authorized servants are always charged with warning the people, telling them the way to safety.
• The Willie Handcart company couldn’t save themselves. God asked others to help save them.
• APPLICATION: Our people can’t save themselves. God is asking us to help save them.
  • What experiences have you had involving someone else rescuing you?
    • When I was a little boy, my family left me behind. 30 min later my family came back rescued me. It was scary, but I was happy they rescued me.
  • How did you feel when you were in need of help?
    • There have been times in my life when I needed another person’s help. Nothing to the degree of the Willie Handcart company, but in need.
    • Moving CNN rescue story.
      • The linked story of this 9 year old needing help is moving.
  • How did you feel when someone came to your aid?
    • I was grateful for their help.
    • Pres. Hinckley said, “As the rescuers appeared on the western horizon breaking a trail through the snow, they seemed as angels of mercy. And indeed they were. The beleaguered emigrants shouted for joy, some of them. Others, too weak to shout, simply wept and wept and wept.”
    • Many people helped in their small way to save the Willie Handcart company, not just those who personally went there
      • We can help save our people even if we are still preparing to personally go to a temple to do the ordinance work. We can find them and record as much of their story as possible for others to help with the ordinance until we’re ready.
      • ‘We want you to receive them as your own children, and to have the same feeling for them’ (quoted in Hafen, Handcarts to Zion, p. 139)”

Put on Armor of God for Safety During the Rescue

• The rescuers put on their armor against the cold weather (coats, gloves, scarves, hats)
• Each of us who put on the whole armor of God will be able to withstand and overcome evil while on the Lord’s errand Ephesians 6:11, 13
  • As sovereigns, choosing to yield to the Highest Sovereign is our highest act of choice. It is the only surrender which is also a victory! The putting off of the natural man makes possible the putting on of the whole armor of God, which would not fully fit before! (Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Apr 2001)
• Once we don body armor, we communicate (we decipher what is the signal/message and what is noise/static/distraction).
• “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers”
• In warfare (both temporal and spiritual), distraction, diversion and deception are common tactics of adversaries. These draw attention away from the opponent’s main effort making it harder to respond at the right place and time. Such tactics are intended to have the other side concentrate their strength and resources in less effective places that allow the main effort more success than it might have had they clearly seen how the battle was arrayed.
• Our spiritual adversary uses distraction and diversion to great effect.
  • In what ways do you see this at work?
  • Recognition of the adversary’s opposition patterns aids effective decision making as we move forward towards Christ.
  • Our current prophet quoted Nephi about this 40 years ago in Oct 1984
    • “O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish. “But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.” (2 Ne. 9:28–29)
  • “We cannot and we must not allow ourselves to get distracted from our sacred duty. We cannot and we must not lose focus on the things that matter most.” (Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Apr 2009)
  • Our current prophet has pleaded with us to increase our personal revelation from the Lord in preparation for things coming. Personal revelation can help us see past distractions, diversions, and outright deceptions. The Liahona is the mental picture as we move forward in the armor of God.

Commitment to Rescue

• We can be like Reddick Newton Allred who stayed when other rescue wagons left to return to Salt Lake before completing the rescue of the Willie Handcart company, we have access to communication with God through prayer and the still small voice and we can filter out the Korihors of today.
  • Reddick Allred was one of the rescue party sent out by Brigham Young to bring in the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies.
  • During a pause in the blizzard-like conditions, some “thought that either the handcart companies had wintered over somewhere or had perished. They decided to return to the Salt Lake Valley and tried to persuade everyone else to do the same. Even more tragic, each wagon they met coming out from Salt Lake they turned back as well. They turned back 77 wagons.” (Elder Henry B. Eyring, Apr 1997)
• Our loving God blesses us each General Conference with inspired counsel. We can also pray for personal revelation. We choose whether to listen and obey. We can choose safety in counsel of our priesthood leaders.
• Elder Jeffery R. Holland said in 2020, ‘As Russell Nelson has demonstrated all of his life, that those who “wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength [and] shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; … they shall walk, and not faint.”’
• “Imagine how Joshua, the successor to the great prophet Moses, must have felt, knowing that he was to lead the children of Israel to the promised land. At times I’m sure he wanted to give up. But the Lord comforted him by reminding him three times to be strong and courageous (see Joshua 1:6–9).” Sister Cook counseled, ‘“Be strong and of a good courage” and never, never, never give up!’ (Mary N. Cook, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, Apr 2010)
• Jesus Christ is the light.
  • To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)

Rescuing Changes the Rescuers

• The experience changed those who helped save them.
• President Hinckley described part of rescue, “‘Three eighteen-year-old boys belonging to the relief party came to the rescue; and to the astonishment of all who saw, carried nearly every member of that ill-fated handcart company across the snow-bound stream. The strain was so terrible, and the exposure so great, that in later years all the boys died from the effects of it. When President Brigham Young heard of this heroic act, he wept like a child, and later declared publicly, “That act alone will ensure C. Allen Huntington, George W. Grant, and David P. Kimball an everlasting salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of God,
  • The three 18 year olds had physical strength and carried so many people over the icy cold waters.
• Each of us have different strengths, talents which we can apply in rescuing. Every little bit helps.
  • I’m sure the Lord blessed them for their sacrifice to save others
  • During our recent Christmas Eve sacrament service, we were all blessed by those who took of their own time and prepared, then provided singing, bell choirs, and piano. They applied their talents and blessed others. This principle applies to gathering Israel on both sides of the veil.

Gratitude for the Rescuers

• Those rescued and saved were so incredibly grateful

• As the rescuers appeared on the western horizon breaking a trail through the snow, they seemed as angels of mercy. And indeed they were. The beleaguered emigrants shouted for joy, some of them. Others, too weak to shout, simply wept and wept and wept. (Pres. Hinckley’s description)

• Everything about Temple & Family History is in Preparation to Offer Saving Ordinances

  • Like the serpent of brass Moses directed to look and be saved from the poisonous serpent bites
  • In True to the Faith we read: “An ordinance is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. [The] ordinances [that] are essential to our exaltation … are called saving ordinances. They include baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing.”

• I am still grateful to all those who helped in my own conversion (rescue) to the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ as they gathered me.

• I am grateful that I have been blessed to attend the House of the Lord for my own ordinances by those authorized and who hold the priesthood keys from the Lord.

  • I want that for my people on the other side.

• APPLICATION: Because the Savior has saved me, how can I help offer that to others?

  • Elder Quentin L. Cook said in 2014, ‘Temple and family history work is not just about us. Think of those on the other side of the veil waiting for the saving ordinances that would free them from the bondage of spirit prison. Prison is defined as “a state of confinement or captivity.”’
  • As the only member of my family before me who is a member, I can’t help but wonder what all those ancestors think while they wait for their own ordinances. That thought gives me a sense of urgency in Temple & Family History efforts.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a Message of Rescue

• President Gordon B. Hinckley testified of the rescuing mission of the Savior: “It is because of the sacrificial redemption wrought by the Savior of the world that the great plan of the eternal gospel is made available to us, under which those who die in the Lord shall not taste of death but shall have the opportunity of going on to a celestial and eternal glory. “In our own helplessness, He becomes our rescuer, saving us from damnation and bringing us to eternal life. “In times of despair, in seasons of loneliness and fear, He is there on the horizon to bring succor and comfort and assurance and faith. He is our King, our Savior, our Deliverer, our Lord and our God” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 78; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 54).
• “Our mission in life, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ,” said President Gordon B. Hinckley, “must be a mission of saving” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 78; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 59).
• King Benjamin taught that only in and through the name of Christ can salvation come unto the children of men (see Mosiah 3:17)
• Stories of their rescue need to be repeated again and again. They speak of the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• APPLICATION: We rescue on both sides of the veil

  • Living: we can help offer rescue to family members, friends, and others through our simple daily efforts to love, serve, and teach them.

  • Pres. Hinckley went on…

    • There are people, not a few, whose circumstances are desperate and who cry out for help and relief. Ours is a great and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed them if they are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for truth and righteousness.
    • There are those who were once warm in the faith, but whose faith has grown cold. Many of them wish to come back but do not know quite how to do it. They need friendly hands reaching out to them. With a little effort, many of them can be brought back to feast again at the table of the Lord.
    • A small kindness can bring a great blessing to someone in distress. Why are missionaries happy? Because they lose themselves in the service of others.

  • Dead: We can help them by offering saving ordinances for them to accept or reject.

We Are Asked to Continue the Gathering

• Behind us is a glorious history. It is bespangled with heroism, tenacity to principle, and unflagging fidelity. It is the product of faith. Before us is a great future. It begins today. We cannot pause. We cannot slow down. We cannot slacken our pace or shorten our stride. (Pres. Hinckley)
• We can do our small pat to help offer freedom to them
• Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free. (D&C 128:22)
• Elder Quentin L Cook of the 12 Apostles said in 2014, “The essential doctrine of uniting families came forth line upon line and precept upon precept. Vicarious ordinances are at the heart of welding together eternal families, connecting roots to branches.”
  • How can we share our strengths?
  • What is our part in this great work?
    • For as we have many members in one body. So we, being many, are a one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, (Romans 12:4-6)
    • And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary (1 Corinthians 12:21-22)
    • The Lord has need of each of us, regardless of our current circumstances. He is aware of you and your needs. He uses the service he asks of us as a means of growth, development, and blessings. He needs you to help rescue those beyond the veil.
    • Elder Holland pleaded “Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.” (Oct 1999)
  • As for me, I will help gather Israel.

We All Can Contribute a Bit

• For those who are looking for more fruitful use of the Sabbath day for the family as a whole, the hastening of this work is fertile ground. (Source: Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)
• Almost half of our ward does not yet have their 4-Generation Chart done in Familysearch.org
  • Elder Cook continued in 2014, “65% of adults did not have all four grandparents listed. Remember, we without our roots and branches cannot be saved. Church members need to obtain and input this vital information.”
• How might each of us consider tithing a percentage of our time to Temple & Family History as we all prepare for the new Temple?
• Reach out to ward Temple & Family History Consultants for help making your 2024 plans or to make progress in a particular gap area.
• “Now ask yourself this question: “What do I need to stop doing and what do I need to start doing to be more perfectly aligned with the Savior?” Acting on the answers to this question will help you begin to live more abundantly. Start there.” Kevin W. Pearson, General Authority Seventy
• Like scripture study, a little regularly is more effective than a lot in bursts. Think tithing more than climbing a mountain once.

Youth

If the youth in each ward will not only go to the temple and do baptisms for their dead but also work with their families and other ward members to provide the family names for the ordinance work they perform, both they and the Church will be greatly blessed. Don’t underestimate the influence of the deceased in assisting your efforts and the joy of ultimately meeting those you serve. The eternally significant blessing of uniting our own families is almost beyond comprehension. (Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)

Young Adults

How can you help others in your family use the technologies to do Temple & Family History work?

Single Adults

• How can you tithe a portion of your time to the gathering of Israel?
• The Lord will bless you for your efforts, whatever effort you offer.

Students

How can knowing about how your ancestors dealt with difficult challenges help you to persist when your academic load seems too heavy to bear?

Parents with young children

How can you incorporate your forebears into family activities this year to help your children know where they come from?

Empty Nester’s

• This is your time to shine in Temple & Family History work.
• If you have checked and your own family already has its ordinances, and has captured everyone’s stories, and you know them without looking up their record…
• You can help someone else in our ward get their 4-Generation Chart done (Ward Consultants can help you help others)

New Members

You who have joined God’s kingdom recently (1, 3, 5, 10+ years):

• Temple & Family History work “strengthens the spiritual roots of new converts”, said Russel M Nelson
• You stand in a unique spot
• Like me, you may be the only person in your family who can (or who is willing) to rescue your people.
• This is joyful work.

Other Situations

For those feeling like the exception rather than the “rule”…

• For those whose eyes no longer work well enough to do this work directly, who can help you record stories of your family that will bless future generations.

• For those still working towards a temple recommend, you can still participate in the Gathering of Israel by preparing records of your families, and adding sources to your people to strengthen their record.

• For those who feel like beginners in Temple and Family History work, start with your 4 Generations in familysearch.org.

  • I remember how excited I was to complete my own four generations as an adult. It felt like a good accomplishment. You can contribute to your own people by helping record these linkages to you.

• For those less comfortable with technology…

  • Begin with an empty cardboard box
  • “The new FamilySearch system enables a consultant to perform all needed computer functions for you, including preparing names for the temple. About 60,000 consultants serve throughout the world. One in your ward or branch can be very helpful to you.” (Elder Russell M Nelson, Apr 2010)

God Blesses Us

• President Nelson has said:
  • As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with greater charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self-discipline, peace, and rest.
  • In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.

Closing

• May each of us be willing to do our small part in the rescue called “the Gathering of Israel” in these latter days.

• Echoing Elder Alvin F. Meredith III of the Seventy in Oct 2021, “I testify that Jesus is our Savior and our Redeemer and our Rescuer.”

• Pres. Nelson said in Oct 2023, “He can comfort us, heal us, rescue us in times of need.” And “ When you make choices, I invite you to take the long view—an eternal view.”

• While temple and family history work has the power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living. It has a refining influence on those who are engaged in it. They are literally helping to exalt (RESCUE) their families. (Elder Russell M Nelson, Apr 2010)

• Thank you for anything you choose to do to help prepare for the Temple and Gathering Israel.

P. S.

• The intent of these messages is not as a guilt trip, but rather as a reminder of the grandeur of the vision and scope of the work God asks of his children as we prepare for the Savior’s second coming, and the urgency our Prophets have indicated.
• Discouragement is the adversary’s pattern. The bigger picture can inspires commitment for what we can do, one step at a time, little by little.
• With our hand in the Lord’s hand, all things are possible as we keep trying and practicing Christlike love and service, we can help unite families through family history and temple work and be blessed too.

“Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that” ~ President Russell M. Nelson, 2018