2024-07 Jul - Urgency to the Work, and Remembering Our Ancestors

Jul 14, 2024 family history Anthony Hopkins Nicholas Winton One Life Juneteenth Renee Messelin National Archives

Read time: Summary 0.6 minutes | Expanded section: 6.9 minutes | Appendices: 3.3 minutes

Summary Message

Expanded Message

Help with the July Stake Temple “Day” 19-20 July

NOTE: Normally, we do not track ward temple ordinances, but for this event please let your leadership know so they can check how the Stake did against it’s goal of 1,000 ordinances.

Thinking About our Ancestors

June had many articles about Juneteenth. These quotes from Condoleza Rice, former Secretary of State, stuck out to me.

I felt the presence of my ancestors. I said a little prayer of thanks to them—and to God—for the great fortune of being born American. Every year on Juneteenth, my parents and I talked about what our ancestors must have felt the moment they found out they were free and used it as an inspiration to keep seeking a better life here in America. I will celebrate Juneteenth. I will think about my ancestors and what they must have felt when they were liberated from slavery. And I will give thanks for being born in a country where such moral progress is possible.

~Condoleza Rice, former Secretary of State in an article

Story Time - Family History Finds Hidden Identity

Renee Messelin was a member of the first unit of American women soldiers who served in World War I as switchboard operators. She had to hide her identify to get into the unit, yet her full identity remained hidden until June 2024, more than a century after she served. There is a photograph taken in Paris, France in March 1918 with her in it. (Photos help in family history!)

The Army denied Messelin — and every other female soldier —veterans’ benefits upon her return to the States.

An enterprising genealogist, also a retired Navy Captain, is advocating for the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal for the Hello Girls and working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to properly designate their graves.

Click Renee Messelin’s name above to read the full article.

What I Got from the Movie “One Life”

On a recent plane trip I watched Anthony Hopkins act in a true story about an Englishman, Nicholas Winton, saving many children from the Nazis in Prague, in what is now the Czech Republic. At first Nicholas Winton felt overwhelmed, but then he decided to do what he could do. His efforts saved so many children. One line stuck out for me. He said words to the effect of, “We must move quickly.” because the adults helping save the children didn’t know exactly when the German pending invasion would happen. It happened before they were ready. He was not able to save all of the thousands of children in need, but he did what he could and saved hundreds.

If we liken (1 Nep 19:23) this movie to ourselves, doing our parts in missionary work and Temple & Family History work, what thoughts does it prompt for you?

In the gathering of Israel, whether your efforts are missionary-oriented or family-history-oriented (or both), consider the similarities to what Nicholas Winton did right before WWII. Our efforts are also aimed at helping save people’s eternal souls rather than their mortal lives. Like those in Prague, we don’t know how long we have remaining to act. We may not be able to save all of the hundreds of thousands or millions, but we can do our part to save (offer the gospel & the ordinances of salvation) tens, hundreds or thousands over our mortal lifetimes. This is God’s work. Its scope is beyond what we can do alone, just as Nicholas Winton could not save all the children alone. And, like him, we can each do our part. Each person to whom we offer will still choose whether or not to look to Christ, just like those in Mose’s time, each had to chose to look to be healed, which was a type or foreshadowing of the Savior.

The “One Life” movie preview (to avoid spoilers) shows a scene in the film depicting an English TV show 40+ years after WWII in the 1980s, where the TV host says, “Is there is anyone in the audience tonight that owes their life to Nicholas Winton? Please stand up.” And people start to stand. The man turned around to see the impact of his actions. It is a moving scene. Have tissues ready.

When we return home to our Heavenly Father, if that question were asked about our efforts what would happen next about our level of effort in mortality to gather Israel? Who might stand, smiling?

Our urgency is not the impending invasion by a foreign army, but from the current living Prophet of the Lord:

“The Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty”

~ President Russell M. Nelson, Worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018

Will you do what you can do to help?

We all face many requirements & options for our limited mortal time (opposition in all things). As we ask the Holy Spirit for help discerning good, better and best in our life’s current circumstances, we can be guided. Like the children in Prague right before WWII, there are thousands of children of God who cannot do for themselves and who need our help. One person’s effort can make a difference. You effort has an impact.

As you are prompted to help, our Ward’s Temple & Family History consultants stand ready to happily show you various options for helping and how to do the actions you choose to do. Find us in the Family Search center during posted hours or use our contact info to contact one of us.

How Soon Will Our New Temple Be Ready? How Will I Get Ready?

The physical site is selected.

“As temples get closer and closer to the people, you need proxy names. Otherwise, what will you do when you go to the temple?”

~ Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Family History Department, in a Church News Article

President Russell M. Nelson has taught many times that temples are nourished with names.

~ Elder Hamilton

Planning of our new temple is underway.

Those three elements coming together — more records and names being added to the tree, advanced technology and more temples — are hastening the Lord’s work.

~ Elder Hamilton

Groundbreaking of our new temple has not been announced yet. Each of us is preparing for the temple being closer.

Millions of people worldwide — both members of the Church and those not of the Latter-day Saint faith — are adding billions of names to build family trees on FamilySearch.org. That has been staggering to watch.

~ Elder Hamilton

We still have 46% of our ward yet to complete their four generations of ancestors in FamilySearch.org linked to them. This is opportunity for preparing for our new temple.

We are happy to help you get going. Know where you come from.

Our ward is down slightly from last year at the same time in Temple & Family History. Your help matters.

Upcoming Stake Temple & Family History Dates

TIP: RootsTech 2025 announced for March 6-8, 2025 online and in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

More & More Records Added to FamilySearch.org

The gathering of Israel continues until at least the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The Church is collaborating with archives, organizations and volunteers globally at an increasing pace to scan, digitize and publish more previously unavailable collections.

In May, FamilySearch added 5.8 million new records to its free online archives. This happens regularly. The work continues to accelerate.

Why care? “Isn’t our family’s work ‘done’.”

National Archives

Consider the National Archives Site for additional resources.

We have a Ward expert in the use of the National Archives.

Thank you for anything that you do towards Temple & Family History efforts. Your part matters.

Sincerely, Your Ward Temple & Family History Consultants,

(our contact info is in the tools app, or see us in church)

Appendix A - Your Posterity and Cousins Respond Better to Photo Memories, than Merely Dates

Humans are wired for visual images. We respond more easily to photos of history in school than to memorizing dates. The same works for your family too. Do have at least representative photos of your people in familysearch.org?

Appendix B - 20 Reasons Why You Should Write Your Family History

Appendix C - Current Workflow for Family History & Temple Service Work (Reminder of the big picture)

  1. Historical people’s information first has to be digitized (others do this).
  2. We index people’s digitized information so the image can be associated with text, which can be found in computer searches.
  3. We link families' data together in FamilySearch.org (each member’s initial target is 4-Generations found and linked. Later we work cousin lines too.)
  4. We link people’s information (source data) to the right person to help us and others to get to know them better. (new indexed sources being added monthly - The work is not done)
  5. Finally, we can get names to take to the temple and offer them the choice of being linked to their families for eternity in our own pattern of regular temple attendance.

Appendix D - Repository of Older Ward Messages Is Now Available

As a reference repository, see the website with all the older messages about Temple & Family History.

NOT COMMERCIAL: When I bought the domain name, I got interrupted and then mistakenly clicked the button for dot com, rather than dot org. I didn’t want to pay for the domain name twice, so I kept the mistaken domain name. The site is not for commercial purposes despite my mistake.

Appendix E - 2024 Ward Temple & Family History Coordination Meetings

The Stake guidance is to regularly hold a ward/branch Temple and Family History Coordination Meeting. So in 2024, we are doing that.