2024-09 Sep - Constant Revelation

Sep 1, 2024 family history constant revelation line upon line workflow Tim McGraw

Read time: Summary 0.1 minutes | Expanded section: 9.5 minutes | Entire message 9.6 minutes

Summary

Expanded Message

Upcoming October Stake Family History Celebration

Our Stake will host a community-wide and stake-wide Family History Celebration in October. The director of the Family Search Center has the details. The Stake calendar shows it is from 10 am - 2 pm on Saturday, Oct 26th at the Stake Center. Please drop by. You don’t have to stay the entire time. Stop by, whether for the keynote speaker or for one or more of the many organized events. Perhaps invite people in the community to come with you. It won’t be as big as Root Tech in Utah, but it is local. You’re sure to learn and even the kids will enjoy some of the events.

Constant Revelation

Do we notice the constant influence of the Holy Ghost? I didn’t initially. I had to pause and reflect backwards to see it clearly. I’ve noticed the still small voice at key moments, but I hadn’t really pondered more frequent guidance even in what some might see as the mundane moments too.

In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

~ President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church, Apr 2018

Elder Bednar said we are in constant revelation.

The gradual increase of light radiating from the rising sun is like receiving a message from God “line upon line, precept upon precept” (2 Nephi 28:30). Most frequently, revelation comes in small increments over time and is granted according to our desire, worthiness, and preparation. Such communications from Heavenly Father gradually and gently “distil upon [our souls] as the dews from heaven” (D&C 121:45). This pattern of revelation tends to be more common than rare and is evident in the experiences of Nephi as he tried several different approaches before successfully obtaining the plates of brass from Laban (see 1 Nephi 3–4). Ultimately, he was led by the Spirit to Jerusalem, “not knowing beforehand the things which [he] should do” (1 Nephi 4:6). And he did not learn how to build a ship of curious workmanship all at one time; rather, Nephi was shown by the Lord “from time to time after what manner [he] should work the timbers of the ship” (1 Nephi 18:1).

~ Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Apr 2011 (emphasis added)

In the context of Temple & Family History, I have experienced this pattern of revelation about which person to link together to parents or spouses on their familysearch.org page. Once you get the basics down (navigating the user interface, copy & pasting, etc.) there are the puzzling parts, questions about whether this really should be linked to so-in-so or not.

In my Temple & Family History service, I don’t typically have big beams of light, like Joseph Smith did as a boy, but instead a regular stream of “this not that” assistance when merging people on familysearch.org.

Sometimes I’m blessed to see small things in various records that more strongly indicates a family linkage.

Both the history of the Church and our personal lives are replete with examples of the Lord’s pattern for receiving revelation “line upon line, precept upon precept.”

~ Elder David A. Bednar

At first I didn’t even notice, because it seemed so integrated and simple.

The very “simpleness of the way” (1 Nephi 17:41) of receiving small and incremental spiritual impressions that over time and in totality constitute a desired answer or the direction we need may cause us to look “beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14).

~ Elder David A. Bednar

When I realized it was revelation, I wondered why I hadn’t noticed at first. For me, it feels more here a little, there a little than all at once. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t really notice at first. But when I noticed, I was grateful for the heavenly assistance.

We many times receive revelation without recognizing precisely how or when we are receiving revelation.

~ Elder David A. Bednar

Elder Dushku shared insight about this last April Conference.

And yet, every one of us is different. No two people experience God’s light and truth in exactly the same way. Take some time to think about how you experience the light and Spirit of the Lord.

Rather than sending us a pillar of light, the Lord sends us a ray of light, and then another, and another. Those rays of light are continuously** being poured down upon us.

~ Elder Alexander Dushku, Of the Seventy, Apr 2024 (emphasis added)

Studying about personal revelation provides my path forward. I will just do the best I can and trust God to help with impressions. I have found that as I act on them, they continue.

In many of the uncertainties and challenges we encounter in our lives, God requires us to do our best, to act and not be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:26), and to trust in Him.

~ Elder David A. Bednar, (emphasis added)

How wonderful that God reveals constantly in many small, unspectacular ways, like in Temple & Family History service.

Sometimes the spirit of revelation will operate immediately and intensely, other times subtly and gradually, and often so delicately you may not even consciously recognize it. But regardless of the pattern whereby this blessing is received, the light it provides will illuminate and enlarge your soul, enlighten your understanding (see Alma 5:7; 32:28), and direct and protect you and your family.

~ Elder David A. Bednar, (emphasis added)

At the last General Conference, we were reminded about a warning about a “spiritual trap.”.

President Spencer W. Kimball warned, “Always expecting the spectacular, many will miss entirely the constant flow of revealed communication.”

Rather than sending us a pillar of light, the Lord sends us a ray of light, and then another, and another.

~ Elder Alexander Dushku, Of the Seventy, Apr 2024, (emphasis added)

God leverages our strengths to help achieve his goals in preparation for the second coming of our Savior.

Temple & Family History is His work, not ours. It is not merely a fun family activity or a hobby. It is serving the Lord and helping achieve His purposes. It is His work of linking the entire human family together. The Church General Handbook, section 28, states, “Uniting families for eternity is part of God’s work of salvation and exaltation.”

We get to partake in this great work of God as we are willing.

God can make the willing able, but he cannot make the able willing.

~ Elder Dale G. Renlund, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, In a local leadership training, Aug 2024

What a blessing to us while serving others. It adds meaning and impact! I am grateful for it.

Ward members, both adults and youth, can unite in meaningful service to bless the lives of others.

~ Elder M. Russell Ballard, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Apr 2011

If we’re willing, Temple & Family History service can help us come unto Christ, and to withstand the storms of mortality.

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. Helaman 5:12

May God bless you for any work you do in His service. This is His work. It matters. And that through that service, may you be able to come closer to Christ, our savior, building on that rock as the rains, floods, and societal difficulties come down.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. (Matthew 7:24-25)

Service to our God also increases my internal peace even in the midst of this world and its challenges.

He [The Holy Ghost] will guide and protect you. It means you will never be left comfortless or without access to the power of God to help you. What an anchor to our souls are these truths, especially during these times when the tempest is raging.

~ President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Apr 2020

See the topic Revelation to go deeper.

Reminder. Current Workflow for Family History:

Think Inputs and Outputs.

  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.
  5. Then, we can get names to take to the temple and offer them the choice of being linked to their families for eternity.
  6. By delving deeper, finding and attaching sources and their small bits of information about our ancestor’s experiences, we get to know our people, and our hearts turn to them. As more original sources are digitized and indexed, more puzzle pieces become available. It’s an ongoing and accelerating effort. When are we “done” knowing someone? We can all go beyond the dates of their birth and death and get to know our people.
  7. We can bless others by sharing with our immediate family and cousins what we’ve learned about our shared ancestors or kin, helping all of us feel more grounded, knowing where we came from. Potentially helping them to turn their hearts to their fathers too.

Story Time

As a child, country and western star Tim McGraw had no idea who his father was. As a youth, he was shocked when he discovered his dad was legendary baseball star Tug McGraw. And even then, it took time to get Tug to accept him as a son. Tug lost his battle to cancer in 2004, and Tim is determined now to learn more about his paternal family.

This video follows Tim as he discovers his ancestors were settlers living on the very edge of the frontier - in the heart of what was known as Indian country.

As Tim McGraw gets to know his people, you can see his heart turn towards his fathers.

A Fun Metric Now Available

A sister in the other Ward that shares our building told me about this. I appreciate her sharing, and now I’m sharing with all of you.

With so much to do, it can be nice to get some feedback that your efforts matter.

There is a new page on the Family Search site shows how your contributions help families all over the world find and connect with their ancestors.

  1. Login to [familysearch.org](https://www.familysearch.org).
  2. From the top-of-page menu, select Get Involved.
  3. From the drop-down menu, select [Your Impact](https://www.familysearch.org/getinvolved/your-impact).
  4. Note the feedback about your service in the following sections:
    • Your Contributions in Action
    • People You Helped Find
    • Your Worldwide Contributions

And a final note on our progress together. Thank you to the 7% of our youth participating in Temple & Family History service so far this year. For the ward, we are on track with last year participation for adding memories (photos, documents, etc.) to people’s familysearch.org pages. We down slightly for adding names to the tree, but we’re up slightly for Ward members completing their first four generations on Family Search. That’s three years of improvement on 4-gen work. Yay! We’re down on indexing newly digitized records. There is still room for helpers on Indexing. Any effort offered will help, and indexing comes in small chunks of work.

Thank you for all that you do. Each act of service makes a difference in this great work of the Lord. As with other service to the Lord, we get an internal peace doing it while here in mortal life. Yet, I can’t help but think we may be thanked with a smile by the individuals we’ve helped when we finally return home to our Father in heaven.

As Ward Temple & Family History Consultants we are called to help you with HOW to do these things, the Lord has asked that we all do.

Sincerely, Your Ward Temple & Family History Consultants,

During Stake Family Search Center posted hours, our Ward’s staffing assignments are posted near the hours on the bulletin board next to the Family Search Center door.

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