2025-02 Feb - A Little at a Time

Feb 9, 2025 family history piano

Read time: Summary .1 minutes | Expanded section: 9.4 minutes | Entire message 9.5 minutes

Summary

Expanded Message

One Step at a Time

When I was young, my mother wanted me to learn the piano. I, in my 8-year old wisdom, wanted to learn to play all at once. My young self got frustrated with playing the silly little songs the nice old music teacher tried to teach which would build my skills. I wanted to play songs I heard on the radio, and I wanted that right now.

I disappointed my parents when I quit piano lessons as that youthful person. I did not have the vision of what the accretion of skill and experience in piano could bring. Even today, I sometimes look at our family’s piano and wonder what might have been had I tried again, and again.

“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have” (2 Nephi 28:30, emphasis added).

Temple & Family History work is done one step at a time, not all in one go.

Temple & Family History work is analogous to learning to play a musical instrument. It takes practice at small, seemingly meaningless tasks. We can easily get frustrated with the seeming lack of progress, initially. These small skills combine over time into bigger skills. This gradual growing of capacity later begins to generate value to our family, extended family, and cousins, and to our God in the gathering.

We must come to recognize the Lord’s pattern and process for giving us spiritual knowledge. And the phrase “line upon line, precept upon precept” describes a central feature of the Lord’s pattern.

~ Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Talk link

I have learned many things about my people over the years, and it has all come a little bit here, and a little bit there. It has been exceedingly rare to get a bunch of information all at once.

And we also frequently expect that such an answer or a prompting will come immediately and all at once. Thus, we tend to believe the Lord will give us A BIG ANSWER QUICKLY AND ALL AT ONE TIME. However, the pattern repeatedly described in the scriptures suggests we receive “line upon line, precept upon precept,” or in other words, many small answers over a period of time. Recognizing and understanding this pattern is an important key to obtaining inspiration and help from the Holy Ghost.

~ Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

It helps to include the Holy Ghost when doing Temple & Family History work. Impressions have led to connecting people, and then finding sources to back it up later.

Most typically we receive a series of seemingly small and incremental spiritual impressions and nudges, which in totality constitute the desired confirmation about the correctness of the path which we are pursuing.

~ President Boyd K. Packer, 1982

Nephi tried several different approaches before he was able to successfully obtain the plates of brass from Laban.

And he did not learn how to build a ship of curious workmanship all at one time; rather, he was shown by the Lord “from time to time after what manner [he] should work the timbers of the ship” (1 Nephi 18:1).

So why do I more often than not want it all at once? Is it only me? Perhaps it is common to the natural man?

This life seems to be a time to develop patience for me. I apparently skipped the patience station in the heavenly Supply Sergeant’s line of equipment issue before deployment to mortality. Ha ha.

Each of us must also appreciate the roles of faithfulness and diligence and obedience in the Lord’s pattern for receiving help from heaven. Those who faithfully hearken to and obediently heed the Lord’s direction will learn wisdom and receive more.

~ Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Diligence is a word that clearly applies to Temple & Family History work. It takes time to do this work. It takes repeated approaches, and is not done all at once.

“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24)

I have faith that my efforts in Temple & Family History are aligned with God’s gathering.

Faith leads to obedience, which yields wisdom and an even greater desire for added light and truth.

~ Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Ward Family History Consultants are here as a free resource to help you try again and again as you gradually grow your family history skills. It does get better. You won’t play music the living will hear, but you can become proficient soon and even more expert at it over time. Those who have passed on will appreciate your skills as you get better at turning five minutes into helping another soul.

Elder Bednar was talking about a different topic, and yet, the Spirit linked his words to Temple & Family History work for me when I read it again, recently.

As we mature spiritually, we begin to develop sound judgment, a refined and educated conscience, and a heart and mind filled with wisdom. It is not just that we have grown older, nor have we simply become smarter and had more experiences on which to draw, as important as those experiences are. Rather, the Holy Ghost has over time been expanding our intellect, forming our feelings, sharpening and elevating our perspective, such that we increasingly think and feel and act as the Lord would under similar circumstances.

~ Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

This description also summarizes what I have found hard to articulate. That over time, the Lord has helped me become more capable at family history.

As I look back, I am grateful I stayed with it.

I lacked the vision of the piano learning process as a child and walked away in frustration. How is your vision of Temple & Family History work? What would you like to do about it next?

I am suggesting that we should not feel spiritually inadequate or unqualified if we do not receive a big and immediate answer to a request or plea for help the first time we ask. And we will be better served spiritually by studying and understanding the Lord’s pattern of revealing things to us “line upon line, precept upon precept.”

~ Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

He quoted Elder Neal A Maxwell again.

“Paced progress not only is acceptable to the Lord but also is recommended by Him. Divine declarations say: ‘Ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now’ (D&C 50:40); ‘I will lead you along’ (D&C 78:18). Just as divine disclosure usually occurs line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, so likewise we will achieve our spiritual progress gradually (see D&C 128:21; 98:12)”

I admit that sometimes I still want 100% right now. I’m trying to get better at aligning my desires with God’s pattern. I need His help becoming, in His pacing line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. For me, choosing faith over frustration (my patience deficit) can be difficult at times.

So let us not get dispirited or down about not getting the progress we want all at once, as I did about piano as an 8-year old.

One observation I’ve made is that “sequential order” is a simple, natural, and effective way for the Lord to teach us, as His children, important principles.

~ Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, Of the Seventy, Oct 2021

Rather, how can we faithfully continue? Diligently, trusting that the Lord will grow us as we do?

I know first hand that I have learned Family History work here a little and there a little. I’m writing about Temple & Family History work, and yet this pattern applies beyond TFH and to many areas of our lives and God’s work.

And I invite you to try again in Family History skill building. Please don’t quit like I quit piano and later look back wondering what might have been. God blesses us in trying. He does not withhold all blessings until we have mastered something.

With Elder Bednar, I declare my witness that these things are true.

Story Time

My grandmother unlocked my family history and showed me who I am (link to the story)

(Excerpt) My grandma gave me a gift that she promised no one could ever take away. She was right. I still cling to it today, decades later. She told me who I was, she unlocked the past.

At the family farm in north Toronto, we crowded on to a hammock strung between two beech trees or huddled round the hearth as she told stories, just like her Nain had done 60 years before.

The present, I realised, is simply the visible bit of a vast procession involving you and countless others that reaches back to the past and surges off towards the future.

[A great great grandfather] lost their father and their house and moved in with their uncle, a cobbler. The shoemaker wanted the boys to have a better life and he taught them maths, classics and other subjects they needed to get into the grammar school. Every night, after they went to bed, he taught himself the next day’s lessons. They never realised their apparently erudite uncle was never more than a lesson ahead.

Eventually, Nain’s stories dimmed as her once unstoppable life force waned towards the end. Now they are gone. The only way to fill the void she left is to pass on her gift, to cuddle my daughter tight and tell her our tales of fishermen, settlers, preachers, cobblers and queens. History is not who they were; it is who she is, and can be.

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. AI is still not good enough to do this by itself.
  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 attach people’s information (source data) to the right person to help us and others to get to know them better. Attaching more sources also shows our hypotheses about individuals more likely true than not true as we build a clear picture of who they were.
  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 (both direct lines and cousin lines), 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.

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 staffing assignments are posted

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

P.S. - Older versions of this Ward Message (without names), with some how-to instructions, are at familyhistorystuff.com for your reference. This site is not for profit. The .com was a mistake when .org was intended, and would have doubled the cost to fix the mistake.