I've been feeling a strong desire to get involved in doing my Family History for several months. Along with feeling like I didn't have time, I didn't know how or where to start. But I've felt assured repeatedly that if I will get started and make it a priority, that I'll have added help in other areas of my life (especially regarding Ty and Kaden, and our other children).
We had Stake Conference last weekend and there were some good talks given about redemption of the dead. I asked Sister Gashler to email me a quote she used her in talk. On Wednesday she came by and brought me this quote along with a picture of people in the Spirit World waiting for their work to be done: President Wilford Woodruff said: “Oh, I wish many times that the veil were lifted off the face of the Latter-Day Saints. I wish we could see and know the things of God as they do who are laboring for the salvation of the human family who are in the spirit world; for if this were so, this whole people, with very few, if any, exceptions, would lose all interest in the riches of the world, and instead thereof their whole desires and labors would be directed to redeem their dead.”
Wednesday night (2-15-12) I wrote in my journal: I decided to direct my time and effort toward my family history and temple work and let the Lord bless as He will regarding Ben's pay at Bluehost.
Thursday Mom came over to spend a few hours helping me with whatever I would like help with. I asked for help getting started on family history. She was surprised, but delighted, and we spent about an hour looking at names on Family Search. She remembered that Clara and Auggie, needed to have their temple work done, but first she needed permission from their closest living relative. She gave me the assignment of calling Clara and Auggie's daughter, Nancy Hansen, to request permission to do their temple work. I was so excited to begin doing my family history!!! We didn't have a phone number for Nancy, so I thought I'd work on getting that the next day, but prayed for inspiration to know how to explain why I felt it was important to do this temple work for her parents.
We ate lunch, then Mom helped me clean my laundry room and family room, then she went home around 5:00pm. At 6:00 pm, as I was reading family history stories from the life of Alice Ovanda Cheney Ricks (Donae's Grandmother), I got a call from Ryan Lewis (Ben's older brother)who was driving through from Colorado on his way to Ogden and asked if he could stop by. I knew Ben would want to visit with him and hoped he would stay long enough for that to happen. (Ben was in Pheonix with Jay on a work assignment, but would be coming home late that evening.) As I began to prepare dinner, I decided to call Ty, since I had talked to Kaden the night before. Ty was happy to talk to me and told me that the timing couldn't have been more perfect, (another blessing) since he had just come in from playing outside and had 15 minutes before they would leave for his volleyball game. We had a nice visit. He told me about scouts and his friends Brandon and Jacob.
Ryan Lewis arrived around 8:00. He ate dinner with us, and we called Joseph and Heidi and Sarah and Carlos and invited them over and they came right away. We all visited and played Catch Phrase and had strawberry smoothies. It was great. Jay brought Ben home around 10:30 and Ben visited with Ryan for a couple of hours before we all went to sleep.
Was this unexpected visit from Ryan and the impromptu game night with Joseph and Sarah a blessing from focusing on Family History?
Today I did our usual things, breakfast, family scripture reading, baths for all the children, math with Nephi, and Abish got to have a friend over, and the friend's golden retriever, Honey, came too. Between 3:00-4:00 I had some quiet time and was able to find a phone number online for Suzanne Leese. I called her and she gave me her mother, Nancy Hansen's, phone number! Wow! That was easy! Now to call Nancy. My heart was pounding. I sat down to collect my thoughts and decided to write out a little script. I considered how it would be easiest to explain the restoration of the Priesthood. Hmmm. How about: Christ organized the church, men changed it, Jesus restored it through the Prophet Joseph Smith? Or maybe: Jesus set the example for us to be baptized . . . Then I remembered that it would be a good idea to pray for help.
As I formed the words of my prayer, I received a clear impression to focus my efforts on getting to know Nancy and her mother, and her grandparents. I realized that here was an opportunity for me to really learn some important FAMILY HISTORY, not just request for temple work to be done, but to learn about my ancestors! To come to know them as individuals and learn their stories. I hope and believe that this will be the beginning of many phone conversations with Nancy and the building of a lasting friendship.
I wrote down several questions to ask Nancy, but then Daniel woke up and it was time for Abish's friend to go home. I realized that I would have to wait until tomorrow to call her. About an hour later though, as I sat nursing Daniel on the couch, I again had some quiet time while Jared continued to nap and Nephi and Abish played happily, so I called Ben's parents. They were on the phone with me for over an hour, giving me names and birth dates to update my information on Family Search. Now I have all the connections to show me what temple work has been done and where names and dates still need to be collected. Richard and Donae also told me some interesting stories about their grandparents as we talked about each of them.
I was floating on air, so excited to be learning all this wonderful information about Ben's and my ancestors! I need to write it down before I forget. But there's more. I started making dinner (my favorite chicken, vegetable, and bean enchiladas) and mom called. She just wanted to ask me a quick question about rectangles vs. squares for a jean quilt, but I was excited to talk some more about family history, so I asked her some more questions about her grandparents. She began recalling many childhood memories about both grandparents, sweet stories I had never heard before, and that she had not even remembered herself! She said she would go write them down before she forgot.
The most important thing I gained today, along with all these wonderful stories, is a clear direction on how to begin working on my family history. There are many individuals who are alive and lucid that have personal memories to share of their grandparents. I can talk to Nancy, Mildred, & Grandma McFarland. Ben's parent's, my parents, Ben's Aunt Pearl, and many others. I'm really excited to make time each week to learn more and more of my family history and write it up, to be saved under individual names and shared.
Now, here's something amazing. Ben got home tonight at 8:30pm. Over dinner we discussed our day and he related an intricate series of events (I'll record them in my journal, but they're too much to add her) which ultimately led to his boss coming in to his office today and telling him that he would be getting a raise in the very near future. A coincidence for this blessing to come as soon as I begin to earnestly focus on doing family history work? I know it's not, and I marvel at the generosity of my Heavenly Father!
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