I've always been intimidated by family history work. It was a commandment I basically ignored. I used all of the typical excuses..."I'll do it when I'm older." "All my family's work has already been done." "I simply don't have the time right now." "There is too much to learn." Over the past several years I have had frequent jabs from the Spirit, reminders that regardless of the excuses I used, I was still not obedient. So I put forth a little effort here and there. I registered and indexed a batch of names. I committed to write more frequently in my journal and in my kids' journals. I still avoided any work with my own ancestors.
That was until General Conference. During conference this time, I felt completely rebuked - not by a specific speaker, just by the Holy Ghost. It was as though I was told, "You are keeping yourself and your family from a specific set of treasured blessings by your refusal to be obedience and do family history work." I knew I had to do something.
The very next time I saw my friend Jessie, I asked her about it. See, Jessie is Miss. Genealogy! (check out her fab YouTube channel here.) I expressed to her my desire, and that my number one concern was lack of time. "What do I give up during my day in order to do family history work instead?" She said, "I bet we could find family names for you to take to the temple in five minutes." I was skeptical, especially because I really did believe that most of my work - the "easy" stuff especially, had already been done. We came into my {messy} office, logged into Family Search and Jessie showed me some simple, easy tools on my own family tree. The next day, I spent less than an hour and found over 50 ordinances that needed to be done for ancestors. I was thrilled! I was doing it! I couldn't believe how easy and EXCITING it was. My heart was just pounding as I was clicking on names and finding work to do.
I printed off the page of requests to take to the temple. Jeff and I went that very week. I was a little nervous. I wasn't sure what to do when we got to the temple. I was ashamed to admit to the workers that this was my very first time bringing names. As is always the case, everyone at the temple was incredibly helpful and gracious. It was very simple and took less than 10 minutes. I just gave the page I printed to the lady in the office, and she printed off the name cards we needed to perform the ordinances. Voila! I asked her, "Can we do these ordinances tonight?" She smiled and responded, "Yes, you can do them right now."
So we did! Jeff and I went into the temple and performed sealings for our ancestors. As I knelt across the alter from him, acting proxy for people who could not do so for themselves, I felt completely overcome with emotion and full of the Spirit of Elijah. I was reminded once again that EVERY TIME we make an effort to be obedient, our efforts are rewarded ten fold. My heart and mind were opened to things in the temple sealing that I had never considered before. I felt a renewed and strengthened commitment toward Jeff and our eternal union. I said, as often is the case when we delay obedience, "Why did I wait so long to experience this?"
It was the first time in my life that I wished one of my children was older than they are. I told Daisy, "In about a year and a half you can do this too! You can take your very own names to the temple and be baptized and confirmed for them when you are twelve! I want so much for you to be able to go to the temple with daddy and I and do this amazing work!" So in the meantime we created her very own Family Search account. Now she can search her own ancestors and get in on the excitement.
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