#40 Finding Joy in Temple and Family History Work

The lesson title is…I suggest you think of this lesson as a challenge. I challenge you to find joy in Temple and F. H. work by listening to some of the experiences and ideas that are presented today and finding the joy that comes from doing it. Most of us are already doing some of these things already and we just need to refine them a little; just knowing that you are already doing FH may bring you joy.

With that said let’s talk about the word contagious! When you hear that word what do you think of? I think of sickness and getting what ever sickness someone else has, because of contact or just being near a sick person. While the word contagious here has a negative meaning it also can mean positive things such as: her laughter is contagious, her optimism is contagious etc. Today we want to use it in the positive connotation.

In family History work there is a contagious spirit, it is called the spirit of Elijah, you can get it by being in contact with it personally, and through hearing others’ stories about it. The phrase Spirit of Elijah refers to the desire that people have to ‘turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers” just like we discussed last week. So the spirit of Elijah is the desire to do the work. We know what powers Elijah gave to Joseph Smith: sealing and ordinance keys that unite families for eternity. But we ask what does it look like? Well it prompts us to receive temple ordinances for ourselves, do FH research, attend the temple and do the work for the dead.
Is this work only contagious to members of the church? No, there are millions of people doing the work that aren’t even members, just as a hobby. In fact, Keith has an aunt that does the work, she is Presbyterian or something. She does her FH all the time because she loves it. She doesn’t do anything with it but just have it, but the time will come when she will turn that work over to the temple and find the true joy that attends her work.

President Hinckley emphasized, “All of our vast family history endeavor is directed to temple work. There is no other purpose for it. The temple ordinances become the crowning blessings the Church has to offer” (CR April. 1998, 115-116)

Pres. Packer stated, “NO work is more of a protection to this church than temple work and the genealogical research that supports it. No work is more spiritually refining. No work we do gives us more power” (Ensign, Feb. 1995, 36)

That is a pretty powerful statement this work provides protection to us, it spiritually refines us and gives us power. Those are some powerful blessings.

I have asked 2 sisters that do FH work to share with us at least one experience they have had where they have either felt protected, been refined or received power from doing the work.

First though I am going to ask them to leave the room, because I want to give you an assignment of things to note while they are speaking, I told them I was going to do this because I don’t want their comments to be influenced by your assignment.

Your assignment while they are speaking is to 1-watch for and note what the spirit of Elijah looks like with a person who has it. Watch how excited their eyes can get. 2- Listen for how they spiritually involve themselves in this work, what they did specifically that brought one of those blessings mentioned earlier. And 3-Ask yourself if you’ve caught their same spirit of Elijah in your life?

Turn the time over to the 2 sisters.

Well what did you notice about their eyes? What did they do to involve themselves, what was the result? Did you catch it yet?

Now perhaps you’ve caught it already and you don’t realize it. Or perhaps you want to catch it but you don’t want to do exactly what they did to catch it. Between brainstorming and the lesson I came up with a basket of items that are things we either do already or can do to catch the spirit of Elijah. We will pull out one by one and talk about how doing that is FH or perhaps how we can tweak these things bring in the spirit of Elijah and the joy that comes from doing FH.

Basket with following items:
Cards: Are you a card writer? Next time you write a card think about what you are writing and how you sign it. My mother-in-law is a big card writer. When she writes a card she is positive and uplifting. She signs it mom, or Carolyn, or mom-Carolyn or mom Rusch. If one day my grandkids run across one of her cards they will learn a few things about their great grandma. 1-she was positive and kind with compliments, they will see a little about her personality. 2-They will know her name, and how she is related to them.

Scrapbook: Perhaps you are a scrapper? Scrapbooks are great FH work women, next time your men are nagging that you spent too much time and money on scrapping, you tell them that you are engages in FH work and the prophet said that FH work is an important work and a little money should not hinder it. However, to make that legit you need to refine your scrapping. When I first started scrapping I just put the pictures in and tried to find a funny saying or quote that went with it. Now I know that to have it be beneficial I need to add dates, places, full names, maybe a small journal entry about the pictures. Etc.

Calendar page from March with the family history day circled: Did you know March is FH month? Elder Dennis B. Neunschwander told how he passes on the Spirit of Elijah. “Not one of my children has any recollection of my grandparents. If I want my children and grandchildren to know those who still live in my memory, then I must build the bridge between them. I alone am the link to the generations that stand on either side of me. It is my responsibility to knit their hearts together through love and respect, even though they may never have known each other personally. My grandchildren will have no knowledge of their family’s history if I do nothing to preserve it for them. That which I do not in some way record will be lost at my death, and that which I do not pass on to my posterity, they will be lost at my death, and that which I do not pass on to my posterity, they will never have. The work of gathering and sharing eternal family keepsakes is a personal responsibility. It cannot be passed off or given to another.” (CR, 1999, 109)

Picture of Temple: Put one on the wall and refer to it every once and a while. Keep the goal of getting to the temple in your children’s or your own mind. Have FHE on the temple, testify of the blessings we get when we attend the temple. Take your kids at age 12 to do the baptisms. Go to the temple do any or all the ordinances, but don’t just go and do the work, do as Richard G. Scott does, “I find it helpful when receiving ordinances for another to try and relate to that person specifically. I think of him and pray that he will accept the ordinance and benefit from it. Do these things with a prayer in your heart that the Holy Spirit will enhance your understanding and enrich your life. Those worthy prayers will be answered.”(CR, 1999, 33) Doing this brings to your life the Spirit of Elijah.

Journal: Perhaps you are a journal writer already. That is a great life history you are putting together. Now think about each entry, what do you want your family to know about you? Testify, share spiritual experiences, include dates, names, personality traits etc.
Then every once and a while pull it out share some of those experiences with your family, whether for FHE or write a card to the person that you shared the experience with and thank them for being a part of that. Make sure to include your name, date and how you are related to them.

Picture of relatives: Instead of a bedtime story about Mickey Mouse, grab a picture of a family member and tell your kids a story about them. Tell them their names and how they are related to them. They will love it.
Have a FH party invite Grandparents to share stories of their relatives, record them for future sharing. Or Grandparents have a party and invite the grandkids over for stories of your ancestors, do some of the things your ancestors did.

Well these are just a few ways we can contract the Spirit of Elijah, hopefully you got an idea of some new things you can do, or you can pat yourself on the back for already having the spirit of Elijah in your life.
I thank the 2 sisters for bring the spirit of Elijah into our class and sharing the ways they receive and keep that spirit in their lives. I know that the spirit of Elijah is real, I’ve seen it as my mom talks about FH work, I’ve seen it in some of the people who are in the temple, I have felt it when I am doing it through my journal writing. I know it is real. I know the blessings of protection, spiritual refinement and power can be ours if we participate in the work; in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.