July 2013 Visiting Teaching Message
Contact your sister by
the 5th, make an appointment by
the 10th, visit by the 15th and report by the 20th
the 10th, visit by the 15th and report by the 20th
Joy in
Family History
Prayerfully study this
material and, as appropriate, discuss it with the sisters you visit. Use the
questions to help you strengthen your sisters and to make Relief Society an
active part of your own life. For more information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.
Joy in Family History
Elder
Russell M.
Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that the Spirit of
Elijah is “a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing
witness of the divine nature of the family.”1
As
members of Christ’s restored Church, we have the covenant responsibility to
search for our ancestors and provide for them the saving ordinances of the
gospel. They without us cannot “be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40),
and “neither can we without our dead be made perfect” (D&C
128:15).
Family
history work prepares us for the blessings of eternal life and helps us
increase our faith and personal righteousness. Family history is a vital part
of the mission of the Church and enables the work of salvation and exaltation
for all.
President
Boyd K.
Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said: “When we
research our own lines we become interested in more than just names. … Our
interest turns our hearts to our fathers—we seek to find them and to know them
and to serve them.”2
From the Scriptures
From Our History
The
Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “The
greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek
after our dead.”3
We can serve as proxy in the temple for our deceased ancestors and perform
necessary ordinances for them.
Sally
Randall of Nauvoo, Illinois, whose 14-year-old son died, found great comfort in
the promise of eternal families. After her husband was baptized for their son,
she wrote to her relatives: “What a glorious thing it is that we … can be
baptized for all of our dead [ancestors] and save them as far back as we can
get any knowledge of them.” Then she asked her relatives to send her
information on their ancestors, saying, “I intend to do what I can to save [our
family].”4
What Can I Do?
How
can I help the sisters I watch over to do family
history?
Am
I recording my personal history?
Notes
Russell M.
Nelson, “A New Harvest Time,” Ensign, May 1998, 34.
Boyd K.
Packer, “Your Family History: Getting Started,” Ensign, Aug. 2003, 17.
Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 475.
See
Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society (2011), 21.
Official
Web site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
© 2013 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All Rights Reserved
© 2013 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All Rights Reserved
