The Missing Piece to the Puzzle

Earlier in the week I asked on Facebook, who in your family history inspires you?

Have you ever wondered about the feelings that come about when we are doing family history work? Why do we feel such closeness to those that have already passed away? Why does doing family history work bring peace into our daily lives?

There are two scripture verses I want to bring to your mind.

The first is in Malachi 4: 5-6. It reads, “5 ¶ Behold, I will asend you bElijah the prophet cbefore the coming of the dgreat and dreadful eday of the Lord:

6 And he shall aturn the bheart of the cfathers to the dchildren, and the heart of the echildren to their fathers, lest I come and fsmite the gearth with a hcurse.”

“In D&C 128:18 it says, “…For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect...”

What does this mean to you? I have pondered over these scriptures. It is truly humbling to know that our ancestors need us just as much as we need them. It is also humbling to know how important it is to our Savior and Heavenly Father that we have the love of our families now and are tied to them for eternity.

In a talk titled, “The work of the Temple and Family History-One and the Same Work.” By Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, he says, “Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord encourages us as members of His Church to preserve our own family history, to learn from our ancestors, and to make the necessary arrangements for them to receive the ordinances of the gospel in the temples to help them to progress along the covenant path, which will bless them with an eternal family. That is a central focus of the plan of our Heavenly Father: uniting family for this life and for eternity. To those of you who do not feel capable of doing this work, you should know that you are not alone. We can all turn to the tools that the Church has prepared and that are found in the FamilySearch centers...”

Our Savior and Heavenly Father care about each of us. They are aware of our wants and needs in life. They know that one way for us to find peace in this life and feel close to the Holy Spirit is by working on our family history. I am continually amazed by how close I feel to my Savior and Heavenly Father as I put my current and past family first each week.