Follow the Covenant Path - Stake Relief Society Women's Conference 2019

We are excited to announce this year's Stake Relief Society activity will be a women's conference.  There will be classes to choose from, service opportunities to participate in, an opportunity to hear about local organizations we can become involved with in our communities and a luncheon to mingle and enjoy each other's company.

Our theme is Follow the Covenant Path and the classes will provide us with insights, learning experiences and uplifting messages designed to help us participate in and support our North America Northeast Area Vision.  That vision statement is: "As beloved children of God, we will follow the covenant path by receiving ordinances and keeping covenants that lead to eternal life, and invite family, friends and neighbors to do the same."

You can find out more about the CLASSES being offered here:
https://columbiastakers.blogspot.com/p/follow-covenant-path.html

You can find out about the SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES available here:
https://columbiastakers.blogspot.com/p/service-projects.html

There is also a DONATION OPPORTUNITY:
We will be collecting Diapers (all sizes but especially sizes 4 and up are needed - even opened packages are great!) AND Laundry Detergent at this Stake Relief Society activity to benefit FIRN, a local non-profit organization which helps immigrants and their families.  Please consider donating these needed supplies.  Thanks for your help!

Please be aware that No Child Care will be available at this event.  We suggest that if the need exists, you seek out young women or young men in your ward/branch or reach out through your Ministering brethren & sisters for possible options.

We hope that many of our sisters across the Stake will be able to join us for this event.  It promises to be an uplifting and inspiring day together.

If you have any questions, please let us know at columbiastake.rs@gmail.com.

Let The Holy Spirit Guide

In preparation to listen to Conference this weekend, I've spent the past several weeks listening the talks from the April 2018 General Conference again.  As I've pondered over the past six months of my life and how the inspiration I received during that last Conference has help guide me these past months, I have felt an anticipation for hearing the messages of this weekend's Conference.  One of the messages that sunk deep into my heart was President Nelson's talk Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives.  This sentence from that talk grabbed my attention - as I'm sure it did for many others - "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."

I am grateful to know how to recognize the influence of and impressions from the Holy Ghost in my life.  But how did I come to this point and how would I help others who aren't sure if they know how to recognize that influence?  That is harder for me to answer because it is such a personal feeling - a feeling that is difficult to describe and a feeling that I know is not exactly replicated between people.  We each have the ability to recognize when we are feeling the Holy Ghost speak to our minds and our hearts, but because we are each unique that experience will be similar but not exactly the same for each individual.

I also loved the talk by President Eyring His Spirit to Be with You from the April 2018 Conference.  He helps us see the pattern to follow that will allow us to receive the Holy Ghost and recognize that influence in our lives.  "More precious than a memory of events is the memory of the Holy Ghost touching our hearts and His continuing affirmation of truth. More precious than seeing with our eyes or remembering words spoken and read is recalling the feelings that accompanied the quiet voice of the Spirit. Rarely I have felt it exactly as the travelers on the road to Emmaus did—as a soft but unmistakable burning in the heart. More often it is a feeling of light and quiet assurance.  We have the priceless promise of the Holy Ghost as a companion, and we also have true directions on how to claim that gift. These words are said by the Lord’s authorized servant with his hands on our head: “Receive the Holy Ghost.” At that moment you and I have the assurance He will be sent. But our obligation is to choose to open our hearts to receive the ministration of the Spirit over a lifetime."  He continues on from there to lay out the pattern for us to follow.

I actually wasn't planning to publish a post this weekend, but a feeling today of needing to share - an impression of what to share - kept approaching my mind and so I began to write.  There in itself is an example of the influence of the Spirit.  I could have dismissed the thought, but over my years in trying to invite the Holy Ghost to be my companion, I have found that when I simply follow the impressions - impressions that maybe I don't understand the why of, but that the motivation is good and is accompanied by the gentle persistence of a sometimes urgent but often just insistent feeling - then the action is always accompanied by a feeling of approval.  It's Difficult to put into words.  I have tried to take as a guide the verses in Moroni 7:13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ;  And I always recall the words of Sister Camilla E. Kimball “Never suppress a generous thought.” (as quoted by Sister Julie B. Beck, "Relief Society: A Sacred Work" Oct 2009 General Conference)

The two experiences that I felt impressed to share are these:

As I have pondered about Ministering and looked for ways to develop my personal ministry as a disciple of Christ, I have noticed something.  I do get impressions regarding those that I have a specific assignment for, but often I have impressions for others within my sphere of influence.  I have a young friend who has moved away from the area, but with whom I have kept in touch through messaging apps and social media.  On occasion these past few months, I have come across uplifting messages, quotes etc. and have felt a very direct impression to share these with my young friend and I have done so.  I don't know much about this friend's day to day life - what struggles they may be having, but I know the Lord does.  I will likely never know why I have felt it important to send these messages along, but I trust the Lord to know and I trust that as I continue to follow this pattern that this friend will be blessed. I believe that this trust is at the core of Ministering.  We ask the Lord to help us know what He needs us to do and He provides us direction through feelings and thoughts that we receive regarding His children.

I love family history and temple work!  I have felt that my involvement in this work is truly part of my personal ministry.  I have recently been correcting the way I have attached sources from my research on a Scottish website to FamilySearch.  In that process, I have been reviewing families that I worked on a few years ago.  Last week as I worked, a Hint for my 1st Cousin 3x Removed, Mary Ross, came up.  I opened that Hint and dismissed it rather quickly.  But within minutes the insistent thought came to my mind "look at that again".  I did and again my response was "there's just not enough here to make the connection.", so I moved on.  Again within minutes that insistent thought "look at that again" came back.  This time I said "okay if this is her - how would I prove it?"  As I began the process of deductive reasoning and mapping things out, I began to find the records that helped me prove she wasn't the mother listed on the record -- BUT -- she was the grandmother!  I had no information on her daughter who was listed in the record - didn't even know she existed.  In the end of the research process, I had found 6 cousins - NONE of which have had temple ordinances completed for them.  I went to bed that night with gratitude in my heart for the insistence of the Spirit, for my own willingness to pay attention and with a definite sense of relief and gratitude from those 6 cousins beyond the veil.  They knew I had found them and they know I will see their ordinances are completed.

Going back to President Nelson's statement: "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."   We live at an amazing time and yet a time when fear, anxiety, doubt and confusion can sweep us along in a fast and unfriendly flood.  I think about my children, my grandchildren, all my family and friends and you my sisters in the Stake and I want for them, for you to know that: I know that what President Nelson says is true.  I know because in my own hardest days, it has been and always will be the tether to the Holy Ghost that brings me peace, calms my fears, guides me to answers and gives me hope.  I offer my testimony that as we seek to do those things which invite the Holy Ghost to be our companion, we will gain confidence in recognizing His influence, in following the impressions we receive and we will be able to understand for ourselves how He speaks to us individually.  I chose the picture for this post because it reminds me in a personal way that when we stop to look, we can see the tender mercies of the Lord in the details of our lives and it is through the Holy Ghost that we recognize the Lord's tender mercies and His love.

- Lorie Pierce (Stake RS Secretary)

Written Friday, 5 October 2018 - Published Sunday, 7 October 2018

Finding my Family

Guest Post by Mary Jean Sokolowsky
edited by Tamela Terry

Like some of you, I didn't start out loving family history. In the ward where I grew up, there was an older woman who would get up every Fast Sunday and bear her testimony on family history. She encouraged people to come to the family history center, but I just thought it was boring and something for older people. As a child, I thought the family history center was a boring place where we had to be quiet and not touch anything. Sometimes on Sundays we had lessons on family history. Teachers would hand out a family tree and tell us to go home and fill it out. I thought to myself, “Why? I already have a family tree. What's the point of filling it out again?” The first time I did baptisms in the Chicago Illinois Temple and we did baptisms for people from Mexico. They were all named Maria. I wondered why I should care about them; I didn't know them. After I moved to Utah to go to college, I went to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City a few times to try and learn about my family. I was afraid to ask for help and so I spent my time looking in the Census Index books, but I did not find my ancestors. I don't even think I was looking for the right people in the right location or time period, because I didn't know what I was doing and I was too shy to ask for help.

I did have some good childhood experiences with family history that helped me to love it. My dad's side of the family is well documented. In fact many of the families have books written about them. I would sit and read family history details to my dad while he typed the information into the computer. In a desk drawer, my parents also had file folders where they stored documents and letters for each ancestral couple. I didn't know at the time what they were, but I remember them being there and that they were important to my parents. I also remember family reunions, meeting family members for the first time, who knew me, even though I didn't know them. Then, as a Laurel in Young Women's, I chose to organize a family reunion for my dad's family. I felt I didn't know his side very well and wanted to learn more about them. All these experiences prepared me for the next stage in my family history journey.

I attended Brigham Young University for college and it took me three times to get into the very competitive nursing program. While waiting, I had two extra semesters in which to take general education classes and some electives like organ, music conducting, extra religion classes. My dad suggested that I take family history so we could find out more about my mom's family who came from Michigan, Missouri, Indiana. In the late 70's and early 80's my mom had written letters to various organizations and archives requesting vital records about her family. She had gone back a few generations, but not much more.

In my class, I learned how to search the US Federal Census with the old index books and Soundex. I learned how to focus on a specific research question and how to identify what records might give me the answer. I learned how to keep a research log. I learned how to use the Family History Library catalog, the old International Genealogical Index (IGI), Personal Ancestral File (PAF), and Temple Ready. This made my subsequent trips to the Family History Library much more successful.

During my time at BYU, I made so much more family history progress! I found my ancestors listed on census records. I found family marriage certificates. I learned that one of my ancestors was the clerk of his church, so all of the church records were in his handwriting! I even made my first leap “across the pond” into England and found my family there. To this day, I remember the first time finding my family in an 1850 US Federal Census book for Indiana. I realized that I could be successful in finding my family and that it was fun. Most importantly, I began realizing that these were real people whose lives and stories mattered. The work had take hold of me.

By the end of that family history class, I had my own family names ready for temple work. Instead of doing temple for strangers, I was doing temple work for relatives whose names and vital information I had found myself. I knew who they were, they were my family members, and I could remember which records I found them on. My temple experiences became much more meaningful and purposeful.

 After graduating and moving to Maryland in 1999, my family history work came to a standstill for awhile. The Internet was in its infancy and not really useful yet. Going to the Family History Centers to order films was tedious and very time-consuming. I would wait for weeks to get the film I wanted and by the time it showed up, I had forgotten why I ordered it! So I didn't do a lot of research during this time. However, I loved serving in the temple as an ordinance worker for several years. By this time, the Internet was actually useful and FamilySearch was up and running.

I was home taking care young children by then and I needed something to do besides clean. So I took up my research again and started cleaning up my family and the new.familysearch.org website. This was FamilySearch's first attempt at creating the online family tree. The records weren't even out yet, but bit by bit, people started indexing and now we have a treasure trove of records we don't even have to search for. They automatically come to us.

One of those automatic record hints showed on my second great-grandfather. It suggested he had a second marriage in Iowa, which was strange since his family was in New York. His son had written a book about the family and there was no mention of his father remarrying or having another family. After further digging, I found my second great grandfather did marry a second time, and had children. On findagrave.com, I found a picture of his daughter from that second marriage and I was stunned-she looked just like my grandmother. I also discovered his granddaughter was buried in Bladensburg, Maryland. I recently visited her grave site. She was only four when she died and her parents moved away after she died. All of a sudden my far-away family seemed to be closer.

Now that FamilySearch.org is now an integrated website with Memories, the Family Tree, the Records and Indexing, it's so much easier to find the family history experience you need. You can choose how you want to be involved in your own family and in helping others. You can post pictures and documents to share with others, you can index and make records available to others, you can even do old-fashioned research.

 For the last several years, my focus has been in descendancy research for my own and others' families. That means that instead of working back further and further into history, I've begun researching forward from various points on my family tree, investigating the descendants of my ancestors. By finding all the descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on) of one of your ancestral couples, you can identify and connect with distant cousins, locate family documents and photos, share stories, and collaborate on research projects.

Descendancy is a great option for those who feel like all of their main genealogy lines have been found. Unless you are a convert, come from outside the United States, or brand new to family history, most of us have established family trees. This can make it difficult to find family members who still need temple work. I'm here to tell you, it can be done. Descendancy research can help you identify opportunities for temple work. Ask me or your ward family history consultant for help. We can look at your tree before we meet with you and find the areas to work that will give you the experience you want. Family history research can be a rewarding work, no matter what stage of like you're in or how much research is already done on your family.

Church records in the handwriting of my ancestor Joseph Sweetman Wagoner

My grandmother Jean Waterbury

My great great grandfather's daughter Ruth Annabelle Waterbury

Me at Ruth's daughter's Evelyn's gravesite

Our Sometimes Simple Efforts

This week we get to travel to Scotland with Lorna Browne as she shares her wonderful experiences with searching her family's history.

I was very excited to learn that our first stop was going to be in Wigtownshire, the area of Scotland that my ancestors had emigrated from when plans were first unveiled for my second trip to Scotland with a bagpipe band.  Because I have a very Scottish first name and I play the pipes, I have always felt it was my responsibility to learn more about my Scottish heritage.  Although we knew a few things, we did not know much about my Scottish lines at that time.

It was my plan to rent a car once we arrived to the area and go off on my own and discover what information I could.  I soon found that my plan would not be an easy one to follow as it did not appear that there was any place in Wigtownshire where I could rent a car.  I was discouraged, but soon saw the Lord’s hand in helping me while I was there.  Out of all of the families that band members were assigned to spend the time we were there with, I was assigned to stay with the McCrone family.  It turned out Elsie McCrone’s hobby was genealogical research!

One of the first things that Elsie asked me after I arrived in her home was whether or not I had any Scottish heritage.  I answered that I did.  When I pronounced my ancestors’ surname, “McGeoch” as “McGeel,” she mentioned that she had not heard that name.  A few days later, she asked me to spell this name.  When I did, she said, “Och, ‘McGee-oak!’”  She then told me she would be happy to help me look for what information we could find in the area about my family.

Elsie took me the next morning to the cemetery next to a church that my mother had connected our family to.  There we not only found the names of family members we were looking for, but we also found the names of others.  She then took me to other cemeteries in town.  As we were traveling, she asked me if I knew anything else about the family.  The only thing I knew was that they had lived on a farm with the name of Red Brae.  When we were near the end of looking through the last cemetery, we came across a grave of a person who was buried near the Stones of Torrydon near the farm Red Brae.  When Elsie read this, she was excited.  She had heard of these stones and she was sure that her husband, an electrician, had maps that we show us where the farm was.  

We returned to their home and spread maps around on the floor and looked for the Stones of Torrydon.  I have to admit that I wondered if the farm would still be around, but it was! We then jumped in her car and headed to the area to see the farm.  I was content to take a photo of the farm’s sign and the exterior of the farm, but Elsie wasn’t.  She encouraged me to get out and she knocked on the door.  When the homeowner answered the door, Elsie told her that I had come from Canada and my ancestors used to live on this farm.  She wondered if I could see it?  To my surprise, the woman who then lived there invited us in and told me that the kitchen area that we were in was the entirety of original home.  It was really neat to be there, and I am very grateful that I had the chance to see the home and to learn so much more about my ancestors!

My experiences in Wigtownshire were the first where I received the Lord’s assistance with my family history efforts, but they have not been my last. I will not write about these here, but, if you are interested, ask me about the way things opened up for my family to secure a Czech genealogist to research our family there at a rare time when the archives were open. You could also ask me how my mother learned how to read Cyrillic, Romanian, and Ukrainian to read records released by the Greek Orthodox Church from an area in modern-day Ukraine to take my father’s lines back to the 1700s as it was the only way we could obtain information about these lines.  You could also ask how Ancestry.com’s release of a new batch of German church records helped my family extend a line that we had not been able to do anything with for many years.  It is such a blessing to live at a time when there are so many tools to help us do our family history! Although we sometimes need to travel to some places to gain information, we no longer need to go to all parts of the world to learn more about our ancestors!  I know that temple and family history work is the Lord’s work and that He magnifies our--sometimes simple--efforts as we seek to do it. Through small and simple things, great things do truly come to pass (Alma 37:6).

- Lorna Browne

The Time Had Come To Reignite My Family History Search

As an African American convert to the church, I knew that researching my ancestors would be a challenge. The biggest obstacle to tracing my African-American lineage would be slavery, an institution that broke family bonds and made record keeping nearly impossible. I already knew very little about my family beyond my grandparents. That’s why after an initial start to my family history research (and many hours of frustration), I ended up taking a 4 year hiatus. I felt defeated at the time but I held on to hope that the answers I needed would be revealed to me in due time.

After a not so subtle dream and a Sacrament meeting full of talks on family history, I received revelation that the time had come to reignite my family history search. So I dusted off my old FamilySearch.org account and began the work once again. To my surprise, I had so many more opportunities open to me now compared to before. More resources for African American genealogy were available through Ancestry.com and other websites. My grandfather and the eldest member of our family, who previously lived in another state, just moved to Maryland and he was able to give me so much information about his parents and grandparents.  Another family member of mine, who has been a great record keeper, gifted me with numerous documents including obituaries, birth certificates, death certificates, pictures and letters. I never knew before how much information she was sitting on! Newly equipped with only first names of family members who were born into slavery and the name of a small town in South Carolina, I was able to find (through the magic of the Internet) the slave owner’s records with my ancestors’ names and birth years listed! It was like my ancestors had just opened the floodgates and released the jackpot of family history goodness on me!

In an April 2017 talk by Pres. Henry B. Eyring, he says “We do not know what marvels God will inspire people to create to help in His work of gathering His family. But whatever marvelous inventions may come, their use will require the Spirit working in people like you and me. This should not surprise us. After all, these are beloved sons and daughters of God. He will send whatever inspiration is needed to give them the opportunity to return to Him.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/gathering-the-family-of-god?lang=eng)

I am so grateful that God sent me the inspiration to help complete His work. I am even more grateful that I was in the right position to receive this inspiration. I have gained many blessings from this family history journey besides having many names to take to the Temple for performing ordinances. This has given me the opportunity to draw closer to my family members. Being the only LDS member of my family has been a challenge at times, and working on family history with my aunt and grandfather has allowed me to share the gospel and learn the oral histories of my family. My testimony of the Gospel and my faith has been strengthened by allowing the Spirit to work through me. The Lord has blessed me in my efforts to do family history work. The “Spirit of Elijah” is strong and I can feel it guiding me and revealing the knowledge I need to help my ancestors return to Heavenly Father. It is my hope that others will be able to receive this inspiration in the gathering of Heavenly Father’s family.

Tyese Knight
Eldersburg Ward

FamilySearch Help Center

Did you know that when you call FamilySearch Support, the missionary who answers your call has a database they search to find a consistent answer to your question.  But what is more important to know is that you can also search this database of answers.  It is located in the Help Center on familysearch.org.  It's an amazing resource for solving all kinds of issues and answering all kinds of questions related to using FamilySearch, doing your family history and temple work, getting research assistance, helping others, etc. 

Log into FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) using your LDS account username and password. It is a good idea to login before using the Help Center to ensure that all features are available to you.

On any page in the website in the upper right corner of the screen you will see the Help link.  Click on it and a drop down menu will appear.

You can click on any of these items to learn what is available, but for this post I am focusing on the Help Center itself.





When you click on Help Center you will see a page like this one.

























Simply type your question or topic into the search box and click Search.  Or you can click on one of the topics listed and then type the query into the search box on that page.  Either way will get you to what you want to know.  The first part of your Search Results will be any Help Center articles that can provide answers and useful information.
























You can learn more about the Help feature with this Help Center article:
https://www.familysearch.org/ask/salesforce/viewArticle?urlname=Using-the-Help-Center-in-FamilySearch-and-Family-Tree-1381815109006&lang=en

There are so many things available on FamilySearch.  Learning to use this tool can improve your family history work experience.

- Lorie Pierce

It Was Not By Chance

I have loved doing family history research ever since I was old enough to copy family names from my mother’s genealogy onto my own family group records as a young child.   Family history work has brought the Spirit powerfully into my life and has blessed me with immeasurable peace and joy throughout my life.  Some of my greatest spiritual experiences have come while engaged in family history research and temple work.   I’d like to share with you one of my treasured family history experiences which is both a family history story and a visiting teaching story wrapped together in one.

Many years ago, while living in Utah, I was handed a slip of paper with my new visiting teaching assignment.  One of the names read, “Esther H.”  “Oh how nice,” I thought.  I had been wanting to get to know Esther better.  She was a lovely woman in her 80’s, articulate, wise, and a person of great faith and testimony.  I was a mother of four young children at the time and felt that there was much I could learn from her.  But I had no idea of the blessings that were in store for both of us through this visiting teaching assignment.

I began visiting Esther in her home.  Over the course of our visits I learned many things about her – about her family who had settled that area of Utah, about her husband who had died years before from a heart attack and about her sadness over her only son who had been inactive for years.  She grieved that she had no active posterity.   I learned of her missionary experiences to Bulgaria and her humanitarian work in South America.  She had so many wonderful stories and life experiences to share.  Though we were probably over 40 years apart in age, we became very dear friends.  She showed great interest in my family and the things going on in my life.  I always came away from those visiting teaching visits feeling very uplifted.  My own family was going through some financial hardships at the time, including a job loss, and I was strengthened through those years by her testimony and example of consistent and steady devotion to the gospel.  She had weathered many of her own storms in life.

I looked for ways that I could serve Esther.  She had helped me so much, even sharing the fruit from the fruit trees on her property, which was a great blessing to us.   One day our conversation turned to family history research.  She asked if I knew how to use the computer program to enter and clear family names for ordinance work.  “Yes,” I told her.  “I use it all the time.”  She then explained to me that her husband had been a convert to the church.  There were no other members of the church in his family.  Her husband had been diligent in collecting as much information as he could over the years while on business trips around the world.  He had gotten the temple work done for many of his close ancestors, but not all of them.  He had an aunt, not a member of the Church, with whom he had corresponded who was an avid genealogist and had meticulously collected genealogy on their family.  She had compiled two huge volumes full of genealogical information and histories which she sent to him.  Esther told me that she had been feeling very strong promptings that she needed to get those names to the temple.  She was at a loss, though, because she did not really know how to use a computer.  She had just bought a brand new one, but didn’t know how to use it yet.  She asked if I could teach her how to use the program so that she could type the names in and get the temple work done for her husband’s ancestors.  She was feeling a great sense of urgency about it.

I was joyful.  This was something I definitely could help her with.  Over the next few months I went over to her house regularly to teach her how to use the genealogy program.  The progress was very slow, though.  Her hands and fingers were arthritic and just didn’t work like they used to.  She had a lot of difficulty just trying to master using the computer, let alone the internet and the genealogy program.  Being a very independent person, she was frustrated with herself and her lack of progress.   Adding to her anxiety was that feeling of great urgency to get the work done.  Finally, at the end of one of our teaching sessions, a thought occurred to me and I asked her, “Would you like me to just type this information in for you?  I wouldn’t mind doing it.”  She looked at me with so much relief and said, “Would you? Really?”  She couldn’t believe that I would do this for her.  I told her, “Of course.  I would love to be able to help you.”  She was overjoyed.

Esther then gave me an apple box full of her husband’s genealogy including the 2 hardbound books put together by his aunt – all of his precious family records.  I brought the box home.  I carefully went through every pedigree chart, family group record and the two books and got all of the information entered into the computer.  The project took me two years to complete.  As I went along, I processed batches of names to clear them for temple work.  As I got cards printed for temple work, I brought them over to Esther.  She was so happy and spent every week after that in the temple.  She often brought friends along with her, to help get the temple work done for her husband’s family.  That was something that she could do, and she did it enthusiastically.  It was such a beautiful experience.  We were working together to accomplish this great work – one entering the information and the other doing the temple work. 

As I worked on the genealogy, I learned about her husband’s family – the good people they were, their faith and homesteading experiences in a little town in central Kansas.  I began to feel a closeness with this family, even though they were not my own.  As I worked on the project over those two years, very real blessings, both temporal and spiritual began flowing to our family – a job for my husband after two years of unemployment, the ability to buy a home after years of renting, as well as other spiritual blessings.  We saw the hand of the Lord plainly in our lives.  I felt so uplifted and a divine sense of calling in doing this work.

  

The project finally came to a close when the last ordinance was completed and I brought all the records back to Esther at the end of those two years.  I handed her a disk with all of the genealogy on it and all of the completed ordinance cards – well over 100 cards.  She had tears in her eyes.  The work was finally done.  She was now at peace.

It was not long after the project was completed that new opportunities awaited our family including a new job for my husband and an out of state move to -- Kansas.  What a great surprise to move to the very state where these people came from that we had done the work for!  My heart was filled with joy as we drove through central Kansas and I got to see the place where this family lived out their lives – these people now sealed and ready to move on in their eternal progress in the heavens.

Just a few years later, Esther’s health declined and she passed away.  How grateful I was that the family history and temple work for her husband’s recorded family were all completed.  I knew she would be meeting her husband with great joy.  

In a Priesthood blessing given to me later, it was made known to me that I had been fore-ordained to help with this family history work for this family.  It was not by chance that I was given this sister as my visiting teaching assignment or by chance that we ended up renting a home in that ward.  The hand of the Lord was in it.  I have a deep testimony of the blessings of family history work and of visiting teaching assignments.  I know that the Lord will lead us as we look for ways to serve the sisters in our care and that he stands ready to bless us as we engage ourselves in His marvelous work of salvation.

-Debbie Wood

Now she truly is my sister!

For years I have been on the fringes of Family History.  I'm a dabbler.  I take a class or hear an inspiring talk and get excited now and then, but I've never felt that drive that some people feel.  You know 

​"​

those people

​"​

...the ones who have spent hours, days

​, months and years digging through files, scouring old records, recording histories and traveling to check out cemeteries in far off locations. 

Sure, I faithfully go to the Temple and act as proxy for people who's existence has been discovered and ordinances readied by "those people".  I serve each week as an ordinance worker, and help countless people receive the saving ordinances of the Gospel and I must admit, I've envied the looks of joy and satisfaction on the faces of others as they've done the work for their very own ancestors.

Well, recently I have been doing the work for some of my ancestors.  Cousins 6 times removed, wives of 8th granduncles, etc.  I don't know these people.  They are not even in my direct line, but they are family none the less, and some share family names of my direct line. 

A few months ago I started using an app called Take A Name.  This app quickly searches through thousands of records in Family Search, identifies people you are related to and shows you what ordinances need to be done.  It also shows sources so you can verify if enough information is available to correctly identify this person and link them to others.  The first time I clicked on, I found 24 ancestors with 56 ordinances ready to be done.  The next time I found another 25.  It's easy to reserve names that you'd like to work on, so that when next you go to Family Search, the names are there and ready to be printed.

Is this a lazy way to do genealogy? Some would say yes.  Others might realize how wonderfully easy modern technology has made this, and would gratefully thank all "those people" who have researched, indexed and paved the way for this great work.

So, now that I'm doing the work for my own family, do I ALWAYS have a spiritual experience and the confirmation that my work has been accepted? No...not always...but let me just share one sweet experience that happened in Initiatory.  I brought 5 names with me.  5 ancestors of my own.  The very first one was my Grandmother's cousin.  As I said her name, tears began to pour down my face.  I honestly don't think they were my tears.  I was acting in her behalf, and I truly feel that her tears were streaming down my face.  The ordinance worker began to weep, and by the time we'd made it through, all 3 workers were crying.  Even the initiatory director walked down and checked on us saying she could feel the Spirit so strongly that she knew something wonderful was happening.  I will forever be grateful for this experience.  I don't expect it every time, and maybe it'll never happen quite like that again...but I do know that I look forward to meeting this sister someday.  Now she truly is my sister! 

- Cindy Erekson

Reminders

It's a busy time of year and there are lots of things going on within our Stake.  I thought a quick post with a few reminders would be a good idea this week.


* Christmas Wishes to our Missionaries 2017 *

I published a blog post a few weeks ago inviting our sisters and their families to send Christmas cards to the missionaries serving from our Stake.  If you missed that here is the link to the blog post and a direct link to the address Google Doc.  We do have one missionary who just recently left - Elder Campora - and I will be adding his address as soon as I can confirm it.

Christmas Wishes to our Missionaries blog post

Missionary Addresses Google Doc



* Church History Fireside - “Church History, Doubt, and Discipleship” *

Sunday, November 19 @ 7:00 pm at the Stake Center

Brief Description

In the 21st century, it is easy to find sources that portray the Church’s history as secret, strange, or controversial. At the same time, the Church is publishing more historical sources and statements than ever before. Church History Library Director Keith Erekson will discuss skills and attributes than can help you make sense of Church history for yourself and be prepared to help others.

About the Speaker

Keith A. Erekson serves as the director of the Church History Library, the home of the Church’s most sacred historical treasures. He is an award-winning author and teacher as well as a popular speaker at BYU Education Week, youth conferences, and other LDS events. He grew up near Baltimore, Maryland, served a mission in Brazil, earned degrees in history and business, and worked in auto manufacturing, publishing, and higher education. He lives near Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife and four daughters and currently serves as his ward’s young men’s president.

* Interfaith Thanksgiving Service *

Sister Cindy Erekson, our Stake RS President, will be one of the presenters at this event.

* Stake RS Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap *

We will be publishing a Stake RS blog post on Dec 10 with Christmas cookie recipes from our sisters around the Stake. Please send your favorite Christmas cookie recipe (and a picture if you can) to me at loriepierce.rs@gmail.com by Dec 6 to ensure it is included. Thanks!

* December Semi Impromptu Stake RS Temple Trip *

I will be going to the Temple on Wednesday, Dec 6 - 10am session.  If you would like to carpool with me, please meet me at the Stake Center at 8:45am.  We will depart at 8:50am.  Others who want to meet up with us at the Temple - wonderful!

* The Messiah Sing *

* Stake RS Web Indexing Group *

We have created a Web Indexing Group for our Stake Relief Society to join together to collectively contribute to this effort.

To join this group you need to:
Login to familysearch.org

Click on Indexing

Click on Web Indexing

Scroll down that page until you see Groups

Click on the Find Groups link and then click Find Groups again in that drop down menu
In the Search box on the left of the Find Groups page type in Columbia Maryland Stake Relief Society and then click Search
You should then see the group listed on the right of the screen with a Request to Join button
(Our group picture is the same one of the Washington DC Temple used in the blog)

I will be monitoring those requests and get everyone in ASAP.

If you are new to Web Indexing - it is recommended that you take the Guided Tour found on the Indexing Overview page.  You can also find many helpful articles by clicking on Help Resources on the Indexing page. Simply type Web Indexing into the Search bar and you can scroll through the articles.  If you have questions, feel free to ask me at loriepierce.rs@gmail.com.

-Lorie Pierce

Message from our Temple President

As we look ahead to the lengthy closure of the Washington DC Temple, we need to be doing what we can to prepare for that interval of change. Recently, while dropping off family file names at the temple, I picked up the following letter from our temple president. I felt it was important to publish here, so that the information could be further distributed. If you click on either "document" it will open in a larger view for easier reading.

-Lorie Pierce

I Can Better Know Who I Am

Being a teenage convert to the church Family History was a completely foreign concept to me. I had never thought about family members that I had never met, much less about those hundreds of years before my time. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I had kids of my own that I actually started thinking about these family members. But once I did, I couldn't stop thinking about them. I knew nothing about any of my ancestors. How was I supposed to know who I was if I didn't know who they were? And being the only member of the church in my family I was feeling the pressure to get the temple work done for my ancestors. However, I was completely overwhelmed and at a loss as to where to start. Fortunately, Heavenly Father knew that I would need help once I got started on this project and blessed me with a wonderful sister in our local family history center and a family history class provided by our ward.

Family history wasn't always easy and though there were times of frustration I kept trying. A couple of years later through FamilySearch and Ancestry, I was able to find a distant cousin of my mother's who, though not a member of the church, had been doing family history for my mother's family. This was an amazing blessing to me since at that point I had been having no luck finding any of this information. Then just recently I found out that my great grandma, who also wasn't a member of the church, had been doing family history for her side of the family for years. After she passed away my uncles decided that since I was doing family history now they would pass on all of her things to me. Within these things were some old Family Ledgers. For the last 3 days, pretty much straight from 7am to midnight, I have been sorting through these precious treasures unable to put them down! I have been putting all the names into digital family group sheets. 82 group sheets and 142 family names later I finally got it all done! The entries ranged from the oldest one, who born in 1782, all the way down to my father.

When I look at all these family names I now feel that I know these individuals even though I have never met them. I feel a deep love for them and look forward to taking their names to the temple so that we can all be sealed into our family chain throughout the eternities. Through the years I have come to love family history and the sense of connection and love it gives me. I'm so thankful for those who have preceded me who have worked so hard on our family history and the blessing that I have to carry on where they left off. Family history has helped me discover who my ancestors are so I can better know who I am.

-Jessi Eberle
Ellicott City Ward

Fuel the Find - An Invitation to Indexing

Sisters technology has opened many doors and changed how we approach family history and temple work.  We have the ability to log into FamilySearch and other websites and be greeted with Record Hints. The powerful search engines of these sites are always searching the online records for possible matches to your Tree. But where do those Record Hints come from? Original documents are digitized and then volunteers view those images and type into a database what is on the record.  That process is called indexing.

Indexing is the first step in finding our ancestors online and we can assist in those efforts, providing service to all who seek to Find their family names and prepare them for Temple ordinances.

With the change in technology has come a change in Indexing. Now all you need to participate as an indexing volunteer is to sign into familysearch.org.  You view the images online and type the data directly into the site for processing.

October 20-22 is the FamilySearch World Wide Indexing Event.

https://www.familysearch.org/indexingevent2017

We have created a Web Indexing Group for our Stake Relief Society to join together to collectively contribute to this effort during that event and beyond.

To join this group you need to:
Login to familysearch.org

Click on Indexing

Click on Web Indexing

Scroll down that page until you see Groups

Click on the Find Groups link and then click Find Groups again in that drop down menu
In the Search box on the left of the Find Groups page type in Columbia Maryland Stake Relief Society and then click Search
You should then see the group listed on the right of the screen with a Request to Join button
(Our group picture is the same one of the Washington DC Temple used in the blog)

I will be monitoring those requests and get everyone in ASAP.

If you are new to Web Indexing - it is recommended that you take the Guided Tour found on the Indexing Overview page.  You can also find many helpful articles by clicking on Help Resources on the Indexing page. Simply type Web Indexing into the Search bar and you can scroll through the articles.  If you have questions, feel free to ask me at loriepierce.rs@gmail.com.

This Indexing event is a great opportunity for us as sisters to serve together in an effort with lasting effects.  We hope you will take time to login and get acquainted with Web Indexing before the event and then join us Oct 20-22! 

-Lorie Pierce

Find your ancestors in September

Dear Members of the Columbia Maryland Stake,

The Washington DC Temple is closed now and will re-open on Tue, Oct 3 (The Philadelphia Temple will close 9/18 to 10/2).  The DC Temple will be open just five more months before closing for multiple years in early March 2018.

Temple and family history work is an important responsibility of our dispensation.  We have been encouraged by the Apostles to FIND names of ancestors, TAKE the names to the temple, and TEACH others to do the same.  President Nelson has also asked members to make a sacrifice of time this year (2017) to work on family history work.  With our temple closed this month, this is a perfect time to find an ancestor and print the card to take to the temple.  If you have recently done this, please help teach someone else how to do it.  You do not need to hold a temple recommend in order to participate in family history work.

Getting started in family history work can seem challenging, but there is help available. Please reach out to a ward/branch Temple and Family History consultants, visiting teachers, home teachers, or other members.  We will also open the Family History Center on Sunday 9/17 and Sunday 9/24 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., so please stop by to get started.

I realize that everyone is very busy, but the Lord has blessed us with the Sabbath to do His work.  In addition, we could use ward/branch temple nights, date nights, youth events, etc. to seek out our ancestors and prepare their names to take to the temple.

The Lord has prepared the way for this work.  Included below are links to helpful resources to help learn the doctrine, get started, find ancestors in a full family tree, and teach others.  May the Lord bless you as you seek your ancestors and provide ordinances for them.  Your ancestors are waiting.

Kind Regards,

James Mitchell

President Columbia Maryland Stake

RESOURCES: UNDERSTAND THE DOCTRINE

D&C 128:22-24

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/128.15,22-24

Promised Blessings of Family History (video)

https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/fdd-cook/blessings-video

Families and Temples pamphlet (pdf)

https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/manual/missionary/PD10054235_000-Families-and-Temples.pdf

President Russell M. and Sister Wendy Nelson, "A Sacrifice of Time" (video):

https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/familydiscoveryday/nelson/a-sacrifice-of-time

President Henry B. Eyring, "Gathering the Family of God" (Apr 2017)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/gathering-the-family-of-god

President Russell M. Nelson, "Generations Linked in Love" (Apr 2010)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/generations-linked-in-love

Elder David A. Bednar, "The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn" (Oct 2011)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-hearts-of-the-children-shall-turn

Elder Quentin L. Cook, "Roots and Branches" (Apr 2014)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/roots-and-branches

Elder Richard G. Scott, "The Joy of Redeeming the Dead" (Oct 2012)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-joy-of-redeeming-the-dead

RESOURCES: NEW TO FAMILY SEARCH

Getting Started with FamilySearch.org including contact info for temple and family history consultants:

https://www.familysearch.org/ask/gettingStarted

MyFamily Online Booklet:

https://www.familysearch.org/myfamily

Find Your Family Names, First-Time Guide (pdf):

https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/family-history/core-assets/PD60001004_FTT_Beginner_Card.pdf

RESOURCES: FULL FAMILY TREE

Full Family Tree, Using Descendancy Ressearch (video):

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-07-02-full-tree-strategy-using-descendancy-research

Discover Relatives on a Full Tree (pdf):

https://www.lds.org/bc/content/ldsorg/topics/family-history/core-assets/PD10053917_000_Intermediate_Card.pdf

RESOURCES: TEACH OTHERS

Principles of Helping Others:

https://www.lds.org/topics/family-history/my-calling/helping-others

FamilySearch Consultant Planner:

https://familysearch.org/ask/planner

The Tortoise NOT the Hare

I recently felt impressed to ask Sister Debra Burt to share her thoughts on family history work with us.  I love what she shared!

"I feel like the tortoise and definitely NOT like the hare in doing family history.  The slow work, bit by bit, is how I've been able to participate in family history.  I was feeling worried recently that I really haven't done anything of significance in the years I've been plodding along.  Then, I rooted through my research book and pulled together all the temple ordinance cards that I've been able to complete.  My cards actually made a small pile.  It made me smile to think I had played a role in bringing ordinances to all those family members.  It gave me a boost to keep plugging along.  I think eventually I will be able to pick up my pace and do more.  It's a joyful work."   - Debra Burt

We do sometimes wonder if we are making any progress as we wind our way through our family tree.  Research can be tedious and take time. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees.  We keep seeing branches and roots and leaves - all the bits and pieces.  But when we step back and look from a high perspective, we can see the whole landscape.  We can see the individuals and families that our work has brought the blessings of the Gospel and saving ordinances to.  We can see our family woven together and extending in all directions as a forest covering the landscape of our lives.  So while you may feel your work is moving slowly - remember that the speed is not what matters.  Just as with the tortoise - keep trying, keep moving and you will find your progress bears fruit.

- Lorie Pierce

You have a possible ancestor....

Have you received an email from FamilySearch letting you know you have ancestors who have temple work ready to be done?  Or have you discovered one of the several family history apps that help you locate ancestors who's temple work needs to be done?

FamilySearch and the other websites and apps are wonderful tools that facilitate our efforts to take our ancestors names to the temple for ordinance work.  However, with each email, alert, notification, etc there is a caution that needs to be noted.  These are possibilities.  We still have a responsibility to verify the information provided to ensure that our ancestors are accurately listed and linked and their ordinances are done correctly.  Often people are very excited with these notifications only to find that there are duplicates of their ancestors in FamilyTree and once merged the temple ordinance work is found to already be complete.

Part of our responsibility to to clean up these records - to find those duplicates - to correct the information associated with them.  Part of our responsibility is to preserve the records associated with these ancestors - their stories, their photos and their documentation as found through verifying hints and other information on FamilySearch and other research sites.  We are not processing numbers through a system - we are linking our families together through data, through memories and recorded experiences and ultimately through ordinances.  This process of verification, research and preservation helps us come to know them - it helps to bind them in our hearts as well as through the ordinances.

“Jesus Christ gave His life as a vicarious atonement. He resolved the ultimate question raised by Job. He overcame death for all mankind, which we could not do for ourselves. We can, however, perform vicarious ordinances and truly become saviors on Mount Zion for our own families in order that we, with them, might be exalted as well as saved.”—Elder Quentin L. Cook, “Roots and Branches.”

Should we be disappointed when a notification or hint doesn't result in a name to take to the temple?  NO - we should be grateful for the opportunity to come to know that person AND we should recognize where that hint might lead us to.  My family line was said to be "all done".  But I have found that the sometimes tedious efforts of verification has yielded more fruit than I imagined possible.  I have found missing ancestors - ancestors that have been waiting patiently for one of their family to take the time to look.  What a joy it is to walk into the temple with those cards in hand and know that the time spent in the looking was time well spent - knowing that those cards with names printed on them represent real people - real people that are my family.

Don't get discouraged in this work.  If you need help to get started or to figure an new way through in finding your ancestors, your family that may be missing - reach out to your ward/branch Temple and Family History Consultants.  If you don't know who that is - ask your Relief Society leadership.  I encourage you to Start - just Start!

I have not only a great love for temple and family history work, but a testimony of it as well.  I have felt the promises of Elijah at work in my life and seen it in the lives of my children.  I have seen the promises of Elder Bednar regarding our youth's participation in the work fulfilled in the experiences of my daughter, Jessica.  I have seen my husband, who never had any interest in the tedium of family history research, allow the Spirit to work in his heart and he has grabbed hold of this work and found his own way to success and satisfaction.  Why does it all matter?  Because families can be eternal through the sealing power of the Priesthood ordinances - the ordinances need to be performed - every member of the family needs to have the opportunity for those ordinances.  Because there is power and peace that comes into our lives as we engage ourselves and our families in the work of salvation.

-Lorie Pierce