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.

North America Northeast Area Plan 2019

Across the Stake yesterday during the 3rd hour of church meetings, we received information and instruction about the North America Northeast Area Plan. This plan is organized under the direction of our Area Presidency with the approval of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It is designed to focus on prophetic priorities.

If you would like to view the broadcast again, or for those who may have missed it, please use the following link to access it: North America Northeast Area Plan 2019

We are all invited to adopt this plan and set personal goals consistent with our individual circumstances.

When We Are Prepared and Ready To Receive

I have been struggling to get over bronchitis the past couple weeks.  I was feeling better yesterday, but felt it was a wiser choice to continue resting rather than attend Stake Conference.  I did not attend the meetings yesterday.  This morning when I woke up I felt significantly better, but was still thinking it wiser to stay home.  However at 9am I was overwhelmed with a feeling of "go to Stake Conference!".  I quickly dressed and headed out the door.  As I sat and listened to the speakers this morning, I knew why the Lord wanted me there.  I received answers to private prayers through the messages shared.  How grateful I am for the preparation of the speakers.  How grateful I am that I didn't question the impression - that I didn't make my excuses and stay home to rest another day.  How grateful I am that I had been faithful this week in my personal reading of the Book of Mormon - even though I really just wanted to lie back down.  How grateful I am that I was indeed well enough to go and spiritually prepared enough to hear what I needed to hear.

For those of my sisters who for whatever reason were unable to be with us this morning at Stake Conference, here are some of the things that impressed my heart and mind.  It's obviously not a complete transcript...just the notes from my scribblings.  Hopefully I have the names of the youth speakers spelled correctly.

Kasey Baird - youth speaker from Columbia 1 Ward
The Savior is the perfect example of how to Minister.  She shared two simple ways for youth (and all of us) to follow Christ's example by ministering: 1.  Being a Friend  and 2. Attend mutual (our RS meetings) with a different mindset - Who Needs Me Today?  We can ask ourselves that question everyday.

Mason Hunter - youth speaker from Savage Mill Ward
Our heart should be in the right place - in the Savior's Way.  We need to choose to Minister for the right reasons.  Love should be our motivation.  Love should be our compass and Ministering our vessel.

Felicity Hancock - Savage Mill Ward
Everyone fights a hard battle.  She has seen direct blessings for their efforts to attend the Temple - peace in difficult times.  She quoted Elder Renlund's 2018 conference talk that spoke of blessings from temple and family history work.   "When ordinances are performed on behalf of the deceased, God’s children on earth are healed."  The best way to keep our youth on the Gospel path is to involve them in temple and family history work.  We matter to our Heavenly Father.  If you're seeking answers and peace - go to the temple.  It's easy for us to over complicate attending the temple, but what we really need is to realize that it is a possibility and work from there.

Sister Christiansen - Maryland Baltimore Mission
Knowing who we are and why we're here on this earth makes all the difference.  When we establish our vision through the Gospel lens, we can see things as they really are.  Faith must be active. Repentance daily. Continuous in keeping sacred covenants. Actively receiving the Holy Ghost.  Each of us much choose to act in faith, to remove distractions, to seek the Lord and to know for ourselves.

President Christiansen - Maryland Baltimore Mission
Our fellowship together is a great opportunity to lift one another.  Do we realize what we know and what we have?  Ministering should be a way of life - looking outward we can find opportunities all around us.  How will you bless?  Who will you bless?  Revelation assists us in knowing who and how to bless.  He also shared this thought from his counselor, President McConkie: Simplicity means focusing on that which is essential.  The ordinances of the Priesthood are essential for us to walk back into the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ.  We are those the Lord is relying on to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus Christ.  There is an urgency in what we are doing.

President Peterson - Columbia Maryland Stake
In our families we first learn and practice worship of our Father in Heaven.  As we remember the blessings of God for our families we will be able to reverence and worship Him more.  We worship through prayer, through our Sabbath Day observance and through Temple attendance.  We need to set aside time to worship in the Temple.

President Towne - Columbia Maryland Stake
The most important things in life are not things.  Do we really understood how important the Gospel is?  The pearl of great price referred to by the Savior is the Restored Gospel.  He quoted President Nelson:  "What will your seeking open for you? What wisdom do you lack? What do you feel an urgent need to know or understand? Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort."  The truth is what is important.  Knowing Christ is what is important.

President Mitchell - Columbia Maryland Stake
He began by sharing his testimony and told us - you can receive a witness for yourself.  Though the Spirit you can feel peace, assurance, calm, guidance and witness that this is His church and knowing that changes our perspective on life.  He also spoke on Ministering.  To be disciples of Christ we need to love one another.  How can we develop more Christlike love?  We need to be mindful of others needs.  Spiritual strengthening is as important as meeting physical needs.  He quoted President Nelson regarding the need for revelation in our lives: “Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly. -- I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation. -- Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.”  He reminded us that the Gathering of Israel is the most important thing going onto today - on both sides of the veil.  The Lord hasn't left us alone.  We should work together in love and unity.  We need to strengthen and help one another.

- Lorie Pierce

Ministering - A Demonstration of Discipleship, Gratitude and Love for God

Sister Jean B. Bingham, General Relief Society President, has said that “our service to others is a demonstration of discipleship and our gratitude and love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ”. I know we all want to be obedient to the commandments.  We all strive to “Love one another” and to “love our neighbor as ourselves”.  But sometimes it’s a little scary to put ourselves out there, to take that extra step and offer our services, to become friends with someone we don’t know and have little in common with.

But whatever our differences, our divine heritage unites us as sisters and daughters of God.  We are united in our love and devotion to God, and our desires to follow His prophet. It really is an exciting time to live, and as I contemplate all of the new information and guidance we have received during and since General Conference, I am awed and humbled by the need to take better care of and more interest in the sisters whom I serve.

We have literally been asked to strengthen one another in the Lord. To go above and beyond what we usually did in visiting the sisters we are assigned to visit, as well as others in our wards and communities.  I know many of you have already been doing this. You have always gone beyond the monthly required visit.  You have taken a personal interest in the sisters you visit and have become a part of their lives. They have moved beyond being an assignment on a piece of paper.

How do we do this now that a monthly in-home visit with a message is no longer required?  The best place I know of to start is with prayer. Pray for your sisters by name.  Pray that you will be open to promptings that will allow you to help them.  Our Father is mindful of all of us.  He knows our hearts, and He knows their needs.  Turn your heart to Him and let Him guide you.

Ask your sisters what works best for them.  A visit, phone call, text, walk in the park, play date with your kids, lunch together, a short conversation at church…all these and more can be part of your Ministering and care. Sister Aburto, General Relief Society 2nd counselor, has said: “It’s not so much what you do, but how you feel and how they feel.  Do whatever it takes so that person knows that you are a true friend and that you will come when they need your help.”

So maybe we need to ask ourselves - What am I are going to do that will be different than I’ve done before?  How can I show more care instead of less?  How will I be able to respond during my quarterly interview with my Relief Society leaders when they ask how my sisters are doing? Will I really know?

I think we’re going to find greater unity in our wards and branches as we implement this new program.  I think we’ll have more needs being met, and more of our less active sisters returning to activity.  I trust that we’ll grow closer as we counsel together and coordinate with our Priesthood brethren. Whole families will be blessed by our care and love.  Isn’t it marvelous to watch our Father’s plans for us unfold?

I’m so grateful for a living Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, and for his counsel to us to seek revelation. In his words: “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."  I pray that you will seek for and follow the guidance you need as you watch over your sisters with love.

- Cindy Erekson
Columbia Stake Relief Society President

All Are Alike Unto God

Over the past few weeks, we have heard announcements about the upcoming commemoration of the 1978 Revelation on the Priesthood.  My own mind has gone back to what I recall about that day.  I was 13 years old when the revelation was announced.  Our family was so excited when we heard the news broadcast.  This was crucial and something we had looked forward to as an event that needed to happened.  To us it was a "sign of the times" - a clear indication that we were growing closer to the Second Coming of Christ on the Earth.  I sat outside in our carport for awhile that afternoon and said my own prayer of gratitude.

I have asked a few family members and friends to share their recollections with us.

Shared by Ann Anderson: I remember being surprised.  Much of my youth had been spent on explaining why all worthy men couldn't have the priesthood.  This was an event that I didn't think would happen in my lifetime.  It was a great day for the whole Church.  President Kimball was the prophet of my youth.  We all loved him. I'm so glad that he was given this revelation.

Shared by Bonnie Peterson: I was so excited that everybody could have the Priesthood and go to the temple that I wrote about it in my journal.  To me that was an amazing moment and I absolutely felt the Spirit and also felt the love of Father for all of His children.

Shared by June Crue: We had a brother in our ward who was a faithful Latter-day Saint and when I heard the news, I and other members in my ward wept for joy.  And when we talked to him, his joy was so great that he couldn't even speak.  We all cried great tears of happiness and thanks to the Lord.  I am overcome right now thinking about it.

Shared by Susanne Rigby: I was only a kid, but remember thinking "It's about time!"

Shared by Cindy Erekson: How well I remember the Priesthood announcement! We lived in SLC at the time and sat glued to our TV set as this wonderful news was shared. I remember the thrill of excitement and the tears pouring down my face.  History was truly being made that day!

Cindy also shared these photos of the news clippings:





The Church is holding a unique celebration honoring the 40th anniversary of President Spencer W. Kimball's revelation on the Priesthood on June 1, 2018 at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. The event is sponsored by the First Presidency and will include a message from the First Presidency, stories of faith, and musical performances by Gladys Knight, Saints United Voices, Alex Boye, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and another special choir that was formed specifically for this event.

It will be live-streamed on June 1st at 9:30 PM EST.  (lds.org, mormon channel, Facebook and Instagram).  The Washington DC Temple Visitor Center will also show a recording on Saturday morning, June 2 at 11:00 AM EST.

From Mormon Newsroom article announcing the evening: While the June celebration will hail the history of black Mormon pioneers and reaffirm the reality that “all are alike unto God” in His global family, the event is intended to be much more than a celebration. It will also be a renewal of our collective commitment to pursue oneness in our relationships with each other and with heaven. 

Additionally, there is a new video called "Be One" that all are encouraged to watch.  Here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxS89yZtAmM

-Lorie Pierce

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

A New, Holier Way

The Stake Relief Society presidency has been studying, pondering and discussing Ministering as they prepare to help ward and branch presidencies move forward with this new way.  As I have studied, pondered and discussed with them, I have felt the Spirit testify of this shift to Ministering and of the power it can and will have in the lives of each of us and the future generations.

Many of us, including myself, may have heard President Nelson announce the change in Conference and initially thought 'Oh good I can tell my home teachers they don't need to come.'  or we may have thought that less was being asked of us.  The reality is actually something different - something better that will bring us closer to Christ if we allow it.  President Nelson explained, "Sisters and brothers—old and young—will serve one another in a new, holier way." (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/04/let-us-all-press-on?lang=eng)  I like that phrase new, holier way, because it truly helps convey the intent behind these changes.  We are being given an opportunity to become more like our Savior in a way that hasn't been emphasized quite like this before now.  My husband recently spoke in our Sacrament Meeting and used the comparison of Home & Visiting Teaching being like the Law of Moses and Ministering being a Higher Law.  The Lord knows each of us and knows our capacities.  He knows that we are ready and prepared to accept this invitation to act.

"For many years, home teachers and visiting teachers have responded to assignments to visit the house of each member monthly, deliver a message, and help as needed. Countless hours of devoted and selfless service have been given in this great work.  Building on that devotion, Church leaders now ask members to increase their focus on Christlike caring for others, both spiritually and temporally. To emphasize that caring, the former programs of home teaching and visiting teaching are now a common effort referred to as 'ministering,' overseen by the elders quorum and Relief Society presidencies under the direction of the bishop."  (https://www.lds.org/mycalling/ministering-faq?lang=eng)

For some of us, Ministering won't actually feel very different from their visiting teaching experiences.  There are many who have already been serving as visiting teachers in the true spirit of ministering to one another.  Today being Mother's Day, it seems only fitting I acknowledge the sweet influence my own mother's example of true ministering had on me.  She truly loved the sisters she was assigned to visit teach and was always watchful for ways she could help them bear their burdens.  She mourned with them and rejoiced with them.  She prayed and fasted for them. She invited them into our home and into her life. She shared her love of the Lord and His Gospel with them.  Her service was never a checklist and her sisters never felt they were an obligation.  She cared so deeply for them, that when she was dying of cancer one of her final requests of me was that I go personally to visit each of them to let them know she had passed and to express her love for them.  What a powerful experience those visits were for me.

As I have viewed the videos available at minisering.lds.org one in particular caught my attention.  It is titled "An Invitation to Act".  At the beginning of it Elder Ballard issues an invitation.  He says, "I invite you to study 3rd Nephi by identifying every reference to the word minister in any of its forms and every reference to the phrase one by one.  Once you have thoroughly identified these words and phrases, please consider what The Book of Mormon teaches about ministering.  I also invite you to seek the Lord's help to understand how ministering applies.  All leaders and members of the Church need to be careful not to just minister to those names on a list but to minister to all of Heavenly Father's children. My brothers and sisters I testify that this is the work of the Lord. May He bless you to implement with power the counsel from the First Presidency."  Sisters, I am accepting his invitation this week as part of my daily study from The Book of Mormon.  I know that this simple thing will increase my understanding and help me invite the Spirit to guide my ministering efforts.  Will you join me?

Many of you may still have questions about implementation and how to move forward.  But just as there are questions, there are many materials being published online to help leaders and each of us understand our new roles and responsibilities and how to effect the changes that may be needed to move this work forward.  One page that contains helpful explanations is the Frequently Asked Questions.  If you've wondered about any of these things listed below, you can go to that page and read to gain understanding for yourself.

I would love to hear from our sisters as they begin to experience Ministering.  If you are willing to share your experiences with the sisters of our Stake, please email me at loriepierce.rs@gmail.com, so I can include them in future blog posts.  We love you sisters and look forward to our continued associations and service together as sisters of the Columbia Maryland Stake.

- Lorie Pierce

Ministering Replaces Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching - Frequently Asked Questions

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

Hastening and Strengthening the Work of the Lord

What an amazing time to be involved with the work of Relief Society!  In the past several months, we have seen several changes that directly impact us as sisters and how we approach and participate in Relief Society.  The new curriculum, including the opportunity for council Sundays, and now the announcement of Ministering to replace Visiting Teaching, both place more responsibility for how the work of the Lord moves forward on us as individuals, rather than so much on the shoulders of the leaders.

It will take time for each ward/branch to adjust for the assignment changes that may occur with Ministering.  We know that each ward/branch Relief Society presidency will be working as quickly as possible to understand the changes, coordinate with the new Elder's Quorum presidents and with the Bishops and then have the needed conversations with assigned sisters.  Please be patient with them as they do their best to implement these changes.

If you visit the Church website, you can find resources to help you understand how the shift in focus to Ministering will help you better fulfill your stewardship.  I have tried to gather useful links here to help us in our study and preparation to participate better in this work.

As we move ahead and gain experience, I think it will be helpful to share our experiences with one another.  If you are willing to share your new Ministering experiences with your sisters of the Stake, please email me at loriepierce.rs@gmail.com, so I can include them in future blog posts.

- Lorie Pierce

Ministering to Replace Home and Visiting Teaching

Be With and Strengthen Them by Elder Jeffery R. Holland

Ministering as the Savior Does by Sister Jean B. Bingham

Ministering - First Presidency Letter

Ministering with Strengthened Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums and Relief Societies

Relief Society Homepage

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

Change Reflects Ongoing Revelation

Recently, we have seen announcements of various changes to implementation of Church programs and meetings. The most recent changes announced involved visiting teaching, Priesthood & Relief Society curriculum, General Conference meeting schedules and missions/missionary work.

I realize that not everyone is connected through the social media resources of the Church and may have not seen the recent posts published by the Church in conjunction with these announcements.  To help facilitate allowing our sisters to stay current, I am simply posting the links to these recent announcements.  We will undoubtedly receive further information and instruction through our local leaders regarding how these changes are to be implemented.

Priesthood & Relief Society Curriculum

Visiting Teaching

General Conference Sessions

Missions

It is important to remember that while procedures will change as circumstances require, the doctrine of Christ remains constant. Seeing these changes is a witness in itself to the reality of modern revelation.  I would encourage you to take the time to read about these changes, to see how they may directly affect you and your family and to see how you can prepare to allow these changes to bless your life.

- 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

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

Gospel Topics

This week I was thinking about a topic for this blog post and was led to something I didn't expect.  I thought I would write a post about "What is a testimony?"  But instead, as I typed in a search on lds.org for bearing testimony - I discovered something else.

I found a section on lds.org called Gospel Topics.  Here is what the introduction of that section says:

"Each Gospel Topic includes a brief overview sharing what Latter-day Saints believe about the topic, links to resources that will help you learn more about the topic, and ideas to help you teach it to others.  Learn more about the role of the Holy Ghost in your pursuit of truth and how to become a more self-reliant gospel learner."

I clicked on Testimony and came to an amazing page of basic information, links to related scriptures, talks, lessons, etc.  Curious - I decided to see what equivalent there might be in the Gospel Library app on my phone.  While the mobile app doesn't provide the same presentation of the information - my search for testimony within the app still produced a large list of potential resources for me to review.

Another very nice feature of lds.org is the Notes.  If you are signed into lds.org while reading and studying, you can make notes and create tags and links - your own personal annotation system.  These notes will sync between what you do on lds.org and the Gospel Library app on your mobile device.  That is very helpful!  It's like having a personal copy of all those scriptures, books, manuals etc. that you are able to highlight and annotate AND carry with you where ever you take your mobile device or can log into lds.org.  Truly we are blessed through this technology to have the words of the Lord and His prophets and apostles, the teachings of general Church leadership, the uplifting messages of the publications, etc. always within our reach.

If I had written a blog post about "What is a testimony?" or "What does bearing testimony mean?" - I had at my fingertips a multitude of useful and relevant resources to guide me.  My post would have included these paragraphs from the Gospel Topics page for Testimony:

"A testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and that He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior's true Church on the earth; and that the Church is led by a living prophet today. With this foundation, a testimony grows to include all principles of the gospel.

Testimony grows gradually through experiences. No one receives a complete testimony all at once. It grows as individuals show willingness to serve in the Church and to study, pray, and learn. It increases as individuals obey God’s commandments. Testimony grows as it is shared.

Part of a testimony’s development comes when it is shared. In the Church testimony is shared often in fast and testimony meetings, in Church classes, and in conversations with family members and friends."

Today is Fast Sunday and with it we have the opportunity to bear our testimonies in our Sacrament Meetings.  Let me end this post with mine.

We have a Father in Heaven who knows us individually and loves us.  He knew that as we came into this life, we would make mistakes, we would fall short, we would sin.  Because of His great love for us, He provided a plan of salvation.  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, that it is through Him, the Father's plan of salvation is made possible.  I know that as I daily strive to keep the commandments, to live the Gospel, to repent and apply the healing power of Christ's atonement - that I am blessed.  How grateful I am to know that my prayers are heard by a loving Father in Heaven, who along with my Savior is waiting to help me succeed and return to live with them again.  I bear witness of their love and of the peace that comes through following the principles of the Gospel.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

-Lorie Pierce