Happy Easter!

Wishing each of our sisters a very Happy Easter!
We love you and hope you will feel the peace and hope and joy of the Gospel today.

- Cindy Erekson, Lisa Larson, Kim Olivier, Lorie Pierce
Columbia Stake Relief Society Presidency & Secretary

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

Perfect Love Casteth Out All Fear

This past week, I read an article from the February Ensign.  It was written by our own Leah Welker of the YSA Branch.  I was touched by her message and asked her permission to highlight it here.  I also asked her to share with us the motivation behind writing the article.. Thank you Leah for sharing of yourself with us!  I know I was uplifted reading her experiences and her article.

You can read her article here:

Perfect Love Casteth Out All Fear by Leah Welker, Ensign, February 2018

-Lorie Pierce

---

Short bio: Leah was born in Provo (yes, her parents met at BYU) but has spent most of her life divided between Texas and Maryland. (She just claims that she is from “the United States.”) She was fated to return to the college of her birth, and in April 2016 she graduated from BYU–Provo with a BA in English language and minors in editing and Modern Hebrew. After graduation she had a short internship at the Ensign, the result of which was four bylines in that publication. She is currently working as a freelance editor in Jessup, Maryland.

Why I wrote the article: I’ve often struggled with many of the symptoms described in the piece: fear, despair, and pride. These emotions were strongest in high school, when I felt like I was going through a constant battle against darkness. The darkness didn’t come from just the worldliness of the students; it also came from the very curriculum—from the literature in our English classes to the dire predictions of the future in social science. I felt exactly like Casey, the spunky heroine from Tomorrowland; every class I sat in seemed a deluge of doom. I only wish that I’d been as wise and brave as her to raise my hand and ask, “So, what are we going to do about it?” I only sunk deeper and deeper into fear, pride, and despair.

It was only when I went to BYU that I started regaining my hope, and slowly my faith and charity. Maturity, perspective, the Spirit, and the dozens of good, faithful examples around me started filling me with light again. And bit by bit, Heavenly Father started teaching me what I could be feeling instead of despair and doing instead of worrying.

It all started coming together when I was an intern at the Ensign. The revelations kept flowing, and I knew I just had to write them down. So I wrote that article. I went through many drafts—more than is usual for me—to get it just right. I knew if there was one message I was meant to share while I was there, it was this one. I wish I could have added more of my personal journey to the article, but that had to be cut for space constraints (the never-ending struggle of a magazine publication). That is why I am so happy to share it here. Because this article, though it doesn’t appear to have a trace of me, is my story, and I hope by sharing it, I can help someone who was filled with as much despair as I was to realize that there’s another way—in fact, there is His way, and it is filled with more light, happiness, and purpose than he or she can currently imagine.

-Leah Welker

Did You Know? Mormon Channel

I opened Mormon Channel up on my computer yesterday to watch some of Roots Tech live.  It had been a long time since I had visited that site.  I was really impressed with the content available - such a range of topics.  If you are looking for a place to find uplifting and helpful content, then maybe you should give mormonchannel.org a look!  They have radio, podcasts, videos, kids features, and more.

You can follow Mormon Channel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and Google+ to see a Daily Quote - an uplifting bit of inspiration from Church leaders, scriptures, etc.  You can also install the Mormon Channel app on your mobile device to have access away from your computer.  You can use the app on your device in your car or while you're walking, etc. to listen to their radio stations (music & programs) or chose from hundreds of podcasts.

Here's just a sample of what I found yesterday:

Perspectives on the Prophet Joseph Smith (podcast series)
Music with a Message (podcast series)
Driven in Detroit: Bridges to Self-Reliance (video series)
Face To Face (video recordings of the events)
Children's Bible Videos
Easter Videos
Mormon Channel Studio (hymn arrangements and original music from LDS musicians)
Bullied - Let Us Be Kinds (Kids Video)
Laughter is the Best Medicine (Story Mic Podcast)
What Parents Need to Know About Their Kids and Social Media (video)
Teaching Kids How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable (video)
My Experience With Divorce (video)
Living With An Eating Disorder (video)
Facing Postpartum Anxiety and OCD (video)
Returning Early from a Mission (video)
Family Conversations: Talking about Healthy Sexuality (video series)
I'm a Mormon (video series)
Mormon Messages for Youth (video series

As you can see there is a wide range of topics - and my list only shows a tiny bit of what is there!  Maybe today is a good day for you to take a look yourself!

-Lorie Pierce

Did You Know? Share your media talents...

While exploring lds.org today - looking for ideas for this blog post - I found a page I hadn't looked at before.  It is titled "Create and Share Your Media Talents" and you can find it quickly by going to create.lds.org.  Ever wonder where all those quote photos you see on Facebook from mormon.org and mormonchannel etc. come from?  It's all through the Create LDS Media department.

For those with experience/interest in media creation, photography and writing and acting/theatre you can find ways to create, contribute and serve.  There is even a list of LDS Church Photo Needs.

-Lorie Pierce

Premiere of "Lamb of God"

Sisters hopefully you have begun to see publicity for this production in your wards and branches.  If not, this post should be helpful.  I have take the information directly from publicity emails sent out through and to stake/ward leadership.  Should you have further questions, please use the contact information listed below.

Premiere of "Lamb of God" at the DC Temple Visitor's Center - March 24 & 25, 2018 - 4pm & 7pm

"Lamb of God" is a sacred musical retelling of the final days of the life of Jesus Christ, His Atonement and Resurrection. Composed by Rob Gardner, it features Choir, Orchestra & Soloists - including Sandra Turley and Norris Chappell, Jr. Performances are free, but tickets must be Reserved!

More information & ticket link: www.facebook.com/LambofGodDC or Visitor's Center 301-587-0144

The "Lamb of God" is production is new to most members.  You can listen to a short piece from "Lamb of God" on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNXJqNHUGjQ.

The work was written with language from the New Testament and composed in an oratorio/classical concert style.  The doctrines contained within are those common to all Christian denominations, and as such, this is a wonderful event to invite Christian's of different denominations as well as friends of other faiths.  This is NOT the same production of "Savior of the World" that has been presented at the Visitor's Center the last few Easters.

Many Christians are hungry to remember what Easter is truly about - the hope of Christ’s life, His death and His resurrection. This is the perfect opportunity to invite our interfaith friends to come and participate with us.

Questions? Contact Sandra Turley - sandradturley@gmail.com

Official Publicity Poster