The Gospel Blesses Families
I have had the huge blessing and unique privilege of working in Land and Records for the last 18 months. Genealogies, family stories, historical accounts and many records have been at my fingertips. As I look through all of these records and watch as people come in and connect to their histories and their past roots, I can see a literal bridge between the past and the present form. It is a bridge that binds generations together.
It reminds me of standing in the temple and looking in the mirrors that allow us to see no beginning and no end, and yet to realize that I am the link that holds us, my family together in this place and this time. Each member of this church has the personal responsibility to be an eternal bridge builder for their own families. If I want my children and my grandchildren to know those who still live in my heart and in my memory, then I must build a bridge between them. I alone am the link to the generations that stand on either side of me.
The famous Roots author, Alex Haley, once said: “In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage- to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still…an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.”
Being in Nauvoo has been one of the most cherished experiences of my life. In some ways I feel like an interloper because I am a convert with absolutely no family connection here. No one who was here belongs to me. But I do have pioneers of my own who have helped shape my life and who I am. I would like to tell you about my two amazing grandmothers.
My Grandmother Malone lost her mother at the age of 4 years. She was raised by a much older sister who was nothing like her in temperament and nature. Her father was remarried and brought in a stepmother and 3 other daughters who took precedence. When she was married they had very little. She actually lived in a railroad car. She was the mother of 10 children, 3 of whom lived to adulthood. Hemophelia runs in our family and caused a great deal of loss and grief. My daddy was one of her surviving children. My Grandfather and she joined the church when they were in their 70’s and lost all of their friends. I however, never remember seeing her sad, depressed or angry. She was never unhappy, always kind, loving and positive. How I love her.
My Grandmother Upchurch was also a fun loving, adventurous, hard working, beautiful woman. She was married at the age of 17 and contracted tuberculosis at the age of 20. My mother was 2 years old. She was put in a sanitarium in California with 100 people in a large room. She was there for three years. They didn’t allow them to get up often and as a result, she was unable to walk. They experimented on her by inflating her lung and then collapsing it over and over. She was able to see my mother only through an upstairs window as my mother would wave to her from the ground, for three years. She talked about people dying all around her. They finally told her there was nothing to do for her and she got on a train and went back to Clinton, Oklahoma. There they told her that they had only two options. To let her die or to take her lung out, her shoulder blade, and several ribs in an experimental surgery. She chose the surgery. She lived to be one of my very best friends.
I would surely be remiss if I didn’t mention my sweet mother who despite much opposition, joined the church all by herself. What an amazing example of courage, and faith to do what she did. The generations on both sides of the veil are united because of her brave choice and her desire to follow the spirit. She is my mother, she is my sister, she is my friend.
The world and my life is better because these three wonderful women are in it. They are the reason I am a bridge builder.
I had the privilege of being the proxy for my Grandmother Malone as my Daddy laid his hand on mine with 5 other people, to seal him to his parents and brothers and sister that were lost. A bridge built.
When I go home in two weeks, I will again have the privilege of going to the temple. The blessing of being the proxy for my Grandmother Upchurch as my sweet Mother lays her hand on mine to be sealed to her parents for eternity, is a priceless gift, another bridge built.
Family history and temple work have great power. Moroni told young Joseph Smith that Elijah the prophet would come and reveal anew the purposes, powers, and blessings of the holy priesthood which had been lost to the world. Through the keys he would restore, promises made earlier to the fathers would be planted in the hearts of their latter-day children. Our hearts would then turn to our fathers, and, through this impelling promise, the sacred relationships of mortality could be extended forever. Families of the earth could become families of heaven. It is a divine promise in D&C 2;1-2, that states: “Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their father.” If I want my children and my grandchildren to know those who still live in my heart and my memory and have helped to shape who I am, I must build the bridge between them. I am the link to the generations that stand on either side of me. I provide the emotional bridge, the temple ordinances build the eternal bridge. I am so grateful for a loving and merciful Father in Heaven who has allowed for the Gospel to be offered to everyone, regardless of where they were in history.
Part of my Nauvoo experience has revolved around this beautiful, sweet temple. Many of my family names have Nauvoo 2 stamped on them. What a blessing, what a treasure. How grateful I am.
Testimony
Thank you all
