RootsTech

Life is wonderful! Yes, I know that's a Christmas movie. However, the statement is true year-round, and today was a wonderful example of it. I had the opportunity to attend the RootsTech genealogy conference in Salt Lake with Aubrie today, and I came away with a renewed Spirit of Elijah. To sit there and see so many people gathered together because they want to find their ancestors, to know about them and their lives, astounded me. Yes, I think Aubs and I made up half of the population of people under 65, but it didn't matter. We were all there because of the importance of the work.

A class for consultants taught us about the new direction that the church wants to take in implementing family history--to personally invite every member to begin their search and to find the spirit of Elijah. They aren't looking to make every member aware of the opportunities, and to help them do what they are able to do, not to make everyone a professional genealogist.

A devotional address given by Elder Paul E. Koelliker of the Quorum of the Seventy taught us about the tools we have for family history research. Elder Eyring once spoke to the employees of IBM; he told them that computers were created for members of the LDS church. We were given computers, internet, and all of the amazing technology that we have to make the process of family history work something that everyone can do. To make it easy for everyone to do.

And it's not just about finding old dates and having correct records, it is about families. It is about testimonies. It is about covenants and ordinances. Family history work will increase your measure of the Spirit, because the Spirit of Elijah is just one manifestation of the Holy Ghost. It will come into your life and guide you to the people you need to search, the information you need to find. It will tie you closer to God.

While I didn't necessarily learn about anything new or exciting in the work of family history today, I learned that I have a testimony that God is in it. He is guiding and directing the works of man to bring about his purposes that all men may have eternal life. We are simply His tools acting in the stead of those who cannot. Family history work is the closest work to the Savior's, because we are providing salvation to those who cannot do so for themselves.

And to have that testimony cemented in by attending the temple afterward was an amazing experience. To have participated all day in the sharing of the Spirit, then to go out and act on that testimony immediately after leaving. Those names on the pink and blue and yellow cards are more than just names and dates. They are people who have been waiting for someone--for me and you--to come and do for them what they cannot do themselves. They are there, and they are rejoicing that we have come to help them to progress. Every visit to the temple is a sacred experience that we share with those on the other side of the veil, and I think they will be waiting to greet us and thank us for the work we have done as soon as we join them. I look forward to meeting the people that I have been able to serve.

I have thought a lot about Calista today, whom I met for the first time when I was 14 or 15. She was prepared, and she had been waiting. She was the first name that I took through the temple-ready process, back when it was long and tedious instead of as simple as the click of the mouse. I did not have the opportunity to be baptized and confirmed for her and her sister Julia, but that wasn't important. What is important is that she is no longer waiting.

I'm excited to meet her, to learn about her personality and life. I can't find much information about those details, but I feel as though we are already friends. In fact, I plan to name my first daughter after her. Every time I participate in the work of family history, I can feel Calista nearby, appreciating my work to find others like her, those who are waiting for their chance.  And because of that she is as dear to me as any of you.