Carpenters

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Family History.  Every time I talk about an aspect of it, I always wonder why I didn't say more.  I recently made some videos to go with the ones we had done previously and after church today I thought, "why the heck didn't I say that too?"  Here's what I think.  There are simply too many blessings to bring up in one conversation.  Once your vision expands, it is hard to find the stopping point.  

It's kinda like looking at a building sized pixilated picture up close.  You can see each individual pixel.  Someone has explained to you what the picture looks like and you think you can make out the components that make up the picture.  Each new principle you learn is like taking 1 step back.  Each time you learn something new, you see more of the picture and each time, it is spectacular.  Well, I've taken about 10 steps back from the Family History picture and it is a pretty spectacular painting.  I can see all the individual pixels while looking at the big picture.  

I'll see if this can make more sense as I go along.  I wish I were smarter and much more talented in explaining things, but since I'm not, we're just gonna have to make due.  

I started on this Family History journey, probably, around 18 months ago.  I wrote a much more detailed account somewhere else because I've discovered that I could essentially write a book.  It will be hard to narrow it down on here and just hit the basics, but I'm gonna give it my best. 

While I was indexing death certificates and census records I discovered that I loved complete strangers and noticed that I didn't think of any of the people as creepy or weird or evil etc…they were all just people who I wanted their families to be able to find.  Thinking of people in this way lead me to understand that is how I should be thinking about people who are alive.  Love really is the answer.  In the turbulent world we live in we have to not succumb to the advisories playbook and instead take the high road by having the attitude, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Luke 22:34

Then I discovered while doing baptisms for my ancestors the importance of doing this work for them.  I had always imagined spirit prison as a physical place, but I started thinking about it as a state of the heart.  It's not like I didn't know what it meant to be baptized but for some reason new understanding entered into my mind regarding the remission of sin.

Mosiah2:  38 Therefore if that man ^arepenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine ^bjustice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own ^cguilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the ^dpresence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and ^epain, and ^fanguish, which is like an unquenchable ^gfire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.

I began to understand more fully the chains of guilt and remorse that my loved ones were trapped in until they could have the cleansing ordinance of baptism and they were left comfortless until the confirming ordinance of the Holy Ghost that could only be performed by the living…which would be me and my kids.   

Then I wondered why I had to do work specifically for my family.  Why not just helping any ole person wasn't enough.  As I pondered, read and kept moving forward with faith, I soon was able to see more of the picture.  I was beginning to understand that Heavenly Father has wisdom and order in all things.  He uses the Priesthood as the structure for his church.  When you look at the way the church is structured it is much like family units.  My stewardship or line of responsibility regarding who I'm supposed to worry about making it back into our Fathers presence is those in my family unit.  

This understanding of the purposes of the family unit lead me to want to repair family relationships in our extended family.  We had been estranged from someone in our family for 2 years and had been praying and wondering how to mend things.  Armed with the promises of doing family history and a new understanding of our purposes here on earth, we set out to try again and we received a miracle.  

That is as much of the picture as I could see for about 1 year.  All those other aspects fell into place in a few month period.  I thought I had seen all of the picture at this point.  

About 3 weeks ago I started getting bugged by a little prompt on the family search website.  When I would go into the temple ordinance portion to select family cards to print there would be this blue oval with the number 7 in it indicating that there were 7 people I could do work for if I got permission from the nearest living relative.  It really started to bug me, but I thought there was no way I could ever get the work done.  1 year ago while we were deep in the process of this FH project I was praying and working up the nerve to call my parents when I ended up in a big fight with my Mom about Mormons. Well, the wind got knocked out of my sails and I was resigned to continue waiting. 

Well, now a year later this little blue oval was tormenting me and I decided that I needed help.  I got my 2 oldest involved in the process and explained to them what I wanted to do and what I needed them to do.  Here was our mission:  pray!  Pray to know if it was the right time to ask.  Pray to know who should do the asking.  Pray for courage and the right words.  Pray for help from beyond the grave if my grandparents were eagerly awaiting their work to be done.  I set the deadline.  2 weeks and then it was either go time or wait some more time.  

The end of the 2 weeks came and it was time to figure out if we received any inspiration.  Jared hadn't prayed yet so I sent him to his room with the instruction to come out when he had an answer for me.  Emma and I talked about the impressions we had.  She wasn't completely sure, so I told her what my thoughts were.  She should call my Mom and I should call my Dad.  She was surprised because that was exactly what she had been thinking.  That is called revelation so we went with it.  Jared decided that we should call but that he would just be there for support- which is exactly what we had thought.  We wrote down what our plan was as far as what we would say so we didn't get tongue tied and could recover if our brain froze on us. 

Though we were certain that our hearts would stop beating, they in fact did not and we were able to get the permission we needed to do the work for my grandparents.  We learned something about revelation and trust.  We also learned that part of asking for permission is really about having missionary opportunities with our families.  

OK,  see how complicated this is getting?  I'm already getting overwhelmed by how much I still have left to talk about!

What about the title of this post?  "Carpenters?"  Well, I come from a long line of carpenters on my Dad's Dad's side.  I began to think about the significance of carpenters.  What carpenters do.  They fix, they build they repair.  They are not quitters.  Everything can be fixed even if that means you tear things back to the studs or down to the foundation.  I was beginning to understand how family ties can be broken and left looking unrepairable when those who don't know how to quit find themselves quitting.  Empathy and compassion was taking root in my heart.  My sense of purpose.  My capacity to become a carpenter in the Lord's Kingdom.  I could work to repair those chains that bind the hearts of the fathers to their children and the children to their fathers- lots of scripture references to that.  After all, who was the master carpenter?  I have the capacity within me to emulate him if I am willing to seek His will and do His work. 

Here's a quote by Joseph Smith that I love "But how are they to come saviors on Mount Zion?  By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptism, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and heron is the chain that binds the hears of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah…"

The day after Thanksgiving we went to the Temple.  I had been thinking for a week about being a carpenter - one that wasn't only working on the past, but the present and future as well.  I was also thinking about that chain that binds our hearts and wanting to get a picture in front of the temple with our arms linked, forming a chain with the cards of my grandparents in our hands and the temple with the angel moroni looking to the future.  

I wasn't sure how we were going to make this temple trip happen because I realized that the 2 little ones were not in school because it was still the holiday break.  I also didn't know who I would get to take the picture.  When the family we had been estranged for 2 years from was leaving our house Thursday night, after a wonderful day together, a plan formulated and fell together.  I was taking her oldest daughter to the temple with us.  Dropping my 2 littles off at her house to play.  Then feeling that I might need an extra Priesthood member with us because of the holiday I asked my BIL if he could accompany us and bring his oldest daughter too.  I thought it would be extra fun to share in the experience of doing family names with our extended family.  Overwhelming proof that our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to be successful in His work. 

Below is the picture representing the chains that bind the hearts of the fathers to their children and the children to their fathers.  

I couldn't have asked for a better experience.  We were there to mend the past and we were simultaneously mending the present and hopefully the future at the same time.  I was overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude for being able to share this experience with 2 of my nieces.  Gratitude that nothing is irreparable when you are about your Father's business.  

Today was Fast and Testimony meeting and I thought I might go up but then I talked myself out of it and then I talked myself back into it.  I got up and shared my testimony of the experience we had on Friday and what this entire experience has done to change my life, change my heart and change my eyes.  

After Sacrament meeting the Gospel Doctrine teacher came up to me and teased that I stole her entire lesson.  It is little experiences like that -ones that seem coincidental on the surface- but really testify of each other.  Sure, I could have know what the lesson was if I were awesome and read the lessons before church, but I'm not, so I had no idea.  

Here's what I wished I would have said in those videos as I was pondering this subject more today during the lesson.  Taking another step back from the picture.  (I actually ended up making these following comments in class today)

We think about doing family history as this great service that we perform for someone else.  While that's true, we get something out of it as well.  We get power and protection.  As we learn who are ancestors were - and as I discovered about my carpenter ancestors - it has given me an identity.  A purpose.  Confidence in who I am and what I'm capable of.  Engaging in this stewardship of saving our families is more than a linking chain.  I am starting to think of it in terms of fortification.  Our family units are like the cities that Moroni was going around and making sure were fortified.  We are building family walls of protection.  We are fortifying our souls against the adversary.  

My challenge to you (if there is a you) today is to start your family history.  Take the experiment.  The only way to know is to do the work yourself.  You have to put your own oil in the lamp, no one can do that for you.  Blessing and miracles await you.  Confidence in your identity and your purpose for being here await you.  An opportunity to feel more love, more joy more hope and more peace.  I'm reading President Eyrings book right now and the pattern and the possibility of becoming more like the savior seem more attainable….and yet so far :0)  Will I ever get to his level of spiritual giantness?  Don't know, but I'm sure going to try because if I want to be hanging out in the Celestial Kingdom I've got to be comfortable hanging out with President Eyring. ( Doctrine and Covenants 88 talks about this)  What I do know for sure is that I have become a lot closer than I ever dreamed possible for an ordinary person.  The more I learn the more I want to learn.  The more like my savior I become the harder I want to work to do more to become like him.  

A couple more of my all time favorite verses from Section 88(the entire chapter is amazing) and the "why" to wanting to become more like the Savior 

 67 And if your eye be ^asingle to my ^bglory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light ^ccomprehendeth all things.

 68 Therefore, ^asanctify yourselves that your ^bminds become^csingle to God, and the days will come that you shall ^dsee him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.