FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE “Hastening the Work” BY PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON
Do you realize that the
restored Church was 98 years old before it had 100 stakes? But less than 30
years later, the Church had organized its second 100 stakes. And only eight
years after that the Church had more than 300 stakes. Today we are more than 3,000
stakes strong.
Why is this
growth taking place at an accelerated rate? Is it because we are better known?
Is it because we have lovely chapels?
These things are important, but the reason the Church is growing
today is that the Lord indicated it would. In the Doctrine and Covenants, He said, “Behold, I
will hasten my work in its time.”1
We, as spirit
children of our Heavenly Father, were sent to earth at this time that we might
participate in hastening this great work.
The Lord has
never, to my knowledge, indicated that His work is confined to mortality.
Rather, His work embraces eternity. I believe He is hastening His work in the
spirit world. I also believe that the Lord, through His servants there, is
preparing many spirits to receive the gospel. Our job is to search out our dead
and then go to the temple and perform the sacred ordinances that will bring to
those beyond the veil the same opportunities we have.
Every good Latter-day Saint in the spirit world is busy, said
President Brigham Young (1801–77). “What are they doing there? They are
preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us to hasten our
work in building temples here and elsewhere.”2
Now, family history work is not easy. For those of
you from Scandinavia, I share your frustration. For example, on my Swedish line,
my grandfather’s name was Nels Monson; his father’s name was not Monson at all
but Mons Okeson. Mons’s father’s name was Oke Pederson, and his father’s name
was Peter Monson—right back to Monson again.
The Lord expects
you and me to perform our family history work well. I think the first thing we
must do if we are to perform our work well is to have the Spirit of our
Heavenly Father with us. When we live as righteously as we know how to live, He
will open the way for the fulfillment of the blessings that so earnestly and
diligently we seek.
We are going to
make mistakes, but none of us can become an expert in family history work
without first being a novice. Therefore, we must plunge into this work, and we
must prepare for some uphill climbing. This is not an easy task, but the Lord
has placed it upon you, and He has placed it upon me.
As you pursue
family history work, you are going to find yourself running into roadblocks,
and you are going to say to yourself, “There is nothing else I can do.” When
you come to that point, get down on your knees and ask the Lord to open the
way, and He will open the way for you. I testify that this is true.
Heavenly Father loves His children in the spirit world just as
much as He loves you and me. Regarding the work of saving our dead, the ProphetJoseph Smith
said, “And now as the great purposes of God are hastening to
their accomplishment, and the things spoken of in the Prophets are fulfilling,
as the kingdom of God is established on the earth, and the ancient order of
things restored, the Lord has manifested to us this duty and privilege.”3
Regarding our ancestors who have passed on without a knowledge
of the gospel, President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) declared, “Through
our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and
the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them
and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them
by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these
duties.”4
There are
millions upon millions of spirit children of our Heavenly Father who never
heard the name of Christ before dying and going into the spirit world. But now
they have been taught the gospel and are awaiting the day when you and I will
do the research necessary to clear the way so that we can go into the house of
the Lord and perform for them the work that they themselves cannot perform.
My brothers and
sisters, I testify that the Lord will bless us as we accept and respond to this
challenge.
Teaching
from This Message
Think of a favorite story from your family history and share
this story with those you visit. You may want to use the questions in the
children’s section of the First Presidency Message (page 6) to encourage those you
visit to share their stories. Consider reading Doctrine and Covenants 128:15 and discussing the importance of
performing temple ordinances on behalf of our ancestors.
Could
I Enjoy Indexing?
By Emma Abril Toledo Cisneros
The author lives in Veracruz, Mexico.
I participated in
our stake goal to index 50,000 names. At first it was hard. On several
occasions the batch I downloaded had difficult handwriting, and sometimes I
wanted to return it and download a different one. But then I realized that if
everyone thought like that, those batches would be left to the end. I could
imagine many lines of people waiting in the spirit world, and I decided to
continue trying to read those names and transcribe them without making a
mistake.
I learned to have
love for those people. I understood that they truly did need help, and we also
needed help from them. I came to better understand that Heavenly Father’s
perfect plan takes everyone into consideration. When we follow the inspiration
and instructions of His chosen leaders, we will witness His mercy and infinite
love.
Indexing has been a lovely experience for me. I learned to value
and love many things about family history. I also obtained gifts of
great value from our Lord by obeying something as simple as participating in
indexing.
Children
Know
Your Stories
Your parents and
grandparents have had many adventures—some you don’t even know about! Some of
their stories will make you laugh, and they can help you have faith in Heavenly
Father. But even adults feel shy sometimes. Use these questions to help them
remember some of their favorite stories and write down or draw pictures of
their answers.
Tell me about your three happiest memories.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Tell me about the day I was born.
What did you like to do when you were a child?
How did you gain your testimony of the gospel?
“Ever Forward”
cji
6/1/14
Going forward is truth
often denied yet there
where all can see/touch
moreover all can feel
within their hearts/souls
finding warmth of spirit
thus will the truth march
nation after nation
one person here/there
a family and/or a friend
happiness carried always
where truth is found to be
allowing the world to see!
Copyright © 2014 – cji
