“In order for the Church’s family history efforts to succeed, priesthood direction and leadership are essential. Leaders teach and testify of the doctrine undergirding this sacred work. They issue callings and see that instruction is available. They view temple and family history activity as a way to elevate the spirit of their ward, strengthen the spiritual roots of new converts, and bless the lives of all members.
While temple and family history work has the power to bless those beyond the veil, it has an equal power to bless the living. It has a refining influence on those who are engaged in it. They are literally helping to exalt their families.
We are exalted when we can dwell together with our extended families in the presence of Almighty God. The Prophet Joseph Smith foresaw our duty: ‘The great day of the Lord is at hand … ,’ he said. ‘Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter‑day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple … a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.”
Russell M. Nelson, “Generations Linked In Love”, April 2010 General Conference
“The Spirit of Elijah affects people inside and outside of the Church. However, as members of Christ’s restored Church, we have the covenant responsibility to search out our ancestors and provide for them the saving ordinances of the gospel. ‘They without us should not be made perfect’ (Hebrews 11:40). And ‘neither can we without our dead be made perfect’ (Doctrine & Covenants 128:15).”
David A. Bednar, “The Hearts of The Children Shall Turn”, October 2011 General Conference
To get started, you do not need equipment. Begin with a pedigree chart and a family group record. List the names of those you know. Add information learned from living relatives. This simple start at home will prepare you to receive additional help. And when you are baptized for a deceased ancestor, you will sense a feeling of validation of this divine work that will bring great joy.
As we ponder the importance of our ancestral responsibilities, we also need to be reminded of the Lord’s vast ministry. I quote from President Joseph F. Smith: ‘Jesus had not finished his work when his body was slain, neither did he finish it after his resurrection from the dead; although he had accomplished the purpose for which he then came to the earth, he had not fulfilled all his work. And when will he? Not until he has redeemed and saved every son and daughter of our father Adam that have been or ever will be born upon this earth to the end of time… That is his mission. We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission. The dead are not perfect without us, neither are we without them.”
Russell M. Nelson, “A New Harvest Time”, April 1998 General Conference
“At present you may find it difficult to go to the temple personally, but you can submit ancestors’ names for temple work. You may live where resources are very limited. Begin with ancestors that are closest to you. Search beyond your surname, following all lines of ancestry. Following the simple guidelines, prepare requests for temple work. Resolve to bless the lives of those who are dependent upon you—and in so doing, bless your own life profoundly.
I don’t need to tell you the details of where to go and who to see. When you determine you are going to succeed, you will find a way. You will discover those who can help you. I promise you the Lord will bless you in your efforts, for this is His work, and He will guide your prayerful efforts to bring the ordinances and covenants to your ancestors.
I have tasted enough of the fruits of this sublime work to know that the keys Elijah restored to Joseph Smith permit our hearts to be bound and each of us linked to those of our ancestors who are waiting for our help. Through our efforts in holy temples here on earth using the authority delegated by the Savior, our progenitors receive the saving ordinances that allow them to enjoy eternal happiness.”
Richard G. Scott, “Redemption: The Harvest of Love”, October 1990 General Conference
“Many of your deceased ancestors will have received a testimony that the message of the missionaries is true. When you received that testimony you could ask the missionaries for baptism. But those who are in the spirit world cannot. The ordinances you so cherish are offered only in this world. Someone in this world must go to a holy temple and accept the covenants on behalf of the person in the spirit world. That is why we are under obligation to find the names of our ancestors and ensure that they are offered by us what they cannot receive there without our help.
For me, knowing that turns my heart not only to my ancestors who wait but to the missionaries who teach them. I will see those missionaries in the spirit world, and so will you. Think of a faithful missionary standing there with those he has loved and taught who are your ancestors. Picture as I do the smile on the face of that missionary as you walk up to him and your ancestors whom he converted but could not baptize or have sealed to family until you came to the rescue. I do not know what the protocol will be in such a place, but I imagine arms thrown around your neck and tears of gratitude.
If you can imagine the smile of the missionary and your ancestor, think of the Savior when you meet Him. You will have that interview. He paid the price of the sins of you and all of Heavenly Father’s spirit children. He is Jehovah. He sent Elijah. He conferred the powers of the priesthood to seal and to bless out of perfect love. And He has trusted you by letting you hear the gospel in your lifetime, giving you the chance to accept the obligation to offer it to those of your ancestors who did not have your priceless opportunity. Think of the gratitude He has for those who pay the price in work and faith to find the names of their ancestors and who love them and Him enough to offer them eternal life in families, the greatest of all the gifts of God. He offered them an infinite sacrifice. He will love and appreciate those who paid whatever price they could to allow their ancestors to choose His offer of eternal life.”
Henry B. Eyring, “Hearts Bound Together”, April 2005 General Conference.
“Temple and genealogy work are visible testimonies of our belief in the resurrection and atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Should we doubt that we live again beyond the veil, what reason would we have to do the things we are doing?
This work is our witness of the redemptive power of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Boyd K. Packer, “Covenants”, April 1987 General Conference
“The statement of President Joseph F. Smith, in speaking of the redemption of the dead, provides a touching explanation of the joy felt by all who participate in this and other similar endeavors: ‘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.”
Thomas S. Monson, “The Priesthood In Action”, October 1992 General Conference
One of the most thrilling results of being involved in family research and genealogical research is becoming intimately acquainted with our ancestors—their challenges and achievements—and then showing our gratitude by performing for them the ordinances that will allow them to obtain the greatest of all gifts—the gift of eternal life.
David B. Haight, “Linking the Family of Man”, April 1991 General Conference
“It will help us always to remember Paul’s succinct prioritizing of virtues—‘Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.’ He reminds us we are all of the body of Christ, and that all members, whether comely or feeble, are adored, essential, and important. We feel the depth of his plea that there be ‘no schism in the body, but that the members … have the same care one for another. And [when] one member suffer[s], all the members suffer with it; or [when] one member [is] honoured, all the members rejoice.’ That incomparable counsel helps us remember that the word generosity has the same derivation as the word genealogy, both coming from the Latin genus, meaning of the same birth or kind, the same family or gender. We will always find it easier to be generous when we remember that this person being favored is truly one of our own.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Other Prodigal”, April 2002 General Conference
“If temple ordinances are an essential part of the restored gospel, and I testify that they are, then we must provide the means by which they can be accomplished. All of our vast family history endeavor is directed to temple work. There is no other purpose for it. The temple ordinances become the crowning blessings the Church has to offer.”
Gordon B Hinckley, “New Temples to Provide ‘Crowning Blessings’ Of The Gospel”, April 1998 General Conference
Position Statement:
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared in Doctrine & Covenants 128:18, “Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel.” As stated above, all roads in family history work within the gospel lead to the temple where saving ordinances will be performed to link us together as families for eternity. In 1 Corinthians 15:29 the Apostle Paul speaks of baptism for the dead which becomes a biblical basis for the practice that is carried out today in LDS temples and a main reason why we seek to do family history work. With the technology of our day this work has become ever more accessible to all, both young and old. In 1836 with the appearance of the ancient prophet Elijah to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the prophecy found in Malachi that the hearts of the children would turn to the fathers and the fathers to the children began to be fulfilled. Today we see family history work as one of the biggest hobbies and pastimes in the United States as the Spirit of Elijah permeates the hearts of many throughout the world. We must be diligent in this work, for we know what is at stake.
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