You can only eat an elephant one bite at a time. Family history is an elephant. There is so much to do! But it is impossible to complete it all at once. We have to take baby steps. Slowly but surely we will be able to accomplish all the Lord asks of us as long as we are trying! All the little things will add up.
So what baby steps can you take?
1. Pray. Pray for the desire to find your ancestors. Pray to feel the spirit of Elijah. Pray to be guided to those who need you. Pray to have success in your work. Pray to be an example to your family and friends. Pray to have the determination to not give up. Pray always!
2. Find help. Whether you have never done family history before and don't know what you are doing or you have done family history before and you are just stuck, there is someone who can help. Find out who in your ward, branch, or stake can help you. Contact someone at Family Search through their online help options or by calling directly. Go on lds.org and type in "family history" in the search bar. There are always loving people ready and willing to help you.
3. Pull out the books. Find and open up those dusty old scrapbooks and journals from your crazy great aunt (or whoever kept records for your family). Look through the pictures, notes, and words of those who have passed on before you. They are the reason you are here today. Become familiar with the people, the dates, the places, and the events. You need this information to complete their family history work as well as yours! If you don't have access to records or no one ever kept any in your family, start writing down things you remember about family members who have passed on and record their history for them!
4. Write your own books! We have records of our ancestors because someone wrote them down. If your histories are never written, your descendants will never know of your records. If you don't currently have any journal, scrapbooks, memory books, etc. start making them! It does take time and effort but if you take baby steps and just start small, all of it will add up. For example, if you don't have a lot of time to journal, try to write down one miracle you see each day or even each week. Then when you get the time you can start to elaborate on some of the things you wrote.
I know that the Lord will direct our steps when we go to Him with sincere righteous desires. I know that we are each called to participate in family history work in any way we can. I know that we will be blessed with power, guidance, and comfort when we put our full effort in doing our best. I know that we can each develop a strong and sure testimony of family history work if we just have the desire to and we don't give up!
No comments:
Post a Comment