Family History: One of the Best Tutorials in Learning to Hear the Spirit
by Kathryn Grant
As
the world darkens around us before the Savior returns, the guidance
of the Spirit becomes more and more crucial for our lives.
Through
latter-day revelation we learn that, “They that are wise and
have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their
guide, and have not been deceived — verily I say unto you, they
shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the
day” (D&C 45:57.)
But
if you’re like me, learning to recognize how the Holy Ghost
speaks to us is not always easy. I wonder sometimes if what I’m
hearing is the voice of the Spirit or my own thoughts. It takes
learning, practice, and patience to recognize the Spirit and to
distinguish it from the many other voices competing for our
attention.
Enter
family history. After doing family history for a time, I was
intrigued and deeply grateful to discover that it is one of the best
“labs,” as it were, for gaining experience in following
the Spirit.
For
instance, once I had researched and reserved a female relative’s
name for temple work. However, every time I tried to print the
ordinance request, I got an uncomfortable feeling. I was puzzled
because everything seemed to be in order as far as I could tell. Was
it just my imagination or fear of making a mistake?
But
because the feeling persisted, I reviewed my research and sources —
and discovered that I had misspelled this woman’s unusual
middle name. As soon as I corrected the error, the uncomfortable
feeling left and I was able to move ahead with her temple work.
Another
time a certain name, Joel Bescoby, kept coming to mind —
somewhat surprisingly, because I’d already submitted his name
for temple work. However, based on that impression, I reviewed my
research on his family and discovered that I’d failed to add
one of his sons to the family in Family Tree!
As
it happened, this son was killed in action in World War I. As I
completed the research and cleared the name of this man who gave his
life for his country, I had the distinct impression he had accepted
the gospel enthusiastically and was so grateful his ordinances were
about to be performed.
What
other kinds of opportunities might arise for listening to and
following the Spirit while doing family history?
When to do family history
What line to work on
When and how often to go to the temple
Whom to ask for help
How to correct mistakes
Joseph
Smith taught, “When you feel pure intelligence flowing into
you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it,
you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things
that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come
to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it,
you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become
perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 151.)
Each
time we follow the voice of the Spirit as we work on family history —
and there are constant opportunities to do so — we learn a
little more about how the Spirit speaks to us. We become more
confident in our ability to recognize the Spirit, which helps us not
only in family history, but every aspect of our lives.
Kathryn Grant is a user assistance professional with a passion
for usability and process
improvement. She also loves family history and enjoys the challenge and
reward of building her family tree.
As a child, she lived outside the United States for four years because of her father's job. This experience fueled her natural love of words and language, and also taught her to appreciate other cultures.
Kathryn values gratitude, teaching, learning, differences, and unity. She loves looking at star-filled skies, reading mind-stretching books, listening to contemporary Christian music, attending the temple, and eating fresh raspberries.
Kathryn teaches Sunday family history classes at the BYU Family History Library, and presents frequently at family history events. For more information, visit her Family History Learning Resources page