Jesus Wants Me for a Bonding Blacksmith - Updated
Posted by Michelle on August 8th, 2007
I recently got a newsletter with this headline on one of the articles. It caught my attention. Perhaps it will catch yours.
The article quotes from Elder Nelson’s most recent most recent Conference talk.
The Prophet Joseph Smith…revealed that “the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children. … We without [our dead] cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. … [This] dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place.”
“Jesus wants me for a sunbeam”? Yes! And you too! He also wants us as bonding blacksmiths—creating celestial welding links—to curb the curse of family fragmentation. The earth was created and temples provided so that families can be together forever. Many, if not most, of us could repent and be converted to more temple and family history work for our ancestors. Thus, our repentance is necessary and essential for their repentance.
I need to repent. For all the time I spend at my computer, I haven’t spent nearly enough time indexing. (That’s an understatement.) And so, I’m setting a new goal: one page a week. At least. And I’m inviting you to join me, to set your own goal and be a part of this work. (NOTE: This is different from doing your own personal family history; it’s simply helping the Church digitize records that are currently on microfiche so they can be put into a searchable database. It’s something you can do from home at your computer. You can do as much or as little as you want. Each batch (page) takes less than an hour.)
If you are reading this, you have a computer and internet access. That, combined with a desire to help move the Lord’s work along, is all we need. Oh, and a little discipline. 
This article tells you about all you need to know. I signed up through my stake, but you can also go to FamilySearchIndexing.org and sign up, and get started right away!
Who wants to join me?
For a while, I said I would not return to the temple until I got my family history done. Then I decided I wouldn’t be able to do my family history until I felt I was giving enough time to my children. Then I realized I needed the Temple experience for the sake of my children.
I guess ultimately, I have realized that life is all about doing the right things at the right times.
Comment # 1 left by Matt W. on August 8th, 2007
I think you may have to go on without me for a while Michelle.
There was a time when my boys were in cub scouts, but I did not have a calling with the youth. So I needed to drive my boys into the church anyway. So I decided that I would get into the family history center in our building during this time (they were open for business during the youth night). My parents, grandparents, in-laws, aunts, uncles, etc., have all done a lot of work on geneology. I did get excited for the first couple of months leaning about ways to search for names. I even was checking ship passenger lists for names back in the 1700’s.
But even after more than a year of a couple of hours a week, I did not find a name. My enthusiasm has gone way down. The kind folks at our FHC were very kind and helpful. Is the statement, ‘my family has done all the work that can be done’ always just an excuse?
Unless there is some great find of information it just seems like I am stuck.
Comment # 2 left by Eric Nielson on August 8th, 2007
Actually, Matt and Eric, this is simply a way to serve that allows us to help them get all the microfilm stuff digitized — it’s not about doing one’s own personal family history. Sorry I didn’t make that more clear!
You can do as little or as much as you want. I’m also one who feels at a loss for my personal history, but this is simply a service, and one that allows us to help with “redeem the dead” in a simple and I can-do-it-from-home and not-so-time-consuming way.
Go read that article. It helps explain it all better.
Comment # 3 left by Michelle on August 8th, 2007
I like to believe I understand the eternal significance of being sealed to a spouse (even though most of earth’s history has been forced or arranged marriages which to me should NOT be forced to be sealed), but I have a hard time understanding the significance (other than the direct order from God, of course) of sealing parents to children in a chain like fashion. Why can’t we all be sealed directly to Adam and Eve and call it good? What function does the hierarchical chain provide in the eternities? What does it mean for a Celestial person to be sealed to Telestial parent? If God will fix the holes or weak links, why doesn’t he fix the hole network?
Comment # 4 left by Daylan on August 8th, 2007
So this is what the August Ensign was talking about, right?
How do you like it so far?
Comment # 5 left by Téa on August 11th, 2007
Daylan,
These are interesting questions, and I don’t have an answer, but I can speculate. I think there is something compelling about being tied to people we know and have associated with (at the immediate level), and tying ourselves to people we have a direct line/connection to. It also makes family history/temple work easier. If we didn’t search by family lines and connections, how would we know for whom to do the work? And how would we be motivated to do it? I think there is more motivation to be tied to known kin as opposed to being all tied back to Adam and Eve (which, anyway, by default, will be happening through the process of sealing anyway…that whole chain thing).
Téa, this is what the article was about, and it’s cool. I wrote this to set a goal because I haven’t really done much yet, but I want to.
Comment # 6 left by Michelle on August 12th, 2007