Katelyn Elgaaen in Utica New York: August 14, 2017 The Lord's Servant!

This week has been different, but full of stretching and growth. Transfer's happened and now it is just Sister Davies and me.

The highlight of things I learned this week came from the best three hours, church in Sunday School. We read first in 1 Corinthians 15:29 when basically the question is asked to the Corinthians, why do they baptize for the dead if they do not believe in the resurrection?

In Joseph Smith's time, there was not really anyone who was practicing baptisms for those who have passed on. During a funeral service in D&C 124:25-30 Joseph tells everyone that Heavenly Father has restored the keys to do work for those who have passed on! Everyone during that time would take care of there family members before they died, and so they knew them personally. After the funeral was over the people excitedly got to work baptizing for the dead in the river. The Lord told Joseph that this act was sacred and to build a temple where they could worship and perform such ordinances.

During the time that the Nauvoo temple was being built, the saints were facing a lot of persecution. The dedication and common goal for building a house for the Lord to dwell, and work to be done brought the saints together and united them more firmly in the faith. They were able to withstand the conflicts around them and continue to endure their trials. If there was no persecution the saints would not have become as strong.

I thought that this story was really important because something else that the teacher mentioned was an article from a New York times newspaper about and experiment that a lady performed. The question was, "Why are some families stronger than others?" Her finding was that the more children knew about there family (like did genealogy and work for the dead) the more control they had in their life and the more resilient they became! This was a study done by a nonmember, she found that knowing about your ancestors gave you a greater sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself. She encouraged people to share stories about the past- both the good and how to overcome the bad.

I know that doing work for those that have passed on is important. They are not just names, they are our family. God's plan of salvation was not intended to just save some of us- but all those who are willing.

If you have not started sharing family stories or started working on family History, I suggest that we all do so. Say a prayer before you begin asking for guidance and direction to find the information for those who are ready. I did this a few days ago for the Recent Convert Sarah. She has a desire to attend the temple and could not make sense of the books of history she had on her family. We started with a prayer and just before the lesson was over- had found enough information for her to extend back 3 generations on her mother's side!! I know that we were guided and lead to find that information.

I pray everyone has a wonderful week building the bond between our families on both sides of the veil.