Does someone do everything in your family? Our effort is not to get someone to do everything, not to get everyone to do everything, but to get everyone to do something.

When Cara was born she was our first and the first grandchild on both sides and a first great-grandchild. Soon after I was putting together a baby book and I wanted a family tree page. I wanted to use the picture of an olive branch and I wrote this to explain why I had used it. "Just as one small branch of an olive tree signifies peace and unity, so does one small baby bring peace and unity to the eternal family." My parents came to visit and my dad saw this page, read what it said, and got all choked up and teary eyed. And he seldom shows his emotions. Having my first child gave me a glimpse of what Malachi's promise means to me.

We know that this work is the welding link between the living and the dead. We need those on the other side for our salvation and they certainly need us.

When I was young my dad had a dairy farm. We would often go down to the barn and watch my dad or grandpa milk the cows. A big treat was getting a dipper, full of that fresh, ice cold milk straight out of the big tank. I want to liken this to the work for the dead. We could never have had the results of that work without the cow. We also could never have had the milk without the hands of the milkers to get us the milk. They needed each other. Just as those who have gone before us and us here on earth need each other. And we have many things to help us just as the milker has the milking machines, the cooling tanks, etc. We have many resources to help us in finding their names, and we have the temples. And we are also promised great blessings for doing this, which is like that extra in milking cows--the cream that rises to the top of the milk.

Sentimental--favorite things

My grandmother died this past year. (QUILT) She was a member of the church, her parents were very active. But she wasn't always active and would not consider getting her temple work done. Yet she faithfully supported all my brothers who went on missions, and was very proud of every church calling her only child, my dad and any of us held. She thought genealogy was useless and silly. (BOOK) She didn't realize that she was participating in this great work we now call Family History (which is turning our hearts to our ancestors.)

Now getting back to the cows and the milkers, I hope that those cows are not just grazing lazily on the other side. Those who have had their temple work done have their work cut out for them, to help those who haven't become ready to accept it. I think because of all this work she did she is probably that much closer to accepting some of the things she didn't accept here.

When she died she was working on a book. The history of her parents and all of their families. I know that it is now my responsibility to finish that for her and I feel like she is counting on me and that is something I can do to turn my heart to my ancestors.

Have you heard it said that the time when you are raising young children is not the time to do your genealogy? That can be a good reason not to feel guilty about not doing this work, or it can be an excuse for not doing anything. I feel like I have been busier and sometimes smothered with too much to do these past six months since my baby was born. But I have (maybe because I knew I had to give this lesson) taken advantage of the opportunity to do a few things as one thing sort of led to another. The relief society asked me to write down an experience or story from one of my ancestors. I hadn't had our family histories out for years. I knew I didn't have time that week but said yes anyway. I spent the following Sunday readimg through some histories that my grandmother had written about her family. I wanted to learn more of my great grandmother, (PICTURE) whom I had known until I was about 7 years old. (STORY?) (CAPE) Well, I couldn't put it down and went on to read about my great-grandfather's family and how his dad Robert Gardner and his brother Archibald built the Gardner Mill in West Jordan. Now I have been there many times and love the fact that it is so old and has a history, but I had no idea that it was our Gardner's who built it.

Then in General Conference in October Pres. Hinckley started telling the story about Robert Gardner being baptized in a hole in the ice that was 18 inches thick and being confirmed on a log next to the frozen pond. Then he told in Archibald's words of their mother's baptism in the hole in the ice. She had been on her deathbed and many doubters came to watch her die from being put in the cold water. One said even he would join this church if she didn't die. After the baptism she was no longer sick and the next time he saw her he thought he was seeing a ghost, but he didn't join the church. (ARCHIBALD GARDNER BOOK)

For one of Dallin's cub scout requirements he was supposed to visit some historical sight in the area, so I took him to see the Old Gardner Mill. He was full of questions about all the wheels, the well, and the equipment that is still there (most of which I couldn't answer) but he was intrigued that one of his grandfathers built it and we had pictures of him. (PICTURES)

This summer on one of those hairy days when I didn't even have time to stop and talk to the kids TK said to me, "I liked the good old days better than now". It got my attention and I stopped to ask him what he meant by the good old days. He said, "you know, when you used to work on our picture books."

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, an important part of temple and family history service is the teaching that parents do in their own homes. The resultant doctrinal understanding and the loving attitudes toward dead ancestors, yield downstream the gathering of names and visits to the temple, which are the vital, important product of this work. The loving unity in an eternal family, which is the ultimate end of this work, can be seen to begin with what parents do with 3 year olds, and 7 year olds and 12 year olds in family home evening. When parents are doing that they are contributing greatly to family history work. If we prayerfully seek for guidance, our Father in Heaven will help us to know what we can do to further this great work, whatever our time of life or circumstance.

by Sally O Meservy