Here's her talk:
I’ve been
asked to talk about opening our hearts to others particularly to our ancestors
and people from church history. In
Malachi chapter 4 verses 5 & 6, it says, “Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6 And he
shall turn the heart of the fathers to
the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
President Joseph Fielding Smith
explained these verses in this way: ““Who are the fathers spoken of by Malachi, and
who are the children? The fathers are our dead ancestors who died without the
privilege of receiving the gospel, but who received the promise that the time
would come when that privilege would be granted them. The children are those
now living who are preparing genealogical data and who are performing the
vicarious ordinances in the temples.
“The turning of the
hearts of the children to the fathers is placing or planting in the hearts of
the children that feeling and desire which will inspire them to search out the
records of the dead.”
In other words, we
have the responsibility to do family history and temple work for our ancestors.
My mom and I just took
a trip to the church history sites in upstate New York. One of the places we visited was the Peter
Whitmer farm in Fayette, New York. While
we were there, we heard a neat story about how Peter Whitmer’s heart was
changed. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
needed a place to stay while they finished translating the Book of Mormon. They
asked David Whitmer if they could stay at his father’s farm. At first, David’s father, Peter, said
no. But then he said if David finished
plowing the whole farm, he would let Joseph and Oliver into his home. David worked hard but it wasn’t going as fast
as he would like. He prayed that if this
was the Lord’s work that the Lord would provide a way for him to be a part of
it. The next morning when he went outside
to begin plowing, a large section had been plowed for him. After his father saw this, his heart was
opened and he sent David to get Joseph
and Oliver. They were able to finish
translating the Book of Mormon in the Whitmer home. David Whitmer became one of the 3 Witnesses
to the Book of Mormon and 4 of the Whitmers were among the 8 Witnesses to the
Book of Mormon. In addition, the Church
was organized in their home.
This summer I have been able to go to
three different temples to do baptisms for the dead. I can feel the spirit when I am there. I’ve been able to do baptisms for ancestors
that lived 300-400 years ago. They
weren’t able to be baptized for themselves, so I am able to do those ordinances
for them. I feel happy and at peace when
I do that work.
I also like to hear stories about my
ancestors. One of my great, great,
great, great grandmothers was named Mary Fitzgerald. She was born in Ireland. She had
very dark curly hair and an olive skin. She was short and did not weigh much
over 100 pounds. She was very careful about her dress. It was said of her that
she always changed all of her clothing and put on clean before going any place.
She worked in the coal mines in Wales.. Later she went into the candy business, making her own candy. Even though she never learned to read or write, she was a keen business woman and kept her accounts straight. She saved money from her business and also some each week from her husband’s wages, because she was determined to come to Zion. She had to save money for a long time in order to join the Saints in Utah, but she did come. I admire her faith and sacrifice. Learning about her and other ancestors helps them seem real and helps turn my heart to them.
She worked in the coal mines in Wales.. Later she went into the candy business, making her own candy. Even though she never learned to read or write, she was a keen business woman and kept her accounts straight. She saved money from her business and also some each week from her husband’s wages, because she was determined to come to Zion. She had to save money for a long time in order to join the Saints in Utah, but she did come. I admire her faith and sacrifice. Learning about her and other ancestors helps them seem real and helps turn my heart to them.
Opening
your heart to others can really bless your life and the lives of others. It helps you in many ways.
