Recently I came across an old Book of Remembrance I obtained in my youth. It contained a handwritten pedigree chart that I filled out in 1978, when my wife and I participated in the ward genealogy class. At that time there were few in my ward that knew anything about family history and the blessings that come from engaging in it. I remember the time it took me to find the information to fill in the chart and how many of the entries were guesses at best. I also remember becoming overwhelmed with what seemed to be an insurmountable task and essentially put it on a shelf and forgot about it almost 30 years.
Around 2008, the spirit wacked me over the head as I listened to Elder Bednar talk about family history. He connected family history to a host of remarkable blessings. Of particular interest was his promise that those engaging in family history will be protected against the intensifying influences of the adversary. He also promised the youth that if they engaged in temple and family history work they would be safeguarded in their youth and throughout their lives. As our ward and stake started to engage in this great work, I saw those promised blessings materialize. I saw increased light in the eyes and countenances of those participating. I came to realize the importance of everyone participating in family history.
Notwithstanding my testimony of the importance of family history work, I found myself easily overwhelmed again when I started to work on my family tree. Each time I would work on it I would get stuck. As a result I again put my work on the shelf until the next strong prompting came to get to work on it again. Whether it was a conference talk, an invitation to participate in the Sunday school family history class, or a consultant asking me how I was doing, the Lord kept those promptings coming and I knew I needed to spend more time, energy and focus on family history.
One of the first consultants called to serve at the Granite Family History Center was Bob Taylor. He recognized that many people wanted to do family history but, like me, found it difficult to learn. Bob started by writing a short summary of steps to take to perform a particular task. What began as a single page is now the Family History Guide which guides you through every aspect of family history and links you to millions of resources. It is used all over the world to help members and nonmembers alike enjoy the blessings of engaging in family history.
Besides the Family History Guide, there are tremendous resources available from the comfort of one’s home, including FamilySearch, BYU Family History Library, the Granite Family History Center website and of course, Google. Rather than being subject to a lack of help, there are more resources than we can ever use. Today, we live in a world of information overload, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the volume of information available. Again I sought help in filtering through all that is available to focus on what is of greatest worth to my family and me today. The answer came from the age old counsel of Nephi found in 2 Nephi 28:30:
“I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more . . . .”
Just like Bob Taylor received inspiration to use his talents to develop a great resource, each of us is entitled to revelation to guide our focus in family history. Over the past three years I have been on a most remarkable and joyous journey as I have simply followed the promptings I have received. My main focus has been on writing histories of my father and mother. In so doing I have researched the lives of their parents and grandparents. When I started I had little information, but through a miraculous series of events, I have found pictures, articles, and important documents that I did not know existed. I was led to reach out to relatives and friends that shared touching experiences and valuable information. My relationships with those living and those deceased were greatly enhanced. Line upon line, my life has been blessed. I look forward to all that I have yet to learn and the many blessings in store as I participate in this great work. — Dave Castleton, Director- Granite Family History Center