While listening to “Music and the Spoken Word” a couple of weeks ago, something that was shared really stood out to me.  “Each day is a day of decision, and our decisions determine our destiny.” (President Russell M. Nelson). It struck me how applicable this thought is to our family’s history.  We can look back to the decisions our ancestors made, forward to future generations, and feel accountable for the decisions that we make in the present.  We are greatly affected by the lives our ancestors lived, for better or worse.  But it is up to us to look back to discover, and forward to apply the lessons we learn.

I look back on the decision my parents-in-law made to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a young married couple living in Norway.  It took so much courage and faith to move from their home and start a new life in a new country.  It is stunning to think about the influence this decision has made in the lives of children and grandchildren, marriages, missions, temple ordinances for ancestors, and many other facets of life. 

I look back on the decisions my ancestors made during their lives.  My family history is rich with pioneers in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I feel such an accountability to them. The decisions they made have brought many privileges to me in my own life.  I’m so thankful for the decisions they made that determined not only their destiny but mine as well.

I have been creating family history storybooks for my grandchildren with help from the parents of my children’s spouses.  Reading the brief histories of  grandparents, great-grandparents, and great, great-grandparents has given me such an appreciation for their families.  It has engendered more understanding, compassion, and love for them.  Family history is an incredible blessing to see each other as a result of many people who have lived their lives making decisions the best they knew how.

None of us can make decisions independent of our family.  Our decisions do not just determine our own destiny, they influence others in past, present, and future generations.  As each of us make time for our families and learn about our family’s history we will see how the decisions of our ancestors shape our individual destinies and how they also shape the destinies of future generations. — Janet Helland, Patron services/ training – Granite Family History Center.