In his talk in April of 2018, Elder Renlund promised that we would find healing in our families if we would follow President Russell M. Nelson’s invitation given just six months earlier:

“We can be inspired all day long about temple and family history experiences others have had. But we must do something to actually experience the joy ourselves. . . . I invite you to prayerfully consider what kind of sacrifice—preferably a sacrifice of time—you can make to do more temple and family history work.”

At that time the Spirit prompted me to write a history of my dad. When I started working on it I thought that I was writing it for my children and grandchildren. Because my dad passed away quite young, most of my children and none of my grandchildren ever met him. As I interviewed aunts and uncles, business partners and researched my father’s early life and experiences, I found my love and appreciation for him and other family members grew tremendously. What started out as a project soon became a passion.

The greatest blessing that came from writing the history of my father came after I had sent a copy of the history to my siblings. My parents’ divorce years ago and the breakup of my family had left many scars, some of which I was not even aware of. Through the medium of this history of my dad, feelings that had been put on the shelf almost 50 years ago were shared and addressed and I witnessed powerful healing blessings. As I went back and read Elder Renlund’s talk again, I realized my family and I had been the personal recipients of the following blessings he promised:

• Increased family blessings, no matter our current, past, or future family situation
• Increased love and appreciation for ancestors and living relatives
• Increased power to discern that which needs healing and thus, with the Lord’s help, serve others
• Increased assistance to mend troubled, broken, or anxious hearts and make the wounded whole

Subsequent to writing the history of my dad, I felt prompted to write a history of my mom. She is still living, but due to health conditions and advanced age she felt there was little to live for. Through researching and writing the history of her life, my love and appreciation for her grew. I came to understand her better and some of the choices she made in her life. My joy was full when I shared some of the highlights of her life with my children and grandchildren. I again discovered the prophetic counsel of Elder Renlund when he told us that when God directs us to do one thing, he often has many purposes in mind. My greatest joy came when I shared it with my siblings and my mom.

Because my mom’s vision is compromised, my siblings and I would read parts of her history as we visited her. When we had completed reading the history to her, she smiled more brightly than I have seen her smile in years, and said: “I’ve had a pretty good life, haven’t I?”  At that moment I realized that I needed to write that history to help her look back on her life with joy and appreciation.

I now realize that when the Spirit prompts me to do something, I need to do it. I may think I know the reason why I need to do something, but I have come to know that I am really unaware of all the blessings Heavenly Father has in store for me and for those around me. I know that family history has blessed my life beyond what I ever could have imagined. Heavenly Father has encouraged us to participate in temple and family history not only to bless the dead, but to bless the living.

–David Castleton – Director – Granite Family History Center