Pat really wanted our youth to hear the story, so at Stake Conference he asked her if she'd be willing to do this. She told him she no longer gives firesides, but for him she would do it.
She took part of Elder Bednar's talk in October, "The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn." In the talk he stated, "I now invite the attention of the young women, young men, and children of the rising generation as I emphasize the importance of the Spirit of Elijah in your lives today...Many of you think family history is to be performed primarily by older people. But I know of no age limit described in the scriptures or guidelines announced by Church leaders restricting this important service to mature adults. You are sons and daughters of God, children of the covenant, and builders of the kingdom. You need not wait until you reach an arbitrary age to fulfill your responsibility to assist in the work of salvation for the human family."
Then he goes on to say, "It is no coincidence that Family Search and other tools have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a wide range of information and communication technologies. Your fingers have been trained to text and tweet to accelerate and advance the work of the Lord - not just to communicate quickly with your friends.The skills and aptitude evident among many young people today are a preparation to contribute to the work of salvation.
"...As you respond to this invitation your hearts shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be implanted in your hearts. Your patriarchal blessing with its declaration of lineage, will link you to these fathers and be more meaningful to you. Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives."
That is quite the promise. Janet, said to them, and stated several times later to me, "If I had kids at home, that message would be plastered throughout my home...you need to know this promise, and be taught to live up to it. What a wonderful promise...that you will be protected from the adversary, and safeguarded in your youth, and throughout your lives."
I had read the talk before, but I hadn't grasped it's significance, not really. Those who have children at home, pay special heed, and get your kids on the computer to do indexing, or family history. That could make the difference in their eternal salvation. Teach them this promise.
Janet also shared how her father faced a dilemma in the construction of the temple. I love the Oakland Temple, it's uniquely beautiful. The panels shown above with Christ and the Twelve is amazing. At the time he had no idea how they would fix it to the temple without unsightly bolts showing. He didn't know what to do, and he prayed about it, earnestly. He wanted everything to be right. The brother that oversaw the temple construction from Church headquarters had told him, that if there ever was a problem, go to the Lord, He would tell him what to do, since it's His temple.
He did just that. One Sunday when his daughter had to give a talk in Junior Sunday School he sat on the back row to listen to her talk. While he sat there he had a vision of just what to do - to know exactly the kinds of materials he needed, even down to which store to purchase them at. He actually went to that store and the clerk said they didn't have those, then he asked if they had a store room where they stored things that hadn't sold that he could look in and see what was available. The guy said sure. He took them back to the store room and there sat the box of tension rods that he needed to support the three panels.
The Lord answers prayers. If we are doing His work, He will guide us so that His will can be accomplished. Isn't it marvelous?
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