Our lesson on July 17th was from our Howard W. Hunter manual, Chapter 14, Hastening Family History and Temple Work. Pres. Hunter was an avid family history researcher. He presided over the Genealogical Society of Utah from 1964 to 1972. He said, "We are observing something glorious occurring throughout the world. The gospel is moving forward to encompass every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Temples are located throughout the earth, and the spirit of Elijah is touching the hearts of many members, who are doing family history and temple ordinance work at an unprecedented pace."
Temples are built for performing ordinances that are essential for the salvation and exaltation of God's children. To understand the importance of family history work, we need to understand the importance of the temple. Pres. Hunter teaches us, "It is in the temple that things of the earth are joined with the things of heaven..." Most people want to know what is it that happens in the temple. First, baptisms for the dead are performed. "Does is seem reasonable that persons who have lived upon the earth and died without the opportunity of baptism should be deprived throughout eternity?...we can perform ordinances for those who did not have the opportunity to do them in [their] lifetime." Second, the endowment is another ordinance performed in temples, for both the living and the dead. It consists of two parts, a series of instructions, and then promises or covenants that the person receiving the endowment makes. The third ordinance performed in temples is that of celestial marriage. Eternal marriages performed in the temple may exist forever. Children born to those parents are sealed to them for eternity. Children can also be sealed to parents in the temple if their parents are sealed after children are born. These same ordinances exist for families who have passes away without being sealing to each other. "All of these priesthood ordinances are essential for the salvation and exaltation of our Father in Heaven's children."
The objective of family history work is to make the blessings of the temple available to all people. There are two parts to this work; doing family history research to find our ancestors, and second by performing the temple ordinances for them to give them the same opportunity as we have. "As we attend the temple and perform work for the dead, we accomplish a deep sense of alliance with God and a better understanding of his plan for the salvation of the human race. We learn to love our neighbors as ourselves. Truly there is no work equal to that done in the temple."
May we be valiant in hastening our family history work. We each need to find a way to do our part to contribute to the important work of family history. Prophets before Pres. Hunter have made it clear the importance of this great work. Pres. Joseph F. Smith declared, "Through our efforts in their behalf, their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them; and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice."
The Prophet Joseph Smith stated, "The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead." He went on to say, "Those saints who neglect it in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation." Doctrine and Covenants 127:4 tells us, "Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts."
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