I love collecting oil lamps. I have them from all over the world - Jerusalem, Mount St. Michelle, Lancaster Pennsylvania, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco (and no, it is not made of chocolate) etc. Some of my lamps are useful, especially in a black out, but most are just pretty to admire. There is even a story of a lamp that most of us have heard of. A magic lamp that when rubbed, grants three wishes to his master. When it comes to Genealogy, we are all the genies, but we don't grant wishes, we give service.
Genealogy service comes in three different ways. First we research our history so that we can know how and with whom we are connected to. This is often called "finding our roots". The second way we serve is by sharing the stories of our ancestors and ourselves with our 'currently alive family'. Our ancestors have a wealthy understanding of what it takes to survive, to build a great country, to sacrifice to bring forth the next generation. Many of the same concerns we struggle with now, they did then - how to put food on the table, how to connect with cute but obnoxious teenagers, how to handle adversity. The details of the concerns may be different, but the strength and faith are the same. It is just as important for us to record our story for our current and future family. I call this "finding our leaves". The third way we serve is by going to the temple and doing the ordinance work for our ancestors. I have a strong conviction that we are "on the same team" as our ancestors are and each of us were given a job/chore that reflected our talents, abilities, and availabilities. If we are on this earth at this time, one of our assignments is to do our genealogy/family history. There is no one on this Earth whose family history is "finished". That is just not the nature of genealogy/family history. New records are being discovered, indexed and made available all the time. New history is being made all the time. New family is being made all the time. Even if your family history was "as complete as it could possibly be" 10 years ago, it is not now. Many events have happened in the last 10 years, many records made available, and there are those who are now available to have their work done who 10 years ago were not yet eligible. For example, my Grandma West collected information about her siblings. She passed on about the same time as her siblings and their work remained undone. I have been able to recently go and do the work for my great aunt Gertrude and her husband. She and her husband had no children. I was able to finish researching her work and when I found that their temple work had not been done for them, I requested their names to do their work. This is not work that could have been done earlier, even if my Grandma West had "finished the genealogy work for our family".
Our biggest reason to come to Earth is to become more like Jesus and Heavenly Father. We can only do that when we are willing to sacrifice ourselves in the same ways that they have. When we are willing to put our selfish desires, our insecurities, our free time on to the altar. When we are willing to let the Salvation of our brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, and their children and spouses ahead of our selfish desires. When we are willing to do the work and not let the 'cup pass from us', that is when we become more like the Savior. That is when we are living to the measure of our creation because certainly our Heavenly Father would not send in his weakest team to clean up the loose ends. He does not send us down without a life line to connect us up to resources he has made available. He kept us until this time when he has let loose the records of the world so that even a busy mother of 6 can squeeze in time on a daily basis to search records that are hundreds of miles away from her home. I have been able to down load census records, marriage records, journals, pictures of ancestors, pictures of headstones, even search grave yards for additional family members that were as of yet unaccounted for.
Often stories of magic genies granting wishes come with the realization that even when you are given what you think you want, it has down sides you did not know about. Conversely, with genealogy it has upsides that you do not yet know about. From personal experience as a person who has enjoyed temple service through out my life, it is a totally different experience when you have researched someone, know their family-your family, and have gone through the appropriate process to make sure that their work needs to be done (and has not already been done by someone else). It is an amazing spiritual experience; one that changes you/your family for the better. It is a wonderful feeling to have to unite families back together. This work will unlock the windows of heaven and you will have blessing to much to receive.
