The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
(11/30/97)
"Through family history
we discover the most beautiful tree in the forest of creation - our family tree.
Its numerous roots reach back through history, and its branches extend
throughout eternity. Family history is the expansive expression of eternal love.
It is born of selflessness. It provides opportunity to secure the family unit
forever."—Elder J. Richard Clarke, "Our Kindred Family--Expression Of Eternal
Love", General Conference, April 1989
(12/1/97)
"Missionary work is not limited to
proclaiming the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people now living
on the earth. Missionary work is also continuing beyond the veil among the
millions and even billions of the children of our Heavenly Father who have died
either without hearing the gospel or without accepting it while they lived on
the earth. Our great part in this aspect of missionary work is to perform on
this earth the ordinances required for those who accept the gospel over there.
The spirit world is full of spirits who are anxiously awaiting the performance
of these earthly ordinances for them. I hope to see us dissolve the artificial
boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and
genealogical work, because it is the same great redemptive work!"—The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.540
(77-01)
(12/2/97)
"One of the most
thrilling results of being involved in family research and genealogical research
is becoming intimately acquainted with our ancestors their challenges and
achievements and then showing our gratitude by performing for them the
ordinances that will allow them to obtain the greatest of all gifts: the gift of
eternal life."—Elder David B. Haight, "Linking The Family Of Man", General
Conference, April 1991
(12/3/97)
"Not only must the gospel be taken 'to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people' here in mortality, but it
must also be preached to all of our departed ancestors in the spirit world. A
great missionary campaign must go forward until all who have died without the
law of the gospel will have the opportunity to accept or reject it. Temple work
will not be completely effective without missionary work. In fact, the people in
the spirit world have to learn the various gospel truths, receive the gospel
plan of salvation, repent of their sins, and prepare themselves to receive the
temple ordinances which have been performed for them vicariously before that
great work reaches a fulfillment and gives to the people the blessings that they
should receive."—Milton R. Hunter,Conference Report, October 1951, p.143 - p.144
(12/4/97)
"The Lord is stirring up the hearts of
many there, and there is a perfect mania with some to trace their genealogies
and to get up printed records of their ancestors. They do not know what they are
doing it for, but the Lord is prompting them; and it will continue and run on
from father to father, father to father, until they get the genealogy of their
forefathers as far as they possibly can."—Discourses of Brigham Young, 15:138
(12/5/97)
"Great activity has been manifest
during the year 1908 on the part of the saints in their temple work.... The
saints should take advantage of every opportunity to obtain the records as far
as possible of their ancestors, that their redemption through the ordinances of
the House of God might be obtained."—James R. Clark,Messages of the First Presidency, Vol.4, p.193 -
p.194
(12/6/97)
"Why smite it [the earth] with a curse?
Because the people are careless and do not look after the salvation of their
dead, do not let their hearts be drawn out after their ancestry, do not seek to
perform those ordinances that are necessary for their redemption, that they may
be redeemed by law. If we would not be smitten by a curse, let us seek after the
redemption of our fathers, as well as of ourselves, for says the Apostle Paul,
'they without us can not be made perfect, neither can we without them be made
perfect.' We may do all that we please for ourselves, and yet if we, through our
carelessness and indifference, neglect to seek after the salvation of the dead,
the responsibility will be upon our own heads; and the sins of the dead will be
answered upon us, because we had the power to act for them, and we were careless
and indifferent about using it."—Orson Pratt,Journal of
Discourses, Vol.16, p.261
(12/17/00)
"In this Church we are not hobbyists in genealogy work. We do family
history work in order to provide the ordinances of salvation for the living and
the dead." — Dallin H. Oaks,
"Family History: 'In Wisdom and in Order,'" Ensign, June 1989, p. 6
(12/18/00)
"We are a covenant-making people. These eternal blessings are for all who
wish to worthily receive of them, both the living and the dead. In the mercy of
God we are privileged to receive these blessings by proxy for our deceased
ancestors who did not have this privilege in life. They, of course, may choose
whether to accept these blessings. Our duty is to search out our forebears and
give them the opportunity to accept and receive these blessings. As the Prophet
Joseph Smith said, 'The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid
upon us is to seek after our dead.'" — James E. Faust, "Eternity Lies before Us," Ensign,
May 1997, p. 20
(12/19/00)
"Yet there is an abundance of role models who can be found much closer and
who can have much deeper influence upon each one of us. Most of us, with
relatively little effort and much less cost, can provide for our families a
veritable list of important role models. This list can be created from a modest
search into the lives of our ancestors." — Monte J. Brough, "Search for Identity," Ensign,
May 1995, p. 41
(12/20/00)
"Yet there are many members of the Church who have only limited access to
the temples. They do the best they can. They pursue family history research and
have the temple ordinance work done by others. Conversely, there are some
members who engage in temple work but fail to do family history research on
their own family lines. Although they perform a divine service in assisting
others, they lose a blessing by not seeking their own indred dead as divinely
directed by latter-day prophets." — Howard W. Hunter, "A Temple-Motivated People," Ensign, Feb. 1995, p.
4
(12/21/00)
"We renew our appeal for the keeping of individual journals and records and
compiling family histories.... [S]ome families possess some spiritual treasures
because ancestors have recorded the events surrounding their conversion to the
gospel and other happenings of interest, including many miraculous blessings and
spiritual experiences.... I promise you that if you will keep your journals and
records they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to
your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through generations." — President Spencer
W. Kimball, General Conference, Oct, 1978
(12/22/00)
"We have a responsibility pertaining to our kindred dead. The Prophet
Joseph tells us, and it is on record, that the greatest responsibility that God
has laid upon us is that of looking after our kindred dead. Until the Church was
organized, and there were temples built, and an opportunity for the living to do
something for the dead, there seemed to be no occasion for our forebears to look
to us. There was nothing we could do for them. But with the introduction of the
Gospel, and the building of temples, the Lord sent his servant, Elijah, as
predicted by Malachi he would do, who conferred the keys upon Joseph and Oliver
of the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of
the children to the fathers. " — Elder George F. Richards, "General Conference
Reports", October 1930 p.53
(5/6/04)
"Personal roots, physical and spiritual, merit gratitude.
For my life, I am grateful to my Creator as well as to my dear parents and
progenitors. I try to honor them by learning of them and serving them in the
temple. (See
D&C 128:15
.) Parents have a responsibility to share knowledge of their
personal roots with their children and grandchildren. Learning their history
together unifies a family." - Russell M. Nelson, "
Roots and
Branches
," General Conference, April
2004
(3/7/05)
"Once you complete your four generations, you are not finished. Continue to
search out all of your ancestral lines. The four-generation project becomes a
platform for launching further research. In fact, this is one place where you
move forward by reaching backward! 'It is our duty,' counseled Elder John A.
Widtsoe, 'to secure as complete genealogies as possible, to discover our fathers
and mothers back to the last generation, to connect, if it may be possible, with
Adam, our first father upon the earth-a duty which we cannot escape'
('Genealogical Activities in Europe,' Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine,
July 1931, p. 104)." - A. Theodore Tuttle, "Eternal
Links That Bind," Ensign, May 1980, p. 40
(4/2/05)
"The world cannot understand why people converted to our faith should sever
the ties of home and kindred, and forsake comfort and ease, to gather with this
Church in a far-off land. But the inspiration which had touched our hearts,
showed to us that in the land of Zion there was a work to do for our dead. We
were shown that the unnumbered dead were not forgotten, and that the sealing of
parent and child from generation to generation in an unbroken chain was a scheme
for the salvation of the whole of our race. Many persons in this country and in
the old world have wondered why, in old times, records of baptisms were kept in
the churches, and why, in our own country, so many persons have devoted so much
time and labor to compiling their genealogies. Those who have done this have not
understood the doctrine of turning the hearts of the fathers and children to
each other as we do, but they have been acted upon by an inspiration which has
impelled them to perform this work." - John Henry Smith, "Baptism for
the Dead," April 8, 1888
(6/10/05)
"Life is soon gone. Grandparents do not live
forever. Parents all too soon become grandparents and in turn pass away
themselves. They and their influence will then in part be lost as memories begin
to fade. All too soon our imprint in the lives of our descendants begins to
dwindle. We can keep that flame of love burning brightly if we write down a
personal history of our lives and that of our families. By so doing we can pass
on to our descendants in a more permanent form the courage, the faith, and the
hopes we felt within us as we lived our lives and solved the problems which
faced us. Passing an account of these experiences on to them will provide them
with vital guidance and direction.
"In these personal histories we can express to them our
love, our hopes, and our desires. We can pass on to them a knowledge of our
family ancestry and express to them the pride we feel in our family heritage and
the blessings we have received through those who went before us. In this manner
we can keep the flame of love burning brightly in our children long after we
have gone. When we reduce to writing those things that have strengthened our own
faith and courage, we strengthen faith and courage in our children and
grandchildren." - Theodore M. Burton, "
The Inspiration of a Family
Record
," Ensign, Jan. 1977, 14
11/23/06
"But there is life beyond the veil. Every thought
or word or act we direct at this sacred work is pleasing to the Lord. Every hour
spent on genealogical research, however unproductive it appears, is worthwhile.
It is pleasing to the Lord. It is our testimony to Him that we accept the
doctrine of the resurrection and the plan of salvation. It draws us close to
those who have gone before. It welds eternal links in family associations and
draws us closer to Him who is our Lord and stands in the presence of Him who is
our Eternal Father." - Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple , p.256
7/26/07
"Brethren and
sisters, assembled in this great conference, I believe the Lord requires of us
that we all set our houses in order in this respect, that each man and woman,
every family, set about to secure, just as completely as may be possible, a
record of their dead, so that thereby the genealogies of the human family may be
gathered and increased in number, and we may have ample material with which to
labor in the temples of the Lord. Such work is not difficult to do. It may be
done by any man or woman. The intricacies of arranging names in systematic
genealogies may be done by those who are experts in such work, but every man and
every woman in Zion may gather names, later to be fully arranged, and should
give some little time to such work. With respect to gospel principles, perhaps
none is more important in developing spiritual power and strength than that
which pertains to the salvation for the dead. Whether we are near a temple or
far away from it, we may be able to give some little time to the important work
of gathering the names of our dead and arranging them for use in the temples." -
John A. Widtsoe, "Conference Report," April 1927, Afternoon Meeting,
p.32
1/22/08
"There is an urgency to engage more
fully in the redeeming of our kindred dead through more frequent temple
attendance. All those who possess temple recommends should use them as often as
possible to engage in baptisms, endowments, and sealings for the dead. Other
members of the Church should concern themselves seriously with preparations to
qualify for temple recommends that they, too, might enjoy these eternal
blessings and also act as saviors on Mount Zion. There is an ever-increasing
burden of temple work to be done by the Saints, and we should rise to meet this
challenge." - Spencer W. Kimball, "Hold
Fast to the Iron Rod," Ensign (CR),
November 1978, p.4
4/1/08
"As the Lord gave His life to prove His
love for His brethren and sisters, the human race, we may show the spirit of
love more vigorously than we have done if we will make the small sacrifices
necessary to seek out our genealogies, to spend time and money for the work, to
take time to go to the temple ourselves for the dead. All such service may
entail sacrifice, but sacrifice lifts us toward the likeness of God, the
likeness of our Elder Brother Jesus Christ. If we Latter-day Saints have any
great ideal, it is that of our Elder Brother. All that we strive for, and all
that we have fought for, and all that we pray for, is to become more and more
like Him as our days and years increase. As He gave His life, unselfishly for
us, so each of us, extending the open door of salvation to the dead, most of
whom are but names to us, may then by our unselfishness claim in very deed to be
followers of Christ." - John A. Widtsoe, "Conference
Report," April 1943, Afternoon Meeting,
p.38
6/10/09
“We
who live in this day are those whom God appointed before birth to be his
representatives on earth in this dispensation. We are of the house of Israel. In
our hands lie the sacred powers of being saviors on Mount Zion in the latter
days.” - “The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter,” edited by
Clyde J. Williams, p. 233