The Joy of Family History

A couple of years ago, my son was given a simple challenge in primary that has transformed him and our family for the better. The ward family history specialist came in to sharing time with a basket full of candy bars. Of course, every eye in the room was glued to that basket as the couple challenged each child to go home and ask their parents about their family history. They challenged the older kids to ask their parents about indexing. If they collected three family history stories or indexed 10 names with their parents, they could come collect a candy bar the next Sunday.
My son took this challenge to heart, and I knew no rest until we sat down and indexed 10, 20, then 50 family names. We talked about his ancestors, for whom he developed such a love that he decided to write an upcoming primary talk on one of his great-grandfathers. His face alight as he shared this ancestor's story with his friends, I saw the spirit taking root in his young heart.
This young boy used his considerable powers of persuasion to spend many more Family Home Evenings and family gatherings doing indexing, filling out his generational chart, and poring over fan charts. His enthusiasm filled me with a desire to get involved as well. The spirit of Elijah grew in our family thanks to this simple challenge.
Elder Richard G Scott added to this challenge: “Do you young people want a sure way to eliminate the influence of the adversary in your life? Immerse yourself in searching for your ancestors, prepare their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost...I can think of no greater protection from the influence of the adversary in your life.” (“The Joy of Redeeming the Dead,” Ensign, Nov. 20121, 94.) -Sister Bethany Draper, 6th Ward Young Women Counselor

Elder Stott in Australia, Thoughts on Conference

I would like to take the opportunity to share part of a letter that my son Dalton sent home from the Sydney South Australian mission. In Australia they watch conference a week later than we do so last week’s letter reflected Elder Stott’s thoughts on conference. --Brother Ryan Stott, High Council

"Conference is SO AMAZING as a missionary.  Every talk just seems to bring the spirit so strong and encourage you to keep going.  My favorite part about conference is that it is a "lift me up", not "bring me down." It helps us and motivates us to keep going.  It warns us of things that we need to be careful of and protect ourselves and our families against and it helps us in cleaning up things that we need to clean up.  But the purpose of conference is not to tear us down.  No matter where you are in life you are doing GREAT!!!  And I encourage you all to keep going.  Life is hard and it is meant to be hard.  One of my favorite quotes from Elder Holland this isn't exact but close, "why should it be easy for us when it was never easy for the best person to ever walk the face of this earth?"  I love this quote because it is talking about our Savior Jesus Christ.  It is so true!  When we look back on our Savior's life, He went through so much.  So much pain, so much rejection, so much let down.  His life was so hard, but He was able to do it.  Our lives will never come close to what our Master went through while He was here.  But we can follow His example.  One of my most favorite hymns is "Come Follow Me" He was that example to us, a perfect example and we have all the tools and things we need to follow Him.

"We can ALL do it and just imagine the reward at the end.  It will be better then a big bowl of ice cream with all the toppings or for me a big bowl of popcorn:) WE can do it and I encourage all of us to keep going.”

Smithfield South Stake Family Discovery Day

Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 1-4pm at the Stake Center

This is YOUR Day! Has finding family in your tree got you stumped? Maybe you're new to family history, or you're not sure what to do next. Well, that’s just what Family Discovery Day is for!  Join us on Saturday, April 23rd from 1-4pm at the stake center.  This is YOUR day to learn, ask questions and be inspired!  This is the day to begin your journey back in time to find and discover your ancestors.  They are a part of you and you are a part of them.   Please join us for a wonderful, uplifting and edifying day . . .  IT'S YOUR DAY!  We can't wait to see you! Some additional details: Finding Names When Your Tree Is Full.  For those with several generations already in the tree, finding new family names can be a challenge. You've only just begun! Find the missing fruit in your family tree by exploring descendant lines. —Kevin & Christine Branch. Family History for Beginners. Feel a special connection with your family as you start to look beyond the names, dates and places and discover the real people in your family tree. Make it about hearts first, then the charts. —Dennis Watkins Fixing Duplicates and Relationships. Learn the basics of merging duplicate records and also how to edit family relationships when records are linked incorrectly. —Tim Patty Navigating the Family Tree. An introduction to FamilySearch.org. Learn to explore your family lines using alternate views; update information for ancestors; add new names; evaluate hints; add sources; and other helpful tasks. —Tyler Dawes and Madison Sickler Finding Records with FamilySearch Partners. Introduction to Ancestry, FindMyPast, and MyHeritage. These powerful tools, available to LDS members, provide additional options for finding your ancestors. —Alisa Davenport Hands-on Demos: Preserving Memories. Upload photos, stories and documents and work with the new Memories Gallery. Apps Gallery. Useful tools that help you find, connect, organize and explore your family. Helpful Hints. Tips and tricks on a variety of topics, and valuable resources that are available. Indexing Lab. Current indexers as well as those wanting to learn are encouraged to participate in this indexing event. Training will be provided for beginners. Laptops are needed. Workshop and Help Lab. Bring your electronics along and work on your own family tree. This is a fun way to dedicate some time to family history and work alongside family and friends.  Mix and match class time with the lab, or just spend time in the lab. Personalized assistance is available as needed. Children's Activities. Careful planning and preparation has gone into selecting structured activities for children under twelve. Family history is for the entire family and this is an opportunity to introduce children to the doctrine and images of family history with age-appropriate activities.   Smithfield South Stake Family Discovery Day Saturday, April 23rd 1:00 - 4:00pm Discover the promised blessings that await all who make temple and family history work a part of their lives . . .  IT'S YOUR DAY!  Come join us! Refreshments provided! Be sure to bring your laptop or mobile device. For questions, contact a member of the Family Discovery Day committee: Suzanne Boring, Alisa Davenport, Tyler Dawes, Sheryln Doyle, Sandi Hayden, Brenda Low, Steve Mackley, Bryant McKay, Madison Sickler, Cheryl Swenson, Diane Demars, Ron Demars, Ryan Stott

Smithfield South Stake Family Discovery Day · 451 South 250 East · Smithfield, UT 84335 · USA

Raised from the Dead

From the Improvement Era, October 1929

On the 6th Ward Addiction Recovery Sunday School class for all members...

"My wife and I with our 12 year old son just completed the 12-step addiction recovery class in our ward. What a powerful Sunday School Class! In our classes we discussed some very serious and heavy topics related to the more devastating types of addictions. Our instructors were wonderful and treated each step with clarity and sensitivity. It was a beautiful experience to be reminded of the power of the Atonement and the renewing strength it brings in each of the 12 steps. The power of the Atonement is real!"

-Brother Chris Harrild, 6th Ward

Getting the Gospel Down Into Our Hearts

Elder Eyring once said that he learned from President Hinckley that we must do better at getting the gospel down into our own hearts and the hearts of those we love and serve. We should constantly be asking ourselves how to meet that challenge.

Elder Boyd K. Packer spoke in General Conference in 1977. His talk was titled "The Mediator." In his talk he said:

"[The Atonement of Christ] is the very root of Christian doctrine. You may know much about the gospel as it branches out from there, but if you only know the branches and those branches do not touch that root, if they have been cut free from that truth, there will be no life nor substance nor redemption in them."
["The Mediator," Ensign, May 1977, p. 56].

Quite possibly, the only way to meet President Hinckley's challenge to do better at getting the gospel down into our hearts is to focus all we do on the Atonement of Christ. We can take our example from the prophet, Nephi, when he said, "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophecy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26).

I testify that as we center our lives on the Savior and His atonement, we will also have cause to rejoice. May we always remember Him.

-Sister Knight, Stake Relief Society

Answered Prayer and Service

About ten months ago I decided to start a lawn mowing business. I searched KSL for many weeks to finally find the mower that I wanted. I purchased the mower and began to mow. About 20 minutes into my first mow, the mower completely blew up, and was unfixable. I didn’t know how I was going to save enough to buy another mower.
I talked to my parents for a good amount of time, they asked me not to get back on KSL. After many hours of not knowing what to do, I decided to pray. About 20 minutes after praying, I had the impression to get back on KSL. The very first add I decided to click on was the mower I had been longing for all year. It was way out of my price range, but I decided to call anyways. The man answered the phone and I told him my situation, on how I lost my mower and I was trying to start a business. He then asked me if I was religious. I responded yes and told him I was a priesthood holder in the LDS church.
He told me to come to his house and look at his mower and we could work out a deal.
I arrive at his house and realized I was working with a young guy. The guy told me that he and his brothers had used this mower to pay for their missions and that they had decided to give me the mower for free, as long as I agreed to “pay it forward” and pay my tithing. His brother had recently been paralyzed in a wakeboarding accident, and they were very thankful for all the people who had helped them and their family, so they wanted to do something to pay it forward. He couldn’t use the mower and decided to let me have it.
I could not believe that they wanted to do this for me. They did not know me but they were willing to trust that I would do as they asked.
I am not going to let them down, so to this day, I am still trying to donate hours of my time to service. I am also a full tithe payer. I am thankful to this guy and his family for showing me there are kind and Christ-like people in this world and it truly makes me want to follow their example.

-A Member of The Smithfield 6th Ward Young Men

A Call to Action That Sparked a Life Changing Event

Smithfield 16th Ward shares a video from the Ward Mission leader about how a young member issued a call to action that sparked a life changing event for another. Amazing story!