Family History For Youth
Newsletter for Youth and Youth Leaders in the Los Angeles Temple District (North)
The Holy Ghost and Temple &
Family History
The Holy Ghost is especially involved in temple
and family history work. The Old Testament prophet
Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 to
restore the keys of sealing power and turn the hearts of
the children to their fathers, as foretold in Malachi 4:5-6.
We speak of the Spirit of Elijah as a special spirit
associated with family history.
The Spirit of Elijah is the Holy Ghost.
President Russell M. Nelson said, The Spirit of Elijah is
a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the
divine nature of the family.
Elder David A. Bednar has described the spirit
of Elijah as a distinctive influence of the Holy Ghost
that draws people to identify, document, and cherish
their ancestors and family members both past and
present.
This manifestation of the
Holy Ghost touches anyone who
engages in family history work.
Non-members of the church as well
as members feel it. That is why
family history is such a popular
hobby it brings warm, happy
feelings to people as they work on
learning about their ancestors.
Yes, you might feel frustrated
when the computer doesnt work
right or you cant find the
information you want, but your
heart feels warm from the Holy
Ghost.
Elder Boyd K. Packer talked about this. [You]
cannot touch this work without becoming affected
spiritually. The spirit of Elijah permeates it. Many of
the little intrusions into our lives, the little difficulties
and the petty problems that beset us, are put into proper
perspective when we view the linking of the generations
for the eternities. We become more patient then. So if
March 2017
you want the influence of dignity and wisdom and
inspiration and spirituality to envelop your life, involve
yourself in temple and genealogy work.
The Holy Ghost will help you with
your family history work. We receive guidance in
all the activities of our life. Family history research,
where we seek relatives who need temple ordinances, is
especially close to the Holy Ghost. Beyond inspiration,
we can receive actual help in finding identifying
information needed to request temple ordinances.
This means we need to gain experience in
recognizing inspiration and following it. Of course, with
many of the resources available to us, such as
FamilySearch record hints, it is so easy to find the
necessary information that fewer promptings are needed,
once we get to work.
In addition, since prophets
have told us most of the people in
the spirit world will accept the
gospel, many or most of our
ancestors are anxious to receive
temple blessings. You are not
looking for the one or two people
who might accept there are many,
right from your own family, so you
dont need to worry about following
a wrong line. Some branches of
your family may be especially
anxious, and the Holy Ghost can
help you identify them.
Elder Melvin J. Ballard, an apostle many years
ago and grandfather of current apostle Elder M. Russell
Ballard, said, When you have gone as far as you can go,
the names of your righteous dead who have embraced
the gospel in the spirit world will be given to you
through the instrumentality of your dead kindred. But
only the names of those who have received the gospel
will be revealed.
 Therefore, you can be confident that when you
find family names, those spirits are anxious to receive
their temple blessings. If you are having a hard time
finding someone, you must still go as far as you can
go and seek help from the Holy Ghost.
Pray to know who to work for. Pray to be
sensitive to impressions. Pray that the people you work
for will feel the love and gratitude you have for the
Savior, and for them. Pray that you will be effective in
your use of time.

For many righteous youth, the
companionship of the Holy Ghost feels
normal, not unusual. You may be doing family
history and not feel a specific prompting. That could be
because you are on the right track. In addition, while
you are following the right course, you have become
accustomed to the good feelings and may even take them
for granted.
In these cases, continue doing the work, using
all the resources available to you, until you feel
something is wrong. When we are on the correct path,
the Holy Ghost does not need to prompt us to change
course. So even if you dont feel specifically prompted
while you are doing your family history work, the Holy
Ghost is with you. It feels familiar, not unusual, because
you are used to that companionship. You would notice
and feel distinctly uncomfortable if it was missing.
For instance, a person who is indexing can
usually read the records and type the data onto the
FamilySearch data entry form without much divine
assistance. You feel good about the indexing work you
are doing; you know you are providing an important
service. However, if you make a mistake, you may feel
a prompting to go back or thats not right or I am
not a son; Im a daughter. The Holy Ghost has been
with you throughout the process, but you only needed
prompting when you made an entry error.
Family history work leads to the
temple. Dont forget that family history work has a
specific purpose to bring the blessings of gospel
covenants to your ancestors. So be sure to attend the
temple frequently. Become a regular, not someone
who only attends once or twice a year. When you bring
your own family names, you have an open invitation to
come as often as you want weekly, even daily. (That
gives you a reason to keep working on your family
history!)
Remember, too, that there are other important
ordinances that come after baptism. Some take longer to
complete than baptisms. Make specific arrangements to
have someone act as proxy in these other ordinances.
Your relatives want all the blessings available to them,
including sealing. Adults who have been endowed in the
temple returned missionaries, people who are married,
many other adults can complete these ordinances for
you. Your request can motivate them to attend the
temple more often. It is a great way to help them receive
blessings as they complete important work.
Your devotion to temple and family history
work can be an inspiration to others, as they follow your
example and feel the Spirit of Elijah/Holy Ghost in their
lives.

Invite the Holy Ghost when you do

family history work. Always begin your family
history work, whether looking for relatives who need
temple ordinances, adding memories, or indexing, with
prayer perhaps even kneeling prayer. The work may
seem straight-forward, but it is deeply spiritual and the
Lord wants to help you.

We are here to participate in the work of salvation. Thats who we are, thats why were here on the
earth. ... You were prepared for this day. The time is now.Elder David A. Bednar

For more information:

Taking family names to the temple go to familysearch.org
Indexing go to familysearch.org/indexing
Templechallenge.lds.org
You can contact us Tom and Linda Tippets at TTippets@byu.net, LindaTippets@yahoo.com or 661-645-6295
Newsletter Editors: Ralph and Linda Miller