Today was Ben's mission farewell. I was ask to give a talk on Temple and Family History Work as part of the program. Following is the talk that I gave:
Good afternoon brothers and sisters! After I saw who was all on the program I had to laugh. This is the second time this month that Levi Waldron has been sent to follow in my footsteps. A couple of weeks ago I was called to serve on jury duty. There were 40 of us called to serve that day. In the room full of people I only knew one other person in the room and that was Levi. Out of the 40 people only 13 were called to serve as jurors. I was called as number 12 and Levi remained with the 27 people who had not been called. After a series of questioning, I was excused from the jury and someone out of the remaining people in the room was called up to take my place. I later learned that that someone just happened to be Levi. So thank you Levi for always coming in behind me to be the clean up crew.
Thank you so much to everyone that has come in person and is joining us through zoom to support Ben on this special day. We love and appreciate all of you so much.
Ben, I want you to know how proud of you that I am and I know that Dad would want me to tell you how much he loves you and how proud he is of you also. In the last father’s blessing that dad gave to you, you were admonished to prepare well for your mission because there are a lot of people out there who need your special love and who await your help. You were also reminded how much Heavenly Father loves you, relies on you, and cares about you.
I was asked to speak today about Temples & Family History. I am so excited to take a few minutes to share a few thoughts with you about a subject that is very near and dear to my heart.
As most of you are aware, my husband, Larry, passed away last August after a very long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. I have worked very hard to keep life as stable as possible for my family at home and have made some goals to help me as I go through the grieving process. One of those goals has been to attend the temple every week. For the most part we have been doing pretty well, but this past week proved to be extremely trying.
I returned home on Sunday night from a Widow’s conference in St. George to a house full of family and to holes being cut in my basement ceiling in an attempt to figure out why the ceiling was leaking water and why our cold water had stopped working in some of our faucets. We discovered that several of our pipes had ice all around them. My anxiety skyrocketed about the possible cost and time required to fix this problem. I did not sleep well that night. The next morning I called our friend Rand to tell him what we had found and see if he had any ideas of what could be going on. I was so relieved when we discovered that the ice problem was a very simple fix. We learned that we have two heating systems for our upstairs–a heat pump that was designed to run through our air conditioner and a propane heater. The heat pump is not designed to run at super low temperatures and that was what was causing all of the ice. Once we switched the heat over to propane the majority of the problem was solved. Even though I was so relieved to learn about this simple solution, I was once again reminded of how hard it is sometimes to be a widow and learn the hard way of something that your husband forgot to tell you.
Tuesday at work I was blind sighted by a situation that happened dealing with a government entity. I especially cringe at having to deal with these entities because I have learned through the years that they make their own rules, that often apply to everybody but themselves, and they typically have no mercy. I was very overwhelmed and upset by what I was having to deal with (and it makes it extra hard not having a spouse to consult with). As Rand is my ministering brother, I ask him and his son, Jace, to give me a blessing that night. After the blessing Jace shared some very heartfelt words with me that really gave me great comfort and ultimately changed my whole perspective about my situation.
He shared with me that he had Larry’s picture from his obituary hanging up on his wall as Larry continues to be a great strength and inspiration to him. With tears in his eyes, he then said something to the effect that I have one of the best angels looking out for me and he assured me that everything was going to be ok.
As I pondered on those words I got out one of my favorite books called “Covenant Keepers” by Wendy Nelson and read these words: “As we keep our covenants, we can ask for angels to help us. Literally!”
She then goes on to quote Elder Holland “Now, I’m not talking about praying for fantasy angels with wings to magically fair-dust our problems away. I’m not talking about praying to angels. I’m talking about praying to our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for those on the other side to be dispatched to assist us. Perhaps a departed loved one could be sent to help you with whatever you need.”
“President Joseph F. Smith declared: “When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred (and) friends…In like manner, our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, of reproof and instruction to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.”
Sister Nelson goes on to say, “So, could you use a little more help in your life? If so, keep your covenants with more exactness than you ever have before! And then ask for angels (aka your ancestors and other loved ones) to help you with whatever you need. Or ask for them to be dispatched to help those you love!”
After reading these words my thoughts were turned to the story of Elisha found in 2 Kings 6: 16-17 “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
Visualizing this in my mind helped me get past all of the fear and anxiety of the situations that I was having to face.
In President Nelson’s 2000 talk “Hear Him” he says that “We can hear Him in the temple...There we learn how to rebuke the adversary and draw upon the Lord’s priesthood power to strengthen us and those we love. How eager each of us should be to seek refuge there. The temples were still closed from the pandemic at the time and he went on to say, “When these temporary COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, please schedule regular time to worship and serve in the temple. Every minute of that time will bless you and your family in ways nothing else can.” While worshipping in the temple is presently not possible, I invite you to increase your participation in family history, including family history research and indexing. I promise that as you increase your time in temple and family history work, you will increase and improve your ability to hear Him.”
I have come to believe and understand that as we come to know our ancestors and serve them we are in a position to call upon them for help, much like we build relationships and acquaintances in this life and would be able to call on those around us.
My maiden name is Whitaker and I come from a very rich pioneer heritage. Growing up we had an aunt in the family named “Aunt Erma”. She was a big part in helping to compile this book that I am now blessed to have “The Whitaker Family in England and America”. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading some of the stories from this book and getting to know some of my ancestors. I have especially been drawn to my 3rd great grandfather, George Whitaker, who left us with a 30 page autobiography of his experience of joining the church in England, meeting up with the Saints and some of the incredible spiritual experiences that they had, and traveling across the plains with Parley P. Pratt and Brigham Young. I feel like I have my own personalized version of “The Work and the Glory”.
If you haven’t had a chance to hear Elder Gong’s 2022 talk entitled “We Each Have a Story” I would highly encourage you to read it. He says, “Connecting with our ancestors can change our lives in surprising ways. From their trials and accomplishments, we gain faith and strength. From their love and sacrifices, we learn to forgive and move forward. Our children become resilient. We gain protection and power. Ties with ancestors increase family closeness, gratitude, miracles. Such ties can bring help from the other side of the veil.
Just as joys come in families, so can sorrows. No individual is perfect, nor is any family. When those who should love, nurture, and protect us fail to do so, we feel abandoned, embarrassed, hurt. Family can become a hollow shell. Yet, with heaven’s help, we can come to understand our family and make peace with each other.”
Pictures of the frozen pipes and holes in ceiling
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