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
6/17/10
"I know of no
work in the Church more conducive to spiritual
refinement and communication than temple and genealogical work.
In this
work our hearts and our minds are turned to those beyond the
veil. Such
a work helps us to sharpen our spiritual sensitivities." - Boyd
K. Packer, The Holy Temple , p. 241
7/23/10
"The Saints have not too much time to save and redeem their
dead, and
gather together their living relatives, that they may be saved
also,
before the earth will be smitten, and the consumption decreed
falls
upon the world." - Joseph
Fielding Smith, "Conference Report," April 1948, Third
Day—Morning Meeting, p. 136
10/15/11
I invite the young people of the Church to learn about and
experience the Spirit of Elijah. I encourage you to study, to
search out your ancestors, and to prepare yourselves to perform
proxy baptisms in the house of the Lord for your kindred dead (see
D&C 124:28–36). And I urge you to help other people identify
their family histories. - David A. Bednar, "