Damaris Fish on genealogy

In the 1970s there was a recording released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the Seminary program. I am a convert to the Church, being baptised when I was 20 years old; so I did not go to Seminary when I was in high school. The one song I remember now was, "Like Unto Us", so the Savior said.... This song really made an impression on me to consider the relevance of the scriptures to us in our lives in this day and age. I am in the habit now of asking myself about how the lessons the people in the scriptures learned (or not) I might apply in my own life.

Marc and Angel Hack have a blog with lists and the one I just reviewed had 40 thought provoking questions to help us order our priorities for our lives. These are questions I am going to use in my journal entries. But they are not just questions for me - they are questions everyone might ask, and especially our ancestors who faced life-changing decisions. I can imagine the hard questions our ancestors must have asked as they gave up - whatever - to move forward to a better life.

One of the blessings of doing genealogy research and learning more about my family's history is that I am gaining more understanding of their challenges. Sympathy, too, and love; to know you is to love you. How well do I know my living family? It is a matter of ordering priorities again, reflecting that where your heart is.... Researching and learning about our ancestors is one thing - they may be elusive, but at least they hold still & don't talk back & give you a hard time getting to know them. Sometimes that's not the case with living family members. Sigh. Does the Spirit of Elijah help work miracles turning hearts in families on this side of the veil, too?

Yes.

posted by Damaris Fish @ 7:06 PM