Family Discovery Day was held on Saturday, November 2 at the stake center with classes and displays. The keynote speakers were Brother Rand & Sister Shirley Packer from the St. George Family Search Center.
Brother Packer said that on April 6, 1836 the Jewish families opened their door to let Elijah in as is their custom at Passover. Eljah di come that day but not in the way the Jewish people had anticipated. “It was a magnificent event when Elijah came to the Kirtland Temple.”
“The family search center in St. George is a house of miracles.” he said Bro. Packer related some of those stories and then said, “There are 160 missionaries and many service missionaries at the center. There were5.5 million new search accounts added last year and 97% of them are non-members desiring to find their ancestry. There are one million records added to family search every day. The church is making it a world-wide family tree with family search missions in Dubi, India and other countries. Get ready from some little miracles in your life. One person in your fan chart maybe the reason you are a member of this church.”
Sr. Packer spoke about the joy of finding family ancestors. She said, “they are waiting for you to do their ordinances and there is joy and rejoicing when we do.”
The Scenic Ward had a display with a family tree quilt made by Marie Walker for her grandmother’s 50th anniversary in 1988 with all the names of her descendants. They also had framed pictures with antique curved glass of ancestors and a video to watch.
There was a display of family tree ideas with names, or pictures. Handouts on using printable family tree templates were available. Family search.org has several designs to use.
A bronze sculpture of handcart pioneers made by Madge Tovey was on display recalling the pioneer trek to the Salt Lake Valley with their child in the handcart, father pulling, and mother pushing, but sad because she had to leave a truck and items behind.
Don’t Worry, “Be APP-y” was the title of Bro. Wentworth’s class on the apps available for quick name review or full name review, verifying places, searching memories, and family search tree international. Bro & Sr. Vogel taught classes on merging records. “Descendancy Research” was the title of Bro. Hulme’s class. He told the story of his great- great grandfather and two of his children who came to Nauvoo leaving his wife and two-year-old to come later it is thought. However, the father died leaving the two children alone but who were taken in by others. After some research he was able to reconnect with the family that had been left in England. Bro. Hulme used the decadency chart to reconnect with the lost family and eventually have a cousin reunion with many of the descendants.
Bro & Sr. Paker explained how to record memories and stories to upload to family search.
Bro. Christensen had a class – “Memories – Don’t Forget.” He explained how these memories can help teach our families. He said that after losing a child, his family decided to plant a ‘Micah tree’ every place they lived to remember their little brother. He has worked with addiction recovery for many years and has found the best way for those to recover is doing family search. When the meeting starts, they are anxious to hurry up and go on to the family history center!
He told the story of Artemus Millet his great-great-great grandfather, not a member at the time, who was called to build the Kirtland Temple and how he went on to help build the Nauvoo, St. George and
Manti Temples. Bro. Christensen had a bound copy of his history called, Artemus Millet, the temple builder.
Bro. Christensen demonstrated a shot box that is available at the Family Search Center for taking pictures of heirlooms and treasures. It is about the size of a crate, lined with white and two lights for taking pictures of small items. The pictures are clear and don’t have shadows. They can then be uploaded to memories on your family search account and it a way to share stories and pictures with the rest of your family.
The following are a few quotes he shared.
“Discovering more about your ancestors, celebrating family traditions, embracing your culture, and understanding where you came from, can open your eyes to how beautiful and unique you are. It can also give you a sense of self-work and belonging.”
“Elder L. Edward Brown has said, “There is something about journal writing that cause us to meditate, to recommit, and to receive spiritual impressions in the process.”
Elder Richard G Scott speaking of a pen, said, “You think that is a pen . . . well it is more. It is an antenna for the Holy Ghost. When you lift it to write your experiences or any spiritual impressions it signals the Holy Spirit that you are ready for more revelation.”
David O. McKay said,” Our ancestors’ lives are recorded in the very cells, atoms and DNA of our body.”
A Breakfast of muffins, yogurt, juice and milk was available, and tables set with sunflowers provided a time to visit or snacking all morning.
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