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Cover image: “While Walking” by Brian Kershisnik.
We live in an age of spiritual reciprocity, and there is a beautiful give and take between ourselves and angels. Because of the ever-expanding ability we now have to help family who have passed on, THEIR interest and ability to help US also seems to be snowballing.
Recently I published an article on how Family Angels help us. I want to add to that topic.
Remarkable Incident!
A woman from Western New York, (I’ll call her Clare) had an incredible experience.
She had been working hard on her family history and had come to a dead end. Even with searching court records and other available sources she couldn’t go any further. She was frustrated because her desire was to help her family, but her hands were tied.
One day, she happened to be driving down a little dirt road near Palmyra, New York, when she suddenly heard a voice say “STOP!” She obediently stopped the car and waited and wondered. She saw a fence near the side of the road, and heard the voice say, “GO OVER THE FENCE AND LOOK!” She got out of her car, climbed the fence and started walking around in a grassy field, very puzzled as to why she was even doing this. Just then, her toe stubbed against something hard. She looked down and saw a headstone. In looking further, she discovered 8 or 9 graves, mostly covered over with grass. Astoundingly, these were the EXACT names and dates she was looking for to continue the work!
Clare knew without a doubt that she had been guided to find those names. Even though she didn’t see anyone, she knew she had received help from concerned family members on the other side.
Working to Save
Contrary to popular belief, people don’t sit idly strumming harps when they get to the other side. They have desires to serve and assist those they love! They have many tasks before them such as being guardians or messengers to us from time to time, as well as to bring healing and comfort. Other than being a pre-authorized recipient of that divine intervention, the surest way for US to summon help or succor from departed kinsfolks, is to help THEM.
On the Church website it states:
“The Lord blesses those who attend to the sacred ordinances work in the temple. And the blessings He gives will not be limited to the time spent in the temple. Those who do temple work will be blessed in all aspects of their lives.” (Lds.org/topics/temples)
Many of our relatives on the other side are heavily involved in this work of salvation but need our help to do it.
Astonishing Experience – Working in Tandem with the Other Side
An amazing woman, Shellie Payne, recounted to me a marvelous experience she had with her departed grandmother.
Since she was a girl, Shellie began to feel a passion for family history, and has felt drawn to it all her life. She keeps a temple card of an ancestor on her desk as a constant reminder of what should be important daily. On the other hand, missionary work was her Grandmother’s life-long gift. Shellie recounts:
“One particular day when I was busy as a young mother with little children, I glanced at those cards on my desk wondering how I was going to get the work done on them. In my mind as clear as can be, I heard my Grandma say to me “I have done my part in teaching the gospel to hundreds of our family members. It is now your turn to find them and do their temple work.”
“As the years have passed, I have worked hand in hand with my grandmother. She makes sure things run smoothly for me, watches over my family and makes up time where time is needed, and I find names and take them to the temple.
“Between the two of us we have assisted thousands of our family members find the gospel and receive their saving ordinances working from both sides of the veil.”
Vision: “Don’t Forget Us!”
Elder F. Enzio Busche shared a similar story of a man named Joseph Gilbert, who was a recent convert to the church:
“On the day that he was in the temple for the first time, he saw in a vision a great gathering of his ancestors who were looking at him and pleading with him, ‘Please, don’t forget us. It took a great effort to get ONE of our descendants [Brother Gilbert] to embrace the gospel. We have all waited a long time for this.’” (Yearning for the Living God, p. 213)
Joseph F. Smith taught:
“…those who have been faithful, who have gone beyond are still engaged in the work for the salvation of the souls of men, the opening of the prison doors to them that are bound and proclaiming liberty to the captives, [and] can see us better than we can see them.” (Conference Report, April 1916, p. 3)
When we begin to delve into the work of salvation, we are NOT alone. We have spiritual resources.
Family Angels Can Open the Way
Elaine Boushka, (who is the only living member in her family and has done thousands of temple names), told me of a Fascinating Phenomenon that she encountered:
Years ago, as she would try to work on a specific family line, she would always feel a particularly strong push back, and was literally repelled from doing the work. She tried every way she could think of to succeed, but always hit a “brick wall. “
Just recently, she decided to try working on that line again, and was astounded how easily it opened up. This time, she was amazed that she was able to uncover 11 generations back in just two days’ time!
What could have changed?
Could it be that other family members that had received their ordinances had begun teaching the spirits on this “closed” family line? Could it be that her family work is in a state of “hastening”?
Family angels can help us gather God’s family on BOTH sides of the veil. They help US progress, and we can have the privilege of helping THEM progress.
“The Hastening” is All About “Opening Up”
In just the last few months family history has become SO doable. Anyone now can almost instantaneously find family names to take to the temple with the technology recently released. With 162 operating temples and 38 more announced, “the Hastening” (this epoch in earth’s history), is exploding with the potential to bless millions of God’s children. Because of all the temples and capacity to accomplish this work, lots of spirits have accepted on the other side, and there are more armies of faithful ancestors than ever before teaching other family members, opening up more family lines.
Increase in Spiritual Experience
Many who attend the temple find that they have an increase in spiritual experience and can feel the help and influence of family angels.
Angels are an important part of this crucial time in the earth’s history, and we’re the ones who are lucky enough to be the recipients. Are we taking advantage of this privilege?
If We Help THEM, They Will Help US
It seems that the more work we do for the salvation of our ancestors, the more they are free to help us in our personal lives.
Elder Boyd K. Packer wrote,
“Brother Widtsoe reaffirmed that ‘those who give themselves with all their might and mind to this work [genealogical and temple work] receive help from the other side. Whoever seeks to help those on the other side receives help in return in all the affairs of life.’ (John A. Widstoe, quoted in Boyd K. Packer’s The Holy Temple, 252.)
Family Angels can prepare the way for us to continue the work of Glory for our ancestors. This is a truly a day of spiritual interchange with these divine beings. A day to work together with those gone before to build up the kingdom of God in this sphere and to help them expand in theirs.
You Can Contact Anne Pratt at [email protected].
Verna aka 'Sam' WilsonMarch 29, 2019
I had always been fascinated by family history as a child, even though I wasn't a member of the Church. I would pick my dad’s brain about the family, but he was the youngest of 6, so he humored me by telling me what he could. In the meantime, two of my cousins had converted almost ten years before me, but only one of them attempted to find our ancestors. He became discouraged because of a court fire that wiped out two generations of records. Despite knowing that, several times after my baptism in 1973, I would attend the family history class when it was offered. I asked teacher after teacher how to circumvent a court fire, and never got a satisfactory answer. Fast forward to December 1996. I had talked to my favorite aunt and made an appointment with her for the new year to talk about family history. She had always been the family story keeper even though she was only four years older than my dad. Neither of her sons, my cousin converts, had talked to her extensively about the family. A few days later, my parents called, telling me my Auntie Vi had suddenly passed away. I was devastated! Now my dad was the only sibling left and I had already exhausted his knowledge of the family. I didn’t know where to turn for help. A week later was the new year and they announced at Church they were starting another family history class. That first meeting I explained my problem with the court fire and again received a ‘beating round the bush’ answer. I thought seriously about not going back the following week, but reasoned I might get an accidental answer to my problem. Several weeks went by, and I finally gave up. I wasn’t going back to that class! When I found myself standing in front of the classroom door I thought, OK! ONE more time!. Again, I broached the subject of the court fire (I hadn’t asked since the first meeting), and AGAIN got the runaround. As I left the class, a sister who hadn’t been in the ward long, approached me and told me she went to the Los Angeles Family History Center at the Temple every week. She said she could see I was frustrated and asked if I had a name for her to take to the Center and she’d see what she could do. I gave her my great grandfather’s name. The following week found me sitting in the class. She handed me a stack of papers almost half an inch thick. Among them were copies of census records with my great grandfather and lists of books containing lines of my maiden name, Sams. One of the books added five generations to my paternal line. I was thinking about all that had happened when it suddenly came to me that Auntie Vi had been ‘gone’ less than two months when my brick wall was swept away. She may not have been able to add to my collection of family stories, but she had been able to inspire a knowledgeable sister to ask me for a name!
LindaMarch 28, 2019
Deena, my father and his mother were very anti LDS. When they passed my sister and I and other family members did their temple work. Those days in the temple, doing their work remain some of the sweetest and most spiritual I’ve had. They were most definitely with us and most definitely accepted and rejoiced in the work done for them. I can’t speak for your ancestors but I believe we are to do their work and give them the opportunity to choose.