Just a few minutes ago I asked both of my girls if they were listening to my talk. Jane said "yes" and then I said do you remember any of the stories and they both paused and said no. Emily said yes and then said something about Grandpa Dick going on and on about something. So much for getting through to my kids. So I'm posting my talk here 1st so I can keep a record and my kids will know of my love of my heritage and second so I'm not a hypocrite and do what I preached. Share these stories.
Talk given on July 31,2016 in the Eastridge 1st ward...
I’ve been asked to talk on “Our Heritage and how we teach
and preserve it.”
I started by asking my phone “Syri” What is the definition
of heritage? The reply was a rather long
list of things like property that is inherited; traditions etc. but the last definition given really caught my
attention. “A Special or Individual
Possession”
President Benson in a talk entitled “Our Priceless Heritage”
stated it is appropriate that we consider our heritage. Or in other words our special or individual
possession. When was the last time you
considered your heritage “ancestry” your most special or individual
possession.
Elder L Tom Perry gave a talk entitled “The strength of Our
Heritage” . I love that President Benson used
“Priceless” and Elder Perry used
strength to describe our heritage .
Aren’t those qualities that we should all want to preserve in our
families? So how do we teach and
preserve our special or individual possession called heritage?
When you hear lessons about learning the scriptures what
does it say to do…. Search, Ponder, and Pray.
I’ve often heard talks directed to parents that emphasize if you want
your children to recognize the spirit in their lives you must help them
recognize it. I think the same can be
told of how we can teach our children and others about their heritage. First we must search out the people who are
our ancestors, then we must ponder their lives and stories and third we can pray
for their help in our lives and in carrying forth the work of God.
I was very blessed to grow up in a family who cherished our
heritage. Often on a Sunday afternoon as
Sunday dinner was being prepared my dad would thumb through ancestry books that were compiled with many personal histories
of my ancestors. My dad was amazing at remembering his and
others genealogy and would bring these people to life as he shared stories he
had read or had been told to him. I
grew up knowing these ancestors by name.
I obtained strength from their stories that helped me have the
confidence to do hard things because I knew a part of their DNA was in me.
For instance……
Hearing how my ancestor James Pace who as an early convert
while traveling across the plains to Utah volunteered himself and his son James
to leave his family and join the Mormon Battalion when the government called
for so many men at a very inconvenient time teaches me the value of selflessness.
My ancestor Susan Ould despite her abusive husband’s hatred
towards the church chose to be baptized a member of the church while living in
South Africa. She then had the courage
to sneak she and her children out of the house one night and boarded a ship to
America to cross the plains in a handcart alone with her 3 small children. This story teaches me to be determined to do
what is right despite resistance from others around me.
My other ancestor Jane Smith as a teenager crossed the
plains with the Willie Handcart Company and survived to later get married and
raise a family. I know she must have
suffered so much because accounts talk about many people in the company freezing
to death, starving and hopeless. Yet in her personal history all that she mentions
that she was part of the Willie Handcart Company but then goes on to talk about
the good experiences she had settling the small town Teasdale in Southern
Utah. This story reminds me that there
are times in our life that can be tough but if it doesn’t kill us it will only
strengthen us for the good things in store.
I love hearing about another ancestor James Pace as well as
Bart’s ancestors the Bartons who were part of the “hole in the rock
expedition” When they came to an
impossible pass they didn’t throw in the towel and turn back, they looked at
the problem (in this case an in passable
cliff) and came up with the solution to
get to their final destination. How
often in life in smaller scales do we face challenges like that?
I’m a decedent from William Morrell who served as a Bishop
for over 40 years. What a great example
of patiently serving the Lord.
I’m also fascinated with stories about my Grandma’s Grandma
Mary Williams who was sent from a small town in Southern Utah to Salt Lake for a
time to train to be a mid wife and then returned and used her skills to deliver
babies for the rest of her life. Hearing
about her selfless service makes me want to give of my time and talents more.
Another Ancestor Elias Hicks Blackburn was given a sacred gift to heal
others. For the rest of his life people
would travel from all parts of southern Utah to be healed by him. He worked mighty miracles and was so well
loved that when he died 2500 people attended his funeral. Hearing his stories of healing strengthens my
faith in the Power of the Priesthood in
my life as well as knowing spiritual gifts are given for the benefit of others.
My own Grandma LaWana Turner talk about her childhood on a
farm with little more than just enough food, clothing and settler. Yet she would talk about never feeling poor
because she had such a warm and loving family.
As I was growing up I was always inspired by how kind and loving she and
her sibling were to each other and all those around me helps me remember that
the most important thing in life isn’t things it’s how we treat our family and
others.
Now that I am married I’m intrigued at some of Bart’s
heritage that I can now be a part of. My
father in law recently gave us a copy of a biography of his ancestor Ezra
Richards. I read a story about as a
young boy Ezra witnessed his twin brother Ira fall down some steps and break his
neck which resulted in his immediate death.
Ezra then watched as his older
brother pick up Ira and carried him home to his mother. Even though he never spoke of the incident again it appeared he took on extra responsibility as if he acting for himself and his deceased twin. While he was still young his older brother
was also killed in a logging accident which his mother Rhonda, after having her
second child die, became very ill and was never well again. With his father Franklin D. Richards an
apostle away much of the time performing service for the church Ezra and his
remaining siblings assumed much of the responsibilities of running the farm in
Farmington Utah. Even with all the
responsibilities and work he had of his own he was known throughout his life of
being the type of guy upon hearing of another’s need would drop his own work to
help others. I hope hearing this story
my children will feel the same sense of responsibility and hard work and
service.
I know not everybody has access to their ancestors stories
but you can still pass down your heritage to your children. Elder Perry said
from his talk “Pioneer faith is needed as much in the world today as in any
period of time” Share with them stories from your own
life. You never know what they will be
saying about us like we speak of the Pioneers.
Maybe it will be “They had such faith and courage to withstand so many
evil temptations that were only a click of a button away.”
A few years ago my mom felt inspired to write us all a
letter sharing her testimony of paying tithing.
She talked about when she and my dad were first married they both had
well paying jobs and no children yet.
Despite what should have been an excess they found themselves in the red
each month. Finally she sat my dad down
one day and very determined said “From now on we will pay our tithing every
month”. She then went on and described how
not only were they financially blessed but other blessings have come into their
lives since then. Now in our family we
often comment that certain blessings that come our way are “tithing stories”.
In Malachi 4: 6 it reads “And he shall turn the heart of the
fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers.
We often think of turning our hearts to our fathers and
doing our family history which is very important but how often do we consider
that through the gospel ordinances and the plan of salvation our fathers hearts
are turned to us.
Although I grew up loving these ancestor stories I didn’t
fully understand the connection I had to them until I chose to serve a mission.
I remember sitting in high council room at the stake center
surrounded by the stake president, my parents and my maternal
grandparents. The stake president asked each
person to share some “last” thoughts with me.
My grandpa proceeds to go on and on about his ancestors joining the
church. My dad then proceeded to go on
and on telling about his ancestors joining the church. Being a little or a lot jittery about
starting my mission the next day I remember thinking “Oh boy here they go
again” and struggled to focus on what they were saying. As I was lost in my own thoughts I remember
specifically thinking “I wonder if my ancestors even know who I am?” When my dad and grandpa finished, the stake
president then laid his hands on my head.
I’ll never forget how I felt when the first words out of his mouth after
he set me apart as a missionary were “Sister Pace I want you to know that your
ancestors know who you are and are praying to the father in your behalf”.
The veil is very thin Brothers and Sisters. Our ancestors do know who we are. I pray that we can do our part to teach and
preserve their heritage. I know we can
have strength from the other side as we face our own individual missions on
this Earth.
One example of this
is of my dad’s cousin. When he was young
he took part in the church like most LDS children do but after High School he
joined the army and soon became a “less active” member of the church. He also lived in Teasdale where I grew up I remember
going to their house a couple of times and being taken back from all the
cigarette smoke. Needless to say I
never saw him at church until just a few years ago when I was visiting I
noticed he and his wife sitting on a bench.
Being surprised I asked my mom what had gotten him active and she told
me this story. A few months prior his
son was invited to take part with the youth on a pioneer trek around Martins Cove. His son was reluctant to go but said I will
go if you go with me. So he went with
his son on a pioneer trek. As many of
you who have gone on a pioneer trek know the church has the actual cove consecrated as a sacred place. Because of this they encourage each group to
be quiet so they can feel the spirit.
Well something that I don’t remember went wrong as the group was in the
cove and the leaders in charge begged the director to allow their group to go
again. Permission was finally granted
and my dad’s cousin and his son went with the stake youth group again down the
trail to the cove. I don’t know the
specifics of what happened but my dad’s cousin had a deeply spiritual thing
happen which involvedr ancestors and he left the cove determined to put his
life back in order. Within a few years
he not only was active again but was serving as the Bishop of my childhood
ward.
I pray that as you seek to learn more about your heritage
you can feel the power of turning our hearts to the fathers. We are very blessed to live with so much
technology to have easy access to not only our family history charts but also
the personal histories behind them. I
love that you can now upload pictures, personal histories and other things into
your chart. My great grandma Hazel wrote poetry and some of her pieces are there
for us to read. A while back my sister
and I was flipping through our chart as was taken back when we saw a picture of
my grandma as teenager that our other sister has her exact smile as well as my
sisters son looked like a distant relative. It made me think what other traits
besides physical are passed down. I know these ancestors desire to be a part
of your life and as you seek to know your heritage strength and power will come
into your life.
May we each see our heritage as Priceless and gather
strength from it to help us in our own lives is my prayer in the name of Jesus
Christ.
Amen
