Weekly Family History Activities

Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah

“His Ways Are Everlasting”

Habakkuk

I can trust the Lord’s will and His timing.

From Come, Follow Me:

Even prophets sometimes have questions about the Lord’s ways. Habakkuk, who lived at a time of widespread wickedness in Judah, began his record with questions to the Lord (see Habakkuk 1:1–4). How would you summarize Habakkuk’s concerns? Have you ever had similar feelings?

The Lord responded to Habakkuk’s questions by saying that He would send the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) to punish Judah (see Habakkuk 1:5–11). But Habakkuk was still troubled, for it seemed unjust for the Lord to stand by “when the wicked [Babylon] devoureth the man that is more righteous [Judah]” (see verses 12–17). What do you find in Habakkuk 2:1–4 that inspires you to trust the Lord when you have unanswered questions?

Chapter 3 of Habakkuk is a prayer of praise to God and an expression of faith in Him. What impresses you about Habakkuk’s words in verses 17–19? How is the tone of these verses different from Habakkuk 1:1–4? Ponder how you can develop greater faith in God, even when life seems unfair.

You may have times in your life when “life seems unfair.” You may wonder if and how others worked through their challenges. You can learn a lot about facing challenges of today and the future by learning about the past through your ancestors. Character is often defined in the face of trails.

L. Tom Perry stated in his October 2009 Conference address, The Past Way of Facing the Future, "Former United States president Ronald Reagan has been quoted as saying, 'I do not want to go back to the past; I want to go back to the past way of facing the future.' His counsel still resonates within me. There is something about reviewing the lessons of the past to prepare us to face the challenges of the future."

What can you learn from the experiences of your ancestors? What do you learn about their lives? What are some examples of your ancestors who turned to the Lord to overcome doubt and fears? How have your ancestors' faith in Jesus Christ strengthened you and your family? Use some of the resources below to help you find stories of your ancestors. Share these stories with your family.

• All the Stories, when synced with FamilySearch, can help you find your ancestors' stories back nine generations.
• Use the FamilySearch Story Fan Chart to see how many stories are available for each person listed on the chart.
• Read Where to Look for Great Ancestor Stories for additional ideas.
• See 10 Ways To Discover, Gather, and Share Ancestor Stories. If you don't have many stories from the lives of your ancestors available, you could also learn from the lives of our church leaders.

From FamilySearch: "Apart from the Savior, everyone who has lived on earth has made mistakes. What matters is that we bounce back, learn, and grow from them. The more stories you know of your family bouncing back from hard times the easier it will be for you to bounce back when life gets hard." Try these We Bounce Back activities. You may also want to consider audio-recording the stories.

Zephaniah

“Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth.”

From Come, Follow Me:

Zephaniah prophesied that the people of Judah would be completely destroyed by the Babylonians because of their wickedness. “I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord” (Zephaniah 1:2). And yet Zephaniah also said that a “remnant” would be preserved (Zephaniah 3:13). As you read these prophecies, notice the kinds of attitudes and behaviors that led Judah and other groups to destruction—see especially Zephaniah 1:4–6, 12; 2:8, 10, 15; 3:1–4. Then look for the characteristics of the people God would preserve—see Zephaniah 2:1–3; 3:12–13, 18–19.

What characteristics do you find in your ancestors that you would like to preserve in your life and pass on to your children? Alison Taylor explained, "Sometimes a single story has the power to change a life. More than once, a story of an ancestor has dropped into my proverbial lap, at exactly the right time, to lend strength and perspective in a time of trial." Read how Alison found strength in her ancestors' experiences in her blog article Why I Am Addicted to Family History. 

Many others have also found strength from ancestors to face life's challenges, such as this video, Strength from our Grandmothers.

1. Review stories about your ancestors. (If you need help locating some stories, All the Stories is a website that syncs with FamilySearch to help you easily find the stories of your ancestors. You can also locate stories on your part of the FamilySearch tree using the "Stories" option in the fan chart view. Read more here.)
2. Identify some characteristics of your ancestors. What were their challenges? What were their strengths?
3. Is there a phrase or quote that typifies one of their strong characteristics? If so, consider posting it in a prominent place (such as mirror, refrigerator, or main door) for all family members to remember and try to emulate.

Put together an ancestor profile with the help of this Deseret News article. The article suggests looking at "every known detail of a human life, which includes information about the individual, their relationships and their origin." As a family, pick an ancestor or two and try discovering a few aspects of their lives. Maybe you want to start with where they were born and what their neighborhoods and cultures may have been like. Look at the article and pick a topic of interest to your family.

If you are interested in ancestors originating in a particular country, you can locate ancestors on your part of the FamilySearch tree using the Birth Country option in the fan chart. Read more here.

Are there items from your family that you would want to preserve? “[E]very family has keepsakes. Families collect furniture, books, porcelain, and other valuable things, then pass them on to their posterity. Such beautiful keepsakes remind us of loved ones now gone and turn our minds to loved ones unborn. They form a bridge between family past and family future. Every family has other, more valuable, keepsakes. These include genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions. These eternal keepsakes also form a bridge between past and future and bind generations together in ways that no other keepsake can.” (Dennis B. Neuenschwander, "Bridges and Eternal Keepsakes," General Conference, April 1999)

“Elder Neuenschwander went on to explain that even more valuable than these objects are the genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions that we keep and pass on. However, the objects themselves can serve as wonderful, tangible reminders of those stories, making doubly sure the stories continue to be told and retold, stitching hearts together across generations.” (Keeping the Stories of Family Heirlooms Alive)

Knowing the story behind family keepsakes, heirlooms, and traditions can help future generations to appreciate their ancestors even more.

Share some favorite stories about some family heirlooms or traditions. If these have not been written down or recorded, audio-record or upload the story to memories for other relatives to discover and enjoy. 

Check out the following articles for ideas to get you started:

• Keeping the Stories of Family Heirlooms Alive 
• Genealogists Share Heirlooms and Tell Stories from Their Family Tree 
• Nine Inspiring Stories about Family Heirlooms 

Use the Goldie May Research Tool

Goldie May is a free Chrome extension you can add. It acts as an intelligent assistant, helping you with U.S. census research and other tasks. You can find documentation for Goldie May here: https://www.thefhguide.com/project-4-goldie-may.html