SCHEDULE
Home
FB
2024
2023
2022
2021
Act. Index 2024
SCHEDULE
Home
FB
2024
2023
2022
2021
Act. Index 2024
From Come, Follow Me:
In what ways have Jesus Christ and His gospel changed you?
What are the miracles that brought your ancestors and other family members into the church? Perhaps you are the first convert in your family! We can all be inspired by the conversion stories in the scriptures, church history, and from our ancestors.
Make a collection of the conversion stories of the first converts in your ancestral lines. Have it illustrated. Send this collection of stories with your missionaries and give to others. Add to memories on FamilySearch.
"Frederick Christian Sorensen is Scott Anderson’s second great-grandfather whose influence has now been felt by six generations of his posterity. Scott’s niece illustrated his conversion story when she was a young girl.
See A Miracle In Denmark.
Also check out RootsTech Family Discovery Day 2017 for a story (at timestamp 24:55) in which Sister Wendy Nelson describes creating a storybook illustrated by her great nieces and nephews, ages 3-18, about their 4th great grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth.
Have fun discovering, illustrating, and sharing your own family history stories, including the conversion stories and other miracles in your family! Let these stories influence your own conversion journey.
Joseph F. Smith said, "When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred [and] friends . . . . In like manner, our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, of reproof and instruction to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh." (read more here).
"The Lord so declared: 'I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.' What a promise! When we are faithful, He and His angels will help us." (Russell M. Nelson, April General Conference 2011)
"In the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike—and they will—you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed." (Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things)
"Interrupting Angels" by Annie Henrie Nader (used with permission)
See also:
How can you learn more about these loved ones who may be cheering you on? How can getting to know about their lives help open the door to receive their influence in your life?
Find activities to get to know your ancestors in FamilySearch Discovery and in The Family History Guide Activities Index, their Activities: Home Page, and the Activities Index, Latter-day Saints.
Check out Weekly Family History Activities - A Come, Follow Me Companion, and 10 Ways to Find Ancestor's Stories. Explore your FamilySearch fan chart, and check out the All The Stories site to see a searchable list of all the stories on your part of the tree. Write a letter of gratitude to one or more and audio record it on FamilySearch Memories.
Because God is merciful, He forgives me as I repent.
From Come, Follow Me:
Ponder how God has shown His mercy in your life. How can you express your gratitude to Him?
As you read the story below, ponder how forgiveness ties in to what the Pratt brothers learned about the power and promises of temple and family history.
Elder Dale G.Renlund: "Family relationships can be some of the most rewarding yet challenging experiences we encounter. Many of us have faced a fracture of some sort within our families. Such a fracture developed between two heroes of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. Parley and Orson Pratt were brothers, early converts, and ordained Apostles...During the Nauvoo era, their relationship became strained, culminating in a heated, public confrontation in 1846. A deep and prolonged rift developed. Parley initially wrote to Orson to resolve the rift, but Orson did not reply. Parley gave up, feeling that correspondence was over forever, unless initiated by Orson. Several years later, in March 1853, Orson learned about a project to publish a book on the descendants of William Pratt, the brothers' earliest American ancestor. Orson began to weep "like a little child" as he glimpsed this treasure trove of family history. His heart melted, and he determined to repair the breach with his brother.
Orson wrote to Parley, 'Now my dear brother, there are none among all the descendants of our Ancestor, Lieut[enant] William Pratt, who have so deep an interest in searching out his descendants as ourselves.' Orson was one of the first to understand that Latter-day Saints have an obligation to research and compile family histories so that we can perform vicarious ordinances for our ancestors. His letter continued: 'We know that the God of our fathers has had a hand in all this. ... I will beg pardon for having been so backward in writing to you. ... I hope you will forgive me.' Despite their unshakable testimonies, their love for their ancestors was the catalyst to heal a rift, mend a hurt, and seek and extend forgiveness.
"... as we participate in family history and temple work today, we also lay claim to 'healing' blessings promised by prophets and apostles. These blessings are also breathtakingly amazing because of their scope, specificity, and consequence in mortality. This long list includes these blessings:
If you have prayed for any of these blessings, participate in family history and temple work. As you do so, your prayers will be answered. When ordinances are performed on behalf of the deceased, God's children on earth are healed. No wonder President Russell M. Nelson, in his first message as President of the Church, declared, 'Your worship in the temple and your service there for your ancestors will bless you with increased personal revelation and peace and will fortify your commitment to stay on the covenant path.' Dale G. Renlund, Family History and Temple Work: Sealing and Healing
As a family, read stories about your ancestors and research ideas for compiling and sharing histories, stories collections, and memories. Continue to share what you are working on and any finished family history projects. Sharing family history stories, events, photos and memories on social media might help unite your family and open the door to receive promised blessings. Read Hashtags, Tweets, and Blogs: the New Language of Family History for ideas to get started.
Perhaps simply making a family history connection with family members will be the beginning to healing troubled relationships. Think of any ways you may have offended another family member and ask for forgiveness. Make a call, write a message online, or write a letter. Pray as a family for help to clear up any misunderstandings, and become closer to those you love.
Watch the following video to see how one family found ways to forgive. The story is at time stamp 8:44.
Read about forgiveness extended to a family member on the other side of the veil in this address by Kristin Yee: Beauty for Ashes: The Healing Path of Forgiveness. See also the story of forgiveness in the talk by Elder Gerritt W. Gong, Happy and Forever.
Write (or audio-record) one story about your life as you study each Come, Follow Me lesson to have 52 by the end of the year. Add to your FamilySearch memories. For example: