Sacrament Meeting talk
6/22/14 in Seneca Ward.
Hello Brothers and
Sisters,
My
name is Elder Lim and I'm from Seattle, Washington. I've been on my mission for
about a year, and have been serving in your ward for the past month. Last night
I found out that I am being transferred again. I have really enjoyed getting to
know each one of you. You and your families emulate the love of Christ, and I
have felt so loved and supported. I hope that what I share today will inspire
you to try something different that will bless you and your family's lives.
When you look at a gravestone you'll notice a few key features. To describe the person's life, there will be a birth date, a death date, and a dash in between. Our first instinct is to examine the dates when the person was born and died, so that we know what time they live in. I also think about how far away the deceased person lived from my own life. Maybe our lives overlapped, or maybe they lived long before I was born. But today I want to focus on that dash between the two dates. What does that dash represent, what can we do to make that dash come to life, and why is that so important? Family History is all about that dash.
My full name, which you can't call me by, is John Hosack Lim. I was named after my mother's dad, Grandpa John Hosack. He lived alone in California in a trailer home, and he drove up a few times when. I was very young to visit with my family. I remember the day when I found out he died in 2007. His chronic smoking lead to a bad case of emphysema. As a family we drove down to his hometown and had a funeral service there. When we buried him, I played my cello and my mother sang for him. Sadly, I don't have many memories of my namesake Grandpa John.
But I started doing some family history work on my mission. Ancestry.com can search for images of gravestones, and I found a picture taken of my Grandpa's grave. His gravestone reads 1935, then there's a nice looking dash, and then 2007. It also says, "Family, motorcycles, planes, I had it all." I put that into familysearch.org, and then I continued searching for information. Some records are still unavailable because he lived so recently, but I learned that he was an engineer and a physicist without a college education. He worked on oil rigs around the world, particularly in Egypt and liked to fly airplanes. I got to go to the temple and be baptized in behalf of him, that was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. Even though I didn't really know this man, I feel this special connection to him, like he is a person that is close to me. This is the principle I would like to teach - When we know about the lives of our ancestors, the hearts of our family are connected.
When the angel Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith, and in the following two appearances, he quoted this scripture that we should pay special attention to, "And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at His coming." If we do not find this connection to our ancestors, and turn our hearts to them, the whole earth will be utterly wasted at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
We live in a day where children are disconnected from their parents. They are plugged into all varieties of technological time sinks. They are taught that they should do that which is right in their own eyes, and that ultimate success is found when they turn inwards and concern themselves only with their own lives and indulge themselves. I know this is true because these are the attitudes that I was exposed to while going through my school years. We must oppose this self-centeredness, otherwise the Earth will be utterly wasted.
Our object then is to both research into the lives of our ancestors, and preserve the story of our own lives for the generations to come. We become that bridge that will link the hearts of the children to the fathers. I want to suggest two behaviors that will help you to accomplish this purpose. First, keep a journal. I started keeping journal consistently two years ago, and it has already blessed my life immensely. It was difficult to start and write something down every single day, but I had a nice journal and I thought it was a shame to miss writing in it. It has become the best therapy for me, and a great source of strength when I go back and review the entries of the past years. I read the miracles and feel grateful for that great experience I had. I read the hardships and feel grateful for my blessings today. I hope to be able to find journals of some of the lives of my ancestors to see if they had similar life experiences. We can fill in the dash of our lives by diligent journal keeping. I don't think that's restricted to pen and paper anymore either. You can keep a family blog or an online journal in the LDS.org tools. You can make a scrapbook or a personal slideshow.
We also have a work to do to fill in the dash of our beloved ancestors. After reading my Great-great grandfather Alexander Hosack's obituary that I found on Ancestry.com, I found out he was a Presbyterian minister for 50 years in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Even though he did not find the restored gospel, his faith in Christ prepared the way for my great-grandmother to receive it. I believe we will see the very prominently if we look into all the history of the human family. Heavenly Father has always loved us, and He has always reached out to us through prophets to teach us restored truths. We discover this connection through our diligent efforts to do all we can
to do the necessary research. There are so many tools, and it is so convenient these days. I actually remember when you had to download software to do your genealogy. Now you can literally do research anywhere that you have wifi. You click on a person in your tree, and then you press "search records" and it automatically fills in the information you need to find records. There hasn't been a single person on my American side that I haven't found records for when I do
this.
In Quentin L Cook's latest talk 'roots and branches' he taught, "We finally have the doctrine, the temples, and the technology for families to accomplish this glorious work of salvation. I suggest one way this might be done. Families could hold a “Family Tree Gathering.” This should be a recurring effort. Everyone would bring existing family histories, stories, and photos, including cherished possessions of grandparents and parents. Our young people are excited to learn about the lives of family members--where they came from and how they lived. Many have had their hearts turned to the fathers. They love the stories and photos, and they have the technological expertise to scan and upload these stories and photos to Family Tree and connect source documents with ancestors to preserve these for all time. Of course, the main objective is to determine what ordinances still need to be done and make assignments for the essential temple work. The My Family booklet can be utilized to help record family information, stories, and photos that can then be uploaded to Family Tree.
Family commitments and expectations should be at the top of our priorities to protect our divine destiny. For those who are looking for more fruitful use of the Sabbath day for the family as a whole, the hastening of this work is fertile ground. One mother glowingly tells how her 17-year-old son gets on the computer after church on Sunday to do family history work and her 10-year-old son loves to hear the stories and see pictures of his ancestors. This has blessed their entire family to experience the spirit of Elijah. Our precious roots and branches must be nourished." (Roots and Branches)
I invite you to do this, and to diligently record your own history to fill in the dashes.
I love this apostolic promise from our prophet President Thomas S. Monson,
"As you pursue family history work, you are going to find yourself running into roadblocks, and you are going to say to yourself, “There is nothing else I can do.” When you come to that point, get down on your knees and ask the Lord to open the way, and He will open the way for you. I testify that this is true." (Hastening the Work)
I know this is true because I know that Thomas S Monson is a prophet of God. I know that is true because he has called me to labor here, and I have found that to be the will of The Lord. I also know that Joseph Smith is God's servant, because I know the Book of Mormon is true. I have experienced it's truth and power many times. And I know that God will certainly assist you in this commandment to fill in the dash, because He loves you, and he loves your family, I have felt that. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen
When you look at a gravestone you'll notice a few key features. To describe the person's life, there will be a birth date, a death date, and a dash in between. Our first instinct is to examine the dates when the person was born and died, so that we know what time they live in. I also think about how far away the deceased person lived from my own life. Maybe our lives overlapped, or maybe they lived long before I was born. But today I want to focus on that dash between the two dates. What does that dash represent, what can we do to make that dash come to life, and why is that so important? Family History is all about that dash.
My full name, which you can't call me by, is John Hosack Lim. I was named after my mother's dad, Grandpa John Hosack. He lived alone in California in a trailer home, and he drove up a few times when. I was very young to visit with my family. I remember the day when I found out he died in 2007. His chronic smoking lead to a bad case of emphysema. As a family we drove down to his hometown and had a funeral service there. When we buried him, I played my cello and my mother sang for him. Sadly, I don't have many memories of my namesake Grandpa John.
But I started doing some family history work on my mission. Ancestry.com can search for images of gravestones, and I found a picture taken of my Grandpa's grave. His gravestone reads 1935, then there's a nice looking dash, and then 2007. It also says, "Family, motorcycles, planes, I had it all." I put that into familysearch.org, and then I continued searching for information. Some records are still unavailable because he lived so recently, but I learned that he was an engineer and a physicist without a college education. He worked on oil rigs around the world, particularly in Egypt and liked to fly airplanes. I got to go to the temple and be baptized in behalf of him, that was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. Even though I didn't really know this man, I feel this special connection to him, like he is a person that is close to me. This is the principle I would like to teach - When we know about the lives of our ancestors, the hearts of our family are connected.
When the angel Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith, and in the following two appearances, he quoted this scripture that we should pay special attention to, "And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at His coming." If we do not find this connection to our ancestors, and turn our hearts to them, the whole earth will be utterly wasted at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
We live in a day where children are disconnected from their parents. They are plugged into all varieties of technological time sinks. They are taught that they should do that which is right in their own eyes, and that ultimate success is found when they turn inwards and concern themselves only with their own lives and indulge themselves. I know this is true because these are the attitudes that I was exposed to while going through my school years. We must oppose this self-centeredness, otherwise the Earth will be utterly wasted.
Our object then is to both research into the lives of our ancestors, and preserve the story of our own lives for the generations to come. We become that bridge that will link the hearts of the children to the fathers. I want to suggest two behaviors that will help you to accomplish this purpose. First, keep a journal. I started keeping journal consistently two years ago, and it has already blessed my life immensely. It was difficult to start and write something down every single day, but I had a nice journal and I thought it was a shame to miss writing in it. It has become the best therapy for me, and a great source of strength when I go back and review the entries of the past years. I read the miracles and feel grateful for that great experience I had. I read the hardships and feel grateful for my blessings today. I hope to be able to find journals of some of the lives of my ancestors to see if they had similar life experiences. We can fill in the dash of our lives by diligent journal keeping. I don't think that's restricted to pen and paper anymore either. You can keep a family blog or an online journal in the LDS.org tools. You can make a scrapbook or a personal slideshow.
We also have a work to do to fill in the dash of our beloved ancestors. After reading my Great-great grandfather Alexander Hosack's obituary that I found on Ancestry.com, I found out he was a Presbyterian minister for 50 years in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Even though he did not find the restored gospel, his faith in Christ prepared the way for my great-grandmother to receive it. I believe we will see the very prominently if we look into all the history of the human family. Heavenly Father has always loved us, and He has always reached out to us through prophets to teach us restored truths. We discover this connection through our diligent efforts to do all we can
to do the necessary research. There are so many tools, and it is so convenient these days. I actually remember when you had to download software to do your genealogy. Now you can literally do research anywhere that you have wifi. You click on a person in your tree, and then you press "search records" and it automatically fills in the information you need to find records. There hasn't been a single person on my American side that I haven't found records for when I do
this.
In Quentin L Cook's latest talk 'roots and branches' he taught, "We finally have the doctrine, the temples, and the technology for families to accomplish this glorious work of salvation. I suggest one way this might be done. Families could hold a “Family Tree Gathering.” This should be a recurring effort. Everyone would bring existing family histories, stories, and photos, including cherished possessions of grandparents and parents. Our young people are excited to learn about the lives of family members--where they came from and how they lived. Many have had their hearts turned to the fathers. They love the stories and photos, and they have the technological expertise to scan and upload these stories and photos to Family Tree and connect source documents with ancestors to preserve these for all time. Of course, the main objective is to determine what ordinances still need to be done and make assignments for the essential temple work. The My Family booklet can be utilized to help record family information, stories, and photos that can then be uploaded to Family Tree.
Family commitments and expectations should be at the top of our priorities to protect our divine destiny. For those who are looking for more fruitful use of the Sabbath day for the family as a whole, the hastening of this work is fertile ground. One mother glowingly tells how her 17-year-old son gets on the computer after church on Sunday to do family history work and her 10-year-old son loves to hear the stories and see pictures of his ancestors. This has blessed their entire family to experience the spirit of Elijah. Our precious roots and branches must be nourished." (Roots and Branches)
I invite you to do this, and to diligently record your own history to fill in the dashes.
I love this apostolic promise from our prophet President Thomas S. Monson,
"As you pursue family history work, you are going to find yourself running into roadblocks, and you are going to say to yourself, “There is nothing else I can do.” When you come to that point, get down on your knees and ask the Lord to open the way, and He will open the way for you. I testify that this is true." (Hastening the Work)
I know this is true because I know that Thomas S Monson is a prophet of God. I know that is true because he has called me to labor here, and I have found that to be the will of The Lord. I also know that Joseph Smith is God's servant, because I know the Book of Mormon is true. I have experienced it's truth and power many times. And I know that God will certainly assist you in this commandment to fill in the dash, because He loves you, and he loves your family, I have felt that. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen
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