“In My Grandmother’s Name,” Ensign, Apr. 2002, 55–56
In My Grandmother’s Name
Ever since I was 16, I have had a great love for family history work. Being the only member of the Church in my family, I have submitted many ancestors’ names for temple ordinances to be performed in their behalf. So after my maternal grandmother died in February 1993, I eagerly awaited the end of the required year before submitting her name for ordinance work at the Chicago Illinois Temple. (At the time, family names were held for a limited time in a family file at the temple until family members could perform the ordinance work.)
Many months passed, and I still had not been able to get to the temple because it was a seven-hour drive to Chicago. I reluctantly called the temple and asked that my grandmother’s name be moved to the temple file, where it would be given at random to members performing ordinance work.
I had been close to my grandmother while she was alive—I was her namesake—so I felt disappointed that I couldn’t do this essential work for her. But I knew these ordinances were important to her progression, and I was glad that at least the work would get done.
Some time later, in October 1996, my husband had a weeklong seminar in Chicago. I accompanied him and was able to spend a whole week in the temple—what a treat! My husband was to pick me up on our last day at 5:15 P.M., so at 3:00 I felt I had enough time to do one more session.
When I was given the name of the person I would be doing the work for, my mouth dropped open in astonishment. A year and a half after submitting it, I had been given my grandmother’s name! I would have the blessing of being her proxy after all.
Some might claim that this experience was simply a remarkable coincidence. It is my feeling, however, that in His love and mercy, the Lord managed things so that I might realize the desire of my heart—to do something of eternal worth for my beloved grandmother that she could not do for herself.