Turning Hearts

They Walk with Me

By Carol Ann Stump

The author lives in Utah, USA.

A look at my great-grandmother’s book of remembrance opened up new doors.

Half of my 16 great-great-grandparents crossed the plains with wagons and handcarts. All but two were members of the Church living in Utah well before the 20th century. My family has been doing family history for over 100 years. It is done. No more to do.

So, over the years I’ve been enjoying the histories written by my many relatives. They are inspiring! I especially love the photographs. One of my favorites is the portrait of Annabelle, the beloved sister of my great-great-grandfather.

When I unpacked my great-grandmother’s book of remembrance hoping to find a previously overlooked photograph, I thumbed through several pages of pedigree charts and thought I should double-check these dates in FamilySearch. Guess what I discovered. Annabelle was never sealed to her husband, John. In fact, her husband and his family were nowhere to be found in Church records. And here I thought we were done.

I knew Annabelle’s husband’s name from my great-grandmother’s records. Then, thanks to modern technology, indexers, and FamilySearch partner sites, I found this couple in census records, as well as other records that were available. I verified John’s important dates, input them into FamilySearch, and reserved the ordinances—all in a few hours! I was also able to find records of his parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

I found myself longing for a photograph of John, and then it occurred to me to search for his name on the Internet. What a discovery! He was a notable political economist, professor, activist, and politician. An online used bookstore had scanned the cover of one of his books—a cover with his photograph. I like to think of Internet search engines as a modern-day miracle, but I believe it is the Spirit that inspires people everywhere to scan, upload, and index various documents, histories, books, and records.

I have now reserved more than 200 ordinances in my supposed “It Is Done, No More to Do” family tree. Discovering my long-gone family members has been a life-changing event. In the past, significant transformations in my life have come through painful personal trials. But this has been different. My life has changed through love, connection, and inspiration. I have seen a glimpse of eternity. I want to be connected to these people. I love them. They inspire me. They walk with me.

How to Find Family Names

Do you want to take family names to the temple, but most of your ancestors have had their temple work done? Where do you start looking?

1. Sign in to FamilySearch.org. In the Family Tree drop-down menu, click “Tree.”

2. Click the name of an ancestor born in the late 1700s or early 1800s, and then select the “Tree” icon for that ancestor.

3. Select the descendancy view (near the top left of the screen). A list of the ancestor’s descendants appears.

4. Verify if temple work has been done for each descendant (a green temple icon indicates work needs to be done).

5. When you see someone who needs ordinances performed, click the green temple icon, then click the “Request” button.

Families Sealed Forever

“Elijah came not only to stimulate research for ancestors. He also enabled families to be eternally linked beyond the bounds of mortality. Indeed, the opportunity for families to be sealed forever is the real reason for our research.”

President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “A New Harvest Time,” Ensign, May 1998, 34.