Turning Their Hearts to the Family

by Janet Thomas

Assistant Managing Editor

Learning where you’ve come from can help you find your direction. Just ask these young women from Manhattan.

Flying is what Kathryn Young wants to do. To take the controls of a machine that can carry you above the clouds. To speed through the skies, dipping and looping above the jagged hills below. Yes, flying is what Kathryn wants to do.

And if Kathryn’s grandmother, Ethelyn Sowards, were still here, she would be cheering her granddaughter on. After all, flying is a tradition for the girls in her family. Kathryn’s grandmother was one of an elite corps of women pilots who served their country during World War II. They were not allowed in combat. But those women fliers were invaluable as pilots who moved planes from the factories to the air force bases or moved planes from base to base as needed.

Kathryn Young of the Manhattan Second Ward has been accepted as a cadet in the Air Force Academy in Fort Collins, Colorado. “My grandmother died when I was six, but I always heard about her flying.” There were stories about her grandmother’s flying ability, like the contests in the skies over the Texas cotton fields. Kathryn’s grandmother won most of the time.

Kathryn’s grandmother is an inspiration to her. She stayed home and raised her children and taught them the gospel. “I feel like she was ahead of her time. I’m the first person in my school to have applied to the Air Force Academy, let alone go. In that way, I may be like my grandmother.” Just knowing that her grandmother was a woman of faith, a wonderful mother and grandmother, and a great pilot lets Kathryn know that she can set her goals high and make them come true. Her grandmother did; so can she.

Young Women celebration

This year, following the theme “Turning Hearts to the Family,” the Young Women of the Church have been involved in all kinds of projects where they are learning about their ancestors, pursuing projects in family history, and coming to understand how they fit into a worldwide family. Many Young Women have been introduced to pedigree charts, microfilm machines, and ancestral files. But their family research comes alive when they realize the connection they still have to their ancestors.

For many, their family history projects led them to the temple, where the ultimate gift could be given to family members who never were given the opportunity to learn about the gospel in this life.

Turning hearts to the family often starts in simple ways—talking to a grandparent, learning to keep a journal, keeping family traditions alive. Sometimes learning more about the family helps a girl learn more about herself. And as she learns to value her family members, she comes to value her own place in the eternal family as a daughter of God.

Learning from grandparents

Having her grandmother living with her, Jassy Ramirez, 14, of the Manhattan 4th Ward, has the perfect opportunity to learn about her family. “My grandmother takes a lot of care with me,” says Jassy. “She has taught me how to clean house and how to wash clothes and fix my bed. She teaches me how to do all my chores.”

Jassy’s grandmother also tells her stories about growing up in the Dominican Republic. “My grandmother had 10 brothers and sisters. They were so poor. They suffered a lot. They didn’t have lights or running water. They couldn’t go to school,” says Jassy. “She tells me that it’s very important to get my education. Hearing these things makes me appreciate the things I have.”

Being with her grandmother every day has helped Jassy learn the value of working hard. Jassy has also learned to appreciate her mother, Eridania, who joined the Church when Jassy was seven. Because of her mother’s decision, Jassy has had the blessing of being raised in the Church. And now that she is old enough to be in Young Women, Jassy says, “When I started in Young Women, it helped me a lot. It helped me grow spiritually.”

Opening communication

Wendy Feliz, 14, and her twin brother, Wellington, do not have the luxury of being able to talk with their mother. Wendy and Wellington are both deaf.

Wendy and Wellington both know that their mother loves them. She takes excellent care of them and kisses them every day. But they can’t really talk to her in any significant way because their mother only speaks Spanish. Both Wendy and Wellington know American sign language and can read and write only in English.

A few months ago, Vanessa Bruno came into their lives. Vanessa had returned from her mission and had just been called as the Young Women president in the Manhattan Deaf Branch. Vanessa is originally from Colombia and, of course, speaks Spanish. Having lived in the United States for half a dozen years, she also speaks English. And she has learned sign language, so she can talk with Wendy and Wellington. As a new YW president, Vanessa was visiting every girl in the deaf branch. When she came to Wendy’s house, it soon became clear to everyone that Vanessa was something of a miracle. For the first time, Wellington and Wendy could talk with their mother. Wellington wanted to know why they were born deaf.

Vanessa said, “He began to ask questions about the family. Why are they deaf? Why was he losing his vision? Their mother began to explain that her father’s family have people that are deaf and blind. She said she was so grateful I was there because I can let them know how much she loves them and how grateful she is that the missionaries came to their house.”

Through Vanessa, their mother was able to tell them stories about their great-grandfather from Puerto Rico, the one who had 43 children. Wendy explains, “My mother spoke it in Spanish to Vanessa. Vanessa interpreted and told me the story. She changed it from Spanish to English and helped me write it down and everything. That’s the first time I had heard that story. Wow, I couldn’t believe it. I was quite shocked. I really liked it a lot to have Vanessa talk to my mother and interpret for me.”

Wendy and Wellington were baptized more than two years ago after being taught the gospel by missionaries. Wendy says, “I felt wonderful. I felt proud to be a daughter of Heavenly Father. I didn’t know that I was a daughter of God until then. I felt chills. All the sins in my life were just washed away.”

Through the gospel, Wendy is learning more about her family here on earth and about being part of a great eternal family in the gospel.

Full circle

Katie Daines, 16, of the Manhattan Second Ward, used a history assignment at school as the reason to write a short history of her great-great-grandparents, Nels and Ingra Carlson. Katie found that her relatives joined the Church in Sweden and emigrated to the United States to join the Saints in Utah. While waiting on the ship in New York harbor, Ingra gave birth to her son, John. Eventually, the family moved to Utah, where they lived and raised their children.

Now Katie, who has lived all her life in New York City, can look out on the harbor and see some of the same sights and shoreline that greeted her ancestors on their journey. Their willingness to be pioneers for their faith reminds Katie that she too is willing to be a pioneer for her beliefs. As she faces being one of only a couple of members of the Church in her school, she learns to be an example.

Finding the gospel

Gianna Lall, 15, of the Manhattan Sixth Branch, joined the Church with her brother and mother about four years ago. She remembers the day that the missionaries knocked on their door. For five months they studied the gospel, asked many questions, and attended Church meetings. As their desire to be baptized grew, they knew that their mother faced a big hurdle. She had to give up cigarettes, coffee, and alcohol. “The first time we fasted for her, she had cooked everything we loved. We were going to have the missionaries over for dinner. That morning I didn’t think I could fast. For some reason, when I looked in the refrigerator, I didn’t have to eat the tempting food. I think that’s the only time fasting has been that easy for me. She had tried before, but this time my mother quit.”

Gianna; her brother, Roberto; and their mother, Maria, were baptized. Gianna has seen a great change take place in their home. “I have my own testimony. I know that the Lord is always there for me. I always get through whatever little problem I have. I don’t realize it, but it really does help just knowing that He’s there and is looking out for me. Knowing that, there is no problem or worry that I can’t get through.”

The gospel has made Gianna’s home a place of peace. “There’s not much tension anymore. There isn’t a bad feeling. It feels good to come home.”

Celebrating the family

As part of their Young Women celebration, the girls of the New York Manhattan Stake participated in a family history open house. The people of the metropolitan area were invited to learn more about family history and the resources of the Church. The Young Women participated by putting up displays about their own projects. During refreshment breaks, those attending the open house were able to talk with the girls about some of the treasured items of their families as well as photos and written histories.

For the display, Alaira Fleming, 13, brought a figurine that was precious to her mother and grandmother. The porcelain figurine was one that Alaira’s mother had given as a Mother’s Day gift to her mother. After her grandmother’s death, Alaira was given the figurine to cherish as a representation of the love between mothers and daughters in their family.

Alaira was also taught and encouraged by her mother to keep a journal. “It makes me feel good that someday my children can read it and know what my life was like and the troubles I went through and the happiness that I’ve enjoyed.”

The stories go on. As young women are encouraged to learn about their families, wonderful things happen. A feeling of love for those who have gone before or for those who still surround them begins to blossom. As each girl learns more about her family, she comes to understand her part in something so much greater than herself. She is a daughter of her Heavenly Father, who loves her. And this knowledge makes all the difference.

Photography by Janet Thomas

(Previous page) Kathryn Young holds a doll dressed in an Air Force cadet uniform that was a gift from her family. (Inset) Kathryn Young’s grandmother, Ethelyn Sowards, poses in her pilot’s uniform.

(Upper left) Brother and sister twins Wellington and Wendy Feliz “talk” to Vanessa Bruno in sign language. (Lower center) Vanessa gives Wendy a hug. Since Vanessa can speak with Wendy and Wellington’s mother, she has opened up a way for them to learn about their family history.

(Upper right) Jassy Ramirez spends lots of time with her grandmother Elvira, learning to cook and take care of the house.

(Upper left) Jassy Ramirez, Nathalie Gomez, and Irva Phillip are arranging displays for the family history open house held in the Manhattan New York Stake.

(Upper right) Alaira Fleming and her mother hold the figurine that was a gift of love in their family.

(Center) Gianna Lall holds the blessing outfit worn by her older brother and herself. The dress was given to their mother by a friend in Spain before the births of her children and will be passed down through the family.