Genealogy Family Home Evening

Genealogy Family Home Evening

A father was telling his family about their forefathers. He said, "William Mitchell, your great-great-grandfather was an artist in England. One of his paintings was of a large bowl of fruit. In a whimsical mood, he painted a fly on one of the pears in his picture. One day, Queen Victoria was in the art gallery where this painting was hanging. She stepped up to it and tried to shoo the fly off."

When the father had finished this story, his fifteen-year-old daughter, who had inherited some of William Mitchell's talent, exclaimed, "I feel as if I know my great-great-grandfather Mitchell, and I love him!"

Ask: How can we love some of our forefathers who are only names or blanks to us now? (By learning some of the interesting things they did.)

Why love our forefathers?

Ask: What difference does it make whether or not we love our forefathers? (see whether, without any suggestions from you, the family will indicate that many of our forefathers died without hearing the gospel. If we feel they are real individuals, whom we love and to whom we are indebted for our lives, we will be more likely to search for them, be baptized for them, do their temple work, and have them sealed together with us as families.)

Use a story, such as the following, to emphasize, to emphasize this point.

Brother Petersen's Great Blessing

Mr. Petersen, with his wife and large family, lived in Denmark many years ago. He was a friendly, happy man, loved and respected by everyone in the village. One evening in 1851, two Mormon missionaries called at his home and asked for a night's lodging. Mr. Petersen had heard bad things about the Mormons, but his kind heart would not let him turn them away.

The Petersen family sat up late that night listening to the missionaries and asking them questions. The Spirit of the Lord was there and the hearts of that sincere family were touched. Upon leaving the next morning, the elders gave them a Book of Mormon and some gospel tracts.

When the missionaries returned a few weeks later, they found the Petersen family ready for baptism. They became devoted Church members, even though the whole village turned against them. The desire grew in their hearts to join the Saints in America. They especially longed for the blessing of being sealed for eternity as a family.

Within a year, through careful planning and management, they arrived in America and joined a Mormon wagon company bound for the Salt Lake Valley. All went well on the first part of the long trek. Then an epidemic of cholera broke out. Brother Petersen was a strength to his fellow travelers. He administered to the sick and helped nurse them; he buried the dead and comforted the bereaved.

One night he sat up with a sick brother who died as day was breaking. Brother Petersen dug the grave and gave the brief funeral sermon. Then the friend was buried, and the company moved on. About noon Brother Petersen began to feel ill himself, and before the next morning he had died. His teenage sons dug his grave on the banks of the Platte River, and sorrowfully buried their father, piling rocks over the grave to mark the spot and protect it from wild animals.

Discuss:

1. What is your feeling for Brother Petersen and his family? (See if anyone mentions that Brother Petersen had not lived to do his own temple work, be married to his wife for eternity, and have his family sealed to him.)

2. What could be done about his problem? (As soon as it was possible, Brother Petersen's family had his temple work done, and his family was sealed to him for eternity.)

3. Would we be as concerned about Brother Petersen's temple work if he were only a name to us? (His story makes him seem more real and loveable.)

Getting Acquainted with Our Forefathers

Ask your children:

1. Who has exactly the same forefathers that you do? (Help them see from their charts that no person in the world, except their own brothers and sisters, has exactly the same forefathers, and that this makes a family unique.)

2. Can you think of anyone who could tell us stories about our forefathers? (They will probably mention grandparents, if they have living grandparents. Suggest having the grandparents join your family for your next family home evening.) Then remind your family that you, their parents, belong to their clan of forefathers, and you know some stories they have not heard., which you will tell them. Make your stories short and vital. Give your children only enough to whet their appetites and not satisfy or tire them. The following suggestions may be a useful guide to you:

• Use your own first-hand experiences, though your story may center on yourself, on your parents, or on your grandparents. Show them on their charts which ancestor your story concerns.
• You may point out a characteristic that one of your children shares with a forefather, such as talents or humor. Share examples to illustrate your point.