Family History Moments: 'One and the same'
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In doing the work of the Lord, there is sometimes a tendency to compartmentalize, to separate the work of redeeming the dead, for example, from the task of proclaiming the gospel to those now living.
However, Church leaders have occasionally emphasized that it is all part of the same grand mission to bring souls to Christ. Speaking in general conference in April 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball said, "I feel the same sense of urgency about temple work for the dead as I do about the missionary work for the living, since they are basically one and the same."
Elder Gichin Marsden recently found himself in a position to help redeem the dead, even as he was serving a full-time mission to bring the gospel to the living. He wrote:
"While I was serving in the office of the Australia Melbourne Mission, we received a telephone call from an elderly sister. She said she had a book of genealogy that she wished to send to Salt Lake City.
"When the secretary in the office told me the surname of the genealogy, I was very surprised. It was my surname!
"So I contacted the sister and explained who I was. I told her that I would like a copy of the book.
"A few weeks later, she delivered the book to our mission office. I paid her for the copy and then mailed the book to my grandmother in Idaho.
"My grandmother began to go through the book and pull out the family names. She was able to come up with several hundred names and prepare them for their temple work to be done.
"I even had the opportunity to perform the work in the Melbourne Australia Temple for some of the names my grandmother had found in the book.
"It really shows that the Lord is in charge of this work. While I serve my mission, he used me as a tool to help my ancestors to receive the necessary ordinances for salvation."
Another in a series of "Family History Moments."
Illustration by John Clark
