President James E. Faust encouraged young men at the priesthood session "to begin to unlock the knowledge of who you really are by learning more about your forebears."

President James E. Faust

"We can have exciting experiences as we learn about our vibrant, dynamic ancestors," said President Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency. "They were very real, living people with problems, hopes and dreams like we have today."

He told of his own great-grandmother who, as a 6-year-old orphan girl, traveled across the plains of America. Left with relatives of her stepmother at Winter Quarters, Neb., she came west with them.

"My heart goes out to this little girl when I think of her facing an uncertain future with no blood relatives to comfort and help her," President Faust said. Only recently did the family find out who her mother really was, and she has now been sealed to her parents.

In many ways, people are the sum total of what their ancestors were, President Faust observed. "The virtues they had may be our virtues, their strengths our strengths, and in a way their challenges could be our challenges."

He declared that providing saving ordinances for kindred dead is a vital part of the three-fold mission of the Church. "We do this work for a purpose, which is to redeem our dead ancestors," he said. "Temple work is essential for both us and our kindred dead who are waiting for these saving ordinances to be done for them. It is essential because 'We without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect' (Doctrine and Covenants 128:18). They need the saving ordinances, and we need to be sealed to them. For this reason it is important that we trace our family lines so that no one is left out."

Citing the vision in which Elijah appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple, as recounted in Section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants, President Faust said, "This fulfilled Malachi's prophecy that Elijah would be sent 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.' "

Turning their hearts to the fathers means to search out the names of deceased ancestors and to perform the saving temple ordinances for them, President Faust explained.

"Some who are interested in family history try to enhance their own image by linking up with prominent people," President Faust said. "In my own experience it has been quite different. I have been fascinated by learning of some unknown, ordinary people, whose records tell of heroic lives."

He added, "It is not likely that you will find any horse thieves in your ancestral line. But, if you do, it is important that their temple work be done, because we believe in repentance for the dead also." He then cited Doctrine and Covenants 58:58-59, which states: "The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God. And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation."

President Faust said the process of finding ancestors one-by-one can be challenging but also exciting and rewarding. "We often feel spiritual guidance as we go to the sources which identify them," he said. "Because this is a very spiritual work, we can expect help from the other side of the veil. We feel a pull from our relatives who are waiting for us to find them so their ordinance work can be done. This is a Christlike service because we are doing something for them that they cannot do for themselves."

He noted that many young people have already felt the peace and serenity of temple work by participating in baptisms for the dead.