Week of June 5, 2016

Sunday at church we had an assignment to host in the foyer of the Joseph Smith Building. There are four congregations that meet in the building on Sunday, but the general public is not supposed to come in. We let them walk around the lobby and they are invited to attend meetings. It was a fun assignment and we were able to visit with several people that came in to “just look around”.

Monday we had a staff meeting to discuss the upcoming Capstone classes. This is a big change in our program and people have some real investments in how it should be presented. I am doing the piece on Descendancy Research and there was some discussion about how I planned to do it. Some have done it a different way and don’t see that there can be more than one approach to the process. I’m sure it will turn out OK, but the process of getting there is straight uphill.

Tuesday we had two enrichment classes. In the evening we attended a Concert in the Park, a series offered by the Church during the summer at the Brigham Young Park. There were four outstanding singers doing Broadway music. I really enjoyed being outside.

Wednesday I taught an enrichment class on Sourcing. We had been told a youth group was coming in at 11 am so we planned to end a few minutes early. Just before we started the scheduler came to verify that we would be out by 10 am. Apparently, there had been a time change late last week she forgot to tell us about. I did a rush job, cutting to what I thought were the most important concepts. It really threw me off balance to find out at the last minute.

I told the students I would work with them on the floor after class if they needed help. One lady wanted me to help her create a source for her grandfather’s sister so I said I would be happy to help. It turned out she did not have the source. She wanted me to find the obituary for the lady, an Italian in California with uncertain information. We looked for a while with her asking me where to look next. I finally said I would be happy to help attach a source, but we needed to find something a little easier. It took quite a while to finish. Another challenge she had was that she didn’t like the word “Citation” in the source. I told her that was the correct word because we were citing where something was. I think she thought I said “site”, so she was OK with it after that. After that I went downstairs to do Swedish research for an hour before going home and found several children in a family.

After I got home I went for my weekly walk with my friend. She wanted to walk on the Avenues so we went up 2^nd Avenue and walked to M St. I needed to get home so returned on South Temple. I enjoyed it but it took much longer than I should have given it. We always have a good visit and I like that. When we walked by the 20^th Ward chapel a man who was vacuuming invited us to come in and see it. Apparently, it is an historic site. The stained glass windows in the chapel are really beautiful and the wood furnishings were nice. We also took a peak at the Cultural Hall. There was a stage, a basketball floor, and a carpeted seating area at the end with a couple of seating groups there. Very unusual.

Thursday I planned to go to the international floor to find someone to review some birth records I’d found to make sure I had the correct people. When I got there I met a lady who had planned to attend the Sourcing class but had not. She said she would appreciate some help some time. We sat down right there and created a source for the material she had. She’s a quick learner and it was fun to help her.

I attended a library class on Descendancy Research to see what they taught. They said nothing about how to do it, just why and the benefits. In the afternoon I taught an enrichment class on Unique Searches and I thought it went well. I used some ideas from a class at Rootstech to start the class and I think that helped set the stage. At one point in the lesson I was saying something that I don’t recall, but it was pretty good stuff. I had a distinct impression that the Spirit was teaching through me. What a sweet experience.

After my class I went downstairs to the international floor and sat near to one of the consultants. When he finished talking with a guest I asked him to look at my records. He confirmed that I had found the correct birth records, which was exciting. At one point I looked where I thought some records should be and could not find them. I prayed fervently for help finding the family. I looked another place and there they were. What a blessing it has been to do this research and feel the Lord’s help with me. I continued to search and found some more families. I was able to find birth records for all the children. I would like to find some death records and follow the families through the years.

Friday I wasn’t teaching so I entered some of the people I’d found on Thursday into the system. I got most of them in. I need to add the death and marriage dates when I get them. I also need to add sources.

Brigham City Temple

After lunch my sister and her husband picked us up and we drove to Brigham City to the temple. On the way we passed an accident on the other side of the road. Some hay had been dumped and caught fire. Traffic was really backed up. We heard it was about 14 miles back. The temple is beautiful and very simple. After the session a lady showed us around. There are some mirrors set up in the main foyer that reflect a painting of Christ down the hallway. The Peach Blossom motif is used throughout the temple. There are a couple of paintings of birds in the Matron’s office that were painted by Pres. Boyd K. Packer. That is really a special addition. I was touched to be there and felt a good spirit there.

Saturday there was a block party at the library. I was able to see the Scottish bagpipe band. It started raining so most of the entertainment was moved inside. I stayed and did some research, getting some great help from a lady. She helped me understand who all the people were on a record I had found. She also referred me to some microfilms. On one I found the marriage record for a great grandfather and his wife. That was nice. On the other there were tax lists. I found a brother but not the father we had hoped would be there. I was really excited about the information and tools she pointed out.

In the evening our social group met at Crown Burger for dinner. We were supposed to have a pot-luck, but the rain moved us indoors. We enjoyed a good visit with the other missionaries.